Mobile Detailing Business Driven to Success
Detail Depot of Pinellas County
Douglas Martyn, the owner of Detail Depot in Clearwater, began his business 15 years ago, detailing cars, boats, RVs and anything else that moves. He chose to launch the business in hopes of giving Clearwater a great service with great pricing, all because of an encounter 15 years ago with another small business giving him a great opportunity.
Although he was confident in the service part of his business, he found he needed help structuring the business in terms of budgeting, advertising, and other areas. He reached out to the Florida Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) at Pinellas County Economic Development in 2013 and has been working with them ever since.
Procurement specialist Yolonda Cowart was paired with Martyn and was able to provide procurement technical assistance, and advice on business planning, business expansion, marketing mix, and employee retention. This guidance helped the business secure multiple commercial contracts. Detail Depot now cleans and sanitizes transportation vans for hospitals. These vans are used to transport staff from the parking lot to the hospitals. Martyn also secured a boat detailing agreement with two local marinas.
“My business has grown significantly since working with PTAC of Pinellas County,” Martyn said. “They’ve really given me the tools and everything I need to grow this business, hire more employees, and really just grow within the community.”
To offset the effects of COVID-19 during the first few months of the pandemic, Martyn brought in a new product line approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for cleaning. “We brought that line in, and we’ve been fighting COVID since, and keeping our customers safe from infection and just supplying a great service for the county,” he said.
Cowart also assisted Martyn through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and the Pinellas County CARES grant process, helping him to secure additional monies to keep the business running and his employees paid during the pandemic.
Martyn is still pursuing government contracting and growth in his business as he has been attending reverse trade shows hosted by the Florida PTAC at PCED. He believes this is the year where his business with gain more success thanks to the continued assistance of the Florida PTAC at PCED.
“They are such a great tool helping you start your business, giving you guidance, helping you with reverse trade shows, and making contacts,” he said. “It’s just another tool in your shed to grow your business and grow it efficiently with some really good companies that they work with.”
