Meet Mike Crofts

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mike Crofts. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mike below.

Mike, so great to have you with us and thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with the community. So, let’s jump into something that stops so many people from going after their dreams – haters, nay-sayers, etc. We’d love to hear about how you dealt with that and persisted on your path.
There’s always going to be those people who talk down to you or put you down in some way, or show other toxic traits toward you. This can be random interactions with people you’ve never even met before, over social media, or could be closer to home like friends or family. So how do I use that hate and turn it into something I can use?
Growing up I didn’t have the best support to get me to graduate high school, I was a drop out. My grades early on in elementary school were always ok, but closer to middle school is where my grades started to noticeably drop and that was directly related to the support at home I never had. It was in middle school I was also diagnosed with A.D.D. so not only did I have trouble focusing in school, I would also never do the homework I needed when I had it at home. Going into high school there were days I would show up totally unprepared, incomplete homework, and into senior year stop showing up all together.
My school started as some support to help me get on track to graduate slowly turned into more grief, teachers having opinions as to why I’m not doing work or showing up prepared and deciding to share their comments with myself and other students publicly. I had some teachers who gave me quite a bit of scrutiny, also some amazing teachers that helped me the best they could.
When I was younger my parents had divorced, and my mother was given custody. growing older as my mom developed her addiction, it became apparent my older sister and I were now the “parentified teens” and now needed to provide. By this point in high school I didn’t have a parent, I had an addict, a child to an extent.
So how did I use all of that toxic mess, the hate, the comments made from teachers, other students, other family and including my own mother. How did I persist?
Ive grown to realize that whatever it is in life you’re wanting, takes motivation and determination to accomplish, and expecting no one to help. Finding that hustle can be hard when you don’t have any idea of where to begin, especially when you don’t even have family to ask.
It begins with what you like, what’s your passion, what could you get into? for me it was cars. Finding a job where I was able to learn and retain a lot of information about detailing cars, making them look beautiful turned into a passion for me and it was a nice beginning, then eventually turned into running my own detailing business, and run it as successfully as I possibly can. Getting to that point wasn’t easy, a lot of frustration working for someone else, frustration with how much I was making, hours, coworkers etc.
It helps when you actually find someone who does believe in you to actually encourage you to grow, and level up with. meeting my fiancè soon to be wife, helped me see that whatever I put my mind to, I can accomplish, she showed me that personally by starting her own business and runs it as successfully as she does, it motivates me to run a business successfully, not like her but in my own way, she herself has had a terrible upbringing and proves that won’t ever slow her down.
So how do you persist?
Finding some to believe in your dreams and goals is huge, finding your passion and what makes you happy, while shooting to be the best. Having the motivation to do it even when you don’t want to. Taking that first step in whichever direction you decide to go, no matter how strange, how awkward you feel doing it. Using those comments teachers, student, friends and even family said to scrutinize only motivates me to prove them wrong.
That is how I persist.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I own and operate Denver Auto Pro Detailing LLC. First learning how to properly detail in 2014 in Salt Lake City, Utah. I’ve spent quite a few years in the auto industry in some way, after separating from my first detail job after 4 years I had moved on to working for a body shop for a few months learning any tips and tricks of the trade to further my knowledge. Shortly after Covid was in full swing that’s when my fiancè and myself decided to move to Colorado where I briefly worked for a tire shop, getting a rundown of how tires work and how to install them to also further my knowledge.
Due to an injury from the tire shop I received an operation and found myself working for another body shop after recovering from surgery, I learned quite a bit here since it was with few employees since covid so more tasks for me to learn. Moving on from that shop I went to work as a lube tech for a large dealership where I learned a lot of tips and tricks from master tech’s. Finally I started my own business and apply all that I’ve learned into making my business the best I can make it, while providing great customer satisfaction.
This is why I feel I stick out more than your conventional detailer or car wash, looking to see if my client has for example, backwards mounted tires, low oil, low coolant, damage to their vehicle anywhere etc. all of these things I look for, to be the nosiest detailer and tell you more about your own vehicle than you even know, that is the goal.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Time management is huge, I never want to be late to someones service, and if I am communication is absolutely key. Have time for yourself, I can work too much and burnout can catch up to everyone. take those days off and enjoy it.
knowing your limits is pretty big too, that can go hand in hand with when to say no, there are times I just can’t take jobs and times I can’t take on what needs to really be done.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
My fiancè has been the #1 supporter of all of my dreams, goals, achievements and overall better lifestyle and health. She is my biggest motivation to keep grinding and hustling for my own business. she is living proof as someone who has has a worse upbringing than myself and has become the most successful I have seen anyone become in such a short amount of time, teaching me humbleness and humility, as well as being thankful and giving. She truly is my partner in power.

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