It Happened in Crawford County: YouTube video sparks career plan for Aden Caldwell

Aden Caldwell is a son of Matthew, a Snap-on Tools dealer, and Jennifer Caldwell, a health care worker. He has a sister, Kenna Caldwell. Aden started school at Wynford where he played baseball, golf and basketball, but his favorite activity was video games.

His senior project was raising money for the Crawford County Sheriff's Office through a pork raffle. It went well and surpassed the goal.

During his senior year, his plan was to go to North Central State College to study criminal justice. He graduated in 2020 from Wynford, the last graduating class in the old high school.

Aden’s dream of going to North Central State didn’t work out. After two months he dropped out.

“It just wasn’t for me. I am more of a hands-on person," Aden said.

He wasn't much of a reader, he said, but now he’s learning to enjoy it, especially books on finance, taxes and titles − things he didn’t have an opportunity to learn in school.

A spark of interest in tinting car windows

Aden learned about tinting glass when he was in his senior year at Wynford. He found a YouTube video about car tinting. He purchased supplies at Walmart, the window tint, squeegee, Olfa blade knife and baby shampoo to apply the tint. His trial-run was working on his dad’s Jeep Wrangler. His father wanted to help Aden try it out.

"It was a long first year learning and perfecting the tedious trade," Aden said, noting it always looks easier on YouTube, and it has taken thousands of repetitions to perfect his trade.

The way to success was practicing over and over on friends' cars until he finally got it right. Mostly they were patient and understand, knowing Aden couldn’t do it perfectly. He says you get what you pay for − it’s free − and they will have to wait until he’s “got it right.”

After the first year, he went to a tint shop in Powell to better learned the tinting process. It was mostly by repetition. Instead of a few cars a week, he was tinting at least 15 cars a day. He worked there nine months for nine hours a day. He also tinted cars at his home in the evenings.

When he began putting out quality work and had the experience he needed, he was ready to be his own boss.

Custom Tint Solutions takes off

He started working on his own in 2021 at his home, 2435 Spore-Brandywine Road, by appointment. The next two years he focused on building his business, Custom Tint Solutions, and getting his name out. The first two years were mixed as far as business went. It took a lot of patience and work to make a name for himself.

“I’m not known so much as Aden Caldwell, it’s more like the 'tint guy,'" Aden said with a laugh.

In 2023, everything took off for him. From April to September it was normal to be tinting four to six cars a day. It was so good, in fact, Aden hired Seth Smith, a Wynford area buddy. They have been best friends since first grade.

Seth works full time during summer months with Aden, but when business slows down during the colder winter months, he has another job in Marion. Seth does the prep work, helps customers and other time-consuming things a business needs so Aden can concentrate on tinting.

Adding residential flat-glass tinting to the menu

This year is in on track to be better than 2023. Aden’s main goal is to take a step back from cars and two steps forward doing residential flat-glass tinting. He purchased his house in May 2023 and has tinted all the windows. It doesn’t cause darkness. There is a choice for ceramic film that is dark or completely clear.

Ceramic tint blocks harmful UV rays and heat rejection and cuts down on the heating and cooling costs. For example, in southern states a homeowner may get the cost of tinting house windows back in two years’ time, Aden said. He estimates for the Crawford County area it would take about four years to get the initial investment back.

This year Aden plans to get a building to serve as his first shop for the tinting business. He has outgrown his parents' garage. He wants to find land and build from the ground up.

Aden said he pleased with the support he has received from the community and his family. His mother bought him his first tinting tools for Christmas. He never imagined it would have come this far.

One can usually count on a mom to believe in a dream.

For more information about Custom Tint Solutions, readers can check out customtintsolutionsllc.com, Facebook or call 419 834 5038.

Go online for more of Mary Fox’s stories and photos on bucyrustelegraphforum.com. If you are interested in sharing a story, write Mary Fox, 931 Marion Road, Bucyrus, OH 44820 or email littlefoxfactory@columbus.rr.com.

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Custom Tint Solutions owner Aden Caldwell has a growth plan for 2024