Archive for category: Success Stories

Auntie PJ’s Philadelphia Water Ice

When Priscilla Jackson moved to the Bay area, she fell in love with the sunny skies and warm weather Florida offers. However, she quickly realized a few things were missing from the Bay area that left her homesick for the Northeast.

Not having water ice in the Tampa Bay area was the catalyst that led to Jackson taking matters into her own hands and bringing a taste of Philly to the Tampa Bay area.

“I moved here from Philadelphia in 2016 and I realized I couldn’t find anything close to the frozen, iconic treat that I’m used to having in Philadelphia called water ice,” Jackson said. “Florida isn’t familiar with the name water ice because they’re used to shaved ice or snow cones. Water ice is between a slushy and Italian ice. However, water ice is creamier and has a different consistency, and the different flavors make it simply scrumptious.  So, I decided to look into doing my own business.”

Although Jackson was confident her community would love this unique treat, she knew she would need some guidance in starting the business. “The initial problem I had was to refresh my knowledge in writing a business plan and the different facets of doing business finances. So, I reached out to the Florida SBDC at USF,” Jackson said. “From there, I was introduced to my consultant Simplice Essou.”

Jackson is grateful to have seen substantial growth within various areas of Auntie PJ’s Philadelphia Water Ice, since being introduced to her consultant.

“My business has grown with the knowledge and advice received from Florida SBDC at USF,” she said.  “I remember Simplice saying how important social media and marketing will be beneficial for my business and gave great suggestions in ways of making it happen. One of the important things he reminded me of was the time when it would be necessary to make price adjustments for my product. He gave me key points about when and how the water ice prices should be adjusted while keeping in mind that you will always have business expenses to consider.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jackson experienced troubling times for her business and is glad to have had the financial guidance of the Florida SBDC at USF to help her through. “COVID-19 affected my business in ways of me not getting business contracts with corporations,” she said. “Because some corporations were/are still working on a hybrid schedule with their employees, they’ve stopped the food and dessert trucks from coming to their sites.  That’s had a heavy impact financially on my business.”

Although COVID-19 slowed her progress initially, Jackson looks forward to continuing the relationship with Essou and the Florida SBDC at USF when she starts expanding her business.  “The Florida SBDC at USF has done a lot for me from the business plan to the financial projections; just everything you need to know about a business, to starting up a business,” she said.  “In the future, I will continue with the Florida SBDC at USF to see how to grow my business even more, branch out, and have more than one food truck in Florida.  My vision is to share Philadelphia water ice throughout the state of Florida and be able to hire people and extend my mobile business.”

“My consultant Simplice Essou has excellent customer service and communication skills and is very patient and knowledgeable.  I love that he listens to you and wants to hear your point of view,” she said.  “It makes a significant difference when your consultant can listen and see your vision with you and will challenge your point of view to generate the best results possible.”

Valhalla Resale of Pinellas County

In 2017, Danielle Ferrari, owner of Valhalla Resale in Tampa, launched her clothing membership and resale shop. Ferrari had always had a love for the fashion industry, but she noticed the incredibly wasteful way that people consume clothing. She also became interested in the share economy and saw that there was a great synergy between sharing and clothes. Her business idea was not only a passion of hers, but something that could change the fashion world.

After experiencing success with her initial location in Tampa, Ferrari decided it was time to launch a second location. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, stalling her plans to open a second location in St. Petersburg.

“Our sales went totally down, but surprisingly, our membership stayed the same,” Ferrari said. “Our retention stayed the same. It actually increased and we were able to ride out most of COVID-19 with our membership. And then, when the vaccines became widely available to everyone, our sales started to bounce back. That’s when around that time I realized I would be able to open a second location.”

Ferrari wanted to open her second location but she wanted to make sure it was the right decision. She wanted someone outside of her circle to look over her business plan and be honest with her. After initially working with the Florida SBDC at University of South Florida to open her first location, she decided to seek the advice of their consultants again.

While working with capital access specialist, Bill Burnham, Ferrari was reassured that her plan was viable and she was ready for the expansion. Burnham helped guide her through business decisions such as choosing bank loans, making marketing ideas come to life, and expanding membership.

Through the years, Ferrari has used the Florida SBDC at USF for everything from capital access to marketing and disaster recovery assistance.

“I started working with the SBDC before I even launched my business,” she said. “It helped me with some marketing ideas. It helped me decide whether a bank loan was the right move at the time to expand. It’s help me go from zero to where I am now with not only one location but two locations.

Throughout her growth, Ferrari realizes the importance of having an impartial advisor outside of the business to bounce ideas off.

“I recommend the SBDC to every business owner that I know,” she said. “It’s really important to have someone outside of your peer group that is there to cheer you on. You really need someone who cares about your business to tell you what’s going to work and what’s not going to work and understand your business really intimately and give you advice from there.”

Dancing on the Suncoast of Manatee County

Cyntia Johnson, a seasoned dance instructor and wife of a world-renowned dancer and judge, launched the couple’s final dance studio in Lakewood Ranch approximately 10 years ago. Dancing on the Suncoast offers private lessons and classes for ballroom and partner dancing to the local community.

Johnson and her husband, Patrick, danced throughout their youth and had open several dance studios throughout their career; however, the COVID-19 pandemic brought on some struggles that caused Johnson to seek help in handling getting through the U.S. Small Business Administration loan process and surviving the pandemic financially.

Johnson searched for help and found the Florida SBDC at University of South Florida and business consultant Greg Manning.

“Since I’ve been working with the Florida SBDC at USF, it’s kept my doors open,” Johnson said. “Without the loan, I could not do anything because our clientele was cut to basically a couple of students that were brave enough to come out and have some lessons. If it wasn’t for them, I would be closed.”

With Manning’s assistance, Johnson was able to get approved for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) via the SBA, keeping the business alive with less students. “The Florida SBDC at USF helped me get the loan, a loan I could not have done all of the work that needed to be done to apply,” she said. “Without their help, I couldn’t have done it.”

Dancing on the Suncoast is still feeling the effects of COVID-19, with some still wary about taking part in such a close contact activity, but Johnson and her team make every effort to sanitize and follow health protocol to keep the studio a safe and comfortable place for new and returning clients.

Johnson continues to grow and provide dance lessons in the Lakewood Ranch area, and she plans to continue in partnership with the Florida SBDC at USF.

“I would like to use the Florida SBDC at USF to help me keep moving forward with any problem I have,” Johnson said. “Now, I know you guys exist, so I’m going to contact you and say, ‘Hey, can you do this? How can you help me with this, or can you help me with that?’ and then go from there.”

She also encourages other small business owners to take advantage of the no-cost resources as well.

“They can help out quite a bit with different things that you don’t even know that they can,” she said.

North Star Fine Jewelry of Sarasota County

When COVID-19 hit in 2020, Susan North decided to stop and take a good look at her life. She asked herself if she was living out her lifelong dreams, and if she wasn’t, how could she start turning them into reality? After living in Arkansas for 20 years, North and her husband decided to move to the Sarasota area, but that’s not the only big change she decided to make.

“It was during COVID, when my husband and I decided to play a game,” North said. “We asked ourselves if we could be anywhere in the world, doing anything we wanted to be doing, where would we be and what would that look like? We knew that we wanted to end up living in Sarasota eventually, so we just kind of expedited things. I decided my dream come true would be to own a fine jewelry and gift boutique in downtown Sarasota. So, I actually went online to Google, “jewelry stores for sale in Sarasota,” and there was one! So, I took that as my sign and it became the first step in my journey.”

North began putting the pieces of her dream business together. That’s when she created North Star Fine Jewelry and Gift Boutique, a unique destination for the luxury buyer that sells one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces, as well as lovely gift accessories. However, because North was new to the area and wished to network with local Sarasota businesses, she began to seek guidance. That’s when she got connected with the Florida SBDC at University of South Florida.

“Having a dream is just a starting point. Turning the dream into reality is a whole other story,” North said. “My husband and I spent the last 20 years in Arkansas, where I was an IHOP franchisee for most of that time. This was an ultimate “pivot” move and big change of careers for me. I didn’t have the necessary relationships established yet in Florida.  I was fortunate enough to connect with Scott from the SBDC, who referred me to Brad Owens, who became both my mentor and biggest cheerleader.

Scott Carpenter is the Florida SBDC at USF’s business consultant based in Sarasota County, while Owens is a capital access specialist based in the Tampa office. North said she feels as though she has received an unmeasurable amount of guidance and support and has successfully leveraged that support to build her business.

“One of the best tools that Scott and Brad introduced me to was the LivePlan,” she said. “It really became the blueprint of my business. The LivePlan provides a basic outline of expenses and services that need to be itemized on your P&L during the development process and more importantly after the doors open for business. Completing proper due diligence is crucial to your business’s financial success. Brad was able to introduce me to a number of local banks here in Florida and advise me how to best approach them, increasing my odds to secure the funds needed.”

North credits the pandemic for encouraging her to jumpstart her ambitions of building her dream boutique. However, she learned quickly that securing a loan for a retail brick and mortar in the jewelry industry, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, wasn’t the ideal situation.

“Brad’s expertise and knowledge of negotiating with bank lenders and navigating the SBA loan process was instrumental in overcoming the many obstacles I was confronted with,” she said. North is grateful for the help of her consultants at the Florida SBDC at USF.

“During COVID-19, banks were not as generous or giving as many bank loans, especially to new businesses; someone like myself who has only been in the jewelry business for a few years,” North said. “Brad at the SBDC at USF helped me translate how my previous years in the restaurant industry prepared me for this new endeavor.  His constant encouragement enabled me to remain focus even on the days that I was frustrated and feeling really challenged. He took the time to get to know me and understand what I was about. He believed in me. When I got my bank loan approved, one of the first people I called was Brad at the Florida SBDC at USF. It was great to share the news with him. We had made it over the finish line together!”

Moving forward, North is excited to see where the future of her business takes her, and she plans to have the Florida SBDC at USF by her side every step of the way.

“There’s a lot of marketing opportunities, things I’m still learning about, especially social media,” she said. “What’s great about having access to a facility like the Florida SBDC at USF is that there are always solutions and answers to our questions. All we need to do is reach out. I know that if I have any questions at all, all I need to do is pick up the phone, call Brad, and we will get connected with each other.”

Baymar Solutions LLC of Pasco County

An engineer by trade, Andrew McCutchen saw a need in the medical device industry. He decided to use his skills to create Baymar Solutions, a company that specializes in technical services and contract manufacturing. Baymar works largely with medical device manufacturers, providing

engineering and scientific services to its customers.

McCutchen had the plans mapped out for his business, but without a background in financing or marketing, he knew he needed outside assistance for expansion. Ultimately, his goal was global exportation. That’s when his research led him to the Florida SBDC at University of South Florida.

McCutchen was connected with international trade specialist Selma Canas, based in the Tampa office.

“My business has grown quite a bit over the last several years,” McCutchen said. “Since working with the Florida SBDC at USF on the export marketing plan, it’s grown even more. We’ve developed a great partnership with a company in Germany that’s in a similar line of business that’s going to help us grow in Europe quite a bit.”

Using the export marketing plan, McCutchen found that Germany was a great location to start with in Europe for medical devices and diagnostics. Export marketing plan services are provided in partnership with Enterprise Florida.

“We went on a trade mission with Pasco EDC on a Gold Key event,” said McCutchen, “and we were able to meet with several companies.” The Gold Key Service provides businesses traveling into foreign markets the opportunity to meet with up to five pre-screened interested partners.

For most businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic brought trials and tribulations, but ultimately, the pandemic was a time for Baymar to expand.

“In the beginning of COVID-19, there was all kinds of uncertainty for everybody,” McCutchen said. “That’s partly why we engaged with the Florida SBDC at USF and worked to go global to expand our market. It was a really big unknown. In the end, we grew significantly through COVID-19 because most of our customers are diagnostic companies, so they developed test kits and things like that.”

McCutchen is looking forward to continuing the relationship created with consultant Canas and the Florida SBDC at USF.

“As we continue to grow and run into new challenges,” McCutchen said, “we will go to the Florida SBDC at USF to understand how to best attack those new challenges and make sure we are optimizing every part of the business. They have added a lot of value to help us grow the business and make it stronger.”