MamaBareSugaring

How Sweet It Is! MamaBare Sugaring Studio Successfully Managing Business Growth.

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FSBDC at Daytona State College Assists Local Small Business

December 13, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

               Tom Daly, Sub-Center Director, FSBDC at DSC, 386.506.3317 or Thomas.Daly@daytonastate.edu 

Orlando, FL – For a small business owner, managing explosive growth can be as big of a challenge as finding ways to survive in a pandemic. For Amanda Yarborough, founder and owner of MamaBare Sugaring Studio LLC, her business was enjoying an exceptionally positive reception from customers and was succeeding beyond her expectations. How to best manage that growth was her biggest problem, and that’s why she turned to the Florida Small Business Development Center at Daytona State College (FSBDC at DSC), a sub-center of the Florida SBDC at UCF (FSBDC at UCF), for assistance.

MamaBare Sugaring Studio, with locations in Lake Mary, Oviedo, Ormand Beach and Port Orange, offers an all-natural hair removal process called hand method ‘sugaring’, similar to waxing but better. MamaBare’s sugaring specialists apply a honey-colored sugar-paste gel to the skin and remove unwanted body and facial hair. They specialize in sugaring, and sugaring only, while creating a welcoming environment designed to remove not just hair, but also the insecurities and anxieties that often accompany it. “It’s all about helping our clients feel their best,” says Yarborough.

All-natural hair removal as practiced by MamaBare has become hugely popular, so much so that Yarborough quickly wanted assistance. “I reached out to the FSBDC because I was experiencing a period of growth that I needed help with,” she recalls. “I really needed someone to guide me and walk me through what the next steps for my business looked like.”

“The FSBDC definitely helped me focus on the big picture,” continues Yarborough. “It helped me by exploring the market and connect with people inside and outside my industry. The group I am part of – the Growth XChange – has been so helpful to my business. I get insights from other business owners, feedback on issues, ideas for business processes and financing. It’s really great to be able to be around others who are doing what I am doing, working through the same problems I am.” (Growth XChange is a facilitated peer-to-peer coaching program offered exclusively by the FSBDC at Daytona State to qualified small business owners.)

In addition to participating in the Growth XChange, Yarborough takes advantage of the FSBDC’s no-cost, expert business consulting and access to market research resources. “I especially love the one-on-one consulting that I get with FSBDC at DSC director Tom Daly,” Yarborough states. “He’s someone you can always go to. I went to cosmetology school. I didn’t get a lot of formal business training. I’ve had to figure it out on my own. Having people to go to, to ask questions of, get feedback from, to know what the next step should be, has been a gamechanger for us.”

“I have experienced tremendous growth within the company and really learned so much about how to run my business and how to grow my business since starting to work with the FSBDC,” Yarbrough explains. “Our company has grown by two more locations and doubled our staffing to almost 30. And that is all due to the consulting I have received from Tom at the FSBDC. If you are an entrepreneur or business owner and you haven’t reached out to the FSBDC, I suggest you do so immediately. I only wish I had known about them sooner.”

For information about MamaBare Sugaring Studio, please visit https://mamabaresugaring.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 the UCF Office of Partnership & Innovation 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 2020, the FSBDC at UCF served more than 2,700 entrepreneurs in Central Florida with consulting services, resulting in more than 10,000 jobs created, retained or saved; $1.2 billion in sales growth; $59.1 million in capital formation; $53.4 million in government contract awards; and 86 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 2020, Florida SBDCs provided 162,519 hours of professional business consulting to more than 24,100 client businesses, resulting in almost 38,000 jobs impacted; $4.4 billion in sales generated; $488 million in government contracts acquired; and $553.5 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, 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

Bug Brigade Logo

Nice Guys Finish First. Bug Brigade, Inc. Grows Thanks to Extreme Customer Service

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Termite and Pest Control Company Succeeds with Assistance from Florida SBDC at Seminole State College

November 29, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

                  Monica Williams, Sub-Center Director, FSBDC at SSC, 407.321.3495 or williamsmm@seminolestate.edu 

Orlando, FL – Despite what the old saying might be, sometimes nice guys don’t finish last – they finish first. And very often they don’t finish alone. In the case of Scott Milliron and his wife Patty, founders and owners of Sanford, FL-based Bug Brigade, Inc., they are “nice guys” who have a “finished-first” success story to tell thanks to their loyal clients, valued employees, and assistance from the Florida Small Business Development Center at Seminole State College (FSBDC at SSC).

Bug Brigade, Inc. is a termite and pest control company offering protection services to residential customers primarily, as well as some commercial clients. They also offer wildlife services, including specialty installation exclusion work to seal vermin out. What sets Bug Brigade apart is its commitment to providing rewarding work to its employees and outstanding customer service to its clients.

“When I created the company, I wanted to give other people an opportunity for success,” recalls Scott Milliron. “It was about bringing like-minded people into a culture that thrived on customer service. And that’s what we did. We applied extreme customer service skills to just taking care of our customers. We all wanted to help people and that’s what we went out there and did.”

By being both customer-centric and employee-oriented – particularly in the field to help the latter be successful – Bug Brigade was able to grow its business. There was always an opportunity for additional growth however, and Milliron sought assistance from the FSBDC at SSC at SSC’s Center for Business Development because “it was a good fit for what I was looking for.” Working with FSBDC consultant and SSC Sub-Center Director Monica Williams and others, he took advantage of its no-cost, expert, one-on-one consulting; workshops and seminars; and access to market research, as well as affordable office space and other business resources.

“The expertise that was provided, and certainly the market data, was very helpful,” says Milliron. “It was information I didn’t have access to, especially getting details on financials. It brought focus to what I was doing and was a tremendous help to me.”

“After getting back on my feet following the Great Recession and thereafter, I came back to the SBDC in 2016,” Milliron remarked. “We were at a little less than $400,000 in revenues then and in five years have been able to grow the business to better than $1.1 million, trending close to $1.3 million this year. So, better than 30% growth a year and I can partially attribute that to the help I got from the FSBDC.”

“For anyone looking to work with the SBDC, it’s a great place to start,” Milliron continued. “I refer people there all the time. They are there to help you. They’re there to provide support. You can get as much out of it as you could possibly want. I highly recommend going to the FSBDC and taking advantage.”

Nice guy stories also often have happy endings. Thanks to their extraordinary business results and, built on the strength of their extreme customer service, Milliron successfully sold his company at a record valuation and is off to his next challenge.

For information about Bug Brigade, Inc, please visit www.bugbrigade.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 the UCF Office of Partnership & Innovation 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 2020, the FSBDC at UCF served more than 2,700 entrepreneurs in Central Florida with consulting services, resulting in more than 10,000 jobs created, retained or saved; $1.2 billion in sales growth; $59.1 million in capital formation; $53.4 million in government contract awards; and 86 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 2020, Florida SBDCs provided 162,519 hours of professional business consulting to more than 24,100 client businesses, resulting in almost 38,000 jobs impacted; $4.4 billion in sales generated; $488 million in government contracts acquired; and $553.5 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, 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

Tech Rage IT Logo

Tech Rage IT Climbs to the Next Level

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Managed Service Provider that Makes Technology ‘Rage Free’

Achieving Growth Goals with Assistance from Florida SBDC at UCF

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

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

Orlando, FL – Taking a business to the ‘next level’ of revenues and success is the goal of all growth-minded small business owners. Finding the assistance and resources to help accomplish these aspirations is another matter entirely -that is, unless they are Erica Martinez-Rose and Matt Rose, founders and owners of Tech Rage IT, an information technology managed services provider (MSP). They had the good sense to turn to the UCF Business Incubator and the Florida Small Business Development Center at UCF (FSBDC at UCF) and their joint program: the UCF Incubator Board of Advisors.

Tech Rage IT isn’t your ordinary MSP. With relentless enthusiasm, they proactively shield their clients from IT problems and – with 24/7 unbeatable responsiveness – they quickly resolve any issues that may arise. Tech Rage IT’s differentiator is its emphasis on customer service and blocking the aggravation that so often comes with technology. “We prevent Tech Rage” is their slogan and making IT “Rage Free” is their credo. “We understand your IT frustration and how important it is that we get it fixed fast,” says Matt Rose, Tech Rage’s Director of Technology Services. “Ours is a customer service first focus. We make that central for our entire team.”

Being customer-centric made Tech Rage IT successful in serving small-to-medium business clients, but the firm wanted to further leverage its competitive advantage and accelerate its growth. “We reached out to the FSBDC because we felt like we were lacking in internal accountability, like we needed to be challenged,” recalls Erica Martinez-Rose, CEO of Tech Rage IT. “And since we started, it has dramatically changed how our leadership team interacts. Now we have that accountability partner that we needed.”

Led by Jill McLaughlin, an FSBDC consultant, and comprised of a team of other FSBDC consultants with expertise in diverse functional areas, the Board of Advisors provided Tech Rage IT with no-cost consulting related to the company’s business development, financial management, and general leadership development. Together, they developed and applied multiple important business strategies and tools, including a digital marketing plan, a sales plan, a financial dashboard with key performance indicators, and Tech Rage’s executive team undertook hands-on leadership training and financial mentoring.

“A lot of the services that have been made available to us have been invaluable,” Erica explains, “starting with the financial coaching and leadership training for the team.” An outcome of particular note is the book that Matt wrote and published after brainstorming with the FSBDC team entitled ‘Kiss Tech Rage Goodbye’. A guide for business owners, COOs and CFOs, it addresses the 8 common pitfalls one can fall into when making IT decisions and how to overcome them. It’s been very well received in the marketplace.

As was hoped, all of this hard work has manifested in impressive results. “Over the last 12 months, our business has seen dramatic growth and improvement from working with the FSBDC,” concludes Erica. “Despite a global pandemic, our company ended last year with 58% revenue growth. We also had the opportunity to grow our team. And we’ve been recognized as a top technology company and business of the year. 2021 has been really successful for us too. I am thankful for the opportunity to be part of the FSBDC’s Incubator Board of Advisors program and would recommend the FSBDC to any business owner needing accountability or a sounding board to take their business to the next level.”

For more information about Tech Rage IT, please visit https://www.techrageit.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 the UCF Office of Partnership & Innovation 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 2020, the FSBDC at UCF served more than 2,700 entrepreneurs in Central Florida with consulting services, resulting in more than 10,000 jobs created, retained or saved; $1.2 billion in sales growth; $59.1 million in capital formation; $53.4 million in government contract awards; and 86 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 2020, Florida SBDCs provided 162,519 hours of professional business consulting to more than 24,100 client businesses, resulting in almost 38,000 jobs impacted; $4.4 billion in sales generated; $488 million in government contracts acquired; and $553.5 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, 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.

Amanda Neil

Ultimate Health Direct Primary Care: A New Approach to Medical Care Management

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Multi-Service Primary Care Clinic Launches in Leesburg with Assistance from Florida SBDC at UCF – Lake County

October 7, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

                 Jamie Mead, Area Manager/Consultant, FSBDC at UCF – Sumter County, 352.689.4449 or Jamie.Mead@ucf.edu

Orlando, FL – Successful entrepreneurs typically have a spirit, an energy, a kind of determination that drives them to meet and overcome the many challenges faced when starting a new business. For Amanda Neil, now the owner and operator of Ultimate Health Direct Primary Care, LLC, it was the conviction that she had a great idea for improving the delivery of healthcare in Lake County, Florida that inspired her to pursue a new venture. With assistance from the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF), Neil was able to turn her idea into reality.

At Ultimate Health Direct Primary Care, Neil and her team do healthcare a little differently. Direct Primary Care (DPC) is a new and innovative personalized approach to medical care management. This affordable, patient-centric model gives members access to unlimited primary care. The focus is to provide every patient with individualized attention to meet his or her specific healthcare needs; 24/7; days, nights, weekends; and in whatever manner they choose: phone, telehealth, email, in office. And it’s all covered by a single, monthly fee.

Ultimate Health DPC’s monthly direct pay, flat fee is likely to cover 80-90% of the issues for which patients need to seek medical care, including: routine and preventative care; sick visits, weight loss management, and chronic disease management. Gone are the high costs of standard health insurance with traditional pay-per-visit doctor’s appointment co-pays, and expensive and often unnecessary visits to urgent care centers or emergency rooms. This model works well for patients and their employers alike, resulting in lower expenses and fewer sick days.

“At Ultimate Health DPC, we put the patient back in the center of care,” Neil explains. “Personal attention is what we offer. Our billing model supports that focus; it’s set up as a monthly membership model that offers patients unlimited, 24-hour access to me as their primary care provider.”

“When the idea for Ultimate Health DPC came to me, I approached my credit union for advice,” recalls Neil. “And they referred me to the FSBDC. I am a health care professional, not a businesswoman. At least I wasn’t a businesswoman until I started working with the FSBDC. With their help, today I am.”

“I just know I had an idea. With my FSBDC consultant Jamie Mead, she took my idea and helped me write my business plan,” continued Neil. “Then together we went after an SBA loan. The FSBDC helped me with everything the bank needed. We checked every box. Jamie made sure we presented a strong loan application and helped me educate our banker and answer his questions about our new cash-based, membership health care model. My consultant ensured we had the data, and that our story was iron clad. And we got the loan!”

“If I had to use one word to describe the FSBDC, it would be ‘partner’” said Neil. “The SBDC and my consultant Jamie took on my dream and made it her dream. And now it’s come true. We got the loan and now Ultimate Health DPC is off to a great start. We have only been open for 30 days, and we are already halfway to our first-year patient goal,” Neil shared proudly. “I think they like us” she concluded with a smile.

For information about Ultimate Health Direct Primary Care, please visit https://leesburgprimarycare.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 the UCF Office of Partnership & Innovation 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 2020, the FSBDC at UCF served more than 2,700 entrepreneurs in Central Florida with consulting services, resulting in more than 10,000 jobs created, retained or saved; $1.2 billion in sales growth; $59.1 million in capital formation; $53.4 million in government contract awards; and 86 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 2020, Florida SBDCs provided 162,519 hours of professional business consulting to more than 24,100 client businesses, resulting in almost 38,000 jobs impacted; $4.4 billion in sales generated; $488 million in government contracts acquired; and $553.5 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, 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

Kissimmee Produce

Grocer Kissimmee Produce La Chiquita Beats Pandemic and Is Growing Again

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Florida SBDC at UCF Assistance Helps Company Survive COVID-19 Interruption

September 28, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

                 Pauline Davis, Assistant Director/Consultant, FSBDC at UCF, 407.420.4850 or Pauline.Davis@ucf.edu 

Orlando, FL – Businesses across the country were put to the test when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and Kissimmee Produce La Chiquita was no exception. Fortunately, company president and CEO Vitor Cortes had the good sense and determination to act quickly and seek help, which he found at the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) in the form of its Business Recovery Team service.

Kissimmee Produce La Chiquita is a neighborhood meat and produce store specializing in Latin foods located in the Greater Orlando hospitality corridor. The company prides itself in offering high quality products without the high prices and is always striving to make the customer experience as easy and pleasant as possible. “Every morning we wake up early and work hard so that you have a clean, tidy, organized store with fresh produce, quality brands, lower prices, wide variety and the best service to earn your loyalty” is what Vitor Cortes promises his customers.

Business was good until the pandemic put a halt to normal life. “Our business was hit by the downturn caused by COVID,” Cortes explains, “and especially hard because we are located in Orlando’s tourist corridor. Almost immediately, we started looking for help to keep our business open.”

Cortes found that assistance at the FSBDC where he benefitted from its no-cost consulting services, business training, market research support, and by participating in its Business Recovery Team (BRT) service. Designed by the FSBDC at UCF to help companies develop and implement customized business strategies to assist in their recovery after the disruptions of COVID-19 and to build sustainability thereafter, the BRT service was created to help clients realign their business models and adapt to a new environment.

In the case of Kissimmee Produce La Chiquita, a team of FSBDC consultants led by consultant Pauline Davis collaborated with Cortes to launch a customer advisory board, rebrand his business, enhance his website, expand his social media presence and redesign and renovate his store. On the finance side, the BRT conducted a financial analysis and created a plan to negotiate lower rent for his location. Most importantly, with the help of the FSBDC’s government contracting affiliate, the Florida PTAC at UCF, the company won a major contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“Once we established our connection with the FSBDC, the Business Recovery Team helped us a lot with their consulting, thinking about how to pivot our business and finding different ways to generate income, including government contracts,” Cortes states. “We had to think outside the box, and they helped us do that. We created a new venture inside our existing business and are now a federal government provider and that’s going to generate 25 new positions at our company and in our community.”

“The FSBDC – their consultants, their team – not only helped us to recover but they are now helping us maintain and grow our business,” concludes Cortes. “I am very grateful. They have different people from different cultures that bring different perspectives. They helped us see what we were not seeing.”

For information about Kissimmee Produce La Chiquita, please visit La Chiquita Kissimmee Produce | Los Mejores Precios (kissimmee-produce.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 the UCF Office of Partnership & Innovation 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 2020, the FSBDC at UCF served more than 2,800 entrepreneurs in Central Florida with consulting services, resulting in more than 10,000 jobs created, retained or saved; $1.2 billion in sales growth; $92.4 million in capital formation; $92.7 million in government contract awards; and 86 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 2020, Florida SBDCs provided 162,476 hours of professional business consulting to almost 23,900 client businesses, resulting in almost 38,000 jobs impacted; $4.4 billion in sales generated; $335 million in government contracts acquired; and $385.8 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, 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

Dr. Mimi Hull

Dr. Mimi Hull of Hull & Associates Named Florida SBDC Network and FSBDC at UCF 2021 State and Regional Volunteer of the Year

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September 21, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Orlando, FL – The Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) and the state-wide Florida SBDC Network have named Dr. Mimi Hull, PhD, psychologist and the president Hull & Associates, as the 2021 State and Regional Volunteer of the Year. Dr. Mimi, as she is known, has distinguished herself by her long and committed service as a volunteer expert since 2005 in the FSBDC’s award-winning Advisory Board Council (ABC) program. She has donated over 140 hours of pro-bono consulting services to small business owners across the Central Florida region which represents a total market value of almost $40,000.

Sponsored by the Florida SBDC Network, the Regional Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes one volunteer from each region of the FSBDC Network that has provided significant, direct contributions with respect to advocacy, consulting, training, program development or special projects during calendar year 2020. From that group of nine regional winners, a single State Winner is selected.

“It gives the FSBDC at UCF and the Florida SBDC Network great pleasure to recognize Dr. Mimi Hull of Hull and Associates for her long and dedicated volunteer work supporting the FSBDC at UCF’s clients in our Advisory Board Council program” remarked Eunice Choi, Regional Director of the Florida SBDC at UCF. “It is experts like Dr. Mimi who make our ABC program transformative for small business owners and so valuable to them.”

The Advisory Board Council is a next-level, business support service assisting established Central Florida businesses by matching them with experienced professionals with a diverse range of skills who work together on a carefully selected, “custom-fit” advisory board. The program provides dynamic talent and expertise specially selected to address the needs of the client company to help it solve problems and create opportunities.  Notably, this service is provided  at no-cost to the client, giving small business owners access to expertise and guidance that is sometimes financially inaccessible to them. Each of the advisors are volunteers who are interested in building relationships and improving the economic community in Central Florida. The operation of the program is funded primarily by Orange County and supported by the generosity of our sponsors.

A steadfast ally of the FSBDC, Dr. Hull has remained highly involved with the Advisory Board Council program throughout her nearly sixteen years of service. When asked what led her to become a volunteer advisor, she remarked, “The easy answer is that I was asked! Having said that, I said, “yes” because I believe in volunteer service and small businesses. While I work professionally with organizations, serving on an advisory board to a business leader sounded new and challenging. I was also aware that often owners know a tremendous amount about their product or service that they offer, but as they grow, many owners realize that they are not prepared for the people issues that arise. I knew that I could help in that arena…and I wanted to.  In addition, I was told that I would be serving on a board with other professionals with different backgrounds. Working with other professionals with different skill sets was also intriguing and I wanted to be a part of that experience.”

As a licensed psychologist, consultant, trainer, and speaker running her own successful firm for over 30 years, Dr. Hull brings widely recognized and significant human relations, strategic planning, training, leadership development, performance management, and organizational development experience to her professional engagements. She has actively applied this expertise with each of the ABC clients she has served. These clients cover a wide spectrum of industries including a landscaping service contractor, a water treatment manufacturer, a civil landscape design/planning firm, and a caregiver referral service.

One of the ABC boards that Dr. Hull has served on includes a producer and wholesale supplier of artisan frozen desserts including gelato, sorbet, and ice cream – Muse Gelato. When asked to reflect on his time working with Dr. Hull, CEO and Co-Founder of Muse Gelato, Brandon Moss, stated, “We were extremely fortunate to have Dr. Mimi Hull serve on our advisory board through the FSBDC, as she was a tremendous resource to advise on HR, employee relations, training, management, and the complicated dynamics of running a family business. She got to the heart of the issues and offered numerous helpful insights aimed at helping us grow not only our business, but ourselves as business owners.”

“Dr. Mimi’s extensive and tireless dedication to giving back in numerous ways and the expertise that she lends to positively impact the Central Florida business community and drive economic growth make her a highly respected and very valuable resource to the ABC program and her peers alike,” concluded Jill Kaufman, Assistant Director and ABC Program Manager at the FSBDC at UCF.

For further information about Dr. Mimi Hull and Hull & Associates, please visit http://www.hullonline.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 the UCF Office of Partnership & Innovation 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 2020, the FSBDC at UCF served more than 2,800 entrepreneurs in Central Florida with consulting services, resulting in more than 10,000 jobs created, retained or saved; $1.2 billion in sales growth; $92.4 million in capital formation; $92.7 million in government contract awards; and 86 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 2020, Florida SBDCs provided 162,476 hours of professional business consulting to almost 23,900 client businesses, resulting in almost 38,000 jobs impacted; $4.4 billion in sales generated; $335 million in government contracts acquired; and $385.8 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, 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

Floridian Medical Group

Floridian Medical Group & Monissima Med Spa Weather the COVID-19 Storm

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FSBDC at UCF Helps Healthcare and Aesthetics Companies Get Back to Business and Get Back to Growth

September 16, 2021

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/Osceola County, 407.847-4311 or Elly.Membreno@ucf.edu

Orlando, FL – Small business owners and entrepreneurs in the healthcare and aesthetics industries have faced extraordinary adversity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients and clients were adhering to C.D.C. guidelines and avoiding office visits. Faced with these trials and more, Yina Frasure, the owner and operator of two personal care company’s – Floridian Medical Group and Monissima Med Spa – turned to the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) located at the Kissimmee/Osceola County Chamber of Commerce for assistance.

Floridian Medical Group specializes in treating individuals injured in automobile accidents, providing evaluation and treatment of spine-related conditions and acute or chronic pain. Floridian Medical uses the most current diagnostics, therapies, and procedures available, offering appropriate injectable medications, physical therapy, chiropractic care, and massage therapy. Monissima Med Spa practices the art of aesthetic enhancement, addressing the entire range of skin conditions by providing sophisticated treatments and technologies to rejuvenate, revitalize, sculpture, and restore the face and body.

Both Floridian Medical Group and Monissima Med Spa are built on the strength of dedicated healthcare professionals who provide personal, individualized treatments tailored to the unique needs of each patient or client. Like any small business, finding ways to continue growing was a challenge only made worse by the COVID-19 shutdown and ensuing slowdown.

“When the pandemic came, I was in a panic,” recalls Frasure. “I was even thinking of closing the business until I had an email and phone call from Elly Membreno, my consultant at the FSBDC. The FSBDC put together a recovery team to help me through the crisis and that was the best thing that could have happened.”

Expanding upon the traditional services offered by the FSBDC, including its no cost-consulting, seminars and training, and access to extensive market research resources, a team of expert consultants was assembled to help Frasure cope with and recover from damage done by the pandemic, but also to build the company’s resilience and ability to grow. “The FSBDC team looked at every single part of the business I needed help with: administrative, management, marketing, sales, accounting,” Frasure says. Their recommendations and answers “gave me all the confidence and help I could ask for. I started to feel like ‘I got this’ and that’s what I really needed, more than even money.”

“My goal was to have the same profits as I had in 2019,” Frasure continues. “And today, over the past three months, I have had better results and better profits than in 2019. I have restructures one of my businesses and have it operating fully independently. And I have opened another Floridian Medical Group location in another city. So, this year has been great for me after all the support from the FSBDC and I am very happy with that.”

“The FSBDC gave me the help and tools to be successful,” Frasure concludes. “I refer everyone to the FSBDC. They make it so easy for entrepreneurs to be successful.”

For information about Floridian Medical Group, please visit https://www.floridianmedicalgroup.com/. For information about Monissima Med Spa, please visit https://monissimamedspa.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 the UCF Office of Partnership & Innovation 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 2020, the FSBDC at UCF served more than 2,800 entrepreneurs in Central Florida with consulting services, resulting in more than 10,000 jobs created, retained or saved; $1.2 billion in sales growth; $92.4 million in capital formation; $92.7 million in government contract awards; and 86 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 2020, Florida SBDCs provided 162,476 hours of professional business consulting to almost 23,900 client businesses, resulting in almost 38,000 jobs impacted; $4.4 billion in sales generated; $335 million in government contracts acquired; and $385.8 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, 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

Von Bru Design

VonBru Design Achieves Turnaround with FSBDC at UCF Assistance

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VonBru Design Achieves Turnaround. Beats COVID-19 Business Challenges.

June 29, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

                 John Finnegan, Consultant, FSBDC at UCF, 407.579.2111 or John.Finnegan@ucf.edu 

Orlando, FL – Three years after starting her own business, Jamie Dickerson was excited about her success.  She had extremely satisfied clients, revenues were coming in and growing, and the future looked bright. Then the COVID-19 pandemic quickly stopped everything in its tracks. It was a dark time for Dickerson and her company, VonBru Design, until she connected with the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF).

VonBru Design is a graphic design and marketing firm specializing in logo and print design, website creation, and digital marketing solutions for small-to-medium sized businesses. Dickerson’s vision for the firm is to provide small businesses with access to the same polish and elegance in graphic design and marketing communications that she experienced as an inhouse designer for a major corporation. She was succeeding in doing just that until the pandemic shut down nearly everything for her almost overnight.

“Like everyone else, I have a Covid story,” Dickerson recalls. “For me, Covid hit and I found that the business I had spent three years building completely bottomed out in three days. I went from a full client roster with a waiting list to zero open projects. As a business owner, it was terrifying. I wasn’t really sure what to do and it took me a moment to adjust.”

“Thank goodness, along came the FSBDC and I was able to use their resources, their sales experts, their government contracting specialists to help me,” Dickerson continues. “We went through my finances, did financial forecasting, did a complete redesign of my business plan. It was a whole turnaround. They really helped support me through that change into what we are today.”

“I found that working with the FSBDC gave me such incredible accountability,” Dickerson says today. “I met once a week with an entire team and worked at my finances, my sales & marketing plans, my goals for my business. I cannot stress how beneficial it was to have this team surrounding me, encouraging me, and wanting me to succeed.”

“When I started VonBru, I think I was thinking too small. When I started working with the FSBDC, they helped me dream big because they took away some of the intimidation. Starting a business is scary, and it’s kind of lonely and isolating. It can feel like it’s too big for you. The FSBDC took that fear off my plate, walked me through the steps of growth and helped me see what my potential was,” says Dickerson.

“The FSBDC helped me reframe the structure of my business, my business plan, my growth model. In so doing, it helped me build a team of freelance designers, freed me to be a project manager and get closer to my clients, enabling me to better guide them through the creative process,” Dickerson states. “I was able to take on larger clients, win larger contracts and actually grow my business about 285% over the last year since I started working with the FSBDC.”

“I tell everyone: Run, don’t walk, to the FSBDC,” Dickerson concludes. “It was such a game changer for my life, my career, my company and I want other people to feel that support.”

For more information about VonBru Design, please visit https://vonbru.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 the UCF Office of Partnership & Innovation 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 2020, the FSBDC at UCF served more than 2,800 entrepreneurs in Central Florida with consulting services, resulting in more than 10,000 jobs created, retained or saved; $1.2 billion in sales growth; $92.4 million in capital formation; $92.7 million in government contract awards; and 86 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 2020, Florida SBDCs provided 162,476 hours of professional business consulting to almost 23,900 client businesses, resulting in almost 38,000 jobs impacted; $4.4 billion in sales generated; $335 million in government contracts acquired; and $385.8 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, 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

Worldwide Sportswear Logo

Worldwide Sportswear: Back to Business and Back to Growth

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Resort and Tourism Apparel Maker Survived and Now Growing Assisted by Florida SBDC at UCF Business Recovery Team

June 21, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

                 Jose Molfino, Consultant, FSBDC at UCF, 407.848.6496, Jose.Molfino@ucf.edu

Orlando, FL – For many businesses serving the hospitality, travel, or food and beverage industries, the COVID-19 pandemic proved disastrous. Many did not survive. Fortunately for Nanu Manek, president and owner of Worldwide Sportswear, the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF), and its CARES Act-funded Business Recovery Team (BRT) program was there to assist him.

Based in Port Orange, FL, Worldwide Sportswear provides screen-printed and embroidered products such as t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and tote bags to the hospitality and tourism industries, including resorts, restaurants, state parks, and other vacation destinations. Worldwide Sportswear is known for capturing the latest trends and operating as a fashion company, producing Fall and Spring product lines every year. Its clients praise the company for its high-quality products and fantastic customer service.

Worldwide Sportswear grew rapidly until COVID-19 struck. “The pandemic brought us to a complete halt,” Manek recalls. Fortuitously, he was already in discussion with the FSBDC at UCF, seeking to join its award-winning Advisory Board Council (ABC) program. Designed for established, second-stage companies, the ABC program provides no-cost, customized teams of volunteer professionals who offer advice and counsel to help small businesses grow.

“Establishing a board for our company interested me a lot because we were growing by leaps and bounds at the time,” Manek says. “But when the COVID-19 shutdown hit, the FSBDC contacted me and shifted me to their Business Recovery Team (BRT) program. And it was phenomenally helpful to us, getting us through the pandemic and back to where we needed to be to start growing again.”

Launched to assist Central Florida businesses in overcoming the economic disruption caused by COVID-19, the FSBDC’s BRT program assembled its expert consultants on teams that were ‘custom-fit’ for the participating business to conduct in-depth strategic and business planning focused on financial, marketing, and operational issues aimed at returning the company to health and growth. Led by FSBDC consultant Jose Molfino, Worldwide Sportswear’s BRT team included experts in sales, marketing, and finance.

“The BRT Team has been fantastic,” says Manek. “Everyone is knowledgeable and really knows what they are doing. They guided us in a straight line, keeping us focused and doing a great job of it,” Manek declares. The BRT’s contributions at the company included a financial review that helped reduce costs, build budgets, and create a 12-month cash flow forecast to monitor progress. It put in place a customer relationship management (CRM) system that has added new clients and industries as revenue sources. And it guided the company in building a robust and highly effective social media and digital marketing campaign.

“While the business is currently still below pre-pandemic levels, the good news is that it’s trending positively. Business is up 100% more than it was during the pandemic, and sometimes 200% to 300%. The projections are definitely good and, once tourism really opens up, we feel that our business is going to thrive, and we’ll be above pre-pandemic levels by a lot,” Manek reports.

“For me, and for Worldwide Sportswear, the FSBDC has been indispensable,” Manek concludes. “Without it, we wouldn’t have had the guidance we needed to survive the pandemic. With the Business Recovery Team, we were able to stop the bleeding, set up a plan for the reopening and be positioned for a bright future.”

For information about Worldwide Sportwear, please visit https://wwspwear.shop/.

— 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 the UCF Office of Partnership & Innovation 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 2020, the FSBDC at UCF served more than 2,800 entrepreneurs in Central Florida with consulting services, resulting in more than 10,000 jobs created, retained, or saved; $1.2 billion in sales growth; $92.4 million in capital formation; $92.7 million in government contract awards; and 86 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 2020, Florida SBDCs provided 162,476 hours of professional business consulting to almost 23,900 client businesses, resulting in almost 38,000 jobs impacted; $4.4 billion in sales generated; $335 million in government contracts acquired; and $385.8 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, 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

USO Biomedical Services Logo

USO Biomed Offering Highest Standard in Medical Equipment Service and Repair

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Benefits from Business Assistance from Florida SBDC at UCF – Lake County

June 14, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Eddie Hill, Area Manager, FSBDC at UCF – Lake County, 352.429.2581 or Eddie.Hill@ucf.edu

Orlando, FL – Making the move from home school mom to day-to-day management of the family business is a major transition, especially if you don’t have experience running a small company. Cindy Brammer was willing to learn and accept that challenge when she took over as president of USO Biomedical Services (USO Biomed). She was also smart enough to know what she didn’t know and turned to the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida – Lake County (FSBDC at UCF – Lake County) for assistance.

USO Biomed services and repairs medical equipment, and they know that properly functioning medical equipment can be the difference between life and death. The company offers the best in medical equipment calibration, repair, and preventive maintenance in Florida, serving doctors’ offices, research facilities and urgent care clinics, as well as dental and veterinary offices.

What sets USO Biomed apart is that deploys certified biomedical equipment technicians (CBET) who calibrate to national and international standards, and is qualifying for ISO 17205 certification, internationally recognized as the highest standard for testing and calibration. USO Biomed prides itself in providing the quality service their clients deserve so they can give their patients the quality care they need.

Cindy Brammer joined her husband Wes, an expert in medical equipment repair, after he had successfully started the business and had it growing. Having left her position with a medial surgical organization to be a home school mother and now to be managing the family business, she was taking on very different responsibilities including sales and marketing, bookkeeping and many other duties. Unfortunately, not all of that work was familiar to her. That’s when she turned to the FSBDC at UCF in Lake County and Eddie Hill, its Area Manager and lead consultant.

“The reason I tried to find help and found it absolutely with the FSBDC is that I realized that I didn’t know all that I needed to know in order to make the company successful,” recalls Brammer. “I needed help, and I needed it quickly and that’s exactly what I found with the FSBDC.”

Brammer took advantage of the FSBDC’s no-cost, expert consulting, business seminars and workshops, and access to market research.  “The FSBDC has been a fantastic resource.  I was able to sit down for one-on-one consultation with Eddie Hill and, from Day One, it has been awesome,” Brammer continued. “He’s always there and he’s been able to give me the direction I needed. The seminars that I attended were incredibly useful. Eddie was also able to get me market information that was invaluable. And he put me in touch with a marketing firm that has been absolutely wonderful for us.”

On the strength of the Brammer’s hard work and with the FSBDC’s assistance, USO Biomed has prospered. “From when we started with the FSBDC, we have been able to double our client base and our gross revenues have increased 200% or more,” Cindy Brammer states proudly. “The FSBDC has been what I needed when I needed it.  They were there anytime I had a question, if I needed one of their seminars, if I needed information. They were there and it’s been fantastic.”

For more information about USO Biomedical Services, please visit https://usobiomed.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 the UCF Office of Partnership & Innovation 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 2020, the FSBDC at UCF served more than 2,800 entrepreneurs in Central Florida with consulting services, resulting in more than 10,000 jobs created, retained or saved; $1.2 billion in sales growth; $92.4 million in capital formation; $92.7 million in government contract awards; and 86 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 2020, Florida SBDCs provided 162,476 hours of professional business consulting to almost 23,900 client businesses, resulting in almost 38,000 jobs impacted; $4.4 billion in sales generated; $335 million in government contracts acquired; and $385.8 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, 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