Pool Business Stays Above Float with Bridge Loan
Florida Pools, Spas & More of Hillsborough County
Whether a direct hit or not, Hurricane Irma had an effect on nearly every business in the state of Florida. If a business did not experience physical losses, chances are it experienced economic loss that made it hard to stay afloat. That was the case for Jean and Dwayne Mullen, partners at Florida Pools, Spas & More, in Riverview.
After experiencing a downturn in revenues which left them short of their sales goals in September, Jean decided to reach out to the Florida SBDC at University of South Florida for assistance in applying for a State of Florida Emergency Bridge Loan.
When asked about her experience with the storm and the assistance received, she recalled:
What type of damage occurred?
Hurricane Irma caused our business to be shut down for seven days due to power outage. Our customer base suffered economic or physical damage resulting in little sales for two weeks following the storm. Our sales projections for September were not met, and we still had our normal expenses and continued to pay our seven employees.
How will the Bridge Loan help?
We’d like to generate some more advertising to recoup the sales that we did not have in September and early October.
How was the Florida SBDC at USF helpful during this process?
It was very easy and everybody was so helpful and answered any of the questions that I had. It was a to-day event once I got all of my paperwork in.
