Jabre Dutton is 11, and at his age, he is already a business owner. Spurred on by his mom, Sabrina Dutton, the 7th grader at Wissahickon Charter School started a car cleaning business this August based out of Germantown.
He created Jabre’s Car Cleaning Service, JCCS, after he told his mom he needed money to make in-app purchases for his favorite game. His mom then pitched the idea of cleaning cars for a fee to him. His first client was a family friend who paid $20 for his services.
Jabre works on weekends and customers can book for his services online using Booksy. He has also created an Instagram page to market his business. His cleaning service focuses on interior cleanings such as vacuuming, trash disposal, and dusting. Sabrina drives him to appointments.
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“My favorite part about doing this job is getting my customers’ reactions out of it,” according to Jabre. “When it’s done, when you look at it, they look so happy. I get really excited because they’re excited.”
Knowing how many kids misuse money, Sabrina has been lecturing him on financial literacy. Jabre is now conscious of saving for school and other needs. “So it’s kind of like slowly trying to get him into understanding money and responsibility,” Sabrina told Germantowninfohub. “So with every car, I tell them a percentage goes to savings, a percentage goes into his pockets, and another percentage goes to his supplies.”
Since the launch of his car cleaning services, Jabre has enjoyed massive support. He was recently awarded $100 by an organization called I Love Thy Hood after he cleaned their car and a vacuum. He’s excited about the fact that people identify with his brand. He recalls an incident when someone yelled ‘JCCS’, the abbreviation of his company.
“And that really made me happy,” Jabre told Billypen. “People actually screaming my name out like that, like I’m a famous person? That means that I’m very known and I could clean more people’s cars, and I could get more reactions.”
Jabre could not have come this far without the unflinching support of his mom. “I look up to her a lot,” he told ABC 6. “She’s been teaching me since I was a kid since I was little since I was born!”
Aside from being an entrepreneur, Jabre hopes to become a lawyer in the future. For now, he hopes the pandemic will be over so he can invite customers and create a more hospitable experience for them.
