SBDC sparks success for electrical business owners
Hindman Electric of Hillsborough County
Twenty-five years ago, Bryan Hindman was fresh out of high school when he began working in the electrical field for a family member. That’s when he realized he had the dream of starting a business of his own.
He and his wife, Heather Hindman, decided to open Bryan Hindman Electric, a family-owned business that specializes in taking care of every day electrical repair needs for people in the Tampa Bay area. Although the couple knew that Bryan’s electrician skills would set them up for success, they realized that they didn’t know much about how to properly get their small business up and running.
“We originally reached out to the Florida SBDC at Hillsborough County because we were really new to the business world,” Heather said. “My background is in education, and I had a lot of questions. We were coming up against challenges and new things that we really needed guidance with.”
Thankfully, the two were able to connect with Corey McCaster, a consultant at the Florida SBDC at Hillsborough County, who specializes in business planning and financial analysis.
“Corey has been really instrumental in helping us grow,” Heather said. “Specifically, he has helped us to really dive into our financial statements and understand how to interpret them and how to use them to make business decisions. He’s also helped us figure out where our pain points are and come up with new procedures and processes to help us.”
This assistance from McCaster has resulted in growth for the business in multiple areas, including multiple commercial and U.S. Small Business Administration loans to help grow the business. “We’ve been able to bring on additional electricians and additional administrative staff. We’ve also been able to purchase two new vehicles to add to our fleet. We have increased revenue by about 20 percent in the last three or four years that we’ve been working with Corey and taking advantage of the opportunities at the SBDC.”
The Hindman’s are excited to see what’s in store for their business and look forward to using the Florida SBDC at Hillsborough County to continue guiding them to success.
“We will definitely continue to use their services and take advantage of all the classes and workshops that I’ve used in the past because they’ve been so helpful,” Heather added. “And of course, working with Corey has been an amazing experience for us. We’ve learned so much, and I hope to be able to work with him for quite some time It’s really nice to know that if you have a question, or if you come across something new in the business, you have someone to turn to that knows you and knows your business and they can offer advice and guidance. We’re looking forward to further expansion and continuing to work with Corey and with the SBDC.”
