Small Business All-Stars: Fleet Clean USA
Finances are often one of the biggest challenges in starting a small business. That’s why Associated Bank and the Brewers Community Foundation provided a grant to help veteran Patrick Doll get Fleet Clean USA, a mobile truck washing service off the ground. Learn more about Fleet Clean USA.
Patrick Doll and his wife always dreamed of starting their own small business. They wanted something to call their own and a way to determine their own future.
“The COVID-19 pandemic really made it clear that it was something we were serious about and gave us the time together to plan and make it a reality,” says Patrick.
As a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Patrick has a background in handling heavy equipment, and he spent several years working in management positions after graduating from college. “I wanted to get back to getting my hands dirty and working in a business that didn’t require sitting at a desk all day,” he says.
Today, they own and operate Fleet Clean USA, a Madison-based franchise that provides mobile truck washing services to companies with fleets of any size. They were drawn to mobile truck washing because it was an underserved market in the Madison and Milwaukee areas.
Fleet Clean provides services 24/7 with crews available to wash vehicles on the customers’ lots. This allows customers to save money by not paying an employee to wait in line at a truck wash or have employees wash the fleet vehicles. Fleet Clean is also environmentally conscious, using all EPA-approved, biodegradable chemicals. Additionally, the company reclaims all of its wastewater and puts it through a five-step filtration system.
Of course, starting a small business can be challenging. “Our biggest barrier was finding the financing and planning for the new business while working full-time jobs and with three kids,” says Patrick. “We focused on one thing at a time to get to the finish line. Creating time to work on the business plan and financial projections was necessary to get where we wanted to be, and it was not always easy.”
After connecting with the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC), Fleet Clean received a $5,000 grant from Associated Bank and the Brewers Community Foundation to help get the business off the ground.
“We used that money for equipment and to pay our employees,” says Patrick. “The grant has helped us grow by providing advertising and reaching customers that we otherwise wouldn’t have. Thank you to Associated Bank and the Brewers Community Foundation for supporting veteran-owned small businesses.”
Learn more about how Associated Bank and Brewers Foundation provided $100K to Wisconsin Women’s business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC) to support our communities’ minority-, women-, and veteran-owned businesses.
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