In late 2009 Arnaldo and Yanet Herrero of Kings Service Solutions first approached the Small Business Development Center at UCF (SBDC at UCF) Advisory Board Council Program Manager JillKaufman about their interest in becoming a client of the program. Arnaldo had explained, “We want to begin taking the proper steps to become your next success story.”

It took them just three years to achieve this milestone. In that time their janitorial and commercial maintenance company has made a dramatic transformation and experienced extraordinary growth. According to Yanet, “I felt the SBDC at UCF was the right organization to pair up with to set our company’s vision on the right course. I wanted to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the company and have access to experts’ knowledge and ideas to develop our organization.”

In 2010, Kings Service Solutions (KSS) was accepted into the SBDC at UCF’s Advisory Board Council (ABC) program and an advisory board was formed to address the company’s needs. Experts in human resources, accounting, strategic marketing, business development and law comprised their board. “We had the best of the best on our advisory board team,” remarked Yanet.

Kings Service Solutions acted immediately on what they had learned. The board helped them put in place an organizational structure, systems and processes to better manage the company and facilitate their growth. “We learned how to make the organization’s mission and vision come alive and become part of the company culture,” explained Yanet. Among the biggest benefits coming out of the board’s recommendations included improved financial management, HR policies, quality control and risk management. “I started with an idea for what my business could be and by the end of the term in the ABC program it was so much more than I expected,” said Yanet. “The Advisory Board Council program gave me the tools to attain what I wanted for our company.”

Beginning with the simple idea of providing high quality and reliable commercial cleaning and facility maintenance services, KSS has grown to serve industry leading companies throughout the state of Florida such as Trustco Bank, Florida’s Blood Centers, and Lamm and Company Partners. KSS has instituted innovative business processes and the latest janitorial management software to increase their organization’s efficiency and quality control. In fact, KSS was recently chosen to be featured by MSNBC in a television segment on how technology is helping small companies.

When KSS became a client of the Advisory Board Council in early 2010, the firm had a staff of 6 full time and 37 part time employees and leased a 1,700 sq. ft. office. Just three years later KSS has grown to be a company of 87 full time and 162 part time employees. Annual revenue jumped 270% from 2010 to 2012 and the company now owns its 3,500 sq. ft. office and warehouse suite. Importantly, Arnaldo and Yanet also strongly believe in giving back to the community and KSS is a devoted supporter of a number of worthy organizations such as Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Florida.

On the strength of its founders’ determination and the external assistance they were savvy enough to bring in, including from SBDC at UCF’s Advisory Board Council program, Kings Service Solutions is now that “next success story” that they wanted to be. “I would recommend the Advisory Board Council to any entrepreneur that is ready to realize their vision,” remarked Yanet. “The process will transform your business culture and inevitably your business success.”

Meeting the needs of your community and building a successful business can sometimes be accomplished simultaneously, especially with assistance from the Florida Small Business Development Center at UCF.

Mr. Jacquelyn Daquin came to the FSBDC at UCF seeking assistance with refinancing the mortgage on his business property.  Mr. Daquin, the owner of Haitian Quality Services, provides a range of fee-based services for residents in the West Orlando community.  Services are provided in French, Creole, and Spanish, and include immigration, bail bond, divorce, document translation, language interpreting, tax preparation, business assistance, college and employment applications etc.

The business began because Mr. Daquin saw a need in the community: residents wanted to better their lives and take advantage of economic opportunities but were struggling with the language barrier and limited education.  Mr. Daquin, who obtained his Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Central Florida and is also a Certified Respiratory Therapist, started offering services in a limited capacity.  The business grew as the company’s reputation soared and his services were sought after.

With this in mind, Mr. Daquin decided to purchase a property to house the business, and use the revenue from the business to renovate and expand the facility.  Unfortunately, before the renovation was completed, he ran out of funds and was forced to accept a very high interest rate mortgage to complete the project.  He paid this mortgage for several years before deciding that, if he could substantially reduce the monthly payments, he could grow the business and possibly hire more people, hence the desire to refinance the mortgage.

Mr. Daquin applied to several banks and was denied. It was then that he was referred to Pauline Davis, a certified business consultant at the FSBDC at UCF.  She reviewed his information and assisted him with preparing a business plan, cash flow projections and accompanying financial documents to complete a revised loan package.  He was once again referred to the bank and was once again denied the loan.

At that juncture, the FSBDC at UCF’s Davis contacted the banker for an explanation of the denial, and was told Mr. Daquin had credit issues.  A further review of his credit records showed that there were errors and unexplained items on the report, and that he had a better credit history than represented by the report.  With that understood, he was referred to the Black Business Investment Fund (BBIF) for their specialized loan program.  The SFBDC and BBIF worked with the client to address his credit issues and business needs, and BBIF finally refinance the property.

Mr. Daquin is so grateful for the assistance and states, “There was no way I could have gotten the loan without Pauline Davis at the FSBDC.  I could not understand why I was being denied; she patiently assisted me with the business plan and through the process.  She is truly a “STAR” and my business and the community will be eternally grateful.”  To show his gratitude Mr. Daquin gave her a plaque on behalf of his business and the community.  He is very optimistic about his future and growing the business.

The Great Recession of the last decade took a severe toll on the construction industry in Florida. It forced many construction companies and those that supplied them out of business. It took courage and foresight, and a certain white-knuckle fearlessness, to weather the storm and come out whole on the other side. But for those that did survive, and were able to keep their core intact and maintain their reputation, there has been significant opportunity in recent years.

Architectural Aluminum Techniques (AAT) and its CEO and owner Sunil Tarneja weathered just such a storm and, with the help of his wife and CFO Sujata, key members of his management team and a group of CEOs brought together by the Florida SBDC at UCF in its CEO XChange program, he navigated the company through the Great Recession and on to a record year in 2013 when it recorded a 200% increase in revenues.

AAT is a sub-contractor to construction companies. It supplies architectural aluminum and steel engineered glazing systems that are often integral to the architectural style of an office building. They also often produce the materials that make up the unique architectural elements that make a building distinctive and memorable, such as the a 10,000 square foot outdoor balcony structure that juts from the Amway Center toward I-4 in Orlando, Florida, the Center’s 20,000 square foot glass entrance atrium facing Church Street or the modern glass and aluminum of the iconic UCF College of Medicine building. Architectural Aluminum Techniques had a hand in the construction of each of those remarkable buildings.

Founded in 1992 when Sunil and Sujata moved to Orlando from Toronto, Canada, AAT was built from a standing start, competitive bid by competitive bid. The company achieved break even in 1996 and enjoyed positive growth and profitability in the following years. They grew to be a multi-million dollar business with upward to 90 employees by 2009.

AAT was a success story indeed. Until the Great Recession hit, that is. Commercial construction tends to lag residential construction and when Sunil saw the dramatic decline in residential building activity in 2009, he knew there was trouble around the corner. Having felt the pain of the 1990 recession in Canada, he was prepared to do what was needed to save his company. In 2010 he slowly began downsizing the company, releasing good people because there was no work. 2011 was no better for AAT and the downsizing continued.

By 2012, Architectural Aluminum Techniques was down to its core team of 20 employees. For many of them, there was no work. Revenues had fallen precipitously to the point where they did not cover payroll. The times were dark and the future looked bleak. Fortunately, Sunil had learned from his experience during the Canadian recession, and had always run AAT very conservatively, making sure that it was financially strong with adequate cash on hand at all times. During 2012 he had to use some of those cash resources to make payroll. And he led an “all hands on deck” sales effort during the down times, having all of his employees calling clients and bidding on almost any deal they found.

It was during these difficult times in mid-2012 that Sunil brought his challenges to the Florida SBDC at UCF’s CEO XChange program. An executive roundtable program serving progressive chief executives and business owners, CEO XChange offers a confidential setting to discuss vital business issues, opportunities and trends with a group of peers and benefit from their experience and counsel. At the CEO XChange meeting, Sunil laid out his issues; he had battened down the hatches, cut overhead, downsized to his core employees but was still bleeding money. His inclination was to hold on for as long as was necessary, but he wanted to hear from his peers about what they thought. An intense discussion ensued. Hard questions were asked. Painful experiences were shared. In the end, the group’s consensus was that Sunil should follow his instincts and experience, hold onto his core people and ride out the storm.

Buoyed by this vote of confidence, Sunil determined to stay the course. He retained his core team and continued to have everyone in the company pursue sales opportunities. Several months later, the construction market turned the corner. The Presidential elections seemed to be a turning point, as suddenly money for construction projects began to pour into the market. Architectural Aluminum Techniques began to win bids. They found that their strong reputation for quality products, the industry’s familiarity with AAT and its people and its financial staying power combined to help the company win business, even though theirs was not always the low bid. As a result, while the company endured a loss for 2012, it experienced a dramatic increase in revenues for 2013 which has turned into one of the company’s best years yet.

While Sunil recognizes that there were many factors that got him and Architectural Aluminum Techniques through the Great Recession, he acknowledges his CEO XChange experience as having made an important contribution. “The CEO XChange was of great value to me when I needed it. The other executives shared their experiences – good and bad, provided clear-eyed analysis of the problem and offered honest feedback and suggestions. They didn’t tell me what I wanted to hear the way an employee might and didn’t bring their self-interest to the problem. My company and I benefited greatly from the input of the CEO XChange members,” Sunil said.