- April 24, 2024
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Bedtops owner Gary Lemay, left, and BAC consultant Mike Oppenheim worked together to plan a successful opening for Palm Coast’s new Bedtops Mattress Clearance Center. Photo courtesy of Florida SBDC
Del Hydrick and Jerry Unger. Photo by Jaci Centofanti
Judy and Gary Lemay recently moved to Palm Coast and launched a new business at the same time: Bedtops Mattress Clearance Center. And while they had their difficulties, their business is springing to life, thanks in part to the city of Palm Coast Business Assistance Center.
The Lemays had a clear starting point: Bedtops Mattress Clearance Center sells new, name-brand mattresses. But they had a lot of questions.
"We didn't know the market. We didn't know what location to pick. We didn't know if we'd get a warehouse," Gary Lemay said in a press release. The Lemays went to the BAC and found Mike Oppenheim, a consultant with the Florida Small Business Development Center, operated in conjunction with the University of Central Florida.
The Florida SBDC offers entrepreneurs and business owners expert, no-cost consulting, business training workshops and seminars and access to major market research database resources.
"At the beginning, I'm not sure how fast we would have moved," Judy Lemay said. "We were pretty sure we could be successful. But after we met with Mike Oppenheim, we said, 'We can do this. We can make this happen.' And so we did."
The FSBDC provided the Lemays with the outline for how to open their business in Palm Coast, including help with tax information and other data and real estate considerations.
"As an entrepreneur, when you get excited about your business, sometimes you can be tempted to spend money too fast," Gary Lemay said. "You want to do this. You want to do that. You see opportunities everywhere. That's where the FSBDC came in. We were fortunate to have Mike advising us because he would get our feet back on the ground and help us take things one step at a time."
Visit the the Lemays' store at 19 Hargrove Grade, Suite 2, or call 627-4188. Contact the BAC at 986-2499 or visit bac.palmcoastgov.com.
Other business news this week:
Jerry Unger is back in the automotive industry and working side-by-side with his long-time friend and former co-worker Del Hydrick at Del's Garage.
To schedule an appointment at Del's Garage, 2700 E. Moody Blvd., Bunnell, call 313-5997.
If your business is hiring, don't miss this opportunity to get a free table at the Flagler County Job Fair. The event will be held 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, March 3, at Daytona State College's Flagler Campus.
Employers must be actively seeking to fill at least one non-commission based position. If you have questions, contact Katrina Austin at 313-4070.
Alec Manfre, Flagler Palm Coast High School alumnus and son of former Sheriff Jim Manfre, was recognized by Energy Manager Today this week. Alec is CEO of Texas-based Bractlet, a provider of a software-as-a-service energy analytics platform powered by simulation models, and the company earned the Top Product of the Year Award. A year ago, Alec was among Forbes' 30 Under 30 in the energy category.
The 7-Eleven gas station and convenience store in front of Beach Village on State Road 100 isn 100% complete as of Jan. 30, according to the city of Palm Coast’s Week in Review.
Also highlighted in the WIR report: Tuscan Garden at Palm Coast is 2% complete; Protea Senior Living/Sable Palms 40%, and Dunkin Donut/Basking Robbins rebuild (the originally building on Palm Coast Parkway burned down last July) is 25% done.
The city of Palm Coast issued 16 permits for single-family residences last week. The most expensive was for a $400,000 home by Intervest Construction at 5 Turkey Oak Lane.
Also, D.R. Horton is building four homes on Coopers Hawk Court and another on Coopers Hawk Drive.
Pioneer Title Services is expanding to another office, according to Manager and licensed Title Agent Michelle Heiser. The new branch location is at 6 Meridian Home Lane, the building known as the Hammock Professional Plaza. Call 447-7716
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