Serial Entrepreneurs Cement their Friendship With Commercial Real Estate Purchase
Danny Arroyo and Kasra Erfanian met in sixth grade. Working at McDonald’s during their junior year of high school, they had enough of working for ‘the man’ and set out to establish their own start-up business. At Capital Rivers Commercial, we love full circle stories and this is one for the ages. Fast forward 12 years: the serial entrepreneurs cemented their friendship with a recent commercial real estate purchase in Rancho Cordova.
Early Commercial Business Lessons Learned
While they learned their first business lesson at McDonald’s: hard work pays off. And they enjoyed the free food – Danny’s fav was the chicken nuggets. But they felt that to make real money, they needed to start their own business.
After a few false starts, the duo started a mobile car detailing business they named Dazzle’s Detailing. It has been an incredible journey from that ‘crappy old van’ to where they are now. Their hard work and dedication made their business succeed, but they also learned many valuable business lessons along the way.
Starting out, they’d saved only enough money to buy basic supplies. It also took longer to get their first client than they anticipated, teaching them their second business lesson: patience.
Dazzle’s Five-Star Mentality and Word of Mouth Recommendations
Soon, Danny and Kasra not only had plenty of clients but also the means to hire their first employee. This same employee is now a manager with the company. They eventually managed to purchase a vehicle that could be used for mobile car washing. These were some of their third lessons in business:
- Take risks
- Re-invest in yourself
- Constantly look for ways to grow and optimize the business
As their business grew, so did their knowledge about how to run a successful company.
Dazzle’s owners learned a number of things along the way:
- The importance of staying up-to-date on industry trends
- Perfecting customer service techniques
- How to market themselves properly
Similar to Danny’s real estate philsophy at Capital Rivers, Dazzle’s approached everything with a five-star mentality. This was their third business lesson: from day one, go above and beyond in everything they did from customer service to follow-up to more.
They spent time hanging outside gyms, leaving their business cards on cars. After two months, their hook bobbed – they got their first bite. That first client needed his car washed. They were so excited – that Toyota Corolla was probably the cleanest car ever. Dazzle’s received their fourth business lesson quite soon: recommendations are key to company growth. The owner recommended his friend, their second customer; and they started growing from there.
After doing some research on other successful businesses, they implemented a discount code. Every third wash would receive a discount. Word-of-mouth recommendations helped the business grow substantially. This is where they learned their fifth lesson in business – maybe the most important one: relationships and recommendations are the lifeblood of successful companies.
That Crappy Old Van and The College Years
Eventually, the duo scraped together enough cash to buy a ‘crappy old van’. They needed it to do multiple car washes and/or car details daily. The van was also the perfect place to store their supplies. A year in, they signed up with the state as an LLC and paid a friend to design a logo.
Upon graduating from high school, Kasra stayed locally to attend Folsom Lake College and work while Danny traveled out of state to the University of Arizona. Kasra took great pride in the business, contributed a lot of sweat equity and eventually hired their first employee. That first employee is a manager at Dazzle’s today.
Due to their college workloads, growth with the business was flat. Finally, Kasra reached a fork in the road. He left college to grow the business full-time. With Danny’s long-distance support, Kasra remained the business’s driving force. As the business grew, they added new services. They upgraded their vehicle fleet and invested in high-end equipment to ensure a superior level of service.
The Career Fork in the Road
Danny pursued a career in commercial real estate in the Sacramento area upon graduation. After his first year at Capital Rivers, Danny and Kasra talked about Kasra taking 100% control of the company. As serial entrepreneurs, the two agreed Danny would take over one of their Youtube channels as Kasra took 100% ownership of Dazzle’s.
With multiple vans now, Dazzle’s partners with a number of car dealerships, including Tesla, to wash and detail cars once a quarter in the following cities:
- Rocklin
- Sacramento
- Irvine
- Bakersfield
Expansion Plans Include Purchasing a Building
Danny specializes in finding the best deals for his clients at Capital Rivers Commercial. A year ago, Kasra called Danny. He was looking to expand the business by purchasing a building that could accommodate Dazzle’s expanded services. Danny worked with Kasra to find the perfect building for the company’s needs.
After months of searching, they eventually found a building in Rancho Cordova that fit their criteria. It was purchased through a short-term, sale-leaseback agreement. Escrow closed at the beginning of January 2023 and Kasra took possession of it in February ‘23.
To celebrate this milestone, Danny and Kasra plan to have a cigar and a glass of whiskey to commemorate their success.
