Developer finds other business plentiful

Rob Morris, a real estate developer behind a stalled $100 million condo project just south of downtown Sarasota, knew he had to find work somewhere when the bubble burst.

“I didn't make $10 million in the boom,” says Morris, “so I can't just sit back.”

But even the optimistic Morris is pleasantly surprised by the early results of his startup venture. His new company is Sarasota-based Certified Fleet Services, a mobile vehicle repair and maintenance firm. The focus is to do business-to-business work on the trucks and cars that make up the fleets of local businesses.

The company, affiliated with Atlanta-based Fleet Services International, has clearly found a local nerve. Morris has already signed up nearly 50 customers since he officially launched the business in June. The clients, from landscaping services to material supply firms, have between three and 15 vehicles for Certified Fleet's technicians to work on.

“This was not an opportune time to start a business,” Morris tells Coffee Talk, “but we are growing.”

Of course, Morris can't say the same for the Ramar Group, a Sarasota-based development firm founded by Morris' father in 1972. The younger Morris has worked in the family business for years, but work has been a relative term since the condo market dried up.

One of the company's most recent projects, Phillippi Landings, is in hibernation, says Morris, to wait out the downturn. About 100 of a planned 180 luxury condos have been sold so far at Phillippi Landings, a few miles south of downtown Sarasota. The remaining condos haven't been built yet.

Nonetheless, earlier this year Morris decided not to wait out the market while he passed up other business opportunities. He considered a franchise, but balked at the high startup costs and potential sacrifices of intellectual property. He instead went with Fleet Services International, which provides limited assistance to startups, but isn't a franchise.

Morris started with one outside sales person and one mechanic and he now seeks to add another sales person and another mechanic. Morris runs a small garage for more complicated work, but he prefers to bring the maintenance to the clients.

“The potential for this business is huge,” says Morris. “The need for this is ubiquitous.”