By Libby Hopkins
Owning their own business has been always been a dream for Jim and Elaine Trotter of Tampa. The couple met while attending the University of North Carolina and has been married for 31 years. They have called Florida home for more than 14 years.
“Jim worked in the corporate world for 20 years and we have lived in many cities, so when another transition was looming, we realized we did not want to leave the Tampa area,” Elaine said. “Owning a small business was always a dream of ours, so we took about a year of due diligence and found Budget Blinds to be a great fit for our goals and lifestyle.”
They purchased Budget Blinds of Greater Tampa in October 2008. Locally, Budget Blinds has served over 12,000 customers in the greater Tampa area for over 20 years.
“We wanted to invest in the local community by growing a team of dedicated employees who feel the way we do, which is to give great service at a great value, offer continued support and give back to the community who supports us,” Elaine said.
The couple donates locally to Habitat for Humanity, Metropolitan Ministries, the Pediatric Cancer Foundation, Prelude to a Cure for lung cancer research and in 2015 they partnered with Homes For Our Troops.
“Budget Blinds Corporate and partners have pledged to give $1 million over three years in products and services to Homes For Our Troops,” Elaine said. “Jim and I also wanted to contribute since several of the Homes For Our Troops have been awarded in our area and a new home has been awarded and will be built in the coming year in Valrico. We started a campaign last year to contribute to Homes For Our Troops $1 for every window covered and we are so pleased to announce our team contributed $13,000 in 2015.” They are continuing the campaign in 2016 and cannot wait to see what they will be donating to the local area.
The Trotter’s latest business venture is opening a new Budget Blinds location in Riverview.
“We are excited for the new opportunity to service our East Hillsborough customers with a more convenient location to see our shutters, blinds and fabrics,” Elaine said.
To learn more, visit www.budgetblinds.com/Brandon or call 445-7121. Budget Blinds is located at 10437 Gibsonton Dr. in Riverview. Showroom hours are Monday through Friday 10 a.m.–5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
