Amber Murray hates stopping for gas. So in 2021, she started a small business based on the notion that other drivers must hate it too.
For a membership fee, her South Carolina-based company, Fuel Flo, will come to your home or office to top off your tank.
On Friday, after years of servicing South Carolina customers in Charleston, Orangeburg and St. George, Murray brought her business to the Charlotte market, where she had previously offered pop-up service.
Murray, who grew up in St. George, said the idea came to her after her car ran out of gas on a busy interstate in Atlanta.
“We make sure that doesn’t happen to you,” she said, recalling how a family member came to her rescue.
That same day, Murray began asking friends and family what they thought of her business idea.
“They were like, ‘How does that work?’ And I’m like, ‘When I figure it out, I’ll let you all know.’”
From there, Murray began getting Fuel Flo off the ground, which she said wasn’t easy. “I’ve had so many roadblocks,” she said. In addition to getting her delivery truck registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles, she also had to get a commercial driver’s license and hazmat tanker endorsement to transport fuel
Murray said it took two years for Fuel Flo to officially launch. Much of that time she spent looking for a business lender. “It’s a brand new concept,” she said. “No one has done this, at least in the area that I’m in.”
Murray said she spoke with numerous lenders before the South Carolina Community Loan Fund said yes. “They believed in my dream,” she said.
Fuel Flo’s staff consists primarily of Murray and her parents.
Fuel Flo delivers monthly or weekly, depending on customer preference. A monthly plan costs $60, and weekly plans are $17. Neither includes fuel costs, and each covers up to three vehicles at the same address. Her truck delivers two grades of gas — regular and premium.
“You don’t have to come outside,” Murray said.” You don’t have to talk to us ever. We just came to drop the fuel off. You just need to make sure that your tanks are open.”
Murray said some customers do come out to talk, however.
“When they see you, they’re so happy they didn’t have to do that,” she said.
Fuel Flo does not cover emergency fueling; Murray said the subscription model aims to prevent customers from being in that situation. Before a scheduled delivery, Fuel Flo sends a text message to confirm the services, which a customer can skip.
Murray describes herself as “a small-town girl … who just had a big dream,” and Fuel Flo was not her first venture into entrepreneurship. She previously ran a construction business, Murray Construction Cleaning. “It was very successful and also very stressful,” she said.
Murray said she used earnings from that business to help launch Fuel Flo.
Murray graduated with a degree in accounting and a minor in Spanish from the University of South Carolina Upstate. “This is far from what I actually went to school for,” she said. She also worked in the corporate real estate field before deciding to do her own thing.
“I hated getting gas, so I figured I would make this an adventure,” she said.
