Florida SBDC at Daytona State College Guides Buffington’s Bar & Grill Through the Small Business Start-Up Maze
May 1, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Hal Thayer, Communications Director, FSBDC at UCF, 407.420.4850 or hthayer@bus.ucf.edu
Orlando, FL – Starting a new business brings with it a wide range of challenges. But when that business is your dream, you do what it takes to make it work. For brothers Joshua and Chris Buffington, their dream was to open their own restaurant. Both Joshua and Chris had worked in the restaurant industry for many years, in virtually every facet of the business, and believed that they had the necessary knowledge to succeed.
Uncertain as to where to start their journey, Joshua and Chris came to the FSBDC at Daytona State College (FSBDC at DSC), a sub-center of the FSBDC at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF), in February 2013. They came with the questions most entrepreneurs who are looking to start a business have: what are the key steps in the start-up process, guidance about completing a business plan and ideas about possible financing sources.
Van Canada, a professionally certified business consultant at the FSBDC at DSC, sat down with the Buffington brothers and mapped out a plan. The three of them worked together on completing the business plan, making sure their prospective business was properly registered and licensed with all necessary agencies and Van contacted several banks to assess interest in restaurant lending.
At about the same time, the perfect location became available in Ormond Beach and the Buffington’s moved quickly to secure the site. They arranged owner financing and used their own resources to make it work. The upscale Irish pub restaurant, Buffington’s Bar & Grill, opened April 1, 2013 and Joshua and Chris haven’t looked back since.
The brothers are now a year in business and have enjoyed their new found success. They have been very creative in continuing to secure needed financing and have been marketing themselves by becoming intertwined in the Ormond Beach community. As Joshua stated “we have hosted, partnered, and contributed our time to numerous local charities and events over the last few months which we think has been a great way of bringing our name to the public while supporting our neighbors.”
The Buffingtons have shown the epitome of entrepreneurship in overcoming difficult situations with creative solutions and the FSBDC will continue working with them to assist in their growth and success. They credit the FSBDC for the valuable role it played in helping them open their doors and become successful, with Joshua saying “When we sought out to open a business of our own, we really had no idea what we were doing. It was certainly a learning process, but with the guidance and help of the Florida SBDC we were able to make our dream into a reality.”
— FSBDC —
About the FSBDC at UCF
With its main office in the National Entrepreneur Center located at the Fashion Square Mall in Orlando, the SBDC at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) is part of the UCF Office of Research & Commercialization and the Florida SBDC Network (FSBDC 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 2012, the FSBDC at UCF served almost 6500 entrepreneurs and small business owners through consulting and training, resulting in 9,961 Central Florida jobs created, retained or saved; $1.3 billion in sales growth; $50.4 million in capital formation; $104.6 million in government contract awards; and 108 new businesses started.
About the FSBDC Network
The FSBDC at UCF is a member of the Florida SBDC Network, a statewide service network funded in part through cooperative agreements with the U.S. Small Business Administration, Defense Logistics Agency, State of Florida and other private and public partners. The Florida SBDC Network is hosted by the University of West Florida and is nationally accredited by the Association of SBDCs. All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.
For over 35 years, the FSBDC Network has nourished a statewide partnership between higher education and economic development organizations, dedicated to providing emerging and established business owners with management and technical assistance, enabling overall growth and increased profitability for the businesses and economic prosperity for the state. The FSBDC Network is a statewide service system of 41 centers with 60 outreach locations, including the FSBDC at UCF.
In 2012, the Florida SBDCs served approximately 38,000 entrepreneurs and small business owners through consulting and training, resulting in 47,845 jobs created, retained and saved; $6.3 billion in sales growth; $235.2 million in capital accessed; $588.4 million in government contract awards; and 744 new businesses started. And, for every $1 of Florida public and private sector investment in the FSBDC programing 2012, $40 was returned to the state in tax revenue
FSBDC at UCF | 3201 E. Colonial Drive | Orlando, FL 32801 | p 407.420.4850 | f 407.420.4862
sbdc@bus.ucf.edu | www.sbdcorlando.com
