Florida SBDC at Daytona State College Helps Ormond Beach, FL Digital Marketing Agency Grow

January 31, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Hal Thayer, Communications Director, FSBDC at UCF, 407.420.4850 or hthayer@ucf.edu

               Margaret Incandela, Consultant, Florida SBDC at DSC, 386.506.3579 or  Margaret.Incandela@daytonestate.edu

Orlando, FL – Going it alone is sometimes the curse of owning and running a small business. You have the idea and the passion and the drive but there are only so many hours in the day, and a small business person wears so many hats. Fortunately, the Florida SBDC at UCF (FSBDC at UCF) and its sub-center, the Florida SBDC at Daytona State College (FSBDC at DSC), are there to help.

Bill Payne, owner and chief creative of Drive Group, found himself in just such a position early on in his company’s history. Drive Group is a branding and digital marketing agency in Ormond Beach, FL that gets results for its local and national clients by building websites that work as well as delivering top-of-the line SEO/SEM, messaging and branding.

Starting out, Payne was on his own and finding more than enough clients that wanted his assistance. “I won a terrific assignment,” recalls Payne “but it would have made it impossible for me to service my other clients. I realized I needed to hire someone if I wanted to grow my business. The FSBDC helped me find my first intern through Daytona State College. He worked out great, became an employee and is still with us. And that’s how it all started with the FSBDC.”

“Working with FSBDC has been fantastic,” says Payne today. “I can confidently say my business would not be where it is without them.” Taking advantage of their no-cost, expert business consulting, seminars and workshops, and now their market research services, Drive Group has thrived with the help of the FSBDC, led by consultant and FSBDC at DSC Assistant Director Maggie Incandela.

“From the beginning, they have helped me,“ Payne continued. “Back in 2013, they laid out a roadmap for how I could grow my business. How to hire. How to build processes and procedures that would allow us to scale. There has not been a question that I have had that there hasn’t been someone at the FSBDC with the knowledge and expertise I needed.”

In addition to benefiting from the consulting and other services of the FSBDC, Payne is a member of the FSBDC at DSC’s Growth XChange. Growth XChange is a facilitated, peer-to-peer coaching roundtable program where business owners engage in collaborative thinking and problem-solving, discussing vital business issues, opportunities and challenges with a goal of leading their companies to the second stage of growth.

“The Growth XChange has been hugely helpful. Everyone brings their expertise and experience, and we talk through our trials and tribulations,” comments Payne. “2018 has been a great year for us as a result of the FSBDC, including the Growth XChange group.”

“Since starting with the FSBDC, my company has grown and grown,” concluded Bill Payne. “We have more clients. And better clients. I now have 2 full time and 2 part-time team members. Revenues have grown by 400% over the period, and by 100% in just the last year. Working with the FSBDC has been transformational for my business. I cannot stress enough how much they have helped me.”

For information about Drive Group, please visit www.drivegroupllc.com.

— FSBDC —

About the FSBDC at UCF

With its main office in the National Entrepreneur Center located at the Fashion Square Mall in Orlando, the Florida SBDC at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) is part of the UCF Office of Research & Commercialization and the Florida SBDC Network. The FSBDC at UCF provides business seminars and no-cost, one-on-one business consultation to emerging and established businesses. The FSBDC at UCF serves an eight-county area that includes Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties and maintains 10 service centers across Central Florida.

In 2016, the FSBDC at UCF served over 2,400 entrepreneurs in Central Florida through consulting and training, resulting in nearly 6,700 jobs created, retained or saved; $980 million in sales growth; $92.7 million in capital formation; $154.6 million in government contract awards; and 120 new businesses started.

About the Florida SBDC Network

For over forty years, the Florida SBDC Network, the state’s principal provider of business assistance [Fl. Stat. 288.001], has nourished a statewide partnership between higher education and economic development to provide existing and emerging small and medium-sized business owners with management and knowledge resources that enable overall growth, increased profitability, and economic prosperity for Florida’s economy.

Since 2011, Florida SBDCs have provided 513,107 hours of professional business consulting to 74,669 client businesses, resulting in 252,955 jobs created, retained, or saved; $33.3 billion in sales growth; $2.6 billion in government contract awarded; $1.4 billion in capital investments acquired; and 4,159 new businesses started.

A statewide network of over 40 offices, the Florida SBDC is funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Defense Logistics Agency, State of Florida and other private and public partners. The Florida SBDC Network, headquartered at the University of West Florida, is nationally accredited by the Association of SBDCs and is a 2016 recipient of the President’s E Award for Export Service. Florida SBDC services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Language assistance services are available for individuals with limited English proficiency. For more information, please visit www.FloridaSBDC.org.

FSBDC at UCF | 3201 E. Colonial Drive | Orlando, FL 32801 | p 407.420.4850 | f 407.420.4862
sbdc@ucf.edu | www.sbdcorlando.com

Floating Tiny Home Manufacturer Growing Fast; FSBDC at SSC Providing Assistance

January 17, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Hal Thayer, Communications Director, FSBDC at UCF, 407.420.4850 or hthayer@ucf.edu

                 Moses Ayiku, Sub-Center Manager, FSBDC at SSC, 407.321.3495 or ayikum@seminolestate.edu

Orlando, FL – Great ideas for successful businesses can come from unexpected places. Cynthia and Warren Billings were surprised when their dream home project caught the attention of a huge audience. Then they had the good judgment to seek help with their new found opportunity from the Florida SBDC at Seminole State College (FSBDC at SSC), a sub-center of the FSBDC at the University of Central Florida.

The Billings are owners of Floating Bungalows LLC in Sanford, Florida, a manufacturer of luxurious, attractive and ground-breaking floating homes at the cutting edge of the Tiny House Movement. Their homes were recently featured on HGTV’s Tiny House Hunters television show.

Built on a thermal plastic hull, these approximately 500 sq. ft. fully-appointed floating homes are technologically advanced, handcrafted using only the finest components and materials, and held to exacting standards. The result? A luxury home on the water built for simplifying life with hardwood floors, granite counter tops, full size kitchens and bathrooms, not to mention the porch at the water’s edge. Some say it’s better than a boat and needs less maintenance.

“In 2016 we were building a floating bungalow for ourselves, with no thoughts of making it a business. It was going to be our personal home,” recalls Cynthia Billings. “We put a Facebook page up for our friends to follow our progress and suddenly we had 49,000 hits. We realized we needed to think this through differently. Enter Moses Ayiku and the FSBDC at Seminole State College.”

Ayiku, a consultant and the manager of the FSBDC at SSC, met with Billings and provided her with no-cost consulting, business training and market research support customized to the specific needs of Floating Bungalows. “I cannot say enough about how much the FSBDC has impacted our business,” Cynthia Billings says today. “Moses has always been there to help me think things through and provided consulting on all areas of the business. He’s provided facilitated strategy discussions, offered training around marketing and finance, and found me the FSBDC experts I needed for issues like media relations, digital marketing and target market analysis.”

It wasn’t a cookie cutter approach by the FSBDC,” Cynthia Billings continued. “It was a collaborative process in which I got what I needed to grow the company.”

And grow the company has. In 2017, after deciding to go into business for themselves, the Billings sought assistance from the FSBDC. They started slowly with one person working half time, built one bungalow outdoors and earned revenues of just over $200,000. As of 2018, they have grown to three full time employees, moved into a 6000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility, built two bungalows and more than doubled revenues to over $500,000. Looking ahead in 2019, the company is currently building its 4^th Floating Bungalow with the 5^th set to begin production February 2019, and positioned to build 6 – 8 bungalows annually. It’s that kind of success that has earned Floating Bungalows recognition as the FSBDC at SSC’s 2108 Seminole Success Story of the Year.

“The FSBDC has been an amazing support for us. Their assistance is what has made it possible to grow our business.” concluded Cynthia Billings. ”The fact that we are now taking pre-orders/deposits is an example of the enthusiasm surrounding Floating Bungalows and the floating lifestyle trend.”

For information about Floating Bungalows, please visit www.floatingbungalows.com .

— FSBDC —

About the FSBDC at UCF

With its main office in the National Entrepreneur Center located at the Fashion Square Mall in Orlando, the Florida SBDC at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) is part of the UCF Office of Research & Commercialization and the Florida SBDC Network. The FSBDC at UCF provides business seminars and no-cost, one-on-one business consultation to emerging and established businesses. The FSBDC at UCF serves an eight-county area that includes Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties and maintains 10 service centers across Central Florida.

In 2016, the FSBDC at UCF served over 2,400 entrepreneurs in Central Florida through consulting and training, resulting in nearly 6,700 jobs created, retained or saved; $980 million in sales growth; $92.7 million in capital formation; $154.6 million in government contract awards; and 120 new businesses started.

About the Florida SBDC Network

For over forty years, the Florida SBDC Network, the state’s principal provider of business assistance [Fl. Stat. 288.001], has nourished a statewide partnership between higher education and economic development to provide existing and emerging small and medium-sized business owners with management and knowledge resources that enable overall growth, increased profitability, and economic prosperity for Florida’s economy.

Since 2011, Florida SBDCs have provided 513,107 hours of professional business consulting to 74,669 client businesses, resulting in 252,955 jobs created, retained, or saved; $33.3 billion in sales growth; $2.6 billion in government contract awarded; $1.4 billion in capital investments acquired; and 4,159 new businesses started.

A statewide network of over 40 offices, the Florida SBDC is funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Defense Logistics Agency, State of Florida and other private and public partners. The Florida SBDC Network, headquartered at the University of West Florida, is nationally accredited by the Association of SBDCs and is a 2016 recipient of the President’s E Award for Export Service. Florida SBDC services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Language assistance services are available for individuals with limited English proficiency. For more information, please visit www.FloridaSBDC.org.

FSBDC at UCF | 3201 E. Colonial Drive | Orlando, FL 32801 | p 407.420.4850 | f 407.420.4862
sbdc@ucf.edu | www.sbdcorlando.com

Natural, Organic Pet Product Manufacturer Growing Fast with Assistance from the FSBDC at UCF

December 18, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Hal Thayer, Communications Director, FSBDC at UCF, 407.420.4850 or hthayer@ucf.edu 

                 Jill McLaughlin, Consultant/Program Manager, FSBDC at UCF, 407.420.4856 or or Jill.McLaughlin@ucf.edu.

Orlando, FL – Every entrepreneur has a story, one that tells you where their new business idea came from and what ignited their passion to turn that idea into a going concern and then into a success. Most will also tell you that they couldn’t have done it alone; one of those is Janel Young, founder and CEO of NAVA PETS, a natural, organic pet food and products manufacturer.

Young has a wonderful story to tell. It begins with “Maxie”, her sweet and beloved little dog. Maxie was constantly beleaguered with irritated skin caused by food and skin allergies; she almost died from a severe reaction to traditional flea/tick prevention shampoo. And so Janel Young went to work to help her dog. In 2011, after months of trial and error, she successfully created an organic dry shampoo powder, natural treats and food to relieve Maxie’s skin condition and supplement her health and wellbeing!

When Young’s animal-loving friends saw Maxie’s transformation, they asked for the products to help their pets. It was then that Janel Young knew that she was on to something. Starting modestly, she began doing the rounds of the local farmers’ markets. She entered new business pitch competitions, and won! She also received national recognition as an entrepreneur, being named a Torey Burch Fellow and winning a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Award.

Young is quick to say that she hasn’t done it alone, though. She credits her team at NAVA PETS as well as her consultants at the Florida SBDC at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) and many others. “My journey with the FSBDC began when I needed advisement on a huge retail contract,” recalls Young. “It was an important growth step for my company and I wanted their assistance.” Young proceeded to take advantage of the FSBDC’s no-cost business consulting, workshops, PTAC (Procurement Technical Assistance Center) services and the Small Business Institute® program.

“I have been very fortunate to team with people like Jill McLaughlin and Steve South at the FSBDC.  (McLaughlin is an FSBDC consultant; South is a PTAC specialist). They have been like an extended family for NAVA PETS,” says Young. “They’ve really been in my corner in helping the business grow and providing me feedback in areas that need improvement.” Among the specific ways in which the FSBDC has helped NAVA PETS include developing a B2B, commercial sales strategy; looking at opportunities in international export markets; and branding, pricing and operations analysis and planning.

From its modest beginning at local farmers’ markets, NAVA PETS has come a long way. The company has grown to 10 employees; it is transitioning into a new, larger manufacturing facility; it is now being sold in Walmart, Lucky’s Market, and Albertson’s as well as on Amazon; and it has seen its revenues grow by over 2000% over the past 3 years. Maxie would be proud.

“Teaming up with the FSBDC is a phenomenal opportunity,” concluded Young. “I would highly recommend them. You can’t start and run a business without a team and the FSBDC is your extended team. It’s helped make NAVA PETS the success story it is today.”

For information about NAVA PETS, please visit https://navapets.com/ .

— FSBDC —

About the FSBDC at UCF

With its main office in the National Entrepreneur Center located at the Fashion Square Mall in Orlando, the Florida SBDC at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) is part of the UCF Office of Research & Commercialization and the Florida SBDC Network. The FSBDC at UCF provides business seminars and no-cost, one-on-one business consultation to emerging and established businesses. The FSBDC at UCF serves an eight-county area that includes Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties and maintains 10 service centers across Central Florida.

In 2016, the FSBDC at UCF served over 2,400 entrepreneurs in Central Florida through consulting and training, resulting in nearly 6,700 jobs created, retained or saved; $980 million in sales growth; $92.7 million in capital formation; $154.6 million in government contract awards; and 120 new businesses started.

About the Florida SBDC Network

For over forty years, the Florida SBDC Network, the state’s principal provider of business assistance [Fl. Stat. 288.001], has nourished a statewide partnership between higher education and economic development to provide existing and emerging small and medium-sized business owners with management and knowledge resources that enable overall growth, increased profitability, and economic prosperity for Florida’s economy.

Since 2011, Florida SBDCs have provided 513,107 hours of professional business consulting to 74,669 client businesses, resulting in 252,955 jobs created, retained, or saved; $33.3 billion in sales growth; $2.6 billion in government contract awarded; $1.4 billion in capital investments acquired; and 4,159 new businesses started.

A statewide network of over 40 offices, the Florida SBDC is funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Defense Logistics Agency, State of Florida and other private and public partners. The Florida SBDC Network, headquartered at the University of West Florida, is nationally accredited by the Association of SBDCs and is a 2016 recipient of the President’s E Award for Export Service. Florida SBDC services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Language assistance services are available for individuals with limited English proficiency. For more information, please visit www.FloridaSBDC.org.

FSBDC at UCF | 3201 E. Colonial Drive | Orlando, FL 32801 | p 407.420.4850 | f 407.420.4862
sbdc@ucf.edu | www.sbdcorlando.com

December 4, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Hal Thayer, Communications Director, FSBDC at UCF, 407.420.4850 or hthayer@ucf.edu

                 Martin Duffy, Director, FSBDC at EFSC, 321.433.5573 or duffym@easternflorida.edu

Orlando, FL – “How do I take my business to the next level?” It’s a question that entrepreneurs and small business owners are asking constantly. Even as they meet the daily challenges of exceeding customer expectations while running a business, they need to be looking ahead and planning for the future. When they can do both – manage the day-to-day while looking ahead – small business owners can and will be successful. Especially with the help of the Florida SBDC.

Lisa Pelc is the owner and chief executive of Bella Casa Staging & Redesign in Melbourne, FL, a home staging and interior design company with experts in preparing homes – both occupied and vacant – for a faster, more profitable sale. As redesigners, the professionals at Bella Casa help families reconnect to each space in their home, so that it’s organized, beautiful and a perfect reflection of the family.

In 2017, Pelc found herself at a crossroads of sorts. She had started her business and it was growing, but she was asking herself some key questions: where next? How do I grow from here? That’s when she turned to Marty Duffy, the center director and consultant at the Florida SBDC at Eastern Florida State College (FSBDC at EFSC), a sub-center of the Florida SBDC at UCF.

“I came to the FSBDC for assistance because I was having some growing pains,” recalls Pelc. “I wanted to grow my business but wasn’t sure what to do and how to do it. So I reached out and found all of these different business courses and seminars, as well as no-cost, one-on-one consulting. Marty and the FSBDC team at Eastern Florida State College were extremely helpful in areas like strategy, inbound and outbound marketing, financial analysis as well as market research.”

“There is so much at the FSBDC that a small business needs,’” continued Pelc. “You don’t always know what you don’t know, as the saying goes. Working with the FSBDC has really shown me the opportunities that are available for my business. Meeting with Marty every month was like having a personal MBA professor dedicated to addressing my specific business needs. The time together was incredibly helpful and insightful.”

The list of Bella Casa’s business issues addressed with the help of the FSBDC at EFSC is long:  reviewing and then gaining an understanding of monthly and year-to-date financial results and profitability; conducting market research and building industry knowledge; identifying new market opportunities; and learning how to balance marketing and operations.

“The FSBDC has really guided me and helped me learn how, as an entrepreneur, to work on the business and not just in the business so it can grow and be more profitable every year,” concluded Pelc. “We’ve gone from a team of 2 to a company of 5, and our business has grown by 50% in just the last year. Marty and his team have been instrumental in helping me stay on task and provided a sense of accountability for myself and my company. When you tap into the resources that are at the FSBDC, the sky’s the limit for your business.”

For information about Bella Casa Staging & Redesign, please visit www.BellaCasaStagingAndRedesign.com.

— FSBDC —

About the FSBDC at UCF

With its main office in the National Entrepreneur Center located at the Fashion Square Mall in Orlando, the Florida SBDC at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) is part of the UCF Office of Research & Commercialization and the Florida SBDC Network. The FSBDC at UCF provides business seminars and no-cost, one-on-one business consultation to emerging and established businesses. The FSBDC at UCF serves an eight-county area that includes Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties and maintains 10 service centers across Central Florida.

In 2016, the FSBDC at UCF served over 2,400 entrepreneurs in Central Florida through consulting and training, resulting in nearly 6,700 jobs created, retained or saved; $980 million in sales growth; $92.7 million in capital formation; $154.6 million in government contract awards; and 120 new businesses started.

About the Florida SBDC Network

For over forty years, the Florida SBDC Network, the state’s principal provider of business assistance [Fl. Stat. 288.001], has nourished a statewide partnership between higher education and economic development to provide existing and emerging small and medium-sized business owners with management and knowledge resources that enable overall growth, increased profitability, and economic prosperity for Florida’s economy.

Since 2011, Florida SBDCs have provided 513,107 hours of professional business consulting to 74,669 client businesses, resulting in 252,955 jobs created, retained, or saved; $33.3 billion in sales growth; $2.6 billion in government contract awarded; $1.4 billion in capital investments acquired; and 4,159 new businesses started.

A statewide network of over 40 offices, the Florida SBDC is funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Defense Logistics Agency, State of Florida and other private and public partners. The Florida SBDC Network, headquartered at the University of West Florida, is nationally accredited by the Association of SBDCs and is a 2016 recipient of the President’s E Award for Export Service. Florida SBDC services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Language assistance services are available for individuals with limited English proficiency. For more information, please visit www.FloridaSBDC.org.

FSBDC at UCF | 3201 E. Colonial Drive | Orlando, FL 32801 | p 407.420.4850 | f 407.420.4862
sbdc@ucf.edu | www.sbdcorlando.com

Florida PTAC at UCF Assists Company Gain Government Contracting Success

October 31, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Hal Thayer, Communications Director, FSBDC at UCF, 407.420.4850 or hthayer@ucf.edu

Steven South, PTAC MANAGRE, FSBDC AT UCF, 407.420-4859 or steven.south@ucf.edu

Orlando, FL – Doing business with the government can be challenging for a small business. But it can also be extremely rewarding. Once the choice has been made to be a government contractor, often the largest hurdle is identifying and then meeting the many requirements set by government departments and agencies. Fortunately, the Florida PTAC (Procurement Technical Assistance Center) at UCF – in partnership with the Florida SBDC at UCF – is available to help.

Florida PTAC at UCF is where Jeannette Coronado and husband Richard Coronado turned when they decided to move their business away from commercial customers and into the government sector. Their company, JIRACOR LLC, had been successfully offering services to businesses, but they saw a bigger opportunity in government work.

“When we started in our new direction, we didn’t know about doing business with the government, about their requirements and expectations” recalls Jeannette Coronado. “That’s where the Florida PTAC came in. They helped us. They educated us. They guided us.”

“At the beginning, working with government, in our case the U.S. Department of Defense, was scary because the requirements they have are very specialized,” she continued. “To be in the game, you need to get security clearances, have approved accounting systems, speak their language and understand all their acronyms. Then you have to know how to find contract opportunities, how to bid on them, and what to do when you win. It can be overwhelming.”

The Florida PTAC provided an extensive list of services to the Coronado’s, including no-cost consulting, training, assistance with obtaining key certifications and registering with the government’s SAM (System for Award Management) system, not to mention offering matchmaking events and strategies for working with the government. “There are so many boxes you have to check to win government contracts,” says Jeannette. “The Florida PTAC explains it all and makes it possible to check them all off.”

Thanks to the Coronado’s hard work and the help of their Florida PTAC specialist, today JIRACOR is an established government contractor.  With Jeannette as CEO and Richard as President, the company offers training & logistics support, manufacturing and fabrications services and depot-level maintenance and repairs. They are an SBA 8(a) and woman-owned certified business and have met ISO 90001 and AS9100 quality management systems standards.

“When we first went into the Florida PTAC, we were not procurement ready,’ states Richard Coronado. “From their mentoring, their classes, their consulting, their advice on our business plan, now we are winning contracts and ready for more. The Department of Defense could award us a multi-million-dollar sole source contract tomorrow and we are ready with the people and infrastructure to execute it. As it is, we have seen our revenues increase by more than 200% since we started consulting with the Florida PTAC.”

“If it weren’t for the Florida PTAC, we at JIRACOR probably wouldn’t be here,” he concluded. “Our experience has been awesome! They have great consultants. They have great services. They have great training. All at little or no cost. Getting all of the certifications, advice, knowledge and support from PTAC has made the difference for us.”

For information about JIRACOR LLC, please visit www.jiracor.com.

— FSBDC —

About the Florida Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) at UCF

Government Contracting Services offered by the Florida Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) at the University of Central Florida provide high-value, confidential one-on-one consulting at no cost to help Florida businesses prepare, research, and bid on federal, state, and local government contracts. Since 1986, Florida PTAC client businesses statewide have won $8.3 billion in contract awards, helping to create and save 187,090 jobs. This PTAC is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the Defense Logistics Agency. For more information, please visit www.fptac.org.

About the FSBDC at UCF

With its main office in the National Entrepreneur Center located at the Fashion Square Mall in Orlando, the Florida SBDC at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) is part of the UCF Office of Research & Commercialization and the Florida SBDC Network. The FSBDC at UCF provides business seminars and no-cost, one-on-one business consultation to emerging and established businesses. The FSBDC at UCF serves an eight-county area that includes Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties and maintains 10 service centers across Central Florida.

In 2016, the FSBDC at UCF served over 2,400 entrepreneurs in Central Florida through consulting and training, resulting in nearly 6,700 jobs created, retained or saved; $980 million in sales growth; $92.7 million in capital formation; $154.6 million in government contract awards; and 120 new businesses started.

About the Florida SBDC Network

For over forty years, the Florida SBDC Network, the state’s principal provider of business assistance [Fl. Stat. 288.001], has nourished a statewide partnership between higher education and economic development to provide existing and emerging small and medium-sized business owners with management and knowledge resources that enable overall growth, increased profitability, and economic prosperity for Florida’s economy.

Since 2011, Florida SBDCs have provided 513,107 hours of professional business consulting to 74,669 client businesses, resulting in 252,955 jobs created, retained, or saved; $33.3 billion in sales growth; $2.6 billion in government contract awarded; $1.4 billion in capital investments acquired; and 4,159 new businesses started.

A statewide network of over 40 offices, the Florida SBDC is funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Defense Logistics Agency, State of Florida and other private and public partners. The Florida SBDC Network, headquartered at the University of West Florida, is nationally accredited by the Association of SBDCs and is a 2016 recipient of the President’s E Award for Export Service. Florida SBDC services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Language assistance services are available for individuals with limited English proficiency. For more information, please visit www.FloridaSBDC.org.