Growth Keeps Promotional Product Business Buzzing
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.”
