Small Business Collaborative Builds Generational Wealth in Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay Business Consortium of Pinellas County

In Tampa Bay, a unique consortium of 12 service-based small businesses, the Tampa Bay Business Consortium (TBBC), is reshaping the landscape of entrepreneurship and generational wealth. This collaborative effort, aimed at securing government contracts and shared growth opportunities, represents diverse industries and a shared vision of success.

“We decided to launch because we were going through the matchmaker. We were going through this matchmaker event and the SBDC team were bringing in different purchasers and buyers from different organizations. As we were looking at it, we were thinking how can we go for some of this big work, how can we work together collaboratively because we all had our individual businesses that had varying degrees of success,” Missy Pitcher, co-owner of Tampa Bay Business Consortium said.

“And so, we decided that it would be a good idea to kind of come together, take our collective experience and past performance and our certifications and leverage that so that we could go for big work,” she added.

With the guidance of Jenee Skipper, a Florida SBDC at Pinellas County Economic Development (PCED) business consultant, the group has made significant strides. Skipper worked closely with the consortium on business planning, team structuring, and crafting strategic agreements that position them to seize emerging opportunities.

“So the team at the Florida SBDC at Pinellas County Economic Development organization has been instrumental in just how we structure our agreements, how we build the team so that we could make sure we had the appropriate resources for the opportunities,” Pitcher said.

Since partnering with the Florida SBDC, the consortium has joined a short-list fundamental to gaining government contracts, streamlined its operations, allowing members to focus on scaling their businesses, and added more members to the group.

“We have had successes in that over the course since April to today, we’ve had 10 or 12 submissions together for projects. We’ve had a couple of wins. We won with a company called Hypatia, which is a nonprofit that provides services to nonprofits. So, we’re gonna be providing business process services to the nonprofits that are in St. Pete,” Pitcher said.

“We’re on the shortlist for Pinellas County for their management consulting contract, and it’s like a three-year contract. So, all of these are contracts that will allow us to grow, that will allow us to contribute should the opportunity happen,” she added.

Looking ahead, the group plans to continue leveraging the Florida SBDC at PCED’s resources and networking opportunities. “We’re growing. I think we had like 4 or 5 members and now we have 12 members. And those members came from networking. They came from events that were recommended by the Pinellas County SBDC,” Pitcher said. “We get input and we get support from the members as well as the team at the SBDC,” she added.

Three of the consortium members then proceeded to give their advice to other small business owners looking for business guidance.

“All of those things that you don’t know that you don’t know, they can fill in those gaps. My advice to new businesses, my advice to existing businesses, take advantage of the SBDC because it’s there for you. You’re already paying for it, it’s included in your tax dollars, so take advantage of it because it will help you to go that much further that much faster and that much more effectively than if you had done it without them,” Pitcher said.

“What I would say about the Florida SBDC at Pinellas County Economic Development Center is great people. I mean I’ve actually referred a couple of people or mentioned them to a few business owners to say hey, reach out to them. They will help you get started. They will give you resources that you need. They will be there for you,” Catricia Walker, member of TBBC said.

“And I would speak to the fact that one of the more important things to build on that is that you just don’t have to do it alone and for years we tried to do it alone. And I won’t say we wasted years, cause all challenges you learn from them, but it didn’t have to be as hard as it was. There’s no need to do it on your own,” Burnell Pitcher, member of TBBC also said.

This thriving collaborative not only exemplifies the power of unity but also underscores the impact of strategic planning in building legacies of wealth and opportunity.