Tarpon Springs Tattoo Co. of Pinellas County
Lisa Adams, owner of Tarpon Springs Tattoo Co., started her business in Tarpon Springs in 2021. Matt Pack, senior artist and manager of the shop, says the town of Tarpon Springs has a lot to offer their unique business.
“It has well-traveled, versatile people,” he said. “So, this is a diverse place that compliments all of our styles.”
Shortly after launching the business, Adams reached out to the Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Pinellas County Economic Development (PCED) for business assistance.
“The reason I reached out to the SBDC was mainly because this is a different kind of business and I wanted to – not having that experience of running a business this large – I wanted to get the best knowledge that I could,” she said.
She was initially connected with business consultant Debra Schweikowsky. Later, she was also introduced to Kurt Forster, also a business consultant at the center. The duo provided start-up assistance, as well as marketing and financial management guidance to Adams and Pack.
Adams said the guidance from the Florida SBDC at PCED duo has allowed her to, “be more secure in our decisions in running a business and where we want to go with it.”
Pack added, “Working with the SBDC has been comforting and intuitive to our business.”
“Within our first year, our quarters have grown each quarter. We are definitely a good-sized shop in this county. We do more overhead as far as walk-in basis and custom art on a day-to-day basis.”
Tarpon Springs Tattoo Company has a staff of five full-time artists now, with a consistent book of business.
Moving forward, Adams says she intends to continue utilizing the no-cost resource for future endeavors. “We would like to understand the marketing better, and get better at that, as well as financial planning and being able to manage that as well as the day-to-day processes of running a business,” she said.”
She also encourages other business owners to take advantage of the local resource, noting that, “it is very helpful, it’s free, and there are so many things out there in trying to run a business that we all need help with and they are there to help us to do that.”
