PHOENIX — There’s a special connection forming inside Bob Moses Ceramic Coating in north Phoenix.
The unexpected mentorship between Matt Moses and 12-year-old Zane Jones began with an email.
“When the email came in from him, I read it and I was floored immediately,” said Moses.
Moses, who owns the detailing shop along with nine other locations, says Zane expressed his interest in learning the business.
“There’s a lot of people who do run businesses who would just say oh I don’t have time for that,” said Zane who is a car fanatic.
Moses, however, did just the opposite.
He invited Zane into the shop where he shadowed staff at each position and got a crash course on ceramic coating and detailing techniques.
“I learned a lot of how to treat customers right and how if I ever want to start a business, they taught me all the behind the scenes of a business,” said Zane. “The people is what stood out most. The employees were so amazing, and you could tell how well they worked as a team.”
His training included budgeting, financing and purchasing of supplies.
It also gave him the opportunity to fine-tune his detailing techniques with hands-on instruction. Moses confessed that Zane's visit had a profound effect on him.
“Seeing it opened my eyes to something that is really special, and I think we as business owners have a responsibility to influence the youth,” said Moses. “It gave me so much hope seeing someone so young and ambitious.”
So he decided to be Zane's first investor and gave him $300 dollars to get him started.
Zane shared the news Monday, how the name of his business honors Moses and his incredible team.
“It’s called 802 Auto Detailing and the reason it’s called 802 is I came into the shop on August second, 8-02, so I decided to name my business after here because it was such an awesome experience,” said Zane.
“Wow, I didn’t know that until today,” said Matt with disbelief.
Matt says it’s an experience he’ll never forget. In fact, it’s inspired him to look into doing it more often.
What started from a simple email, turned into what will most likely be a lifelong friendship and a renewed belief in the power of supporting the dreams of others.