Archive for category: Success Stories

Daydreamers Café and Grill of Pinellas County

Chris Wicks spent 34 years in corporate restaurant leadership before deciding that he wanted to take a step back from the corporate world. Five years ago he decided to semi-retire and open a restaurant of his own in Safety Harbor. Daydreamers Café and Grill is a unique breakfast and lunch eatery open Wednesday through Sunday each week.

“Food and serving guests is my passion,” he said. “It’s where my love is and where my heart is. So, you’ve got to live your dream as they say, hence, the name, Daydreamers Café and Grill.”

Although Wicks had spent much of his life in corporate restaurant leadership roles, Wicks found the Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Pinellas County Economic Development (PCED) to be a helpful resource in navigating his business plan, marketing demographics and social media, and financing. He was paired with Kurt Forster, a business consultant specializing in marketing and strategic planning.

Since working together, Wicks has seen consistent growth throughout the years, including being able to weather the storm and aftereffects of COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021.

“Consistently, trying to maintain a good product, great service, and deliver what the guests are expecting, even amongst those times of COVID-19, was uniquely challenging,” Wicks said of the pandemic. “The social media insight that we were receiving from the SBDC was tremendously helpful and it helped us get through that time.”

Wicks added that the pandemic gave him a unique opportunity to work with the City of Safety Harbor to “really get creative with outside dining.”

Throughout his engagement with the Florida SBDC at PCED, Wicks has gotten guidance in areas from marketing to finance, and even what menu items might work best in the community.

Now, Wicks is considering adding a second location to the mix, and he looks forward to having the Florida SBDC at PCED as a resource throughout the process.

“I will always be reaching out and tapping on Kurt’s shoulder for updates and insights,” he said.

He also encourages other small business owners to utilize the Florida SBDC at PCED to help their businesses grow and succeed.

“Get some historical data of other businesses that may have already tried to venture into what you’re going into,” he said. “Learn from other people’s successes. Learn from other people’s mistakes but reach out to the SBDC to get that information and use them as a resource.”

 

 

Jackson Sawyer LLC of Hillsborough County

Aidan Lilienthal, a current senior at University of South Florida Muma College of Business, started taking steps late in his freshman year of college to build what is now a successful online clothing store. Growing up, Lilienthal always had an affinity towards design, style, and fashion, and while he was studying in lectures, he dreamed of being an entrepreneur.

He then realized that he didn’t have to wait until graduation to build this dream.

However, Lilienthal needed more than just his skills in design, and this led him to reach out to the Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at University of South Florida (USF). He was able to work with several consultants on various aspects of growing his business.

“I’ve worked with Christine Jaros, who helped me initially with the back end set up of the business and kind of figuring out that brand positioning, who I need to talk to in certain details with a lot of the questions that I didn’t even know to ask initially,” he said.

Lilienthal then worked on financial variables in order to estimate cost for his products.

“I worked with Simplice Essou to initially register my business as well as set up for the Internal Revenue Service and the Florida Department of Revenue, in order to orchestrate taxes,” Lilienthal added. “I also worked closely with him on a lot of Excel documents, a lot of fine-tuning details for those variable costs, fixed costs, the pricing calculators [and] how many units we’re going to need to sell.”

After initially getting his business set up, he worked with the Florida SBDC at USF team on marketing and honing in on his brand.

“I started working with Scott Carpenter, who had told me initially sort of the marketing viewpoints and perspectives that we were looking for, and how to orchestrate those when you get into photo shoots and overall Instagram posting,” he said. “Getting a lot of those marketing details correct and at the right time in order to thrive in business [was important].”

Throughout working with the Florida SBDC at USF, Lilienthal has been able to create a foundation to work on future goals. He plans to utilize the help he has received and the contacts he has made with the Florida SBDC at USF to continue growing his business after graduation.

“My message to other small business owners is to take advantage of the SBDC at USF, which is a great invaluable resource for knowledge, answering your questions, and making you think about the questions you may not even know to ask.”

Symmonez LLC Commercial Cleaning of Hillsborough County

Maureen Simmons wanted a shift and career change in her life, so she launched her cleaning business in 2019 in Tampa. Her goal is to minimize troubles and maximize a clean environment for her clients and to build strong relationships with her workers.

Simmons has several mentors and after speaking with them about issues with her business plan, contract bidding, how to find clients and long-term growth, she knew she needed some additional assistance. One of her mentors suggested the Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the University of South Florida as a go-to resource.

Since initially reaching out to the Florida SBDC at USF, Simmons has worked with several business consultants and achieved many of her goals, including business certification and general sales growth.

“They have helped me tremendously with my business plan,” she said. “It was a rough draft and they took it, chopped it up, dissected it, and returned it.”

Business consultant Simplice Essou helped Simmons with research and marketing surveys in the Tampa Bay area to help expand her clientele. She also worked with Eileen Rodriguez, who helped her obtain her woman-owned and minority-owned certifications for her business. She worked with yet another consultant to set up her financial projections and various Excel spreadsheets.

As a result of the assistance received through the Florida SBDC at USF, Simmons was able to earn a contract with the Florida Department of Transportation.

Though COVID-19 was a rough patch for her business and many others, Simmons was able to push through with the continued help of the Florida SBDC at USF.

“Right now we only have three part-time employees,” she said. “My goal is to at least have five, and in May of 2023, at least have ten. I am going to need the SBDC to help me reevaluate and reignite.”

She added, “We need resources, mentors and leadership like the SBDC to implement and instill knowledge and research and educate us on how to catapult and ascend our businesses in 2023.”

Westcoast Design Build FL of Sarasota County

Thomas Hemingway, a licensed general contractor in Florida, decided to launch his own business in 2016 after working for a large national home builder as a vice president of construction.

“I had an opportunity to launch my own business to pursue some new products that I wanted to have more control over,” he said. “I wanted to be able to offer more than just a paycheck and a pink slip to employees, and that is part of what we offer here.”

Hemingway launched Westcoast Design Build FL, also known as Westcoast Worxx, in 2016. The company specializes in residential remodeling of indoor and outdoor kitchens, as well as cabinetry.

Around 2018, Hemingway took part in a CEO program through CareerSource Suncoast. There, he came across the Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at University of South Florida (USF), and specifically, business consultant Scott Carpenter. Carpenter, based out of the Sarasota Chamber, specializes in public relations, branding and marketing.

“I originally approached him for help capitalizing,” Hemingway said of meeting Carpenter. “When I learned that the strength was in marketing, our direction turned to the marketing side of things. I needed some assistance in entering the market.”

Since then, the duo has met bi-annually to stay on top of Hemingway’s progress and adjust strategy as needed. When the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of the area, Hemingway decided he needed to realign his business and renegotiate product terms and marketing.

Especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, he wanted to realign his business and renegotiate product, terms, and marketing.

“We realized in early 2020 what became later known as supply chain disruptions was impacting us,” he said. “What we used to be able to get between 30 and 60 days were between 24 and 36 weeks, so we realigned with some suppliers.”

As a result, Hemingway says the business is actually in a better position post-COVID because of being able to get product, which allowed Westcoast to keep projects on track and gave them an advantage over competitors. Looking back, Westcoast Design Build FL has come full circle since Hemingway initially started working with the Florida SBDC at USF, and Carpenter.

“Come full circle, we are in our own location now,” he said. “I have seven employees. The marketing is effective. We have plenty of business coming our way. We are looking at expansion, so the opportunity that presents itself right now is strategic planning in growth planning for next year and beyond.”

Moving forward, Hemingway says he’ll continue to rely on the Florida SBDC at USF and Carpenter as his business keeps growing.

“We plan to use the SBDC at USF for some strategic long-term planning,” he said. “We have visions to enter cabinet manufacturing. In order to launch a manufacturing facility here locally, we need to acquire the capital. We also need to backfill orders. We are reaching out to Scott and his team to help us strategize and plan the steps necessary for long-term growth. We are fortunate here in Sarasota and Manatee to have organizations such as the SBDC at USF to reach out to.”

 

 

We Go All Places of Hillsborough County

Maurice White, a Veteran working overseas as a government contractor, decided to start his own business when he started his family. In 2015 he created We Go All Places to provide support to expedite logistics, transportation, construction, and contingency support for the day-to-day needs arising from the various companies and units that support the military.

White was looking for assistance in starting the business and acquiring loans, and he knew that the Florida PTAC at the University of South Florida could provide that help. He was eventually connected with Karen Krymski, a procurement specialist who was able to help him sort through contracts and loans. Since 2016, We Go All Places has continued to grow through assistance from various consultants at the Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at University of South Florida, and the Florida PTAC at USF.

Throughout the years, he’s sought assistance in government contracting, market and growth assistance, capital access, business certification, and disaster loan assistance.

In 2020, a new challenge presented itself with the COVID-19 pandemic. White needed additional funding to weather the changes hitting the business as the U.S. Military cut back on spending during this time as well.

“This forced me to get some of the government program loans like the PPP to be able to keep all of our staff actually employed, to be able to maintain the rent,” White said. “COVID-19 has been devastating.”

Even through the slowdown, White was able to gain contracts and continue the work that he was passionate about.

“It really has grown in leaps and bounds,” he said. “By having additional funding, we were actually able to find the goods and services needed to finish the two contracts that we had received with the U.S. Navy.”

Continuing in his journey with We Go All Places, White plans to keep attending webinars, asking questions, and using the Florida PTAC at USF. He has even recommended it when teaching Veteran entrepreneurs how to embark in business.

“They are proven professionals and they know what they are speaking about,” he said. “Sometimes they can reach out farther to the SBA than you could. It’s just a great source of information.”