Dignitas Technologies, Advisory Board Council, FSBDC, Business Consulting, Elizabeth Burch

Dignitas Technologies: Technology-Driven Success

With Assistance from SBDC at UCF’s Advisory Board Council,
Woman-Owned Modeling & Simulation Company Recognized Statewide for Outstanding Growth and Leadership

With almost ten years in the Orlando modeling and simulation industry, Dignitas Technologies LLC has established itself as a leader in the development of military training systems.  Dignitas’ efforts are focused in the Live, Virtual, Constructive and Gaming domains across a diverse customer set.  At its essence, Dignitas conducts cutting-edge research and develops innovative technology to build systems to train soldiers before they’re deployed.  These risk-free simulations save government resources and better prepare soldiers to face combat situations through synthetic training environments.

imageAt its start in 2004, Dignitas was founded by Jon Watkins as a single person consultant platform to provide engineering support to the simulation industry.  In July 2009, Elizabeth Burch joined Dignitas as Vice President to run and grow the business.  In 2010, Burch legally purchased 51% of the business, converted it to a Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB), and assumed the role of President and CEO.

Right away, Burch took steps to develop the company and accelerate its growth.  According to Burch, “Our business was in the early stages of development and we needed guidance in the critical areas that support the business infrastructure.”  Burch had heard positive feedback from others that were part of the Small Business Development Center at UCF’s (SBDC at UCF) Advisory Board Council (ABC) program and she sought to utilize this resource to help her better manage and develop her organization.   According to Burch, “Since we did not have the funds to hire consultants or employees to perform these roles, we needed support from an Advisory Board to guide us in the right direction.”

In 2011, Burch met with the SBDC at UCF’s ABC Program Manager Jill Kaufman, who accepted Dignitas Technologies into the program and formed an advisory board to address the company’s needs.  “Some of the key aspects

When Dignitas became a client of the Advisory Board Council in 2011, the firm had a staff of 30 employees and annual revenue of $4.5 million.  By the end of 2012, Dignitas had grown to 35 employees and increased its revenue nearly 42% to $6.4 million.  In honor of her accomplishments at Dignitas Technologies, Elizabeth Burch was named SBA State of Florida Woman Owned Small Business Person of the Year in 2013.    Among the biggest benefits coming out of the board’s recommendations were:  improved financial management, risk management, legal protections, and organizational development.  Burch reflected on the progress her company has made.  “The Advisory Board Council represents knowledgeable business resources that provided us with invaluable experience and guidance for our business. This has greatly helped our business because the Advisory Board was able to help us formalize our goals and assist us in developing plans to achieve those goals.   Their assistance and guidance has helped mature our business and make it more resilient in our tough budget environment.”of what we sought in our board were sound business finance advice for our type of government business and strong legal advice relative to how we executed contracts and established our intellectual property,” remarked Burch. “The board that we worked with provided us with excellent guidance and support.”

“We learned many lessons from our experience with the ABC process,” Burch shared.  “We would highly recommend any small business to work with the Advisory Board Council program. Given the limited budgets available to small businesses, this level of professional and credible assistance can’t be measured.”

Employment Technologies Corporation, Advisory Board Council

Employment Technologies Corporation

Ask almost any business executive: “what’s the toughest part of your job?” Nine out of ten will tell you that it’s finding, hiring and keeping good people. It’s an age old problem that Joseph and Eugenia Sefcik, the co-founders of Employment Technologies Corporation (ETC), saw as an opportunity. With Joe’s background in employee sourcing and human resources, and Eugenia’s hands-on experience building branch banking teams, they had enough business experience to know that offering easy and effective employee testing and development tools would be the solution to a major challenge faced by the business community. They were both passionate about the potential they saw in their solution and about the opportunity it represented for them and for their future customers.

And so off they charged. Joe had watched employee training evolve from live role playing to computer-based automation and onto static video interactivity. And in the back of his mind he knew that he had had a yearning since his childhood to own his own business. Then an opportune change in management at Joe’s employer gave him and Eugenia the opening they had hoped for. In 1988, through a spin-off from Joe’s previous employer, together with four colleagues they launched ETC.

Since then, Employment Technologies Corporation has established itself as a pioneer and world’s #1 developer of employment simulations. ETC’s signature line of EASy Simulations® improves hiring, accelerates employee performance, and inspires success.

Joe and Eugenia have engaged in an ongoing continuous improvement effort to get there. And their products demonstrate the value they have created for their customers. ETC has evolved employment testing into the realm of simulation and, in so doing, has produced a solution that is more robust, accurate and fair than anything that came before. The company’s products, including its signature line of EASy Simulations ®, delivers proven, bottom line results including substantial reductions in interview time, absenteeism and job-related errors, as well as increases in sales referrals and shorter training sessions.

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Over the years, Joe and Eugenia have availed themselves of a variety of resources available to Central Florida entrepreneurs as they worked to grow ETC. One of the important and valuable programs they have participated in to great advantage is the Florida SBDC at UCF’s Advisory Board Council (ABC), an economic development program that operates within the Florida Small Business Development Center at UCF and is funded by Orange County Government. The program is a no-cost professional advisory service for local companies. By acting as a matchmaker between businesses and volunteer advisors, all of whom are professionals in our community, the Advisory Board Council program acts to positively impact Orange County businesses through revenue growth and job creation. Businesses also benefit by improved operations, marketing, financial management, reduced costs, leadership development and succession planning.

In the case of Employment Technologies Corporation, their Advisory Board contributes regularly to their financial management expertise, sales activities and marketing. The Board, which includes SBDC at UCF’s certified business consultant Roger Greenwald and ABC program manager Jill Kaufman along with four additional outside advisors, meets quarterly to assist ETC.

“Our Advisory Board from the SBDC at UCF has been invaluable,” said Joe Sefcik. “Their input, consulting and coaching has helped us make important decisions and chart the direction of the company. Having these objective, external experts put 100% of their focus on our business allows us to better benchmark our performance and guide our thinking. We are grateful for the support we have received from our Advisory Board.”

Another Florida SBDC at UCF program that ETC has taken advantage of is the SBDC’s award winning Small Business Institute® (SBI®) program. SBI® connects local small businesses like ETC to the resources and management expertise of UCF’s College of Business Administration (UCF CBA) and the SBDC at UCF by providing confidential and professional management assistance through consulting projects performed by UCF CBA students. In the case of ETC, the Small Business Institute® team assisted in producing and evaluating valuable market research that helped the company make new product decisions.

Thanks to the Sefcik’s leadership, the dedication and hard work of their team and support from resources like the SBDC at UCF, the results at ETC have been outstanding. Their products have won myriad awards, including being a five-time winner of the prestigious Human Resources Executive, “Top HR Product of the Year” award. More recently, the company received the highly-regarded William C. Schwartz Innovation Award for their innovative practices and exceptional impact on Central Florida. The company has grown to more than XX employees. And revenues have increased steadily, with but a few slowdowns during periods of high unemployment and minimal hiring. In fact, over the past three years they have worked with their SBDC at UCF Advisory Board, ETC has seen revenues increase 40%.

Importantly for Joe and Eugenia and their team at ETC, they have been able to use their success to help their community. They are an active supporter of the University of Central Florida, having donated a psychology laboratory to the school and employed interns and students from the school. Fully one-third of current ETC employees are UCF graduates, many of whom came into the company through this route. Eugenia has taken a leadership role in supporting Kids Across America; in recent years her work has enabled more than 40 inner city children to attend a summer camp designed to encourage, equip and empower urban youth and their mentors through camping and education.

The combination of providing pioneering employment simulation solutions for its customers, being a growing Central Florida business for its employees and staying a meaningful contributor for its community makes Employment Technologies Corporation a success story indeed. The FSBDC at UCF is proud to have made a small contribution to that success.

 

Sarah Blake, Elipsis Engineering

Elipsis Engineering & Consulting Realizes Success With Assistance from FSBDC at UCF’s Advisory Board Council

Engineering Firm Achieves Rapid Growth While Staying True to Guiding Principles

 

In the beginning of 2009, with the economy in a severe downturn and many businesses failing, Sarah Blake took a risk and opened Elipsis Engineering & Consulting, LLC with no capital, two employees and $200,000 in revenue.

This risk has reaped many rewards as the firm recently celebrated its fifth year in operation and was named one of the 2014 fastest growing private companies in Central Florida by the Orlando Business Journal (OBJ).

A second significant milestone for the firm occurred in 2012 when Elipsis applied to participate in the FSBDC at UCF’s Advisory Board Council program. “We joined the Advisory Board Council because we were such a young company and didn’t have all the expertise we needed,” remarked Blake.  She worked with Advisory Board Council Program Manager Jill Kaufman, who hand-picked a team of board members to address the company’s needs and accelerate their growth.  Experts in marketing, human resources, business law, finance, accounting, strategic planning and government contracting comprised Elipsis’ board of advisors.  According to Blake, “It’s an opportunity that you don’t typically have as a small business.  It’s hard to get the professional advice that you need and that’s affordable.  I would recommend the Advisory Board Council program because it is a great resource at no cost.”

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The board acted as a catalyst that helped drive the firm’s rapid development and expansion. “My board always made themselves available to me,” explained Blake.  “They have helped develop our business strategy and improve our hiring process, especially in a tighter labor market.  With the financials they have helped me understand our profit margin and develop goals and metrics for strong financial growth.  They have helped us establish a plan for our growth and resources.”  In addition to the board’s input on the business, they also mentored Blake on her personal development.  “The board has helped me develop as a business owner,” commented Blake.  “My perspective has changed and I have realized what I need to be delegating.  They have helped me to become a better leader.”

Blake says the top accomplishments of her company since her advisory board began in 2012 include: purchase of an office building which expanded their facility from 3,000 sq. ft. to 7,000 sq. ft.; doubling the size of their fleet of vehicles from 10 to 20;   increased staff from 17 to 30 employees; and increased revenue by 82%. Moreover, the firm was awarded two 5 year $5 million continuing service contracts with the Florida Department of Transportation for materials testing and geotechnical services and construction engineering inspection support.  In addition, Elipsis has worked on some of the region’s largest projects including Sunrail, Wekiva Parkway and I-4 Ultimate.

As she leads Elipsis, Blake is guided by a set of deeply-held core values which include “Significance”.  “We strive to be Significant by giving back to our community and assisting organizations that are making a difference locally and internationally,” Blake explained.  Although Blake and Elipsis have won numerous accolades including 2014 OBJ Fast 50; 2013 OBJ 40 Under 40; Orlando’s 2014 OBJ Top Engineering Firms; Orlando’s 2013 Largest Women-Owned Businesses; 2013 OBJ Women Who Mean Business; and 2014 OBJ Best Places to Work, one of the awards she is most proud of was being named among the 2013 Central Florida Top Philanthropic Companies.  “Our focus hasn’t been on large profits,” explained Blake.  “Our focus has been on having a good, stable work environment.  What we have found is that we have been more blessed than we ever could have imagined.  We are a company that our employees are proud to work for.”

Craig Caswell, Common Sense Office Furniture

A Common Sense Approach to Business Success

“Always use Common Sense.” That marketing slogan neatly sums up the philosophy Craig Caswell has used to guide his business. Caswell opened Common Sense Office Furniture in 1997 and that guiding principle has helped him to build his firm into one of the largest office furniture dealers in Central Florida. Based in Orlando, Common Sense Office Furniture offers design, sales, delivery and installation of new, used and remanufactured office furniture out of its more than 30,000 sq. ft. showroom and warehouse. Common Sense has become known for the excellent value and service they provide and today’s cost consciousness has made their offerings even more popular. A key element of the firm’s business growth strategy and common sense approach has been to utilize the services of the Small Business Development Center at UCF. According to Caswell, “Nowhere are there valuable services and advice available, at no charge, like at the SBDC and Advisory Board Council. They are a great tool to grow a business and get advice that otherwise you may never have access to…”.

image (4)Caswell has utilized the services of the SBDC’s Procurement Technical Assistance Center and in 2010 he joined CEO XChange, a CEO roundtable group, but the Advisory Board Council (ABC) was the first SBDC program to attract his interest. In fact, his first interaction with the ABC was when he signed up to donate his time and expertise to help other business owners by serving as a volunteer advisor for the program in early 2008. Yet, as Caswell learned more about the ABC and the next level business assistance it provides he thought it would be a useful tool to help propel his own business growth.

Later that same year Common Sense Office Furniture became a client of the Advisory Board Council. Caswell worked with ABC Program Manager, Jill Kaufman, to identify areas of opportunity and challenge facing his business. Kaufman formed a board of advisors for Common Sense to address the firm’s strategic planning, marketing, sales management and training, operations and business development. According to Caswell, “The board members all had backgrounds directly related to the operations and sales parts of my business and they understood each component. I never could have afforded this kind of advice without the SBDC.” The Advisory Board Council worked with Caswell to take a more strategic view of his business, build a stronger business foundation and lay out a roadmap for business growth. “One of the missing components they helped me identify was a lack of consistency and follow through on ideas, projects and marketing as we were caught up in the day to day trials of running a small business,” commented Caswell. “The Advisory Board helped me pull my head out of the sand, take a look around and find a path that would lead to future growth.”

Common Sense Office Furniture’s advisory board has proven so advantageous to the business that Caswell requested and was approved to remain in the program for a second term. Throughout Common Sense’s tenure in the ABC the firm has demonstrated strong growth in revenue and their number of employees has doubled from six to twelve, strengthening the firm’s organizational structure and allowing Caswell to focus on expansion opportunities. The company has refined its marketing strategy and increased its visibility in the community. In fact, the business received significant exposure when Common Sense Office Furniture was named to the 2010 Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private companies in the U.S. due to its 41% 3-year revenue growth. Upon learning of this honor Caswell recognized the contribution of the SBDC. “The SBDC has been instrumental in helping me grow my business for the past two years. This is evidenced by the inclusion of our company in the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing small businesses this year.”

ConTech Construstion, Advisory Board Council, SBDC, Jill Kaufman

ConTech Construction

Rock Solid: Concrete Contractor Stronger than Ever with Help from the SBDC at UCF’s Advisory Board Council

In classic entrepreneurial style, Alan Haughey and his wife Joan started ConTech Construction in 1993 in the living room of their Orlando home.  At its founding, the firm was a general contractor and concrete contractor that employed a staff of three.   Today, ConTech has offices in Winter Garden, employs a full time staff of 62, and Alan and Joan are joined in the business by their son Jeff.

ConTech’s success has come about in large part as a result of the solid reputation for integrity, collaboration and high performance that the Haugheys have built for the company.  In fact, ConTech’s name is so esteemed in the industry that 92% of the firm’s work comes from repeat business and direct referrals.  Alan Haughey’s more than 35 years in the concrete industry has enabled him to establish many long term relationships with clients and industry-leading firms.  That, combined with the firm’s strong financial standing and bonding capacity of over $10 million, has enabled them to take on larger jobs.

ConTech’s projects can be seen all over the region including Winter Garden City Hall, Uptown UCF, SunTrust Plaza and an eight-inch thick ice floor at Amway Arena.   The firm has poured over 160,000 cubic yards of concrete ranging from theme park rides at Disney World to a nuclear power plant and boasts a 99.998% rate of accuracy.

ConTech has won many accolades for their work.  Their $6.5 million restoration of the Royal Floridian Resort in Ormond Beach earned them 2011 Project of the Year by the International Concrete Repair Institute.   The firm has also received the Eagle Award from the Associated Builders and Contractors for excellence in construction of the Winter Garden City Hall.

Alan Haughey believes that “innovation and modifying your business to keep up with ever-changing realities” are keys to ConTech’s success.  Joan and Alan took action on this belief when they sought the assistance of the Small Business Development Center at UCF’s Advisory Board Council (ABC) in 2007.  “For me, joining the Advisory Board Council was our first major step in the process of working on the business rather than in it,” said Alan.  “We were so overwhelmed with the day-to-day operations that it was very difficult to focus on the strategic business changes that we needed to make to survive in a changing economy.  That’s why we sought out help from an advisory board at the SBDC.”

Jill Kaufman, the ABC program manager, worked with ConTech and hand-picked a board of volunteer advisors for the firm comprised of professionals in the fields of finance, business development, human resources, succession planning and law who were willing to donate their time and energy to working on the board.  According to Haughey, “The people who were on the advisory board were absolutely expert in their fields and they encouraged us to look at everything we do rather than just operations.”

The business graduated from the ABC program at the end of 2008, and Haughey points to three topics that were focused on with the board as crucial contributors to the company’s ongoing success: the need to diversify the client base, succession planning and development of a marketing plan.   When ConTech experienced the impact of the recession and downturn in the construction market, they were prepared to make changes which enabled the firm to rebound.

“What we did was take the seeds that were planted from the board and we started making continual changes in the company based on insights we gleaned from those folks,” commented Haughey.   Some of the changes that grew out of the work with their advisory board include a rebranding effort, new lines of business and a new business focus.

Today, ConTech specializes in concrete restoration with a greater focus on hospitality industry projects and has rebranded itself as ConTech Restoration.   Existing structure renovation projects include condos, timeshares and parking structures. The company has also expanded their scope of work and now offers commercial painting and waterproofing.  From 2009 to 2011 ConTech added 49 jobs and realized a 63% increase in revenue.

Haughey encourages other business owners to also take proactive steps for their business.  “I would absolutely recommend the SBDC at UCF’s Advisory Board Council to other businesses,” remarked Haughey.  “An advisory board helps a business owner fast track changes in his business because the board members have ‘been there and done that’ and their advice allows the business owner to learn from their years of experience.”

Founded with the purpose of strengthening Central Florida’s economy, the Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida conceived and developed the Advisory Board Council in 2003 to help small businesses reach the next level.    Funded by Orange County Government since the program’s inception to facilitate sustainable revenue and job growth, the Advisory Board Council provides established businesses with no-cost advisory boards comprised of area professionals who volunteer their expertise.

The ABC has found an extremely cost effective model to tap into community resources for the benefit of small businesses.  The program’s $100,000 annual budget is modest compared to the economic impact achieved by its participating companies.  The program has formed over 150 advisory boards for Orange County businesses, which have achieved $72.4 million sales increase, 1,968 jobs created and retained, $15 million in capital formation and $62.3 million in government contracts obtained.

Jorge Suria - Hooah!

Hooah, LLC

Just 18 months after becoming a client of the Advisory Board Council, this interactive communications company achieves 265% revenue growth. Even while developing his creative talents in art school, Jorge Suria knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur. His dream of opening his own agency came to fruition in 2003 when he established Hooah LLC. An expression of high morale, strength and confidence popular in the military, Suria thought Hooah would be an ideal name for his firm which provides marketing, IT and video production services to clients such as the U.S. Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserves.

“There is a direct correlation between the board’s involvement and our growth.”

Tanya Zeiher
Hooah, LLC

Hooah has been utilizing the services of the SBDC at UCF’s Procurement and Technical Assistance Center since 2007. In 2008, after attending an SBDC Advisory Board Council (ABC) Reception for Small Business Owners, Suria decided to apply to the program. “We wanted to have an advisory board because we saw potential for growth and the challenges it would bring and we wanted to get objective advice from people who didn’t have any personal interest in the company,” remarked Suria. When Hooah applied to the Advisory Board Council there was some discussion on the firm’s readiness for the program as they barely met some of the ABC’s eligibility guidelines. However, the company was working hard to reach their potential and was certified as a Minority Business Enterprise and had just been granted Small Disadvantaged Business 8(a) status by the U.S. SBA. Jill Kaufman, ABC Program Manager, decided to accept Hooah as a client and began work on their board formation.

According to Suria, “One of the most valuable aspects of working with the Advisory Board Council is the fact that they specifically tailored Hooah’s board to our company’s needs. He continued, “I can’t imagine putting together a board without the SBDC’s help.” Some of the projects Hooah sought help with from their board include: contract negotiations and contract review; putting proper accounting systems in place; determining cost and price structures; and mapping out their business development strategy. According to Hooah vice president, Tanya Zeiher, “The board has helped us at a strategic level to map out our growth strategies and really hone in on what we do and who we are. They helped us define our strengths and clarify the areas of service we should focus on.” In addition, Hooah’s board recommended the company rebrand itself, re-position the firm in the marketplace and determine where they needed to focus the business. Some of the board’s best advice surrounded Hooah’s business development plan. Suria commented, “The board helped us create a very effective business development strategy which enabled us to branch into and win work in the utilities sector, a new industry segment for us.”

Today, Hooah is one of the fastest growing companies in the entire ABC program. “There is a direct correlation between the board’s involvement and our growth,” remarked Zeiher. Revenues have jumped 265% to $2 million and in 2010 the firm expects to double its sales again. Hooah has also tripled its number of employees and hired 10 new staff members. The firm targets federal and local government work and also serves large private sector organizations. In August 2009, Hooah opened a branch office in Arlington, Virginia to better serve their growing clientele in Washington, D.C. That office employs a staff of five information technology professionals. One of their main projects has involved managing a large internal website for the Army National Guard called Virtual Armory.

Kings Service Solutions

Kings Service Solutions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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