OhmCo - previously rule of design - carwash marketing and blogging

OhmCo Turns Five: Celebrating with Halloween Candy Instead of Cake!

Mel Ohlinger • October 31, 2024

OhmCo Turns Five!

Celebrating with Halloween Candy Instead of Cake

Happy Halloween from OhmCo! As we celebrate all things spooky today, we realized we never even got a chance to celebrate our business birthday—OhmCo turned five this year! Life has been a lot, and while we didn’t stop for cake, we’re taking a moment now to look back on everything we’ve built and all the people who helped us get here.

thank you for your help from ohmco

OhmCo started as a one-person design project and has since grown into a full-fledged international marketing agency that specializes in all things carwash and water treatment. If you don’t know our story, here’s a little background. Our founder, Mel Ohlinger, is a Navy veteran and UWO alumna who went from Cryptology & Design to becoming a designer and marketing expert in the carwash industry. After falling in love with the world of in-bay automatics, Mel started freelancing from home when her littlest child was born. Fast-forward to now, and what was once a home-based design gig has turned into a carwash marketing agency!


This year, OhmCo has hit some big milestones. We expanded our team with amazing people like Mike, Melanie, and Carrie, launched our Labs for specialized services like social media, websites, graphics, analytics, and photography, and secured our first round of business funding to fuel even more growth. Plus, we’ve been working on a book featuring interviews with some of the pioneers in car wash technology, and we had the chance to take OhmCo global, traveling to the Australian Car Wash Association’s show. Mel & Mike even got a chance to bring her kids to The Carwash Show in Nashville so they could finally see why Mom and Dad disappeared for a week every Mother’s Day, haha.


Here at OhmCo, we believe in **Good Design That Drives Sales.** We’re carwash enthusiasts through and through, and we’re here to create memorable brands that help operators sell their washes and grow their customer base. We’re super proud of our reputation for information - we don’t make things complicated or leave you feeling overwhelmed. One of our guiding values is simply: **We Don’t Want You to Feel Stupid.** We’re here to make things easier, not harder, with straightforward support and cost-effective digital marketing solutions that work.


OhmCo is still family-owned and independent. Mel herself has been busy too—she spoke at the 2024 Carwash Show about AI in marketing, represented the car wash industry at the White House Small Business Forum, and even helped advocate for paid family leave and get it passed in Minnesota. Her passion for this industry, for business supporting people, and for helping carwashes grow is what fuels us every day.

So as we’re handing out candy and celebrating Halloween, we want to take a moment to thank everyone who has supported us over the years. Whether you’ve shared a post, sent some advice our way, or just cheered us on, we couldn’t have done it without you. Here’s to five incredible years—and many more to come! 🎉


Cheers,
Mel Ohlinger


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Ohmco turns five - happy late birthday to us with moldy yucky cake

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