Running a service-based business
For the past 18 months, I’ve owned and operated Stikkys Detailing, taking responsibility for its finances, marketing, customer relationships and service delivery.
It’s where I put my commerce studies into practice, make independent decisions and take ownership of the customer experience. I want to bring that commercial understanding to automotive finance and insurance sales.
- Customers served
- 300+
- Five-star Google reviews
- 60+
- Google rating
- 5.0 / 5
Core skills & competencies
- Business management
- I coordinate bookings, administration and service delivery. Balancing these responsibilities has strengthened my organisation, prioritisation and ability to follow through.
- Financial understanding
- Running the business makes me apply accounting, tax and finance concepts to everyday decisions. It also shows me where I need to research further before acting.
- Communication
- I listen to customers, explain services and pricing, and clarify expectations before a job. Working with more than 300 customers has strengthened the communication skills I would bring to a dealership.
- Initiative & accountability
- As a sole trader, decisions, problems and commitments come back to me. Being responsible for the customer’s experience continues to develop my judgement and self-management.
The Director of Incubation and Entrepreneurship at Macquarie University emphasised that founders need to understand every part of their business. That advice reflects my experience: finance, marketing and service delivery are connected, and I’m accountable for how they work together.
Customer feedback
“Jake was easy to communicate with, transparent about pricing and made the entire process very smooth.”
This review supports clear communication and transparent pricing as strengths. The photographs show my service delivery; the review adds the customer’s perspective.
Stikkys Detailing work gallery
Technology with a practical purpose
I use AI to explore ideas, build websites and support my learning about accounting and tax. I assess new tools for their potential to streamline administration.
My next step is to trial one administrative workflow, comparing the time taken and errors against doing it manually before deciding whether to adopt it.