December 10, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Orlando, FL – Eunice Choi, Regional Director at the Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (SBDC at UCF), was recognized recently by UCF President John C. Hitt as one of UCF’s highest-funded contract and grant recipients at UCF who raised in excess of $1 million dollars in external Fiscal Year 2012 funding for the university and, in Ms. Choi’s case, its College of Business Administration, the sponsoring institution for the Small Business Development Center at UCF.

Each year, UCF’s Office of Research & Commercialization produces a tally of the funding received from external sources to highlight the magnitude of UCF’s efforts at attracting funds to support and expand services to help the state and the region’s economy. Entitled “The Millionaires Club” with tongue firmly in-cheek, it has recognized the university’s highest funded research and grant recipients since 2000. For Fiscal Year 2012, the university raised over $128.9 million to support its research and commercialization efforts, with 58 percent coming from the members of The Millionaires Club.

Thirty-five members of the university community were identified as research “millionaires’” for raising $1 million or more in funding for the fiscal year. Of that group, SBDC Regional Director Choi raised over $2.2 million, a 37.5 percent increase from FY2011, and making her 12th on the list of “millionaires.”

“Given the important mission of the SBDC at UCF to help businesses start, grow and succeed, attracting external funding is critically important to maintaining its momentum assisting small businesses in our region,” noted Dr. Paul Jarley, Dean of the UCF College of Business Administration. “Thanks to the diligence and hard work of Eunice Choi and her team at the SBDC in obtaining financial support,  UCF and the College of Business Administration can further their commitment to the economic well-being of the communities that surround them through the work of the Small Business Development Center at UCF and their valuable assistance to our small business clients.”

–UCF–

With its main office in the National Entrepreneur Center (formerly the Disney Entrepreneur Center) now located at the Fashion Square Mall in Orlando, the Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (SBDC at UCF) is part of the UCF College of Business Administration and the Florida Small Business Development Center Network, providing business seminars and no-cost, one-on-one business consultation to small business owners. The SBDC at UCF serves an eight-county area that includes Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties and maintains seven satellite service centers. In 2011, the SBDC at UCF helped entrepreneurs create or retain 1,517 jobs, win contract awards worth $28.9 million, acquire $17.7 million in capital formation, and increase sales by $51.9 million. The SBDC at UCF is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

SBDC at UCF | 3201 E. Colonial Drive | Orlando, FL 32801 | p 407.420.4850 | f 407.420.4862

Export Marketing Plan Identifies Foreign Opportunities, Recommends Action Plans and Connects With In-Market Support

November 8, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Orlando, FL – The Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (SBDC at UCF), through the new Export Marketing Plan Services, has provided Certified Slings & Supply, Inc., a Florida-based company headquartered in Casselberry, FL, with a plan for growing its business in foreign markets. With more than 70 percent of the world’s purchasing power outside of the United States, if a U.S. business is only selling domestically, it is reaching just a small share of potential customers.

Certified Slings & Supply has a strong tradition of innovation and service led by the Worswick family since 1978.  The company’s current leadership is made up of dedicated second and third generation family members with a combined 67 years of experience in the rigging, overhead lifting, load securement, and contractor supplies industry.  Certified Slings & Supply employs 110 full-time team members and operates independent Rigging and Contractor Supply service centers located throughout Florida:  Orlando, West Palm Beach, Miami, Tampa, Ft. Myers, and Ocala. The core business of service centers is the distribution, sale and manufacture of a variety of marine, mining, industrial and general contractor supplies.

Juan Jose Lopez, the International Sales Director for Certified Slings & Supply approached the SBDC at UCF with a goal of growing the company by increasing export sales. He had previously attended the SBDC’s Export 101: An Introduction to Exporting workshop in 2011. More recently, he had heard about Export Marketing Plan Services, a new program awarded through the State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) grant by the U.S. Small Business Administration.  It is offered in partnership with Enterprise Florida, Inc., and the U.S. Commercial Service to assist new-to-export manufacturers in developing their international growth strategy.

SBDC at UCF’s International Trade Specialist Nerine Elattar met with Mr. Lopez and Certified Slings’ upper management in order to gather information and understand the company’s short- and long-term international trade goals.  A customized export marketing plan was crafted for the company that included industry and customer analyses along with recommended target markets, overseas trade opportunities and an action plan.  The cost for preparation of an Export Marketing Plan is $3,000.  Qualifying companies are eligible for a $2,500 scholarship, making the cost to the company $500.

In addition to the plan, the company received an Enterprise Florida Gold Key grant to connect the company with potential buyers overseas.  Certified Slings & Supply will continue expanding in Central and South America and the Caribbean, and recently traveled to Trinidad and Tobago with the Export Sales Mission.  As a result of this, the company expects an increase of $120,000 in export sales over the next 24 months.  The SBDC at UCF will continue to work closely with Certified Slings to assist in implementing the recommendations from the plan.

“If your company is thinking about exporting products or services abroad, the first thing you should do is meet with a member of the SBDC,” commented Mr. Lopez.  “No matter how large or small your company is, an SBDC International Trade Specialist will be able to lay out a customized export marketing program personally designed for your company.  It will be filled with data, statistics and facts targeting any region your company wishes to do business with.  This is the best investment any company could make if looking for help with an international marketing program.”

–UCF–

With its main office in the National Entrepreneur Center (formerly the Disney Entrepreneur Center) now located at the Fashion Square Mall in Orlando, the Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (SBDC at UCF) is part of the UCF College of Business Administration and the Florida Small Business Development Center Network, providing business seminars and no-cost, one-on-one business consultation to small business owners. The SBDC at UCF serves an eight-county area that includes Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties and maintains seven satellite service centers. In 2011, the SBDC at UCF helped entrepreneurs create or retain 1,517 jobs, win contract awards worth $28.9 million, acquire $17.7 million in capital formation, and increase sales by $51.9 million. The SBDC at UCF is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

SBDC at UCF | 3201 E. Colonial Drive | Orlando, FL 32801 | p 407.420.4850 | f 407.420.4862

sbdc@bus.ucf.edu | www.sbdcorlando.com

Small Business Development Center at UCF

October 31, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Orlando, FL – Six (6) clients of the Small Business Development Center at University of Central Florida (SBDC At UCF) have been named to Inc. magazine’s respected 2012 Inc. 500/5000 list, an exclusive ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies.  The list, representing the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy —America’s independent entrepreneurs – measures revenue growth from 2008 to 2011.

The 2012 Inc. 500, unveiled in the September issue of Inc. (available on newsstands until November 15 and on Inc.com), is the most competitive crop in the list’s history. To make the cut, companies had to have achieved a staggering minimum of 770% in sales growth. The Inc. 500’s aggregate revenue is $15.7 billion, with a median three-year growth rate of 1,431 percent. The companies on this year’s Inc. 500 employ more than 48,000 people and generated over 40,000 jobs in the past three years.
The six SBDC at UCF clients named on this year’s Inc. 500/5000 list include:

• TreeFrog Data Solutions, Deborah DeLeo, President – Ranked #476 with 808% three-year sales growth.  TreeFrog provides medical claims and processing, medical claim coding and auditing, quality assurance and health care administrative assistance to the Department of Defense Medical Treatment Facilities and the Veterans Administration.  www.TreeFrogData.com
• EnRep, Jennifer Dickerson, President – Ranked #517 with 742% three-year sales growth.  EnRep provides environmental and safety consulting services to environmental management and remediation companies and government programs. www.EnRep.com
• Dignitas Technologies, Elizabeth Burch, President and CEO – Ranked #633 with 571% three-year sales growth. Dignitas Technologies provides system and software engineering services for the Modeling and Simulation industry.  www.dignitastechnologies.com
• Hooah LLC, Jorge Suria, President – Ranked #1469 with 204% three-year sales growth. This is Hooah’s third consecutive year being named to the Inc.5000 list. Hooah LLC is an interactive communications firm that bridges the gap between design and technology. Hooah produces measurable ROI strategies for clients’ marketing challenges. www.hooah.cc
• SPS Industrial, Steve Sarno, President – Ranked #1539 with 193% three-year sales growth. SPS provides maintenance, repair and operational supplies and equipment to federal agencies, the Department of Defense, businesses and contractors, focusing on supplying specialty parts, vending machine security equipment and facility maintenance materials. www.SPSIndustrial.com
• Innovative Data Solutions, Joshua Brown, CEO – Ranked #1,801 with 147% three-year sales growth.  Innovative Data Solutions, Inc. (IDS), provider of document management solution PowerDMS™ serving a wide range of industries.   www.powerdms.com

“We are gratified and very proud that so many of our clients have been recognized by Inc. magazine for their consistent year-over-year revenue growth.  With revenue growth come jobs, both new hires and retained positions. We at the SBDC at UCF are pleased to have played a role in our clients’ success and their contribution to the Central Florida economy,” remarked Eunice Choi, Regional Director of the SBDC at UCF.

As SBDC clients, these Central Florida businesses can attribute some part of their success to the services they received from the SBDC at UCF, including business counseling, training, and government procurement assistance, as well as certain of its special programs.

Several of these businesses participated in the SBDC at UCF’s award-winning program, the Advisory Board Council. The Advisory Board Council aims to facilitate business growth through the use of advisory boards for established Orange County companies. The program acts as a matchmaker between established businesses and professionals who volunteer their expertise as members of a ‘custom-fit’ advisory board.

Other of the companies took advantage of the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) at the SBDC at UCF. This program helps Florida businesses understand the government procurement process and provides free consulting services to business entities with primary or branch offices in Florida that are seeking to sell their goods/services to federal, state or local governments; this includes assistance with identifying government projects, proposal writing guidance, small business program application assistance (M/WBE, DBE, SDVOSB, 8a, HUBZone) etc.
These local companies utilized the support of the SBDC at UCF to grow their businesses in other ways, as well. Today, two of the company presidents are participating in the SBDC at UCF’s CEO XChange program. The CEO XChange is an executive roundtable program launched in 2010 designed for second-stage companies, offering a confidential setting for top executives where they can benefit from peer-to-peer coaching and networking, and discuss vital issues, opportunities and trends.

–UCF–

With its main office in the National Entrepreneur Center (formerly the Disney Entrepreneur Center) now located at the Fashion Square Mall in Orlando, the Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (SBDC at UCF) is part of the UCF College of Business Administration and the Florida Small Business Development Center Network, providing business seminars and no-cost, one-on-one business consultation to small business owners. The SBDC at UCF serves an eight-county area that includes Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties and maintains seven satellite service centers. In 2011, the SBDC at UCF helped entrepreneurs create or retain 1,517 jobs, win contract awards worth $28.9 million, acquire $17.7 million in capital formation, and increase sales by $51.9 million. The SBDC at UCF is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

SBDC at UCF | 3201 E. Colonial Drive | Orlando, FL 32801 | p 407.420.4850 | f 407.420.4862

sbdc@bus.ucf.edu | www.sbdcorlando.com

Small Business Development Center at UCF
August 7, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Hal Thayer, Communications Director, SBDC at UCF, 407.420.4850 or hthayer@bus.ucf.edu

Orlando, FL – At its recent Annual Professional Development Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the Florida Small Business Development Center Network (FSBDCN) recognized and thanked Anthony (Tony) Ruben for his contributions above the norm to the success of the FSBDC’s mission to help business start, grow and succeed, create positive economic impact, and provide value to its stakeholders. Based upon his nomination by the Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (SBDC at UCF), he was named as the state-wide Florida Volunteer of the Year for his long-time service as a volunteer advisor  with the SBDC at UCF’s Advisory Board Council (ABC) program.

The SBDC at UCF’s Advisory Board Council program is a next-level, business support service, assisting established Orange County businesses by matching them with experienced business professionals with a diverse range of skills who work together on a “custom-fit” advisory board. It is an economic development program that operates within the Small Business Development Center at UCF and is funded by Orange County Government. The program acts as a matchmaker between businesses and volunteer advisors, all of whom are professionals in the community. The program’s purpose is to positively impact Orange County businesses through revenue growth and job creation.. Businesses also benefit from improved operations, marketing, financial management, reduced costs,  leadership development and succession planning. Through the Advisory Board Council, clients gain the knowledge required to drive their business further. An Advisory Board is a powerful management tool that no business should be without. It provides dynamic talent and expertise at no-cost – helping businesses solve problems and create opportunities.

Mr. Ruben is the Managing Director of Inflection Point Consulting in Orlando. He has been a volunteer advisor with the SBDC at UCF’s ABC program since 2004 and has served on the boards of seven companies since joining the ABC, donating more than 80 hours of professional board service.  Ruben has advised ABC clients on a wide variety of issues including acquisitions, pricing strategy, commission structure, margin improvement, cash flow projections and more. His long, broad and deep service with the ABC exemplifies the performance excellence that is the core criteria for being honored as the FSBDCN’s Volunteer of the Year.

“We are extremely proud that Tony Ruben has been recognized as the Florida SBDC Network’s Volunteer of the Year,” said Eunice Choi, Regional Director of the SBDC at UCF. “His years of dedicated service on multiple Advisory Board’s have helped many Central Florida entrepreneurs and business owners in myriad ways, all culminating in improvements to those businesses’ health and success.”

“I have always loved the “game” of business,” remarked Mr. Ruben. “I find the SBDC at UCF’s Advisory Board Ccouncil program to be a wonderful opportunity to help lead small businesses, who often don’t have the resources to be strong in finance and strategy, to greater success. It is wonderful to be recognized for doing what I love;  I am indeed honored to be named Volunteer of the Year by the Florida SBDC Network.”

–UCF–

With its main office in the National Entrepreneur Center (formerly the Disney Entrepreneur Center) now located at the Fashion Square Mall in Orlando, the Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (SBDC at UCF) is part of the UCF College of Business Administration and the Florida Small Business Development Center Network, providing business seminars and no-cost, one-on-one business consultation to small business owners. The SBDC at UCF serves an eight-county area that includes Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties and maintains seven satellite service centers. In 2011, the SBDC at UCF helped entrepreneurs create or retain 1,517 jobs, win contract awards worth $28.9 million, acquire $17.7 million in capital formation, and increase sales by $51.9 million. The SBDC at UCF is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

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

June 20, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Orlando – With small businesses representing 98.9 percent of all employers and employing 42.3 percent of the private-sector workforce, according to the latest available data, it’s no wonder that the Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (SBDC at UCF) is charging ahead with the implementation of its Growth Acceleration services.

The Growth Acceleration services  offered by the SBDC at UCF help small- to medium-sized businesses create and retain jobs for Central Floridians. Funded with part of Florida’s $2.6 million under the federal Small Business Jobs Act, the program has helped multiple companies in eight Central Florida counties since it started in March 2011 and is currently accepting new applications for the program.

“The in-depth assessments and counseling provided by our Growth Acceleration consultants have helped small businesses seize opportunities that may not have been apparent to them,” said Eunice Choi, regional director for the SBDC at UCF. “These companies have been able to implement the strategies they’ve identified with the help of our Growth Acceleration consultants to increase the pace of their growth, which means much-needed jobs for our region.”

Most businesses in Florida have 500 or fewer employees, and most new employment growth is attributed to startups and small businesses, according to recent U.S. Census figures. More than 6.7 million people work in small businesses in Florida.
Through the program, companies develop sustainable growth strategies in key business areas, including marketing and business development, cash flow management, strategic planning, market/industry research, as well as capital access.  Consultants are certified business analysts who provide up to 100 hours of counseling to help companies in a variety of industries, including retail, construction, professional, scientific and technical services.

Qualifications for participating in the program are that a company must have a goal of growth; be in operation for at least three years; have annual revenues ranging from $500,000 to $10 million; and have five or more employees.

One company helped by the program is Maple Street, Inc., a Longwood, FL financial services company providing outsourced vendor management, contract negotiation and regulatory compliance oversight for financial institutions. Founder and President Michael Crofts met with a Growth Acceleration consultant from the SBDC at UCF who identified the firm’s strengths and weaknesses and assisted Crofts with developing a plan of action to guide future growth.

“We are fortunate to have a growing business, but the challenges that come with growth are sometimes enormous,“ remarked  Crofts. “Having terrific expert advice and counsel from the Small Business Development Center at UCF consultants has been tremendous for our business as well as a great opportunity to learn to run our company better. The consulting we have received from the SBDC at UCF through its Growth Acceleration Services has been incredibly helpful, having assisted us grow our business and create new jobs at a rapid pace.”

The SBDC at UCF’s Growth Acceleration services are part of a state-wide initiative of the Florida Small Business Development Center Network. The FSBDCN is a partnership program funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration and local and regional host partners, including Florida’s state universities and colleges.

For more information about Growth Acceleration services, contact SBDC at UCF Regional Director Eunice Choi at 407-420-4850 or echoi@bus.ucf.edu.

–UCF–

With its main office in the National Entrepreneur Center (formerly the Disney Entrepreneur Center) now located at the Fashion Square Mall in Orlando, the Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (SBDC at UCF) is part of the UCF College of Business Administration and the Florida Small Business Development Center Network, providing business seminars and no-cost, one-on-one business consultation to small business owners. The SBDC at UCF serves an eight-county area that includes Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties and maintains seven satellite service centers. In 2011, the SBDC at UCF helped entrepreneurs create or retain 1,517 jobs, win contract awards worth $28.9 million, acquire $17.7 million in capital formation, and increase sales by $51.9 million. The SBDC at UCF is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

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