Innovative Medical Clinic Receives Loan to Grow Facility
SahaVida Institute of Manatee County
Dr. Myrdalis Diaz saw a lack in the Sarasota community for lifestyle function of generative medicine and aesthetics. Running several different businesses in the past, she sought to provide care for patients to service them from the inside out, providing options from several physicians and clinicians at her location.
SahaVida provides acupuncture, IV’s, full-body cryotherapy, saunas, serial compressions, laser treatments, supplements, vitamins, and more services. The Institute helps to prevent disease and long-term health issues, a needed service in the healthcare industry, she says.
Diaz created her business plan, but she wanted to make sure that it was correct before asking the bank for a loan. Diaz reached out to the Florida SBDC at University of South Florida, where she was paired with business consultant Bradley Mix. Mix was ready to help review the business plan and attack the loan process with Diaz.
“At the Bank of Tampa, it was a very humbling moment because they told us it was one of the best business plans they had seen,” Diaz said. “I really want to thank the SBDC for that.”
The business has now acquired the equipment, personnel, and marketing needed to flourish. The loan, secured with the assistance of Mix, was the steppingstone that Diaz needed in order to launch the business. “When we got the loan, it really allowed us to basically launch our business,” she said. “We were able to do a big remodeling for our business, get equipment, and hire the consultants that we’ve had for our business.”
The business, launching post-COVID-19, has seen the effects of the virus and has found a place in aiding with post-COVID symptoms. In a sense, COVID-19 helped to create a need for this type of business; however, Diaz says she has struggled to find employees, like many businesses in the post-COVID economy.
Moving forward, she plans to work on this issue with the Florida SBDC at USF by her side, saying, “We also have some other clinicians that are going to be practicing here, who might not have a business acumen; they have not acquired that knowledge. We’re going to have them specifically go to the SBDC in Tampa so that they can register their businesses and be able to work with us as clinicians in our clinic.”
Diaz encourages other small business owners to reach out to the Florida SBDC at USF to smooth the path to success. “As a business owner starting, this should be one of your first, if not your first place to go, to your local SBDC,” she said.
