Students Driving Force behind New Valet Company

The assignment was to write a business plan. That’s easy enough for a group of bright and motivated University of Evansville business majors. “But as we were surveying potential clients in and around Evansville, we realized we’d better kick it into high gear,” said Earl Peterlin, a sophomore from Palm Beach, Florida.

Peterlin, Nick Prout, Alex Kopko, and Kyle Reddington make up Evansville’s first automobile valet service. “Businesses asked us to expedite the process,” said Peterlin. “It’s as if they were just waiting for us to contact them.”

“I worked as a valet for a company in Indianapolis while I was in high school,” said Kopko. The 20 year old from Greenwood did some research and discovered a void in Evansville. Kopko called the Petroleum Club and representatives there jumped on the idea. “They wanted us to provide services for them as soon as possible.” Edgewater Grille and 3 Market Street restaurants in Newburgh also wanted valet service. It became apparent the Evansville area was ready for valet parking.

The students contacted the Southwestern Indiana Small Business Development Center for advice. Counselors helped the students with all the start up issues, as well as with marketing and a business plan. Tri State Valet then became a member of the Metropolitan Evansville Chamber of Commerce and began networking at events. The students were trained by professional valets from Indianapolis and are fully insured. “It’s overwhelming,” said Nick Prout, a 19 year old sophomore from Vincennes. “After all, we still need to keep up with our class load while running our business.”

Peterlin is a six year military vet and serves in the National Guard. Prout, Kopko and Reddington are on the UE golf team. In fact, Reddington is the reigning Evansville city champ. “I want to be a well-rounded student athlete,” said Reddington. “But it could be difficult to balance this.”

Fortunately, the busiest time for Tri State Valet is during the holidays, just in time for semester break. The students have booked several holiday events and are now looking ahead to wedding season. “Valet service is not just an issue of luxury or convenience,” said Kopko. “It’s also a safety issue. Nobody should have to walk on ice or through rain to attend an event.”

The young men are all students in Dr. Peter Sherman’s second year business class. Every student is required to start a business. Most are small. One group, for instance, has a gumball machine on campus. “I wanted to start a valet company anyway,” said Kopko. This class just gave us a jump start.

Photo caption: Earl Peterlin, Alex Kopko, Kyle Reddington and Nick Prout discuss their Tri State Valet business plan with SBDC counselor Ann Moore