Tampa Bay Signs Company Thrives While Honoring a Legacy

Southlake Signs Tampa of Hillsborough County

When Ron Martin launched Southlake Signs Tampa, he wasn’t just starting a business—he was honoring his father’s legacy. Named after his late father’s business in Indiana, Southlake Signs Tampa combines craftsmanship and family values to deliver high-quality signage solutions to commercial clients across Tampa Bay.

Martin decided it was time to open up his own business after working in corporate America for 27 years, stating, “I researched a lot of different businesses, and the sign industry gives me so much energy and joy because I’m able to help my customers create their business’ strategy and how they want to market their business and how they want to brand their business. But I also have an organization to run and people to lead and strategies to be able to accomplish building signs and I love both parts of that. So, this business checks off a lot of boxes of filling up my cup and giving me energy,” he shared.

From design to installation, Southlake Signs Tampa offers a comprehensive suite of services, but scaling operations required more than talent and dedication. That’s where the Florida SBDC at USF stepped in.

With guidance from business consultant Brad Owens, Martin developed robust financial projections, a critical step in securing funding to expand. Owens also facilitated connections with local banks and provided actionable advice to strengthen the business’s operations.

“I’ve really enjoyed engaging with the Florida SBDC at USF. Brad Owens there has been a great financial mentor to me to help me understand the details of how my capital and how my overhead engage with each other and what I need to put into strategy to make sure that my business runs successfully,” Martin expressed.

“I love having the vision. I love developing the ideas but there’s capital and financials and numbers that need to work for my strategies to come together and Brad’s been phenomenal helping me understand that and engage me with resources to help my capital investment,” he added.

Additionally, Gina Smith, another Florida SBDC at USF consultant, conducted a thorough review of the company’s website, offering insights that enhanced its online presence.

“Besides Brad’s walkthrough of financials and besides Brad helping engage with a bank to help me with capital, the Florida SBDC at USF also helped me with reviewing my website. Now, I have a marketing team that built my website that helps me with my lead generation and social media, and they do a fantastic job but it was great to have an outside resource do a full review of it and give me feedback and I’ve given that to my marketing team and we’ve made good improvements just from that advice. So, I’m forever grateful for the organization of what they’ve given to me so far,” Martin said.

Since working with the Florida SBDC at USF, Southlake Signs Tampa has grown significantly, adding new clients and expanding its service offerings. “My biggest success so far is building relationships with customers,” Martin said proudly.

“We’re doing vehicle wraps for customers so that when they go down the road they’re advertising. We’re doing monument signs for customers that are major structures out in front of their business that helps their business be seen, and you know, that’s what gives me energy is helping other customers be seen and be successful,” he added.

Looking ahead, Martin plans to continue leveraging the Florida SBDC at USF’s expertise, especially when it comes to using his capital strategically for business growth. “As a business owner, you get to a point of, I’m limited by whatever external factors, and capital is one of those. And working with Florida SBDC at USF is helping me get to that next level of my business and growth in the industry,” he said.

When asked what he would say to other small business owners about the Florida SBDC at USF, the passionate business owner responded, “I talk about Florida SBDC at USF all the time to my peers.” Offering a word of advice to others, he concluded, “It is a free service that you cannot believe is free because of all the guidance, both from a business perspective, a community perspective, a growth perspective. Use them. There’s no reason you shouldn’t use them.”