Photo by Trevor Frey/Daily NewsTavis Barker (left) and Bo Owens operate a car-cleaning service in Bowling Green. &#8220We have fun; we enjoy this,” Owens said. &#8220I like doing a good job on someone's car.”

You won’t find them in the phone book, on the Internet or even on television, but Bling Bling Mobile Detailing is one of Bowling Green’s best kept secrets to getting your car clean without having to drop it off.

Licensed and insured, Bo Owens and Tavis Barber come to you with all the supplies they need, water tank included.

While playing dominoes and cards over the past five years, the pair would often talk about the mobile detailing businesses they knew to be popular in Louisville, Lexington and Nashville.

But it was an unexpected business deal that forced the duo to make the talks come true.

Owens worked for mobile detailing company, Final Touch, for five years, building up a loyal client base of 60 customers before the company was abruptly sold last November without his knowledge.

&#8220It taught me everything I know,” Owens said.

Disappointed, but not dismayed, Owens decided to branch out on his own, but had to overcome the challenge of financing startup costs.

&#8220I was the talker guy, so I ended up with all the business,” Owens said.

At the same time, Tavis Barber worked at Anderson News, a magazine packaging and shipping company.

&#8220I wasn’t getting anywhere. … I was just getting by paying my bills,” Barber said.

The pair launched Bling Bling in March.

&#8220I like being on my own – I can leave when I want to,” Owens said, who likes working directly with customers, minus the stress of a 9-to-5 job.

Barber didn’t like answering to a manager, either.

&#8220I didn’t like having people on my back, telling me when to do things and how to do it,” he said.

Friends initially doubted the pair, but now Barber and Owens have their full support.

&#8220A lot of people are amazed we do everything by hand,” Barber said.

As for the trendy name, which invokes images of flashy hip-hop artists with expensive jewelry and cars, Barber’s children take the credit.

&#8220My daughter came up with (it),” Barber said.

Bling Bling has enough business for an expansion.

The busiest days for the duo are Thursdays and Fridays.

The pair looks forward to the summer months, but likes it to rain, so they know they’ll see customers again.

&#8220Our work speaks louder than a Web site,” Owens said. &#8220I work so much, I don’t have time for computers.”

&#8220We’ll work seven days a week. … If someone calls on a Sunday, we’ll go to them,” Barber said.

Bling Bling taps into the growing spectrum of consumers who worship car-themed shows on television, shows like MTV’s &#8220Pimp My Ride,” and &#8220Ride with Funkmaster Flex” on Spike TV, which have millions of viewers.

These viewers mirror the results of 2002 study by the International Carwash Association Study of Consumer Cars, which gathered data on washing attitudes and habits. The study found 42 percent of exterior carwash customers would wash their cars more if they had more time (17 percent), if it took less time (13 percent), or if they were offered an option to let someone else do it for them (12 percent).

&#8220We like having satisfied customers,” Owens said.

Late March, when a bus for Hillvue Heights Church on Nashville Road was vandalized, Bling Bling came to the rescue.

Someone had sprayed fire extinguisher fluid inside the bus from front to back, and poured five gallons of motor oil on the seats.

&#8220It was a big mess, but we took care of it,” Owens said.

Barber remembers Hillvue Pastor Steve Ayers was so pleased with the work, he referred their services to police officers when they came to take a report on the incident.

Owens and Barber see the market share for mobile detailing services in the area decreasing as more companies enter to compete to make what Entrepreneur Magazine deemed an average profit of $100,000 a year for a mobile detailing business.

&#8220A lot of people are trying to do it now,” Barber said.

Most of Bling Bling’s customers are women.

&#8220They say the just don’t have time,” Owens said.

&#8220We’re successful because we’re so convenient,” Barber said.

The two charge $20 to $50 or more for their services.