Every entrepreneur has a story, one that tells you where their new business idea came from and what ignited their passion to turn that idea into a going concern and then into a success. Most will also tell you that they couldn’t have done it alone; one of those is Janel Young, founder and CEO of NAVA PETS, a natural, organic pet food and products manufacturer.

Young has a wonderful story to tell. It begins with “Maxie”, her sweet and beloved little dog. Maxie was constantly beleaguered with irritated skin caused by food and skin allergies; she almost died from a severe reaction to traditional flea/tick prevention shampoo. And so Janel Young went to work to help her dog. In 2011, after months of trial and error, she successfully created an organic dry shampoo powder, natural treats and food to relieve Maxie’s skin condition and supplement her health and wellbeing!

When Young’s animal-loving friends saw Maxie’s transformation, they asked for the products to help their pets. It was then that Janel Young knew that she was on to something. Starting modestly, she began doing the rounds of the local farmers’ markets. She entered new business pitch competitions, and won! She also received national recognition as an entrepreneur, being named a Torey Burch Fellow and winning a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Award.

Young is quick to say that she hasn’t done it alone, though. She credits her team at NAVA PETS as well as her consultants at the Florida SBDC at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) and many others. “My journey with the FSBDC began when I needed advisement on a huge retail contract,” recalls Young. “It was an important growth step for my company and I wanted their assistance.” Young proceeded to take advantage of the FSBDC’s no-cost business consulting, workshops, PTAC (Procurement Technical Assistance Center) services and the Small Business Institute® program.

“I have been very fortunate to team with people like Jill McLaughlin and Steve South at the FSBDC.  (McLaughlin is an FSBDC consultant; South is a PTAC specialist). They have been like an extended family for NAVA PETS,” says Young. “They’ve really been in my corner in helping the business grow and providing me feedback in areas that need improvement.” Among the specific ways in which the FSBDC has helped NAVA PETS include developing a B2B, commercial sales strategy; looking at opportunities in international export markets; and branding, pricing and operations analysis and planning.

From its modest beginning at local farmers’ markets, NAVA PETS has come a long way. The company has grown to 10 employees; it is transitioning into a new, larger manufacturing facility; it is now being sold in Walmart, Lucky’s Market, and Albertson’s as well as on Amazon; and it has seen its revenues grow by over 2000% over the past 3 years. Maxie would be proud.

“Teaming up with the FSBDC is a phenomenal opportunity,” concluded Young. “I would highly recommend them. You can’t start and run a business without a team and the FSBDC is your extended team. It’s helped make NAVA PETS the success story it is today.”

For information about NAVA PETS, please visit https://navapets.com/ .

Owning and running a small business isn’t easy. In fact, there are some who say that it’s the toughest job you’ll ever have. At the same time, there are immense rewards in business ownership like professional independence, personal satisfaction and financial opportunity, not to mention fulfilling a dream. Fortunately, there are people and organizations who are dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and small business owners start, grow and succeed.

Johnny Bonilla had a dream to start and run his own business five years ago. And that’s what he has done and is doing. Today he is the founder and owner of JBoFitness in Kissimmee, FL, a group training facility that takes personal training and applies it in a group setting. Dedicated to building strength and conditioning, JBoFitness guides clients in a significant workout that takes the guesswork out of physical fitness and gets results.

Bonilla will be the first to tell you that he hasn’t done it alone. Along with his wife Raquel, he is assisted by the Florida SBDC at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC) of Osceola County and its Area Manager Rafael E. M. Pratts. Bonilla has taken advantage of all of the FSBDC’s core services: its no-cost consulting, business training and access to marketing databases.

“My experience with the FSBDC has been great,” says Bonilla. “I have been able to pick up vital information from their seminars. And the thing I particularly like is Rafael’s consulting. I never feel uncomfortable about reaching out to him. From helping with strategies for my business, to dealing with taxes, to answering important questions that I know are going to affect my business and help it grow, he’s always there to help.”

“A lot of people get intimidated when they have questions,” remarked Raquel Bonilla. “But the FSBDC isn’t that way. They are so welcoming, so friendly, so knowledgeable. It made us comfortable to be working with them. That’s why we have continued with them for so long. They make it easy.”

“Starting a business and running a business can be scary,” added Johnny Bonilla. “You don’t always know what to do.  To have the FSBDC there to give you ideas, to help you set goals, to hold you accountable, to have that support system is what stands out for me. In business you don’t have a lot of people to turn to but you always have the FSBDC there for you. I love it and wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

With the help of the FSBDC, Bonilla and JBoFitness have enjoyed impressive success. “Since starting with the FSBDC, we’ve had massive growth,” concluded Bonilla. “From our modest start in the courtyard of a local church in 2013, JBoFitness grew into a 1000 sq. ft. space and then in 2017 moved into its current 2750 sq. ft. training facility. Starting out, JBoFitness had 7 clients; today we serve approximately 150. It’s been a lot of work, but also a great ride and fun. We’re going to continue with the FSBDC. They have done a great job with us.”

For many entrepreneurs, it’s not just about starting a business, it’s also about building that business into something more. And so it was for Dr. Daniel Saint-Elie. His vision was to launch a pain management clinic and then to make it into an enterprise that served a broad and underserved community. To make his dream a reality and then a successful business, he turned to the Florida SBDC at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) in Kissimmee.

Saint-Elie is a board-certified pain management physician. His clinic Painalgia Relief Center in Clermont Florida provides pain management services to relieve back, neck and other kinds of pain. Services offered are prescribing indicated oral and topical medicines including medical marijuana and administering steroid injections in the spine, joint or soft tissues. Saint-Elie and his team work to help people cope with their conditions.

Dr. Daniel Saint-Elie with Elly Membreno

Before he could start providing medical care to patients he wanted to help however, he had to plan and build his business. That’s when he contacted the Florida SBDC. “Friends who are entrepreneurs told me about the FSBDC,” recalls Saint-Elie. “I signed up and it’s been a success story ever since.”

“The experience with the FSBDC has been a great one,” he continued. “I have benefited from so many of their services and programs: their excellent business consulting, their seminars and workshops, their market research. They have helped me understand my competition and improve my bookkeeping, accounting and financial management. They have conducted a website analysis, shown me the best way to use social media and assisted with my digital marketing plan. It’s been a great experience. The FSBDC has been a backbone for my business.”

Along with the many services received from the FSBDC, Saint-Elie made particular note of the assistance he got from Elly Membreno, his FSBDC consultant. “The FSBDC is a place where I can brainstorm, get ideas, get feedback and also guidance from experienced small business experts like Elly,” he says. “I am told if I am doing something right or not, and get unbiased advice and counseling about how to run my business.”

Its startup phase behind it, Painalgia Relief Center is now a going concern and a success. “When I started, I had nothing but an idea,” says the doctor. “I turned that into a small exam room. From there I built the practice and today that has become a full service clinic. I’m renting space, we have employees and independent contractors, we’re marketing and out in the community and we’re enjoying positive cash flow. I’m growing my business and, most important, I’m seeing and helping patients which is what I’ve always wanted to do.”

“My endeavor wouldn’t have been possible without the help of the FSBDC,” concludes Saint-Elie. “From the consulting to the classes to the different ideas and their unbiased support, it’s been great. I am very grateful for everything I have received from the FSBDC”

Smart entrepreneurs are the ones who know they don’t know everything. And who then go out to find the help they need, to fill the holes they may have to make their businesses successful.

Tom Scarpello is one of those smart entrepreneurs. He’s the founder and president of Revology Cars, LLC, a manufacturer and builder of totally cool, brand-new (and updated with modern technology and features), Ford-licensed reproduction classic 1960’s Ford Mustang and Shelby GT automobiles. Revology is the first company to ever be licensed by the Ford Motor Company to build reproductions of any of its vehicles in the company’s more than a century of existence. That’s how good Revology Cars is and how true to the original the vehicles it builds are.

When he started Revology, Scarpello brought 26 years of corporate auto industry experience to his new company but believed he needed to know more. “While I have a good base of technical and functional skills in my areas of expertise, I had not been exposed to a lot of the elements of running my own business,” he recalls.

Tom Scarpello and Pauline Davis

It was then that he turned to the Florida SBDC at UCF (FSBDC at UCF) for assistance, in the form of both business training and consulting. “You can improve anything,” says Scarpello. “The FSBDC’s seminars are extremely valuable for entrepreneurs who are experts in their subject matter, but may not have expertise in running a business. I had a good experience there. It’s unusual to have an essentially free resource like the FSBDC that’s actually valuable. It is almost too good to be true, but then turns out to in fact be true.”

Beyond its business training, Scarpello also took advantage of the FSBDC’s no-cost consulting. As his business grew, the need for capital to finance that growth became apparent. Scarpello connected with FSBDC consultant Pauline Davis, an expert in accessing capital, to help him prepare a presentation or “pitch” to potential investors. “I had never done an investor pitch before,” Scarpello recalls. “I’d read books and watched videos but never really gone through the process.”

“The FSBDC was an outstanding resource that helped us to be very prepared for our pitch. They put together a panel of mock investors that allowed us to practice and fine tune our presentation,” says Scarpello. “Ultimately we were successful and able to raise the $2 million in funding we needed.”

“The FSBDC was a great partner. They have people who are or have been entrepreneurs, who are or have been investors, who have the experience, who have been through this before and were able to give us excellent guidance,” Scarpello went on. “We raised our capital really quickly. It made us wonder if we could have gone for more or, more likely, if maybe we were just really well prepared as a result of going through this process with the FSBDC.”

“Today Revology Cars is growing really, really quickly,” concluded Scarpello. “Since we raised our funding, we’ve been able to hire new employees, buy new tooling and equipment and expand our existing facility. We’ve increased our production capacity. That’s all a result of successfully accessing new capital and that was, in part, a result of the work we did with the FSBDC.”

For information about Revology Cars, please visit www.revologycars.com.