Plymouth native Cortez Gilliam is the proud owner of Cortez Mobile Detailing & Power Washing, the culmination of his dream to combine his love of business and good service with that of stylish automobiles.

The son of Francis Gilliam, Cortez has wanted to go into business for himself and own his own enterprise for as long as he can remember.

“For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to own my own business and to be able to do my own thing,” Gilliam says. “I’ve always wanted to make my life better, I’ve always looked forward, and the best way to do that I believe is to try and go to work for yourself.”

Part of Gilliam’s inspiration came from his environment, particularly the limitations of opportunity in his hometown.

“When you come from a small town like Plymouth, you realize there’s not much opportunity there for a young African-American male. What you do have, is a lot of opportunities to get yourself into trouble,” Gilliam says. “I always tried to avoid that when I was growing up because there’s just no future in it.”

As Gilliam tells it, much of his success and adherence to the straight and narrow, comes from the guidance of his mother, Francis, as well as his great-grandmother and supportive aunts and uncles.

After graduating from Plymouth High School in 2009, Gilliam attended Chowan Community College where he pursued business administration. After graduating from Chowan, Gilliam joined the working world for a time, slowly laying the groundwork for the business he hoped to build in the future.

In 2020 his efforts paid off, as he founded Cortez Mobile Detailing & Power Washing in what was perhaps one of the most challenging economic climates to date.

Born during the COVID-19 global pandemic, Gilliam’s business faced many of the same challenges as others during that period. However, having a cool head, keeping the faith and having more than a few dedicated customers allowed Cortez Mobile Detailing to thrive some four years later.

“It was a tough time to get started but I was never nervous. I had faith in God,” Gilliam says. “When COVID happened, everybody was scared and really, no one knew what was coming next. But if I can be honest, I wasn’t worried about anything… God is good all the time… That kept my mind right and got me through.”

Now operating out of the Raleigh area, Gilliam offers his services to a variety of customers in the metropolitan district. A car enthusiast since he was young, being able to clean and detail a variety of vehicles for customers has been a dream come true...