The Co-Op
A real business. Run by students.
Elite Detailing is a youth co-op headquartered in Scottsburg, Indiana. Members — ages 15 through 24 — work alongside an adult organizer to run the shop the way a great small business should be run. The work has to be world-class. The students have to be students first. And the proceeds have to fund their education.
Why this exists
The shop with a purpose.
Scottsburg has plenty of bright, hard-working young people. It does not have a shortage of car-wash jobs or fast-food shifts. What it has lacked is a place where students can learn a real craft, work alongside adults who treat them like professionals, and earn meaningful money toward their education.
The co-op model is the answer. Students are members, not employees. They have a voice in how the business is run. They share in its success. And every customer who books a detail funds two outcomes: a beautifully finished vehicle, and the educational future of the team that detailed it.
By the numbers
- 12+
- Active members
- 200+
- Vehicles photographed
- $0
- Member out-of-pocket
- 100%
- Profit-share visibility
The ladder
From Trainee to Specialist.
Members move up by hours, customer feedback, and competency on training checklists — not by age alone.
15
Trainee
Learns the ladder from the ground up. Wash bay, intake photos, vacuuming, and shadowing senior members on every job.
16–17
Apprentice
Owns interior details start to finish. Trained on extraction, leather care, and the customer hand-off.
17–19
Detailer
Runs full Signature Details independently. Trains apprentices. Authority on product selection.
18–22
Specialist
Certified on paint correction and ceramic coating. Owns customer relationships for premium and specialist tier work.
Operating principles
How we actually run.
School comes first
Schedules are built around grades, sports seasons, and family. We block out exam weeks. We celebrate report cards.
Open-book finance
Every member sees the books — revenue, costs, scholarship pool. We can explain where every dollar goes because we have to.
Scholarship pool
A share of profits funds a real scholarship pool members earn into based on hours, customer feedback, and academic standing.
Sponsors, not patrons
Local businesses sponsor our equipment and our season. We thank them with work, not just stickers on the truck.
Sponsor a season.
Local businesses, school clubs, and individual donors fund equipment, training, and the scholarship pool. We thank our sponsors publicly — and we earn it through the work.