A look into the life of 18-year-old business owner Oscar Goranson | Humans of Catlin Gabel
By Violet Bouwes-van Nood ‘24
Image of Oscar Goranson at work, photo By Oscar Goranson ‘24
Ever the businessman, one of my first memories of Oscar Goranson involved him selling juice on the side of the road. In fifth grade, Goranson came to school excited to tell the class about his special juice. Made from Oxalis, a plant similar in looks to a clover with a lemony taste, the drink would most likely give customers a stomach ache. Still, I appreciated his work ethic.
His entrepreneurial endeavors did not start nor end there. He recalled to me an innovative idea he had at the age of seven.
“I said to myself, everyone’s tired of lemonade.” And though looking back on it, he claims it was a bad idea, he told me. “I had a milk stand, selling glasses of milk.”
The milk stand may not have been his most successful idea, but any good businessman needs to start somewhere. Some may remember Goranson’s “snack corner” during his sophomore year. Goranson sold snacks to students from a locker in Dant.
“I made about a hundred bucks a week doing that, but I didn’t profit really because we had to buy all the snacks at Fred Meyer.” He told me.
Now, Goranson has his own company, PDX Mobile Detailing. Where, as the name suggests, he details cars. By age 17 he made as much as 14,000 dollars in a month from his self-made business.
His career started when his dad helped him find a job.
“My first ever job was at a car auto body shop,” stated Goranson. “I was a detailer there, they put me out to work on the cars, and it was a very big auto body shop.”
He had lots of fun working there, he got work on big trucks and even the Portland police cars. However, he was not paid much and soon discovered that he made more money working on cars outside of the shop.
He started off charging 30 dollars a car, which gave him more profit than his paychecks did. He told his boss about his side gig and was met with a willing response.
“You’re a smart man, I feel like you shouldn’t be wasting your time here at the autobody shop, I feel like you should go out and start your own business.”
Goranson went on to explain that this may have something to do with a tumultuous relationship with other employees, “he encouraged me to quit.”
Since then his business has grown a lot, so I’m sorry to report you won’t be able to get your car detailed for 30 bucks anymore. He now has a full pickup truck for all of his equipment including, carpet shampooers and a Ryobi pressure washer which is “the most expensive power washer at Home Depot”.
Goranson also has invested in a good vacuum. “Vacuum enthusiasts out there would know I have a WD40X7 by Ridgid, top detailing vac on the market”.
On top of his tools, he also has “chemicals for anything you could come across.” This includes but is not limited to interior cleaning, interior dressing, leather cleaning, carpet/upholstery cleaning, and snow foam.
Home page of Goranson’s website, graphic courtesy of Oscar Goranson ‘24
Success hasn’t always been easy. Goranson has run into challenges, including crashing the car of a client and not having any publicity. What really helped his business to grow was creating a website with the help of Catlin Gabel School (CGS) senior Harper Davis. He was able to reach a larger audience and learn the importance of advertising.
“I would put in about 300 dollars a week on Google ads.” He stated. “But that would give me about 15 clients per 300 dollars.”
Each client would spend around 200 dollars, meaning he would get 3,000 dollars in revenue, which is 2,700 dollars a week in profit.
But it’s not just his business Goranson put effort into, he also prioritizes his health. Goranson has been vegan for about 8 months, and he recently cut carbs out of his diet as well. He spends little time on his phone, opting to read a book a week instead. Though he normally reads self-help and business books, the Twilight Saga is a personal favorite of Goranson.
Additionally, he works out daily and goes on runs 3-5 times a week, meaning often needs to wake up around 4:45 am. During this, he took up playing football for the Grant High School varsity football team.
With his business, school, and workout routine/football practice, Goranson has a very hectic schedule. The people he relies on to help him through it are his family and his girlfriend of three years, CGS Senior Ima Kennerly.
“I am very grateful for everyone in my life to be honest,” Goranson stated.
While he has lots of support no matter what, Goranson is unsure of what the future holds for his business when he goes to college. One idea he has is referencing his clients to other Portland businesses, this way he can support local businesses, while potentially taking a small gratuity cut. This seems more manageable than managing his business from out of state, as he hopes to put lots of effort into schoolwork in college.
While the future may be unclear for Goranson, one thing is clear to me, bright things lay ahead for this young entrepreneur.