Archive for category: Success Stories

Kids Zone Academy of Pinellas County

In 2017, preschool teacher Karen Scheeley was given the opportunity of a lifetime – to fulfill her dream of opening a children’s learning and daycare center with her husband, Aaron Scheeley, St. Petersburg.

“I worked in early childhood education for a couple of years,” Karen said. “Ever since I started, I knew I wanted to open my own center. I got all of my certifications and accreditations, and then a big opportunity knocked on my door. That’s when we decided to go live with Kids Zone Academy 1.”

In working with the SBA, the Scheeleys were referred to the Florida SBDC at University of South Florida, as they were searching for some help with their financial projections. Since getting in contact with the Florida SBDC at USF, particularly with consultant Brad Mix, the Scheeleys have seen substantial growth within their business.

“Our business has grown a lot,” Aaron said. “From about 60 kids, to now serving close to 100 children, Kids Zone Academy now has two locations. Thanks to the Florida SBDC at USF, we just continue to keep growing.”

Like many other business owners, the Scheeleys’ family-owned business hasn’t gone without its trials. The impact of COVID-19 in 2020 took a toll on the business overall.

“Due to COVID-19, when it first hit back in 2020, it was rough,” Aaron said. “We went from 80 children enrolled, down to 20 children in one week. We barely survived. Thankfully, we made a full recovery. We are now back to normal, and we are even growing thanks to the Florida SBDC at USF.”

With the success that the Scheeleys have experienced thus far in working with the Florida SBDC at USF, they are ecstatic to see what comes next for them and their business.

“We actually just got an offer for a third location,” Aaron said. “But we are currently holding off of that right now, considering we just opened our second location. Once the two locations are full, we’re definitely going to be using Florida SBDC at USF to help us purchase that third location.”

In hopes that other small businesses can experience the growth that they have, the couple recommends reaching out to the Florida SBDC as soon as possible.

“I would recommend the Florida SBDC at USF to all business owners,” Karen said. “They’re amazing. From all of the support helping us with the projections, to helping us get listed on google, I would highly recommend them. We couldn’t have done it without them.”

Biom Pharmaceutical Corporation of Sarasota County

In 2016, Dr. Bobban Subhadra decided that he wanted to utilize his experience in working with several early-stage biotech companies to develop and commercialize biomedical products and services to create his own biotech company in Sarasota – Biom Pharmaceutical Corporation.

Because of his extensive time spent as a researcher and his experience with product development and patented technologies for biochemical, biofuel, and pharmaceutical companies, Dr. Subhadra was ready to start his company, but he realized he needed some assistance with the business side of things.

“The initial reason why we reached out to the Florida SBDC at USF was because as a small company we didn’t know the resources, especially on marketing and finance,” Dr. Subhadra said. “As we were growing, we really wanted to reach out and see what was out there to help us.”

Since finding the Florida SBDC at University of South Florida Dr. Subhadra has received the guidance necessary to lead his company in the right direction, by utilizing the Center’s Export Marketing Plan services. These services are offered in collaboration with Enterprise Florida.

“Our consultants at the Florida SBDC at USF really identified the three major markets in Europe through this analysis, and they gave us access to Enterprise Florida contacts who were actually doing the trade missions in those markets,” he said. “So, it’s a win-win for us. It’s not only information they gave us, but they have also connected us with the right people that we can actually reach out to network.”

The Florida SBDC at USF has helped to increase sales and employees at Biom Pharmaceutical, as well as guided Dr. Subhadra through the various disaster loan programs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Subhadra is grateful for the connections he’s made thus far in working with the Florida SBDC at USF, and he looks forward to being able to lean on them for guidance whenever needed.

“They have many resources and contacts that can help us,” he said. “It’s an incredible resource, especially with marketing and business planning. To come up with a business plan is not easy for many people, and that is something the Florida SBDC at USF does really well.”

Dr. Subhadra is excited to explore the multitude of services that the Florida SBDC at USF has to offer and can’t wait to see how they can help his business in the future.

“The Florida SBDC at USF really is a lifeline for a lot of small businesses, so I would say to reach out to them and get in contact with the consultants and team,” he said. “They have workshops, and it’s a really good resource in our community that really helps you along your adventure.”

Bizzee Bee Marketing of Hillsborough County

In 2018, Georgianna Strickland had been pursuing her career as a public relations and marketing person for eight years. She noticed, however, a distinct problem that small businesses in the state of Florida were struggling with – managing their marketing budgets effectively. That’s when she decided to create Bizzee Bee Marketing, in Tampa.

“Bizzee Bee Marketing is about helping you make marketing easy, convenient, and cost-effective,” Strickland said. “We specialize in helping you get your brand on apparel, marketing collateral, anything for business expos, trade shows, and more.”

Although Strickland felt confident about the creation of her business, she knew she needed guidance in setting everything up from scratch.

“I reached out to the Florida SBDC at Hillsborough County to get help with my business plan, getting my business logistics set up, and figuring out the financing problems,” Strickland said.

In getting connected with the Florida SBDC at Hillsborough County, and specifically with consultant Janette Blanco, Strickland has been ecstatic about the results and growth she’s seen thus far for her business.

“Since working with the Florida SBDC at Hillsborough County, my business has grown 20 to 25 percent over the past four years,” she said. “I’m also already working with Hillsborough County on some projects because I have been awarded a few marketing collateral jobs.”

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Strickland was glad to have had the Florida SBDC at Hillsborough County to help guide her through tough times in 2020.

“COVID-19 really affected most promotional products in the marketing business,” she said. “Everything went digital. There was no printed collateral needed and there were no promo items to give away. Luckily, with Janette’s help, I was able to get an EIDL [Economic Injury Disaster Loan) loan of $10,000 that helped keep me in business and have some sustainability over the past two years.”

Strickland looks forward to what’s next for her business in working with the Florida SBDC at Hillsborough County, but she’s also very proud of how far she and her business have come.

“Moving forward, I’m excited to keep working with Janette, and figuring out the financials behind being able to bid on larger projects with Hillsborough County,” Strickland said.

“I would say using the Florida SBDC of Hillsborough County has been one of the greatest things I could’ve ever done for my business. Having a business coach like Janette, she knows a lot of people, and she puts you in the right programs. What a lot of people don’t know is that their services are free. They have a lot of knowledge, wisdom, and people that are there to help you start and grow your business, in whatever aspect your business is in.”

Clean Mac of Hillsborough County

Lamark Hall decided to seize an opportunity to serve a need for the businesses in his area by launching his own business that would provide commercial cleaning.

“I decided to launch this business because I felt like the business would help a lot of people who really need the supplemental income,” Hall said. “There are a lot of customers that need the service, so providing it to them, it’s more towards my heart and less geared towards anything.”

But shortly after launching Clean Mac Inc., Hall realized he needed additional support. That’s when he decided to reach out to the Florida SBDC at Hillsborough County.

“Large corporations I was servicing decided to go with one large company to service all of their accounts,” Hall said. “Me being a small business, I was not able to service all of their accounts, so I reached out to the Florida SBDC at Hillsborough County to give me guidance on how to reinvent myself.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Hall found himself unprepared, and in need of some direction. He was grateful to be working with business consultant Janette Blanco at the time because she was able to point him to specific resources to help get the company through the pandemic.

“COVID-19 affected my business because we were not aware that it was coming towards us,” he said. “But, being surrounded by the right people at the SBDC at Hillsborough County helped me re-organize and restructure the way we were operating our business and helped me grow a lot in the different ways of running our business. I was awarded $550,000 in contracts by working with them. I was able to get the R3 loan through Janette Blanco and her staff, and they showed me how to fill out the proper paperwork to apply. She helped me obtain the R3 grant and the PPP loan that helped me through the pandemic.”

Hall is proud of how far his business has come since working with the Florida SBDC at Hillsborough County, and he looks forward to continuing down this path of success.

“Moving forward with the SBDC at Hillsborough County, I would like to learn how to apply for the state and local government agencies to grow my business and learn how to do the proper paperwork and contracts,” he said.

“The Florida SBDC is an organization that helps small businesses grow, and if you have any questions, they are there for you. They’re there to help you through your ordeals and give you all the guidance you need to run your business. If you ever need assistance, they are the best place to go.”

Lalini Enterprises of Washington, D.C. | Domiciled in Florida

After serving 25 years in the Army as an Environmental Science Officer, Lalini Pillay decided that she wanted to transition out, and start a business of her own. She wanted to use the skills she’d developed in the service and become a government contractor, serving the government in a different capacity. That’s when she created Lalini Enterprises, a government contractor specializing in construction.

Although Pillay had knowledge of the industry, she realized she needed some guidance in developing the business itself.

“I reached out to the Florida PTAC at USF because as a new business owner, I didn’t have much of an idea of how to tailor my business and develop it,” Pillay said. “So, I read online that this office delivered the needs that I was looking for. I reached out to and met with Karen Krymski,

and she has been extremely helpful since then.”

Since contacting the Florida Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) at University of South Florida, Pillay has noticed a significant amount of growth within her business.

“My business has grown tremendously since working with Florida PTAC at USF,” she said. “Karen has been extremely helpful in helping me navigate through SAM, actually helping me get my first contract and successfully completing it.

“I had no contracts before engaging with Karen, and since then I have completed two contracts successfully, one of them being with the Department of Interior, and the other with the National Park Service. She has been extremely helpful in guiding me and supporting me from getting contracts to completion.”

Because of the success Pillay has experienced in working with the Florida PTAC at USF thus far, she is looking forward to seeing what the future holds for her business and would recommend the Florida PTAC at USF to other small businesses.

“As I continue moving forward with my business, I will continue to use the Florida PTAC,” she said. “They’ve been very receptive to my questions and have provided all the support I’ve needed. As my business grows, I will have additional questions so I will continue to use them as much as I can in the future.

Pillay is grateful for the connections she’s made through the Florida PTAC at USF, especially with her procurement specialist, Krymski.

“She’s awesome. She has resources at her fingertips and she’s always willing to share them. If you have the opportunity as a small business, reach out to her or the PTAC office. They are amazing and wonderful to work with.”