Beha.Vio ABA Therapy Clinic: Be The Best Version of You

Davenport, FL Behavioral Health Clinic Succeeding with the Assistance of the FSBDC at UCF – Kissimmee

July 25, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

                 Elly Membreno, Consultant, FSBDC at UCF – Kissimmee Office, 407.847.4311 or Elly.Membreno@ucf.edu 

Orlando, FL – Starting a business – any business – can easily become a formidable endeavor. Doing it alone only increases the degree of difficulty. Make it a behavioral health clinic and the challenge can seem monumental. Gillie Acosta, founder and owner of Beha.Vio, Inc. – an applied behavior analysis (ABA) treatment facility in Davenport, FL – faced all of this and more when she decided to launch her company, leading her to connect with the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) for guidance.

Beha.Vio is an ABA therapy clinic that applies scientifically-verified, systematic behavior-change interventions that resolve problems to allow for a more fulfilling and meaningful life. Its team of therapists offer intensive ABA services focusing on all areas of development, social interactions, motor skills, and management of problem behaviors, mostly through early intervention with children aged three to five. “What makes us different and special is that we provide individualized behavioral treatment to our clients, the majority of whom have autism spectrum disorders. In both school and clinic settings, we help them find ways to be independently functional in their environments,” explains Acosta.

As she contemplated starting her treatment enterprise, Acosta surveyed the landscape for assistance and decided upon the FSBDC at UCF satellite office in Kissimmee, FL. “I was looking and searching for help, tools, ideas and I found the FSBDC,” Acosta recalls. “I was able to get in contact with FSBDC consultant Elly Membreno and she was so helpful. She supported me, empowered me to continue, not to give up and I will be grateful forever.”

The myriad areas of assistance provided by Membreno and the FSBDC was broad and deep, including its no-cost consulting, business training, and access to market research. From state, county, and local registrations and permits to professional licensing, Membreno and Acosta worked together to put the business on a firm footing from the beginning. Additional support included helping Acosta to prepare her business plan, with drawing up a budget with the necessary financial forecast, and in creating a comprehensive marketing plan. Especially valuable was the time spent on human resource matters like preparation of an employee handbook; job descriptions; salary and benefits planning; hiring, onboarding & orientation for new employees; and performance management processes.

All of their hard work has paid off. “Since I started working with the FSBDC, my revenue has grown 100%. From having no staff when we began, now two years later I have 26 employees and just a month ago we were able to move to a bigger location because we are growing so fast,” Acosta shares proudly.

“If you’re a business owner and you’re thinking of using the resources that the FSBDC provides, I highly recommend it,” concludes Acosta. “They provide consultation, training and webinars, and other resources at no-cost and always available. Working with them, you will feel supported and empowered. I always did.”

For information about Beha.Vio, Inc., please visit https://behavio.godaddysites.com/.

— FSBDC —

About the FSBDC at UCF

Hosted by the University of Central Florida (UCF), and with its main office in the National Entrepreneur Center located at the Fashion Square Mall in Orlando, the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) is part of part of UCF’s Office of the President and the Florida SBDC Network.

The Florida SBDC at UCF provides aspiring and existing small businesses with no-cost consulting, low-cost training, and access to business data and research resources. In addition to its core service offering, the Florida SBDC at UCF also offers specialized services to qualifying companies, including capital access, market growth, government contracting, international trade, business continuation, cybersecurity, disaster planning and recovery, and more. The FSBDC at UCF serves an eight-county area that includes Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties and maintains 9 service centers across Central Florida.

In 2022, the FSBDC at UCF served more than 2,700 entrepreneurs in Central Florida with consulting services, resulting in more than 10,600 jobs created, retained or saved; $793.9 million in sales growth; $66.7 million in capital formation; $103.8 million in government contract awards; and 160 new businesses started. For more information, please visit www.sbdcorlando.com .

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.

In 2022, Florida SBDCs provided 157,841 hours of professional business consulting to more than 18,379 client businesses. Based on the results from the network’s latest economic impact analysis, the FSBDC’s services resulted in almost 29,000 jobs impacted; $4.8 billion in sales generated; $381.6 million in government contracts acquired; and $528.4 million in capital accessed.

A statewide network of over 40 offices, the Florida SBDC is funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, U.S. Department of Defense, 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