Getting your oil changed is one of those things you know you should do, but isn’t always the most attractive item on the to do list. Whether you’ve let your car go a few hundred (or thousand) miles over the recommended limit, because you just don’t have time to get to the shop, or simply detest the task, a new service is about to make things easier.
Oleo brings the oil change to you. So instead of reading expired magazines as the scent of motor oil wafts through the air, customers can cash in on convenience and continue their routines while an Oleo technician does the deed.
It’s the kind of problem-solving Founder Eric Fraser loves. He spent time at OSU, which led to an internship with student painters. He felt like he was learning more at the painting franchise than in class, and ultimately decided to leave school.
Fraser had dabbled in other business ventures that never really panned out. He decided that instead of trying to create the next “big thing” like Snapchat, he would teach himself a skill. With an interest in cars, he began a six-month stint at Jiffy Lube.
He quickly realized, “No one really enjoyed getting their oil changed.”
Customers would go way over on their mileage, not because they didn’t care about their car, but because they didn’t have or wouldn’t make the time.
“I just felt like there is a better way to do this,” Fraser says.
Friends and family were the first to benefit from Fraser’s come-to-you oil change services. And at their encouragement, he has spent the last few months turning it into a business.
Oleo is a bootstrapped, one-man operation, but Fraser says hiring more techs could be in the near future. He’s built everything from the logo to the website, from the ground up.
“Problem solving is one of my strengths, Fraser says. For each step and each task, he thinks about the end-goal and reverse engineers back to the beginning.
Fraser has certainly reverse engineered the oil change, removing the barriers that normally keep folks from their regular maintenance. Easy online scheduling, a few texts, a key hand off and a half hour, and an Oleo oil change is complete. Customers can continue business as usual while Fraser deploys his skills.
Oleo operates at a price point within range of other quick-shops: $49 for a conventional oil change, $59 for high-mileage and $69 for synthetic. The operation services Columbus and the surrounding suburbs.
Fraser is also looking to net a fleet contract, targeting schools, businesses and other operations that might have a fleet of vehicles. The fleet contract will provide a steady cash flow Fraser aims to leverage for marketing to generate more clients.
As the service emerges on the marketplace, Fraser is focused on gaining traction, but already has a lineup of what’s next for the business. While the idea is growing and developing, “The end goal would be to have an app on your phone for vehicle maintenance,” he says. “The website lowers that barrier a little bit more, the app would lower it even further.”
Oleo’s services would then expand from just oil changes to various maintenance services. The wheels are turning to start app development this summer. Fraser wants to invest and build it right the first time around instead of throwing something together only to have to fix it later.
A subscription model is also on the docket, bundling oil changes required over a year period and scheduling them out in increments, further lowering the oil-change hassle.
Fraser’s convenient service has been met with overwhelmingly positive reception. He’s looking for feedback from his first rounds of customers (all of whom have returned for service), but was largely met with a keep it up chorus.
For more information, visit oleoapp.com.
