Training Expands Global Mark raining Expands Global Mark raining

Training Expands Global Mark
et for Manufacturer
Market
G
lobal market conditions led the executives of Haven Manufacturing, a Brunswick-based original
equipment machinery builder for the metal tube industry, to the SBDC to seek help expanding their
international sales. Their timing could not have been better.
“We have sold unsolicited orders around the world for many years,” says Haven President Dave Erickson.
“Since the SBDC program, we have
proactively expanded our sales in
Europe, Southeast Asia and Asia,
including China. Exports are about 40
percent of our business right now and
were 30 percent last year. Their course
helped get us started, and the global
economy has helped us as well.”
“When we began working with
Haven,” says Job Dieleman, a senior
international trade consultant with the
SBDC, “ExportGA was one of the first
things we talked to them about.”
Erickson and Edward Bland, Haven’s
comptroller, attended ExportGA2003.
Each ExportGA course is restricted
to 15 export-ready companies with
annual sales that start at a million
dollars. “It’s a very selective group,” (l-r): Edward Bland, CFO; Charles Boyanton, Director, International
says Charles Boyanton, director of the Trade Center; Dave Erickson, President; and Job Dieleman,
International Trade Center. “And International Trade Consultant
when we have a company like Haven,
with a professional staff committed to the process, it’s hard not to get successful results. They will take advantage
of every resource available.”
“The course is a learn-and-do pedagogy. For example, after a
class on identifying markets, a team from the SBDC, the U.S.
Department of Commerce and the International Division of
Georgia’s Department of Economic Development works with the
company on research. The companies come back to class, report
what they found, and get feedback from their classmates and
consultants.”
“We had been exporting for some time,” says Erickson. “The
SBDC helped us increase our market by showing us various export
financing alternatives. It helped us avoid many of the mistakes we
had been making.”
“ExportGA opened their eyes to a lot of options,” says Dieleman.
“They’ve been able to take advantage of all state and federal export
organizations and programs available, as well as Georgia’s network
of trade offices located in their target countries.”
“We’ve improved considerably through this education and the
help the SBDC gave us in understanding how to maneuver through
the global maze,” agrees Erickson.
“
We had been exporting for some time.
The SBDC helped us
increase our market
by showing us various export financing
alternatives. It
helped us avoid
many of the mistakes we had been
making.
”
Strategic Planning Places Internet Business at the TTop
op
S
ometimes a business is so well-conceived that its popularity can slow the company down. So found
Stacy and Matt Williams, managing partners of Prominent Placement, “Atlanta’s Premier Search
Marketing Firm.”
“We were so successful, so quickly, we were turning business away,” says Stacy, who founded the company
in 2001 after mastering search engine optimization in advertising. Prominent Placement helps its clients’
websites be visible in Internet search engines.
“High search engine rankings lead to more website
visitors which could lead to increased sales,” she
explains.
“We were going to grow,” says her husband,
Matt. “The challenge was in managing this
growth.” Although technically proficient, they
hesitated to move forward with their plans
because they lacked a good business foundation.
“We needed to shore up our infrastructure,
make sure we had our financial ducks in a row,
and get a business plan together,” agrees Stacy.
“Working with the SBDC helped us focus and held
us accountable. Their ‘fresh eyes’ and objective viewpoint helped us see things we may not have seen otherwise.”
Bob Thiele, business consultant at the Decatur SBDC, recommended they develop a strategic plan to create
focus, then a business plan to implement their new strategies and goals. Area director Sharon Macaluso and
he led their strategy sessions. “Strategic planning identified four or five strategies critical to the company’s
growth, as well as those things they should delegate and those that were important for them to handle
themselves. That was pretty much what they needed.”
The result? Prominent Placement now counts five account managers, a bookkeeper and other help as
needed on staff. Accurate financial statements and new procedures for account management and training
have freed the Williams to do more marketing. “The clients now have a solid vision for their company,” says
Thiele, “with coordinated
financial projections and, most of
all, the confidence to grow their
business.” Revenue increased 28
percent in 2005 and is projected
to rise 30 percent in 2006.
Prominent Placement gained
external recognition, receiving
two industry awards in 2005 and
a spot as finalist for the GWEN
2006
Georgia
Woman
Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
“With their clear vision and
organization, these clients will be
able to continue concentrating on
achieving excellence in the
future,” says Thiele.
“
Working with the SBDC helped
us focus and held us accountable. Their ‘fresh eyes’ and objective viewpoint helped us see
things we may not have seen
otherwise.
”
Stacy and Matt Williams
Fas
tT
rac
astT
tTrac
rac® Expands Along With its Successful Clients
E
layne Leathers-Hill runs Prestige Design Group, a family-owned and operated uniform manufacturer
that opened in 1991 as an embroidery company with a $30,000 start-up investment. She watched
revenues skyrocket to $5 million in 2002 when client UPS helped Prestige co-partner with Riverside
Manufacturing Company on uniform and manufacturing opportunities.
Sensing the company had great growth potential, Leathers-Hill enrolled in the FastTrac® training program
provided by the Georgia State University SBDC.
FastTrac® targets businesses ranging from $300,000 to $10 million in revenues. This intensive program
offers consulting and training
designed to help small businesses
that are in a position to grow,
says Bernie Meineke, regional
director.
Leathers-Hill
received
intensive consulting and 40
hours classroom training in
FastTrac®. In 2005 Prestige
exceeded $7.2 million in sales and
sales continued to grow in 2006.
As a bonus, the company has
received several awards and
national recognition.
The training helped her make critical improvements, says Leathers-Hill. “FastTrac® gave me the opportunity
to focus on business expansion. This year has been an exciting growth year, and I’m sure it’s because of
FastTrac®. The program takes a lot of work and dedication, but it is well worth the time.”
Many companies that attend FastTrac® are certified minority or women-owned businesses referred by
corporate members of the Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council and Georgia Women’s Business
Council, says Meineke. Corporations with a commitment to supplier diversity, like major sponsor Georgia
Power, clearly understand the value of management training programs to grow stronger suppliers.
George Lottier, president and CEO of GMSDC, agrees. “FastTrac® helps build stronger suppliers who are
better qualified to do business with major corporations. Our corporate members have been very generous in
providing scholarships to attend
FastTrac®. They recognize that
vendors will have a greater
impact if their owners are better
trained.”
FastTrac® is offered twice a
year at the Georgia State
University SBDC and is taught at
SBDC locations in Savannah,
Columbus and Kennesaw. It is
expected to grow statewide.
“SBDC sees FastTrac’s®
value and is striving to make it
available
to
companies
throughout the state,” says
Meineke. “Companies that have
the ability to grow and add jobs
generate the state’s economic
growth. Many of those that the
SBDC targets in FastTrac® fall
within this category.”
Elayne Leathers-Hill
“
FastTrac gave me the opportunity to focus on business expansion. This year has
been an exciting growth year, and I’m
sure it’s because of FastTrac. The program takes a lot of work and dedication,
but it is well worth the time.
”
ValueAdded Planning Leads to Big Gains
alue-Added
“
If I had to add up all the hours the SBDC has contributed to our business, I couldn’t afford it,” says
Patty Magnant, owner of Promotions Plus, a specialty advertising company in Rome. “The knowledge
they make available to a small business is wonderful. I was afraid to tell others about how fabulous
this service is, and risk having to share Peter’s expertise with others.”
“Peter” is Peter Matthews, area director of Georgia Highlands College SBDC. He met Magnant when
she came to his office in the spring of 2004, seeking advice about her company’s commission structure.
“We approached the SBDC looking for someone to help us
do financial planning,” she says. “Our business was really
expanding, and I needed assistance from a professional to help
us plan for the future.”
“Peter has assisted us three years now. I just e-mailed him
yesterday to point out some inconsistent numbers in our
QuickBooks. We needed his advice to correct them so we could
begin planning our budget for 2007.”
“How did we run our business before Peter?”
SBDC consulting services helped Promotions Plus become
more structured. Matthews assisted the company in
implementing
financial plans,
employee bonus
We approached the
schedules and job
descriptions. He
SBDC looking for
found that the
someone to help us do
company had a lot
Patty Magnant
financial planning.
of
valuable
information in its
Our business was reaccounting system that could be used as a management
ally expanding, and I
information system, if the client was shown how to interpret
needed assistance
the data.
Matthews and Magnant did some financial forecasting
from a professional to
to help determine the company’s future direction. Their plan
h elp us plan for the
of setting clear sales goals and tracking expected gross profits
future.
with QuickBooks® converted a net loss in 2003 to sales of
$525,000 and a net profit of $70,400 by the end of 2004.
Despite losing a major client in 2005, the company had put in play a new business development strategy
that helped sales top $529,000.
“Magnant’s hard work and willingness to be open to making changes has paid off,” says Matthews.
Magnant opened a second office in Florida in June, keeping the headquarters open in Rome and
naming her long-time friend and senior associate, Sylvia Lanier, president. “Business at Promotions Plus
continues to thrive,” says Magnant.
“
”
Continuing Ed Hands Builder New Plans
S
“
ome individuals who attend SBDC classes come for start-up
guidance, says University of West Georgia SBDC Area Director
The SBDC has
Jennifer Clendenin. Others come to update their knowledge
given us the basic
and skills.
“Amber and Jeff Word had expertise in their industry before
knowledge we
they came to us,” she says. “They used our class, the
need to successEntrepreneurship Development Certificate Program, to keep their
company on track.”
fully manage our
A Carroll County-based construction and development company
business.
that provides general contracting and design-build services for
churches and other facilities, TJ Word and Associates grew from
$15,000 in gross revenues since opening full-time in 2003 to more than $500,000 in 2005. It topped $2
million in 2006 and continues to grow.
TJ Word and Associates came to the UWG SBDC in October 2005 looking for financial consulting and
help writing a business plan. “They knew the ins-and-outs of construction,” says Clendenin, “but needed
help in managing a business.” She encouraged them to take the EDCP series, which they graduated in
May.
As a result, TJ Word and Associates has identified a niche in the construction industry and developed
a structure that enables them to reach their goals. They learned more about subcontracting and are
working with the SBDC to complete their business plan.
“The classes gave us a lot of good ideas,” says Amber. “Our business plan is still evolving. We have
learned there are other ways to grow. We’re rearranging the plan to get a loan and build new offices – our
business fills the bottom floor of our house. We have plans to build a small commercial center that will
include our offices and others we will rent out, a state-of-the-art storage facility and a U-Haul dealership
we will own and run.”
“Business has
been so wonderful for
them
that
the
planning process has
taken a little longer,”
agrees Clendenin,
who says she enjoys
helping
another
company
move
ahead.
“The SBDC has
given us the basic
knowledge we need
to
successfully
manage
our
business,”
says
Amber.
”
Jeff and Amber Word
Busting Financing Myths Makes Business Real
W
hat are your favorite candy
memories? Maryjayne Carter,
owner of Sweet M’s Candy World in
Atlanta, shares the stories of customers who
enjoy finding nostalgic candies on her website,
www.sweetms.com. Their memories are mouthwatering.
Opening Sweet M’s satisfied a life-long dream
for Carter. “I kept files on candies and chocolate
while I did the corporate thing,” she says. About
eight years ago, Carter began attending courses
at the Decatur SBDC at the invitation of Area
Director Eric Bonaparte. In 2001 she attended a
new seminar developed by Bonaparte, who had
moved to direct SBDC’s Minority Business
Division: Myths and Realities of Minority Small
Business Financing.
“I didn’t know the nuts and bolts of financing,
that there are alternative ways to open and run
a business,” she says. This seminar made her
dream seem possible.
“This course is unlike most finance classes,”
says Bonaparte. “It provides information on
traditional sources of capital and alternative –
or guerilla – non-bank financing. It is tailored to
the needs of those who attend.” After the
seminar, each person gets a personal action plan
and
is
matched
with an Maryjayne Carter
I didn’t know the S B D C
consultant.
nuts and bolts of
The seminar exposed Carter to new ideas for developing her
financing, that
business plan and financing her venture. Pooling her resources with
family investment, Carter purchased and converted a 900-foot
there are alterna- amall
store into an emporium filled with high-end and retro candies
tive ways to open not found in the average store. She continues to work with Sharon
Macaluso, area director of the DeKalb SBDC, to upgrade her website
and run a busiand develop successful marketing strategies.
ness.
Sweet M’s gets Internet orders from all over the world. “My
goal is to carry popular candy from everywhere,” says Carter. “It
makes us unique. Europeans come to our store looking for particular
candies, which we special order. I love to research candy and will do what I can to find a product. I’m up
at all hours – but it’s fun!”
Carter says she will continue using the SBDC, including SmallBizU’s online courses, to take her business
to the next level. “SBDC is such a great organization. It’s a great resource,” she says.
“
”
Start-up a Success for Client and Counselor
C
ecil McDaniel, area director of the Clayton State University SBDC, joined the organization as a business
consultant in 2001. His first client, Sacred Journey Hospice, opened its doors in 2002. More than one
person familiar with their story would suggest it lends credence to the belief that when one does something
with someone else in mind, the blessings flow back.
“Robin Stanton came to me and said, ‘We are four caring
nurses and a physician’s assistant who have an idea for a
hospice. We know everything about patient care, but
nothing about running a business’,” says McDaniel. “They
needed help putting together a business plan to secure
funding for phase one of their idea, an in-patient hospice
designed like a private home. Our How to Start Your Own
Business class had answered many questions, yet raised a
lot more.”
McDaniel helped them develop the financial and
narrative portion of their plan. “We put together their financial projections and were able to compute a fairly
accurate revenue stream,” he says.
Nurses Stanton, Gwen Parks, Debra Parks and Tammy Jester, and PA Lauretta Nester, opened their business
in McDonough as outpatient nursing services, then built the unique Sacred Journey Hospice. They are expanding
to include another hospice and
assisted living center. In three
years, revenue has grown
tenfold, to $2.5 million in
2005.
The partners, who met
when they all worked for
Gwen, have 85 years
combined nursing experience
in acute care and oncology.
“We felt that hospitals are not
necessarily designed for how
nurses work, what families
need, or things that would
make end-of-life patient care
easier,” says Parks. “Our
hospice is designed by nurses,
for nurses … in ways we think
best to take care of our
patients and make their
families self-sufficient.” Their
unique vision earned them
recognition from Governor
Sonny
Perdue,
who
commended Sacred Journey
Hospice in a resolution dated (l-r): Tammy Jester, Gwen Parks, Lauretta Nester, Debra Parks, and Robin
Stanton
October 11, 2005.
“Cecil taught us a lot about
running a business,” says Stanton. “The business plan was the biggest hurdle. We needed that to get the bank
loan to build the inpatient unit. Now we count on his general support. He’s a big cheerleader for us – a big
motivator.
“We wouldn’t have been able to build this business without the SBDC, certainly not as easily,” she says.
“
We wouldn’t have been
able to build this business
without the SBDC, certainly not as easily.
”
Center
s W
ork as
Centers
Work
One to Address
Client Challenges
M
any small businesses,
as they grow, develop
a network of several
locations that must work
together efficiently to deliver top
profit to the company. Working
together to deliver the best
results for small businesses,
consultants in Georgia’s Network
of Small Business Development Gail Brower
Centers often call upon each other
when they need additional expertise to meet a need they are not able to address with the resources
available in some of the state’s smaller communities.
“We call this co-consulting,” says Lori Durden, area director of the Georgia Southern SBDC.
Her client, Brower Oil of Sylvania,
offers examples of both cases. Brower is
a family-owned oil company that operates
Robert and Lori are very
five convenience stores, Brower Food
knowledgeable...The SBDC made
Shops, in Effingham and Screven
doing our business a lot easier.
Counties. It has been in business for 40
years.
After running QuickBooks Point-of-Sale software for a couple of years, the company became interested
in installing it in all of its stores, says co-owner Gail Brower. “We had implemented Point-of-Sale (POS)
as a test in two stores,” she says. Inventory in the other stores was manually added to the system. “We
grew into the idea of networking all of our stores to get our inventory on a timely basis.”
“We contacted Lori at the SBDC. We were dipping our toes into the water,” she says. “It’s very
inexpensive software, but we were not sure we’d stay with it.”
“I know just enough about POS to get in trouble,” says Durden. She called Robert Andoh, area director
of the Gwinnett SBDC, to see what he would recommend.
“Lori knows that I’m the guy who loves QuickBooks,” admits Andoh, who traveled to south Georgia
to help. “Set-up is a critical period, and I needed to make sure it was all running right.”
“Robert did a fabulous job with the set-up,” says Lori, “and our client got great service.”
The client agrees. “Robert and Lori are very knowledgeable,” says Brower. “The POS software
streamlined our inventory process and now we have a real good idea of what we need every day. We
don’t have to wait to put it together. The SBDC made doing our business a lot easier. This will be wonderful
when the exercise is finished.”
“
”
Faith and P
er
sis
tence Spell
Per
ersis
sistence
Success for Sa
vannah V
endor
Sav
Vendor
V
ending is a very competitive business. Georgia’s 158 vending
machine operators generated approximately $239 million
in sales in 2002, according to the Census. Yet Clinton
Young, a third-generation commercial shrimper, rose to the
entrepreneurial challenge after regulation chased him out of the
seas, a weak economy downsized him out of a promising corporate
job and disappointment turned him away from managing a halfway
house for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. “That’s a stressful job to
have in your hometown,” he says.
Young opened Young American Vendors with his wife, Cheryl,
in 1993. “I decided it was time to venture out and do something,”
he says. “The SBDC has been with me from the infancy of my
business, when I let them know we only had a little bit of money
and this franchise is what I wanted to do. They helped me stay
away from the counterfeit companies. We ran numbers and
projections and they helped me do a lot of logistics. I knew that
with our minimum resources, if we could survive the first years,
we would make it.”
Young American Vendors has distributed “premium goods and
Clinton Young
quality services” to clients in schools, health facilities, correctional
institutions, business offices and airports in Georgia, Minnesota, Michigan, South Carolina, Wisconsin and
Illinois. Young’s entrepreneurial success has been recognized by organizations like the Savannah Technical
Institute and the Savannah Business Report & Journal.
Yet his business took a hit in 2000 when he lost his wife after a long illness. “From 2003 to 2005 I did not
operate any accounts. So I had to restructure. This is where Connie [Edwards] and Lynn [Vos] came to my
rescue and helped me. Over the years we’ve become good friends.”
Their teamwork paid off last year,
when Young’s company signed a
contract with Chemtall, a major chemical
manufacturer in Riceboro. “Connie
helped me with a contract that I’ve been
trying to get for 8 years. Every time I
went in to Chemtall with a great
proposal, they told me ‘no.’ In ‘98 they
told me ‘no,’ then my wife took sick, so
God knows best. In 2000 they told me
‘no’ – God knows best. In 2002 and 2003 they said ‘no.’” Young says his new contract with Chemtall has the
potential to generate $1 million in annual revenue.
“The equipment purchase for this account was a big ticket price,” he says. “I had a signed contract. Connie
helped me prepare the three-year projections, cash flow and a loan proposal for the Small Business Assistance
Corporation. Deborah Simmons with SBAC went over everything with a fine-toothed comb before it was
presented to the loan committee. Her numbers looked exactly like Connie’s when she did it. When I saw that,
I had to say ‘wow!’”
“I know my business, but to see financial gurus get the same thing gave me a lot of pride and assurance
that the SBDC is the way to go. They are the bona fide small business advocates. I bootstrap my small business
with good coaching from the SBDC.”
The SBAC loan allows Young to concentrate on the Chemtall account. In June he will move his homebased business into a new office and warehouse in Hinesville. With the SBDC’s help he plans to apply for the
Small Business Administration’s 8A certification. “That’s the next thing we’re going to do. It would equip me to
bid prime contracts,” he says.
“The business experts at SBDC are small business champions. Not only have they been good coaches, but
good friends. They never gave up on me – I don’t know what I would have done without them,” says Young.
“
They (SBDC) are the bona fide small
business advocates. I bootstrap my
small business with good coaching
from the SBDC.
”
Popular Retail Concept Finds Path to Wholesale Success
E
llen Stevens wants to sell you beans. Not a hill of beans or beanstalk beans, but beans with “a light
buttery body, a hint of citrus, and light chocolate and nut undertones.” Or beans that allow “the complex
notes of wine and vanilla to be
revealed amid the hints of spices and
fruit.” Or beans with a “smooth, nutty
character,” as described on her web site.
Their aroma alone will send you to the
moon.
The Beanery, Steven’s new coffeeroasting wholesale company in Valdosta,
sprang from an idea she had while
roasting coffee at home. “Since there
wasn’t a coffee roaster in this part of the
state, we thought there might be a niche
we could fill,” she says. Ellen and her
husband,
Tom,
are
seasoned
entrepreneurs. Ellen holds an M.B.A. and teaches economics and business at Georgia Military College in Valdosta.
Tom, who roasts the beans, is a self-employed engineer.
Stevens wrote a business plan for a coffee shop but decided there was too much risk selling what she wanted
to sell -- just coffee, no food -- in Valdosta. “Coffee shops have to serve lunch here to survive. That wasn’t what
I had in mind,” she says.
The phone book led her straight to Suzanne Barnett, area director of the SBDC at Valdosta State University,
whose unique blend of consulting skills helped Stevens decide where to take her business.
“Suzanne helped me get a better handle on demand and directed me to sources where I could find more
information on the business community here,” says Stevens. She helped Stevens develop financial projections
for her new company.
“After I opened, I met with Suzanne again. She acted more like a sounding board and helped me get my
priorities in order. She didn’t really give advice. She
asked the right kind of questions so I could decide what
kind of direction to go in. As a result, I decided to move
on the wholesale business,” says Stevens.
Barnett agrees that Stevens “didn’t need handholding. She holds an M.B.A. and has extensive
experience in business ownership as well as being a
college instructor. Our relationship is one of peers. I’m
able to offer her an objective point of view. She’s in her
business all the time. It’s helpful to have someone
outside point out options, guide and advise.” Barnett
says the SBDC is seeing more clients like Stevens. “They
no longer need someone to tell them about basic
business start-up tactics. They need higher-level
consulting -- guidance and facilitation through their
own process.”
Although coffee shops and restaurants are its
primary customers, anyone can walk into The Beanery
and buy a pound or more of its savory blends that carry
names like Azalea, Blazer Bean, or Mudpuppy, which
are also available at www.thebeanery.com.
Ellen Stevens
Stevens wants The Beanery to grow about 10 times
larger. “We are laying the foundation with the
wholesale side. This summer we will focus on retail and grow that along with our wholesale business,” she
says. Barnett’s “Mystery Shopping” survey helped Stevens improve her on-line retail presence. “Our site looks
the way it does because of the suggestions I got from other business people,” she says.
She also uses The Beanery in her economics classes. “I show them the operation and use it as an example
of concepts I teach in microeconomics. They enjoy it when I bring coffee to class.” Stevens says many of her
students have the entrepreneurial spirit. “I always tell them about the SBDC, that it’s free and available to
them. Suzanne knows so much about this area. She and the SBDC are a very good resource for any kind of
business starting up,” says Stevens.
“
Suzanne helped me get a better
handle on demand and directed me
to sources where I could find more
information on the business community here.
”
Spill-proof TTra
ra
y is a Runa
way Success
ray
Runaw
T
here are innovators who think and innovators who act. Ashley
Hatcher, a wife, mother, and full-time pharmaceutical
representative in Columbus, recently found success when she decided
to build a small business to support her latest product idea, a distinct dining
tray called LappersTM.
“I think about inventions all the time,” says Hatcher. “When I was in
the third grade, I watched our yard man pushing leaves down our driveway
with his rake. I remember telling my dad that if he had a blow dryer he
could blow the leaves down a lot easier. If only we had acted on it then...”
Business Consultant Mark Lupo says the Columbus office works with
about 350 new clients a year who want to develop a business around a
traditional product, service, or retail store. He says his experience with
Hatcher was different. “Ashley took a seed of an idea and moved it forward.
She had identified a unique need -- which is rare -- improved upon it, and
developed a prototype before she came to us.”
In January, 2005, while recovering from a migraine, Hatcher was served Ashley Hatcher
a meal by her daughter on a bamboo tray; a meal that slipped and spilled
all over the tray. “I was so frustrated with those trays,” she says, laughing at the memory. “Everybody has
them. They’re easy, cheap, and horrible. I call them bambooooh’s.”
Within a week, Hatcher took her idea for a new type of tray to an artist. She says they measured 20
different plates and glasses to accurately size non-slip, interchangeable silicone mats designed as tray inserts.
“I wanted a tray that offered four basic features,” says Hatcher. “They had to keep dishes and glasses from
sliding, be dishwasher-safe, and stakable for easy storage. They needed handles that work for everyone. We
tried four handle designs and three different prototypes to get it right.”
Hatcher found an injection
molding company in China and
began developing a prototype, sure
that her product would work. Her
husband, Neill, suggested she
develop a business plan so she
could borrow money for an initial
production run.
“I had written these plans for
my job,” she says. “But I had no idea how to write a plan that projected gross sales or net income. The day after
Neill mentioned the plan, he came home from work with a flyer on the SBDC Entrepreneur Boot Camp.”
At the boot camp, Hatcher met Lupo, who helped her write her plan in a series of one-on-one consulting
sessions. “I presented my plan to the bank and got my loan,” she says.
“Ashley is a born marketer,” says Lupo. “After we developed the plan, we worked through different ideas for
strategies to get exposure in the marketplace. Her biggest need was just thinking through some of the upcoming
challenges and how to work through them.”
Hatcher says the boot camp introduced Heather to helpful contacts and inspirational stories from other
entrepreneurs. “It really helped give me encouragement and focus on what I needed to do and how I should
structure my business,” she says.
LappersTM retail for $22-$25 per tray. Company names and logos can be printed on the mats for gifts, and
selections include school colors.
Hatcher’s sales efforts, begun in January, 2006, have landed LappersTM rave reviews in Forbes Life, Kitchen
News and Houseware Reviews, Fancy Foods, Home Furnishing News, on web sites, and overseas. It has been
featured on Good Morning America and HGTV. Since the first shipment in April, she has doubled her order to
meet demand.
Hatcher says she appreciates the attention she gets from the SBDC. “Your continued contact is a help,” she
says. “You are like a constant business referral.”
“
It (Entrepreneur Boot Camp) really
helped give me encouragement and
focus on what I needed to do and
how I should structure my business.
”