SPEDA mini-grant helped purchase technology for rental car company to serve customers anywhere, anytime

Editor’s note: This is the final in a series of profile pieces about the 2024 Somerset-Pulaski Economic Development Authority (SPEDA) mini-grant recipients. SPEDA awards four $2,500 mini-grants annually to businesses with plans to innovate and expand their operations.

The idea for Drive 365 Rent A Car was born from, as luck may have it, a car accident.

Co-owner Bruce Ping had recently been in one and found it challenging to find a rental car in Pulaski County. Ping also worked for a local dealership experiencing similar difficulty fulfilling rental car needs for customers. As the saying goes, where there is a will, there is a way — so Ping called a friend with a proposal.

“Bruce called me one day out of the blue and asked if I wanted to start a rental car company,” said co-owner Jamie Woodall. “We saw a potential need for another rental company in Somerset. The more we talked to people, we learned this could be a viable business that gives the community another option in Somerset, something this community had not had for 30 years.”

And so, in February, Drive 365 Rent A Car opened a location on Monticello Street with 27 cars in its fleet. It wasn’t long before 27 cars were not enough. Today, Drive 365 has more than 60 vehicles in its fleet, has hired its first employee, and opened a satellite office in London with plans to open a permanent location soon. Ping and Woodall learned quickly they were right — the demand is there.

But they also learned there was a need to serve customers in other ways outside of the Monticello Street location. For those who may have had an auto accident or are experiencing mechanical issues, getting to Drive 365 could prove challenging. So Ping and Woodall applied for and received a Somerset-Pulaski Economic Development Authority (SPEDA) mini-grant to purchase three iPad devices that would provide customers with convenient service wherever and however it benefits them.

“While we offer pickup service for our customers, the iPads have helped us to rent vehicles remotely,” Woodall explained. “We can deliver to local businesses and homes, and even to surrounding counties when possible, for customers who might not be able to come into the office to pick up the vehicle due to an accident or whatever the case may be. Our goal is to make the rental process as easy as possible.”

Though there are times when coming into the office is a must for a customer, this remote service option has significant growth potential, and that is what excites Ping and Woodall the most. Remote rentals have reached the hundreds, Woodall said, and “we think this could take off in other cities across the state.”

Just how fast it is taking off has surprised Ping and Woodall, especially considering Drive 365’s growth has been solely from word of mouth. They plan to begin marketing in the Somerset-Pulaski County area soon.

“Every day, we hear, ‘We had no idea you were here,’” Woodall said. “There is much room for further growth right here in Somerset.”

Woodall said he is grateful to the SPEDA organization for offering a program that provides capital to help small businesses start new initiatives that can spur growth, just as the iPads have done for Drive 365.

“They are helping to ensure that local businesses in our city are flourishing and becoming a necessity in our community,” Woodall said. “Without this option, some businesses may not grow to the potential that they have without the help of these mini-grants.”

No matter how fast Drive 365 grows, Woodall said he and Ping strive to maintain a customer-first focus for this much-needed service in the community.

“Bruce and I come from customer-service-driven business backgrounds,” Woodall said. “Our goal is to provide the best and most genuine customer service possible. We feel like customer service has been forgotten in businesses today. We want that to be our No. 1 focus with every customer we meet. We want to make the rental process as smooth and easy as possible.”

To learn more about Drive 365 Rent A Car, call 606-451-3026 or visit https://drive365rentacar.com/ or follow @Drive365RentACarKY on Facebook.