The Heart Of The Entrepreneur: Martinek & Flynn
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Martinek and Flynn is an exterior home remodeling business, specializing in siding.
The owners, Darrell Martinek and Rick Flynn, are proud of a business built on a “family that works together stays together” model, which started with Darrell’s father and uncle in 1957. Since then, so many members of the family have worked for the company it may be hard to count. At quick glance, there are the first brothers, Clarence and Steve, their kids Craig, Darrell, Cindy, Mark, Dan and Debbie; Debbie’s husband, Rick, Craig’s wife, Francine, and Mark’s wife, (another Cindy). Next, comes Mark’s two sons, Brett and Cody, Darrell’s son, Adam and Craig’s grandson, Joshua, and those are just the ones in the immediate family. There are also long time employees, like Steve Starnes, Tony Haynes, Chuck Delfelder, Steve Simon, Bill Copen, Fergal O'Donovan, Clint Dalsing and Tracy Smith, all who have more than 20 years tenure, making them pretty much feel like family.
“Some people can’t believe it that we can work with our family. We hear that quite a bit that what we’ve done is really unusual for four generations, and that we all still get along,” Rick Flynn said.
TWO BROTHERS AND A GARAGE The company started when brothers Clarence and Steve Martinek, who had worked in remodeling for a number of years, decided to go out on their own by installing siding. They ran the business out of their garage for the first 27 years. In 1991, Clarence’s sons, Darrell and Mark, and sonin-law, Rick, joined forces with Steve’s son, Craig, to run the business so their fathers could retire.
The four incorporated the business and opened up a showroom at 118 Roby Place, where they have been ever since. They have added windows, doors, awning, gutters and patio rooms to their product offerings through the years, but their main showpiece is their ability to “get ‘er done” on a home siding remodel.
“We do it in a day,” Darrell Martinek said. “You start out in the morning and the house looks one way. It looks completely different at the end of the day. The way we do it is really unusual.”
Darrell credits his brother Mark (who passed away about five years ago) with the model. Mark was very organized and made sure every truck was geared the same. Long before all the home remodel shows made quick makeovers seem possible, Mark realized customers liked a job to get done as soon as possible. It is also good advertising.
“The neighbors come over and compliment them, and their neighbors get excited too. That brings a lot of satisfaction when you see them really happy like that,” Darrell Martinek said.
Martinek & Flynn Group
FAMILY WORKS AT WORK Debbie Flynn says the business works because they are always looking out for each other. She began working there after a career at Bell Telephone. The company needed help after three siblings, Cindy, Mark and Dan all passed away within a year of each other.
“That was pretty hard. That’s when I came to work here. It’s pretty important for us to have family working in there. There’s a lot of trust to get things done,” Debbie Flynn said.
Rick explains that working with the customers to make their vision come true is what everyone in the family enjoys. It was what they had in mind when they expanded beyond siding.
“We saw a good opportunity with these products and took it a step further than what it was,” Rick Flynn said. “We really believe in the products we’re selling and we really want to bring that to the homeowners and that’s part of the reason we’re successful. We really care about making a difference for the customer.”
Darrell explains they take the time to work closely with their crews and have fun. They use all of their own people on a work site, rather than subcontracting out the work. They bring lunch out to the job site so everyone working together can also have lunch together.
“We just want something good for everybody. Everybody has their specialty running the business. Everyone has their niche,” Debbie Flynn said.
