Fabiola Mistelske Bridal Beauty

Fabiola Mistelske Beauty

Finding your inner entrepreneur and using that passion to start your own business is a momentous undertaking, especially if you have never done it before. Fabiola Mistelske had the drive to make her dream business – Fabiola Mistelske Beauty – come true and become a success, she just didn’t know where to start. Fabiola decided to turn to the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) for assistance and is happy she did.

Fabiola Mistelske Beauty is comprised of a team of beauty professionals who specialize in bridal beauty – meaning they focus solely on providing brides and their bridal parties with hair and makeup services. “What makes us unique is our company is all about the details,” says Mistelske. “Especially when it comes to bridal work, every single detail matters because we customize every single look for every single bride every single time. I train my artists to pay attention to every detail because doing so encompasses everything you are looking for in your bridal look.”

Mistelske came to entrepreneurship with limited business experience but with a clear vision for her company and a wealth of energy to make it happen. “In my journey with the SBDC, I have discovered myself within my business,” she believes. “I started from zero but all the steps and all the information I have received working with my FSBDC consultant Sharon Smith has been amazing. She has been there since the beginning, holding my hand since I started the business. I couldn’t be more grateful for this help, for this opportunity.”

Mistelske’s journey with the FSBDC included taking advantage of its no-cost, expert consulting; its business training and workshops; and its access to extensive market research and databases. “Today, 11 months later, I have seven stylists with me. We do weddings pretty much every single weekend and, for the past three months, we have been able to double book our weekends, and we’re already booking for 2023 and 2024,” Fabiola proudly remarked. “This is where Sharon has been so amazing, guiding me through everything I needed in order for me to get to where I am today.”

Becoming an entrepreneur has been wonderful in other ways for Mistelske. When her nine-year-old daughter Agatha and her class were asked in school if anyone knew what an entrepreneur is, Agatha drew a blank. However, when her teacher explained the meaning and asked if anyone knew one, at that moment Agatha recognized that her mom was an entrepreneur and hers was the only hand to shoot up. “My Mom is an entrepreneur,” Agatha declared with pleasure. When Fabiola heard the story later, she was overwhelmed. “She was so proud of me,” Fabiola recalls, “It was a great moment and I realized that all my efforts had been summarized in it.”

“For anyone thinking of working with the FSBDC, it should be a no-brainer,” Mistelske concludes. “The help is endless. The opportunities are endless. The help is right there for you to grab it. I’m growing my business, I’m growing my team, and it’s all because of the FSBDC.”

For information about Fabiola Mistelske Beauty, please visit https://www.fabiolambeauty.com/.

Blezoo marketing solutions

Blezoo

Exhilaration, accomplishment, and financial success are some of the rewards enjoyed by entrepreneurs and small business owners as they chart their course and navigate their companies from pre-venture to start-up and on to becoming an established, growing, and profitable second-stage company. The downside is that this process is often a solitary and lonely quest without the benefit of other perspectives and experiences to call upon. It’s true when they say ‘It’s lonely at the top,’ after all. Dean Caravelis, founder and CEO of Orlando marketing promotions innovator Blezoo, solved this problem when he discovered the community of business leaders and peers found at the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida’s (FSBDC at UCF) CEO XChange executive roundtable program.

Founded in 2008, Blezoo distinguishes itself through imagination, innovation, and the ability to deliver on its promises. The firm proudly states, “We exist to inspire meaningful connections through fun & creativity. We help busy professionals create remarkable promotions so they can save time & look good.” “We’re a marketing company that produces branded products that turn into experiences in the real world,” Caravelis says, ”so brands can connect with people and other brands authentically. Blezoo is really obsessed with process that delivers things as expected; with creativity so that we can create unexpected and delightful experiences; and with progress as we work to be a little bit better every day – all so we can surpass client expectations,” Caravelis explains.

When it comes to starting and running his business, Caravelis is honest. “Being a founder can be a very lonely experience,” he shares. “Sometimes it feels like you’re alone on an island. Working with the Florida SBDC, it takes you off that island and puts you in a community. I originally reached out to the FSBDC and the CEO XChange because I heard it was an opportunity for me to interact with other CEOs, perhaps shine a light on things I don’t know and really have a kinship with peers. The CEO XChange has surpassed all those expectations and that’s why I have been a member for so many years.”

CEO XChange is an executive roundtable program serving progressive chief executives and business owners in Central Florida. Facilitated by FSBDC consultant Hal Thayer, it is designed specifically for second-stage companies and offers a confidential setting for top executives to discuss vital business issues, opportunities, and trends with a group of peers. CEO XChange presents top executives with the opportunity to broaden their business perspectives and gain new knowledge by engaging in collaborative thinking and problem-solving – giving them the ability to lead their companies more effectively.

“In the last six years, we’ve averaged about 20 – 30% growth every year at Blezoo which has been great. The CEO XChange has really helped me in a lot of areas such as thinking in the future, preparing myself for the unexpected, and given me the confidence to take the business in a new direction,” Caravelis concludes. “It’s helped me propel my growth but also sustained my thirst to lean more. It’s an experience that helps you understand what it takes to get to the next level but also validates and challenges some of your ideas.” And, as a member of the CEO XChange, you don’t have to do it alone.

For information about Blezoo,  please visit https://blezoo.com/.

3D Tire Company Logo

3D Tire Company, Inc.

For a successful family business, management succession from one generation to the next can become much more complicated than initially anticipated, especially when opportunities for revenue growth and operational efficiency also present themselves. When the father and sons who founded and own 3D Tire Company encountered this exact situation, they turned to the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) for assistance, and they are happy they did.

With locations in the historic town of Eatonville, FL as well as Apopka, FL, 3D Tire Company has offered quality tires, preventative maintenance, and repair services to the Central Florida area for almost 35 years. Founded by Ernest Williams, who brought sons Darrell, Donavan, and Dexter into the business (the “3 D’s”), 3D Tire Company has built its reputation and large customer base on family values, faith, and the founding principles for which it has become known: quality, dedication, and a commitment to service. “We’ve thrived on our ability to provide a quality level of service,” says Darrell Williams, “and we stand on that: Service First”

Known for being an honest, reliable, and friendly tire and auto repair shop, 3D Tire was contemplating major changes when it approached the FSBDC. “We recognized that we were a business in transition,” recalls Darrell Williams. “We were transitioning from the leadership that had been in place for 30 plus years into a second generation. There were certain aspects of the business that were important to revisit, things that were consistent but had grown obsolete. It was time for us to introduce change to the way we were conducting business.”

Assisted first by FSBDC consultant Pauline Davis, and now by consultants Jose Molfino and John Finnegan, 3D Tire and the FSBDC analyzed the company’s operations, finances and marketing efforts. “Our time with the FSBDC has been very rewarding,” remarks Darrell. “The input and guidance they afforded our company, the direction that they offered, the consulting and different suggestions they made have been instrumental in turning this company around, in reshaping our direction and re-channeling our focus. It pulled a small business such as ours out of our comfort zone and forced us to think and excel beyond the norm.”

“Since our involvement with the FSBDC, certainly from our end as a company, we’ve seen tremendous growth and expansion on various fronts,” continues Darrell. “We’ve been able to see the amount of accounts grow and secured additional business that has helped the bottom line and to increase our footprint in Central Florida.”

“For any business owner that’s thinking about working with the FSBDC, I would use two words: Do It!” Darrel Williams concludes. “The information you gain is invaluable. The experience is certainly worthwhile. And you will be able to take something away from it that will be useful for your business going forward.”

For information about 3D Tire Company, please visit https://3dtirecompany.com/.

Night Lite Pediatrics Logo

Night Lite Pediatrics

Managing a growing business effectively is a constantly challenging, uphill battle. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it and every business would be successful. We all know that isn’t the reality. In fact, the wisest business leaders recognize there are always opportunities for improving performance. The three owners of Night Lite Pediatrics Urgent Care – Dr. Vivek Desai, Dr. Ayodeji Otegbeye, and Dr. Oludapo Soremi – asked themselves how they could run their business more efficiently. To do so, they turned to the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) for answers. They soon found themselves tapping into the FSBDC’s no-cost, expert consulting services as well as participating in its Advisory Board Council program, leading to extremely positive results.

As the name suggests, Night Lite Pediatrics Urgent Care is dedicated to caring for kids and young adults. With more than 150 employees and 13 offices throughout Florida, they offer a complete spectrum of health services for children, everything from  high acuity medical care to on-site laboratory services, radiology, testing &  COVID vaccinations, and IV Therapy. They understand that a child’s accidents and illnesses don’t always occur during normal business hours, so they are open after-hours every day of the week. Specializing in small child pediatric urgent care is what sets them apart, however. “Although we see everyone, our niche is the fact that we treat and care for children from newborn to 5 years of age,” says Dr. Soremi. “Our competitors are not comfortable seeing children that young and are very happy to send them to us.”

Night Lite Pediatrics has been successful, almost too successful. “As we were growing, we had a lot of challenges that we were struggling with,” recalls Dr. Desai. For guidance, they called upon the FSBDC at UCF. “I distinctly remember meeting with consultant Pauline Davis of the FSBDC for a financial evaluation and she pointed out a lot of areas where we needed work,” Dr. Desai continued. “It was really an eye opener. I thought we were doing really well, and I discovered we were not doing well at all.”

To assist Night Lite in addressing the issues that she had identified, Davis recommended the FSBDC’s Advisory Board Council (ABC) program which provides no-cost, customized boards of volunteer experts specially selected to address the specific needs of the FSBDC client by providing advice and counsel to help the business grow. For Night Lite Pediatrics, Jill Kaufman, ABC program manager, recruited advisory board members whose expertise would be beneficial to the organization and would help the clients streamline operations, enhance productivity, and improve customer satisfaction.

“The Advisory Board members had really diverse skills and areas of expertise,” Dr. Otegbeye remembers. “There were people who worked in S&P 500 companies as CFO, or in their marketing  or HR departments. They held us accountable. They would do the assessment, provide the solutions, and then guide us through to get results.”

The results achieved have been substantial. Since the company started working with the FSBDC, they have seen revenues grow at a rate of 64% and closed a successful sale of the business to a publicly traded company. “Having the FSBDC in our lives for the last two years had a lot of positive impact,” concluded Dr. Desai, “and we are truly grateful. Thank you, FSBDC.”

For information about Night Lite Pediatrics, please visit https://www.nightlitepediatrics.com/

Kelly's Homemade Ice Cream

Kelly’s Homemade Ice Cream

For some small business owners, explosive growth – in revenues, employees, locations – can be an exciting yet daunting challenge. No one wants to miss an opportunity, but the fear of overextending and moving too fast can hold you back. Kelly and Scott Seidl, founders and owners of Kelly’s Homemade Ice Cream, recognized that ‘they didn’t know what they didn’t know’ as they sought to manage their rapidly growing business. To gain the perspectives and guidance they wanted to confidently push forward and nurture this growth, the Seidl’s turned to the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) and its award-winning Advisory Board Council (ABC) program.

Kelly’s Homemade Ice Cream is a Cinderella story. In 2014, the company started its journey as a simple ice cream truck. Today Kelly’s has five scoop shops and three counters inside a partner’s coffee shops with plans to expand to two new locations shortly. Their success is a testament to the appeal and popularity of their local and handcrafted product. “We make all our ice cream inhouse,” Kelly Seidl states proudly, “using the highest quality ingredients and dairy from Florida. What makes us exceptional is we have uniquely created flavors, with over 100 recipes of seasonal and featured flavors that are rotated throughout the year. We cherish being part of the community, stay involved with the local schools and strive to give back to show our gratitude for the support we have received.”

“We originally sought out assistance from the FSBDC because our business started to grow and we needed mentorship,” Scott Seidl recalls. “Kelly is a registered nurse by trade, and I am an accountant. We had never started or run a business, so we needed help. The Advisory Board Council was the service we used the most at the FSBDC and it’s been extremely helpful.”
The FSBDC at UCF’s Advisory Board Council provides no-cost, customized boards of volunteer experts specially selected to address the specific needs of the FSBDC client by providing advice and counsel to help the business grow. In the case of Kelly’s Homemade Ice Cream, Jill Kaufman, ABC program manager, recruited advisory board members whose expertise
would be beneficial to the organization and would help the clients to explore and evaluate new opportunities as well as plan for the infrastructure that would be needed to support those developments.

“It’s a group of advisors that have a lot of different industry experience and they’ve been great mentors,” says Scott Seidl. “For example, our board had a member with a lot of food production experience which was knowledge we didn’t have. We can bounce our ideas off of them and get the feedback we need and know that they will challenge us. It has really helped us step back from the business and work on the business, not just in the business.”

“Since we started with the FSBDC and the Advisory Board Council, our revenues have grown over 100% and our staff has more than doubled. We had 3 locations, now we have 8,” Kelly Seidl concluded. “If I had to use one word to describe the FSBDC’s Advisory Board, it would be ‘Family’. I have trust in them and that they give us confident, knowledgeable answers that have helped us grow and manage that growth successfully.”

For information about Kelly’s Homemade Ice Cream, please visit https://www.kellyshomemadeicecream.com/

The Flooring Spot

The Flooring Spot

Growing and expanding a small business can be challenging in any economy, only more so during a pandemic. A crucial key to success for many entrepreneurs and business owners striving to reach the next level is and always has been accessing assistance and resources, preferably at no cost. Elizabeth and Juan Lugo, founders and owners of The Flooring Spot, sought the support they needed to grow their business at the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) and they are grateful they did.

The Flooring Spot, with stores in Ocoee and now Winter Garden, call themselves ‘your local flooring experts since 2005’. Specializing in the sale and installation of all types of flooring material for residential and commercial customers, they are family-owned and locally operated. The Flooring Spot prides itself in offering superior customer service and highest quality installation from a team with over 50 years of combined experience, and all at competitive prices. Top that off with a total satisfaction guarantee.

“What makes us different,” says Elizabeth Lugo, “is that Juan started as a subcontractor. From his years of experience, and his hands-on background and knowledge, we are able, and are dedicated to, providing each and every customer with the very best in service, quality, value and workmanship.”

“In the beginning, I went to look for training and information about how to expand our business and make it better,” recalls Ms. Lugo. “I found what I needed at and have utilized a lot of different services from the FSBDC. Our consultant, Jairo Batista, helped us in a lot of ways. I think we became almost like friends.”

The Lugos and their company took advantage of the FSBDC’s expert, no-cost consulting; business training and workshops; and access to extensive market research databases. The FSBDC presented them with multiple opportunities for funding to survive the pandemic, with the company eventually receiving financial support in the form of a State of Florida Bridge Loan, and from the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program loan and later forgiveness, and an Economic Injury Disaster Loan. Says Elizabeth Lugo: “The assistance they provided with capital resources and the many other things they were telling us really helped us keep our doors open and continue our business before everything started to pick up again.”

Beyond enabling The Floor Spot’s access to capital, the FSBDC has offered guidance and counsel focused on growing the company. “When we started seeking support from the FSBDC, our business was very small. We hadn’t even opened our first showroom location,” remarks Ms. Lugo. “Since then, we have come across so many different opportunities that they shared with us. From that point on and with the FSBDC’s help, our business has grown a lot. We have been able to open our new location, hire new employees, and expand our warehouse. We were able to continue to grow and get over the hump of the COVID times.”

“We have grown and continue to grow; our second store is doing great,” Ms. Lugo concludes. “All the support we have received from the FSBDC really helped us get there. It was excellent for our small business; it really gave us the push we needed.”

For information about The Flooring Spot, please visit www.theflooringspot.com.

CCI Group

CCI Group

The beauty of entrepreneurship is often in the creation it involves. The creation of building a company, of meeting customer needs in a new way, of creating new jobs, of contributing to the community. Indira (Indy) Vega, CEO of the CCI Group, an interpretation and translation company, has made all of that happen and credits the Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florda (FSBDC at UCF) with helping her.

The CCI Group provides interpretation and translation services with a difference. Offering in-person and remote service in over 200 languages, the company has used the quality of its team and today’s technology to transform itself and the immediacy of the results its clients can achieve. CCI Groups clients span the private and public sector, serving law firms, medical providers, and school districts across Florida. Recently, they have gone nationwide with new clients in Georgia and Texas.

“We do more than replacing words,” Vega says. “We enable true communications across languages and cultures. We can do so much. For example, we offer over-the-phone interpretations that allows clients access to an interpreter in as little as 48 seconds,” Vega is proud to state. “And with our remote simultaneous interpretation, you can make an event or webinar truly inclusive with a multi-language presentation, in English, in Spanish, in Creole, in Portuguese, all at the same time.”

Vega came to the FSBDC at UCF to take her company to the next level of growth. Offering no-cost consulting, business training and workshops, and access to expansive market research resources, she took advantage of them all. “I have used so many services from the FSBDC” Vega continued. “One of the programs was the Business Recovery Team (a CARES Act-funded consulting service) which was fantastic. They were with us six months. I think we had almost weekly meetings. They helped us with budgeting, with planning, with marketing. You name it. Every aspect of my company was touched by the FSBDC at some point. They were a game changer for us.”

“I can’t even describe the impact the FSBDC has had on the growth of our business,” Vega states. “I was a solo practitioner with one part-time employee when I started with the FSBDC. Now we are up to 10. Not just here in Central Florida but overseas. Its something I never thought I was going to be able to do. Recently, the company went on a company retreat to show our appreciation. It all wouldn’t have been possible without help from the FSBDC.”

“Th SBDC also opened my eyes to community involvement,” Vega went on. “I always thought that was only for the big boys.” But today CCI Group is involved with THE CENTER, a non-profit assisting the LGBTQ community, as well as the Orlando Center for Justice which helps immigrants here in Central Florida. “I think this is thanks to my involvement with the FSBDC.”

“My experience working with the FSBDC has been amazing,” Vega concluded. “If you ask me in 10 years, I will say the same thing: the FSBDC was part of CCI Group and we wouldn’t be here without them, that’s for sure.”

For more information about The CCI Group, please visit https://myccigroup.com/.

Puretopiah

Puretopiah

The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Alicia Sangster, CEO, founder, and product co- creator at Puretopiah, the maker of a unique, multicultural hair care system for children. Sangster encountered a problem, invented a solution, put the pieces together and then turned to the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) for assistance with starting up and launching her new business.

Alicia Sangster, a Jamaican immigrant, often found it difficult caring for her daughter’s thick, curly, multi-textured hair, made even more challenging by her child’s ultra-sensitive skin. With the help of her brother, a chemist for over 12 years, she began her quest for a natural, gentle, safe product that made it easier for children’s hair to look great longer, without frizz and with silky-smooth curls, all from a product made from nourishing, vegan ingredients. The result is a 4-step hair care system comprised of shampoo, conditioner, detangler and curling cream that is an easy to use, wash-and-go answer for intense hydration and longer lasting curls.

“Puretopiah is the first plant powered multicultural brand to give your kids up to four days of moisture and curl definition without the use of damaging chemicals or having to convince your kids to wear satin bonnets,” says Sangster proudly. “It makes it so much easier for us parents to care for our kid’s hair and make it look great longer. It’s why we like to say ‘Puretopiah. Your Beauty. Your Way. Naturally.’”

Sangster the entrepreneur had found the solution, but now wanted to share it and make a business out of it. That’s when she turned to the FSBDC at UCF. “I had seen articles where people shared their success stories from working with the FSBDC,” she recalls. “I decided to reach out for assistance because I didn’t want to navigate alone this landscape of starting a new business in a whole new industry that I wasn’t familiar with.”

“In working with the FSBDC, I have really experienced a lot of support,” continued Sangster. “As entrepreneurs, of course we rely on family and friends, but it helps to take it to another level where you’re getting support from someone who has been there and done that.” In fact, the FSBDC helped Sangster in multiple ways: setting up the business; developing packaging/labels/sales/website development. “What I really appreciated was that I could be myself in my interactions with my consultant Chuck Wheeler,” says Sangster. “Even if that day was a horrible day and I didn’t know if I was going to move forward, I was able to feel uplifted at the end of those sessions and keep going.”

“What I have achieved since working with the FSBDC is going from a mere idea to fully launching my business, which I did last week,” Sangster concluded. “There are so many things that you just don’t realize that you have to do as a business in order to launch and I definitely could not have done it without the help of the FSBDC, so I say: ‘Thank You.’”

For more information about Puretopiah, please visit: https://puretopiah.com/.

Skyline Attractions

Skyline Attractions

Entrepreneurs and small business owners do not have a lot of time and resources to waste – in good times or bad – but especially when times are challenging. When COVID-19 brought the theme park industry to its knees, Jeff Pike, President of Skyline Attractions, his partners, and the whole team wanted to determine the best available options to push forward and where to find critical resources to help the company get to the other side of the pandemic. They turned to the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) and its CARES Act-funded Business Recovery Team initiative for assistance.

“Skyline Attractions designs and builds fun things,” Pike is pleased to say. “We build roller coasters; we design and consult for amusement parks and their manufacturing representatives around the world. In fact, we’ve implemented or designed more than 25 major amusement attractions around the globe through Skyline and some of our partners. What makes us different is that we commit in our charter to bring something new to the amusement industry every year. And we actually achieve that goal, every year bringing a new attraction, something interesting, something fun; sometimes something huge, sometimes not, but always something remarkable and memorable.” Skyline’s promise to its clients is to take entertainment rides from imagination to innovation, and the company delivers on this pledge annually.

“We sought assistance from the FSBDC when we realized that, even with our strategy of producing something new every year, there would be times when we’d need to pivot or better use our talents when things weren’t running so well in the amusement industry,” recalls Pike. “When there’s a slowdown, especially like at the beginning of COVID, we needed to understand what our options were for marketing, for finance, for outreach. When we started working with the FSBDC, I was personally shocked at the breadth of knowledge there. We’d get on a call and there would be up to seven people all dedicated to just helping us with their unique knowledge. And we weren’t paying a cent for it.”

“This wasn’t a group of suits staring down their noses at you,” Pike continues. “It was a cooperative discussion that was really helping us figure things out. It was great.” Specific areas of FSBDC assistance included how to do business internationally; developing a marketing plan to reach industrial customers; and even producing a pitch for potential investors. “What was so refreshing was these were not ‘sit down and be lectured to’ type things. Our meetings were truly interactive and useful.”

“There was a period when, truth be told, it was a really difficult time for us both financially and as a small business owner because it affects you personally,” Pike went on. “But we got through that. We took the advice of the FSBDC on how to pivot, how to outreach and it brought us through. And today there’s good news! In the past month, we have booked another $3.5 million in contracts. We went from ‘not sure if we’re going to make payroll’ to bringing in the kind of business we know we’re capable of. The FSBDC helped us all along that way. It’s a free resource that was and is tremendously valuable to us. All I can say is it’s an extraordinary benefit,” Pike concludes.

For information about Skyline Attractions, please visit https://skylineattractions.com/

Von Bru Design

Von Bru Design

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/.