Candelaria Eatery & Cafe

Candelaria Eatery and Cafe

Starting, owning, and growing a small business – and serving as the “chief decision maker” – does not have to be a lonesome or daunting endeavor. The most successful entrepreneurs and small business owners proactively seek resources and assistance that support and empower their efforts. When Javier Garcia and Angelica Moncada – owners of Candelaria Eatery & Café, a new Colombian fusion restaurant in Oxford, FL – were faced with the challenges that the hospitality industry often presents while starting a new restaurant, they quickly recognized that they needed guidance and turned to the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) office in Sumter County for help.

Garcia and Moncada came to the U.S. from Colombia on an investment visa with the plan to invest in a new restaurant and decided to start Candelaria Eatery & Café. It offers a fusion of Colombian and American cuisine in a brand-new, fresh, and modern space specializing in fresh ingredients that are cooked to order. They grind the beef for their burgers themselves daily and their classic rice & beans are homemade. “We want to introduce people to Colombian flavors and specialties in a unique space,” explains Angelica, “while offering familiar American dishes as well. Our lemonade is made to each individual’s taste; our coffee is 100% original Colombian; and we have Colombian bites that we make from scratch every day.”

While they owned restaurants and businesses in Colombia, this new venture was Garcia’s and Moncada’s first experience starting a business in the United States. “The restaurant industry is not an easy one,” states Javier, “so we didn’t hesitate to contact the FSBDC and its Sumter County consultant Jamie Mead because we needed as much information and help as we could get.” Continued Moncada, “we tried to do it ourselves at the beginning, searching the internet about how to start a business, but it was so difficult. The licenses, the permits, the taxes, the registrations were just so much that we needed guidance.”

Mead provided Garcia and Moncada with the FSBDC’s no cost consulting services and assisted them with navigating all of the necessary business start-up steps. This included discussion of state and county licensing requirements and applications; educating them about sales tax, workers compensation, payroll taxes, and income taxes; preparation of a business plan, conducting market research, and elements of human resources planning and hiring.

“It’s a long and hard path to walk through,” recalls Javier, “so thanks to Jamie everything was easier, and we can say that we made it because we have opened successfully and we are full of hope for the future. It’s good to have someone you can rely on and tell everything to, about your doubts and your fears,” he affirmed. “Maybe the hardest part as a business owner is the anxiety that you have when you are opening. At the SBDC you can ask as many questions as you have and visit as much as you need, all at no cost. It helps you build up your confidence and become sure that you’re doing everything the right way every day.”

“I want to say thank you again SBDC because everyone has been so nice and so helpful. Since the beginning, they have guided us every step of the way,” Angelica concluded. “We know we can keep counting on the SBDC as well, so we’re very happy to have found them and we will keep working with them as much as we can,” added Javier, thereby confirming that working together, not alone, is once again a proven path to success for a small business.

For information about Candelaria Eatery & Cafe, please visit https://order.toasttab.com/online/candelariaeaterycafe.

Red Rooster Cookie Jar

Red Rooster Cookie Jar

Making the move from even a successful home-based business into a brick-and-mortar, commercial space can present a major challenge for any entrepreneur or small business owner. There is a business plan to revise, a location to find, a landlord to negotiate with, permits to be acquired, and much more. And so it was for Yvonne Conti-O’Brien, the founder and culinary genius behind Red Rooster Cookie Jar, a unique and now prized bakery in Lady Lake, Fl, when she decided to take the risk and make the leap. Fortunately for her, early in the process she turned to the Sumter County office of the Florida Small Business Development Center at UCF (FSBDC at UCF). It made all the difference.

Red Rooster Cookie Jar is no ordinary bakery and Yvonne Conti-O’Brien is no ordinary baker. Specializing in a wide variety of delicious cookies and other treats, this small, hometown bakery makes everything from scratch, hand stirred and, according to Yvonne, packed with “a whole lot of love”. With an owner who is a resident of The Villages and active in the local community, Red Rooster is locally owned and sources its ingredients fresh from local businesses and farmers. There are no bakeries within a 40-minute radius that provide anything like what Red Rooster has to share with its community. With over 100 cookie recipes, and a special and different “cookie of the week”, Red Rooster’s business recipe of fresh ingredients, friendly service, and love allows the company to crow that it offers the “best treats you will ever put in your mouth. We guarantee it.”

After a career as a middle school Spanish teacher, Conti-O’Brien founded Red Rooster in 2018, baking from her home. Business was good selling at farmers’ markets and fairs, but space limitations began to infringe on the company’s growth. When she began searching for a commercial property, her real estate agent raved about the assistance she could get from the FSBDC. “I am just so grateful to him that he suggested it,” Conti-O’Brien recalls, “because I didn’t know where I was going to get the help I knew I needed.”

Working with her consultant Jamie Mead, the Sumter County area manager for the FSBDC, Conti-O’Brien received assistance with understanding her lease, obtaining necessary permits, completing Florida Department of Agriculture filings, reviewing financial projections, and going over her revised business plan. “Everything from A to Z, you name it business wise, Jamie helped me through the whole process,” she shares today. “It just made things so much easier for me, so much easier to understand because I knew I could trust her, that she was going to help me and get me through, that she had my back. I would not be sitting here right now or even be in my shop if it wasn’t for the FSBDC’s and Jamie’s help.”

Red Rooster Cookie Jar celebrated its grand opening in November. Customers were three deep at the counter and the line was out the door, and business has stayed strong. “We are selling out all the time,” Conti-O’Brien says proudly. “We have a constant flow of customers coming through the doors. It’s just been wonderful.”

“The SBDC helped me so much,” Conti-O’Brien concluded. “When I was working out of my house, I was very limited, especially in the space I had for production. Being able to get a commercial space has helped me not only grow our customer base but also our product line. If I didn’t have this space and the SBDC’s help, I would never have been able to realize all of this awesome stuff that’s happening to us. Thank you, Jamie and thank you, FSBDC.”

For information about Red Rooster Cookie Jar, please visit www.rrcookiejar.com.

Blue Heron CPAs

Blue Heron CPAs

Smart, savvy, and experienced entrepreneurs understand that going it alone is a losing proposition. Finding no cost or low-cost mentors, advisors, partners, and resources is the strategy that can make the difference between success and failure when starting a new business. Nathan Gauger, founder and managing partner of Blue Heron CPAs based in The Villages, FL, fully appreciated this fact and turned to the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) in Sumter County for help.

Blue Heron CPAs provides personal and small business tax services, as well as bookkeeping and general business accounting services. With an office in The Villages and full-service satellite offices in Leesburg (Lake County) and Ocala (Marion County), Blue Heron was built to serve the needs of its local communities. “We truly intend to provide a consultative component to all the services we provide,” Gauger says. “We sit down with you, talk you through your situation. Our goal is to inform you on what is truly happening in your business or your personal finances associated with your taxes and your financial information.”

Opened in 2021, Blue Heron CPAs sought assistance from the FSBDC when Gauger observed new opportunities for his business and his clients’ businesses. “Everybody likes to take advantage of government assistance when it’s available,” Gauger claims. “We found that opportunity with the FSBDC.” Working with Jamie Mead, consultant in the FSBDC at UCF’s Sumter County Office; Phil Geist,  consultant from the FSBDC at the University of North Florida; and Jairo Batista, consultant at the FSBDC at UCF’s Orlando Office, Gauger received the support he needed in multiple ways.

“With the FSBDC, we have been really fortunate to use Jairo for all our Search Engine Optimization (SEO) needs,” Gauger shares. “Jamie was extremely informative with all the demographic data that she offered. We also utilized the FSBDC at UNF for some of our clients in Marion County that were having trouble getting financing. Working with the FSBDC has been extremely pleasant. It’s insane how helpful they can be in all of the different facets of a business,” recalls Gauger.

“Working with the FSBDC, I have seen my business grow,” Gauger continued. “The SEO work that Jairo did means my websites now place high in the Google rankings. Jamie’s demographic databases allow me to target the right customers with positive messaging and bring them to our business. We also recommend the FSBDC to a good majority of our business clients, telling them to reach out because there is great opportunity and great resources to be had from them, and it’s at zero cost.”

“If you’re a new entrepreneur, if you’re someone looking to grow a business and you have not done this before, I advise you to get help,” Gauger concludes. “I would always start with the SBDC and fully utilize their services to grow your business. The one word I would use to describe the SBDC is ‘Passionate’; I don’t know one of their advisors – and I have now worked with four – that doesn’t have a love for actually helping people. That takes passion and that is an absolutely beautiful thing to have on your side.”

For information about Blue Heron CPAs, please visit https://blueheroncpas.com/.