Just Peachy Clean

Just Peachy Clean

Small business ownership can be demanding and requires “wearing many hats.” Even the most experienced and successful small business owners can struggle with handling everything alone, but finding the right counselors, partners, and especially peers who are willing to share their knowledge and expertise can make a dramatic contribution to a company’s success. Establishing a strong support system offers a distinct advantage and for Jen Rodgers, founder and CEO of Daytona Beach-based professional cleaning service Just Peachy Clean, connecting with the Florida Small Business Development Center at Daytona State College (FSBDC at DSC), a sub-service center of the FSBDC at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF), and taking advantage of its no-cost, expert consulting and special programs for second stage businesses has made a big difference.

Serving coastal Volusia County for almost 11 years, Just Peachy Clean is a locally owned residential cleaning company that does it all. The firm provides recurring – meaning weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly – cleanings for homes; vacation rental cleans; real estate move-ins and move outs; make ready’s when residential real estate is for sale; post construction clean ups, and the list goes on, all customized to its client’s needs.

Beyond delivering the highest quality deep cleans possible and operating legally, ethically, and responsibly, Rodgers prides herself in the reliable, experienced, and trustworthy team she has built. “One of the things that makes Just Peachy Clean better and different from other cleaning businesses out there is we provide continuing education, various certification opportunities, and a career path for our technicians to go through, as well as offering an above living wage for the area and the industry,” she explains. “I was born and raised here, as were my mother and grandmother. I’m very tied to the community so everything we do within Just Peachy Clean is to make the community a better place.”

“I originally reached out to the Florida SBDC because I’d heard such great things about it,” recalls Rodgers. “I have a thirst for knowledge and when I heard about the SBDC and all the things that they have to offer I was quick to jump on board. My journey started with their Growth XChange program and I loved it right away,” she declares. The FSBDC’s Growth XChange meets monthly and offers a confidential setting for top executives to discuss vital business issues, opportunities, and trends with a group of peers led by a trained facilitator, providing members with the opportunity to broaden their business perspective and gain new knowledge by engaging in collaborative thinking and problem-solving – giving them the ability to more effectively lead their companies.

“I have also worked with the consultant in our area Trecia Arrington (FSBDC at DSC sub-service center director) to receive business consulting and business coaching for my 2025 goals and business plan,” Rodgers continued. Additionally, the FSBDC has assisted Rodgers with a financial review and website analysis, including search engine optimization guidance.

With the FSBDC in her corner and as member of its Growth XChange program, Rodgers has found the help and guidance she needs as a business owner and the results speak for themselves. “Since joining the SBDC not only have I become a better leader, but we have also seen huge revenue growth. Last year alone we grew 50% above revenues from the previous year,” Rodgers concluded. “I’m very thankful for all the advice the SBDC has given me and how they’ve helped me grow. They have been invaluable to my team and to my business. I can’t speak highly enough about them.”

For information about Just Peachy Clean, please visit https://alwaysjustpeachyclean.com/.

Journey Fitness

Journey Fitness Center

Small business ownership and management is a full-time job, and then some. Exceeding customer expectations, providing vision and direction, and ensuring that operations are running effectively are just a few of the priorities to balance in order to achieve success. Amid putting out the daily fires and keeping the business on track, planning and goal setting sometimes get short shrift. Mary Hall, co-owner and manager of Journey Fitness Center and its multiple locations, was in exactly that predicament until she turned to the Florida Small Business Development Center at Daytona State College (FSBDC at DSC), a sub-center of the FSBDC at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF), and took advantage of its no-cost, expert consulting and its Growth XChange program.

Journey Fitness Center is not your ordinary gym or health club. With four locations across Volusia County, two in New Smyrna Beach and two in South Daytona, it offers three different fitness concepts to meet a wide range of customer preferences. “Let me tell you about our three concepts,” Hall says proudly. “We have an amazing 24-hour club down in New Smyrna Beach where you can work out 24/7/365, at your convenience. We have two group facilities in New Smyrna and South Daytona with the most dynamic classes available; think power yoga; think strength and conditioning; even boxing. We also have a private personal training studio where you can feel completely comfortable working out exclusively with your trainer.”

As successful as Hall has been over the last eight years since her company first opened, she wanted to continuously improve and focus on growing her businesses. To do so, she connected with the FSBDC for one-on-one consulting but also found peer-to-peer coaching through the FSBDC’s Growth XChange. Comprised of a cohort of 10 -12 small business owners, the Growth XChange offers a confidential setting for top executives to discuss vital business issues, opportunities, and trends with a group of peers led by a trained facilitator. The meetings provide members with the opportunity to broaden their business perspective and gain new knowledge by engaging in collaborative thinking and problem-solving – giving them the ability to more effectively lead their companies.

“One of the services I have used at Daytona State College and the SBDC is the Growth XChange,” Hall testifies. “It’s a group of business owners – local business owners – that come together once a month for round table talks and for finding business solutions. It’s a great way to not only network but to get problems solved in your business. I’ve had such a great time meeting other business owners, lots of them in business much longer than I have been, and I have gained so much from their wisdom and experience. It’s been quite amazing!”

“One of the biggest benefits I have gotten from the Growth XChange is greater accountability on my part,” Hall recalls. “It’s what I was looking for in a mentorship and my mentor Trecia Arrington (FSBDC at DSC consultant and sub-service center director) has been invaluable every step of the way. Trecia has helped me set annual and quarterly goals and then we check on them monthly to make sure we are reaching them. It has been a big game changer for my business.”

“My experience with the SBDC has been nothing short of amazing,” Hall concluded. “And my time in the Growth XChange has been miraculous. In 2024 my revenue was up 11% and a lot of that has to do with goal setting with Trecia. It has been a great thing to help me change direction. I can’t imagine all the things I’ve learned over the past two years at the SBDC and in the Growth XChange and I’m looking forward to learning more.”

For information about JOURNEY FITNESS CENTER, please visit https://journeyfitnesscenter.com/

Vision & Heels

Vision & Heels

Ask any small business owner or entrepreneur -regardless of their business’s size or industry- “Have you ever felt like you are ‘on your own’ while trying to manage everything?” and they will likely answer “Yes!” The cliche about it being “lonely at the top” is too often true. Jeannette Rodriguez, the CEO and founder of Vision & Heels, a female-forward co-working space located in the heart of downtown Deland, FL, was dealing just such aloneness as she worked to grow her business. She turned to the Florida Small Business Development Center at Daytona State College (FSBDC at DSC), a service center of the FSBDC at UCF, for assistance by utilizing its no-cost, expert consulting and a new specialty program called Growth XChange.

Vision & Heels is a coworking space built for women and women allies. Its space offers opportunities for Central Florida to experience a new way of working together and connecting. Through its memberships and space, the company offers a range of amenities to help clients do their best work. “What makes Vision & Heels different is community,” Jeannette Rodriguez explains proudly. “We’re not just space. Yes, we have offices and conference rooms, but we are also truly a community. I don’t want an empty, cold space. I want a space where folks can come in, feel like their home, and connect with everyone here.”

Research has shown that one remedy for the isolation that can come with building and leading an organization is connecting with and collaborating with like-minded and like-positioned executives to share challenges, experiences, solutions, and more. To that end, and borrowing from the FSBDC at UCF’s award-winning CEO XChange, the FSBDC at Daytona State launched its Growth XChange, a roundtable program serving progressive business owners in Volusia County. Growth XChange provides a confidential setting to discuss vital business issues, opportunities, and trends with a group of peers designed to assist its members with managing the solitary nature inherent in leading an enterprise.

“I sought out the assistance of the FSBDC because I felt I needed, as a new business owner, to learn the ins and outs of owning a business and to know I wasn’t alone,” recalls Rodriguez. “All the feelings, all the fears that come with owning a business, from starting a business, from self-funding that business, I needed help in all aspects and being part of Growth XChange has allowed me to get that help. I have also had access to the FSBDC team, specifically Trecia Arrington, the FSBDC at DSC director and consultant,” shares Rodriguez. “She was able to make it comfortable for me and it’s been a great journey working with her.”

“I had the wonderful opportunity to start with the Growth XChange program from the very beginning,” Rodriguez continued. “I was able to get the support of the group and the services of the FSBDC that I needed to make the right decision, to make those marketing-spend decisions, to make those hiring decisions to continue to run my business while trying to expand. All of these services were provided by the FSBDC and they were amazing for me.”

“The FSBDC at DSC helped Vision & Heels grow to where we are today,” concludes Rodriguez, noting that, after only two years in business, the company has increased its available space by 100% and projected revenues have increased 50%. “In an area that was in decline, we are growing and we’re still growing and I have the FSBDC to thank for that.”

For information about Vision & Heels, please visit https://www.visionandheels.com/.

LTG Engineering & Planning

LTG, Inc.

Entrepreneurs and small business owners tend to be an independent sort of breed. From the beginning, they choose to become their own bosses and that decision most often proves to be the right choice for themselves and for their businesses, especially early on. As a company grows in revenue and head count however, the decision-making process becomes more complex and the stakes become higher. Even as employees and managers come on board, a business owner soon learns that the adage that says ‘it’s lonely at the top’ can be a truism.

Having built his transportation engineering and planning consultancy into a highly successful company boasting over 22 years of service, Sans Lassiter, founder and president of LTG, Inc., formerly Lassiter Transportation Group, was contemplating his retirement and preparing his organization for the transition to new leadership. Rather than tackle this alone, he sought counsel from the Florida Small Business Development Center at Daytona State College (FSBDC at DSC), a sub-center of the Florida SBDC at the University of Central Florida, and its peer-to-peer executive roundtable coaching program for senior business leaders, the CEO XChange.

LTG, Inc. specializes in transportation planning, traffic engineering design, future roadway projection analysis, urban area modeling, and much more planning work of many types. Projects that the firm has worked on include Daytona International Speedway, I-95 at LPGA Boulevard Exchange, Tanger Outlet Mall, and Trader Joe’s Distribution Center to name just a few. “What I believe sets LTG apart is its strong belief in customer service,” explains Lassiter. “We typically get most of our work by word of mouth. We maintain our client base because we believe in doing quality work, providing it on time and within budget.”

Overseen by FSBDC at DSC sub-center director Trecia Arrington, the CEO XChange is a unique program designed to connect chief executives and cultivate their leadership of established, second stage companies. In monthly professionally facilitated sessions, members are empowered to broaden their business perspective and gain knowledge through collaborative thinking and problem-solving with the leaders of other non-competing companies from a diverse set of industries. “The thing that attracted me to the FSBDC’s CEO XChange program is the fact that it brought together some of the CEOs of good-sized firms in the area to discuss issues impacting them, their companies, and their company growth,” recalls Lassiter. “It provided me with a forum to ask questions and an opportunity to share what I’d learned through my years leading LTG.”

“It came about at a time in our company progression that was very important, “Lassiter continued. “I was in the midst of development of an ownership transition plan. What we were able to discuss with other members, as well as with some of the speakers brought in to speak to us at the CEO XChange, was very helpful in allowing me to crystalize what I was looking to do in terms of eventually retiring from my firm and yet making sure the company continued on successfully.”

“The relationships that you’re able to develop with other CEOs on a personal level were invaluable, “Lassiter affirms. “We were rewarded by finding out we’re not the only ones going through whatever issues we’re having and there may be a whole myriad of potential solutions that we can arrive at or make use of in bettering our companies. I think any firm would benefit from being a member of the FSBDC’s CEO XChange.”

For information about LTG, Inc., please visit https://lassitertransportation.com/.

Culture Studio

Culture Studio

It’s never easy to be the “new kid” in town. It can be even harder when you are opening a new office and manufacturing facility almost 1,200 miles away from your headquarters in Chicago. For Rich Santo, CEO of Culture Studio — a technology company that powers merch sales for the music and entertainment industries – getting off to a great start in the company’s new locale of Daytona Beach was paramount. Having the Florida Small Business Development Center at Daytona State College (FSBDC at DSC), a sub-center of the FSBDC at UCF, in his corner quickly became one of the ways he assured his success.

Culture Studio is in the business of accomplishing apparel and merchandise production in quantity for music, entertainment, retail, and e-commerce customers. Do you remember that fantastic memento you snagged at your last big event? It could have been from Culture Studio. “We are a platform for artists to make merchandise at scale,” describes Santo. “It consists of a proprietary technology that we build in house to power all of our physical assets, like our factories that are set up throughout the country. It’s something nobody can copy. We’ve been building this piece of tech since 2014. It is certainly our ‘secret sauce’ and what makes working with us special for our customers. We call it the ‘CS Experience’ and it’s what makes us better and successful.”

“Our headquarters is in Chicago and our newest facility, a 76,000 sq. ft. office and manufacturing plant, is in Daytona Beach, maybe a block and a half from the Daytona Speedway,” shares Santo. “When we entered the State of Florida, my first questions were: what are the opportunities and what agencies are there to help us get comfortable in the state?” Santo wanted to pinpoint who would be the best fit to help Culture Studio navigate uncharted territories. It was during his initial search that he discovered the FSBDC at Daytona State College.

“The services and overall experience at the FSBDC and with Trecia Marchand (DSC sub-center director and business consultant) and her team have been really incredible for us,” Santo recalls. Leveraging the FSBDC’s no-cost, expert consulting services, Santo was introduced to all corners of the Daytona business community. “The FSBDC has been a really great extension of our team,” Santo continues. “The biggest thing is just the connections, meeting different people and getting introductions.” A security company who is now a building tenant and a top-notch realtor were just two of the valuable connections he has made. “We got to meet so many great people that probably would have taken us months to find. We were kind of fast tracked into all these relationships. To be completely honest, doing business in Daytona has been amazing.”

“The impact on our business of opening our facility in Florida has been awesome,” concludes Santo. “Through first quarter 2023, we have had 68% growth in top line revenue. We have our 76,000 sq. ft. facility up and running. We have hired 65 team members in less than a year, and that’s only 20% of the people we will eventually need. We’ve used a lot of local contractors. I think we’ve become a big part of the community and it’s great for us and for Daytona.” The FSBDC at DSC is proud to have contributed in some small part to Culture Studio’s strong start in the state of Florida.

For information about Culture Studio, please visit https://culturestudio.net/.

National Center for Equity and Agency

The National Center for Equity and Agency (NCEA)

It’s a simple adage: you don’t know what you don’t know. Recognizing and addressing this fact can easily become a major hurdle for entrepreneurs and small business owners who work tirelessly using every minute of every day to build their businesses. Asking for help can also be difficult but – for those who do – the rewards can be immense.

Dr. Laura McGuire

Dr. Laura McGuire (they/them or she/her), the founder and principal of The National Center for Equity and Agency (NCEA), had built an impressive knowledge and experiential base in their calling as a consultant focused on the intersection of sexual misconduct, trauma-informed care, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. By their own admission, however, they did not have the same command of what it takes to build a successful business and turned for assistance to the Florida Small Business Development Center at Daytona State College (FSBDC at DSC), a sub-center of the FSBDC at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF).

The National Center for Equity and Agency is the only consulting firm in the nation to be fully focused on sexual misconduct and diversity and inclusion. This leads the organization focus on a wide range of topics including Title IX, consent, sexual harassment, domestic violence, restorative practices for offenders, trauma-informed care, and more. The NCEA is also the only firm to be comprised of graduate-level social scientists, offering a unique perspective that is research-informed and based upon lived experience. NCEA goes far beyond box-checking compliance in the form of transformative and cutting-edge workshops, trainings, keynotes, and consulting packages.

“As much as I know my field, I know my subject matter inside and out,” explains Dr. McGuire, “The ins and outs of business – marketing, sales, finance, how to really get the attention of potential customers – was the area I was going to need support in.” And that is what the FSBDC’s no-cost, expert consulting; business training seminars and webinars; and access to extensive market research resources and databases could provide.

“I’ve used consulting by a couple of the people at the FSBDC and that’s been really helpful,” Dr. McGuire remarked, working most recently with FSBDC at DSC Sub-center Director Trecia Marchand. “Talking to multiple individuals and getting their unique perspective has given me the holistic picture of what it means to succeed and really presented us with a solid foundation to launch from and then move forward from,” they continued.

“We went from just putting the first messages out there and existing to being a globally impacting, six-figure organization,” Dr. McGuire states proudly today. “And that is due to a lot of this mentorship and support and information that we wouldn’t have had otherwise or we would have had to pay a lot of money for. I think the FSBDC being this really approachable, easy-to-get-into place where anyone can ask questions, get resources, get support feeds into the bigger message of creating an equitable environment for all entrepreneurs across the country.”

For information about The National Center for Equity and Agency, please visit https://equityandagency.com/ .

MamaBare Sugaring Studio LLC

For a small business owner, managing explosive growth can be as big of a challenge as finding ways to survive in a pandemic. For Amanda Yarborough, founder and owner of MamaBare Sugaring Studio LLC, her business was enjoying an exceptionally positive reception from customers and was succeeding beyond her expectations. How to best manage that growth was her biggest problem, and that’s why she turned to the Florida Small Business Development Center at Daytona State College (FSBDC at DSC), a sub-center of the Florida SBDC at UCF (FSBDC at UCF), for assistance.

MamaBare Sugaring Studio, with locations in Lake Mary, Oviedo, Ormand Beach and Port Orange, offers an all-natural hair removal process called hand method ‘sugaring’, similar to waxing but better. MamaBare’s sugaring specialists apply a honey-colored sugar-paste gel to the skin and remove unwanted body and facial hair. They specialize in sugaring, and sugaring only, while creating a welcoming environment designed to remove not just hair, but also the insecurities and anxieties that often accompany it. “It’s all about helping our clients feel their best,” says Yarborough.

All-natural hair removal as practiced by MamaBare has become hugely popular, so much so that Yarborough quickly wanted assistance. “I reached out to the FSBDC because I was experiencing a period of growth that I needed help with,” she recalls. “I really needed someone to guide me and walk me through what the next steps for my business looked like.”

“The FSBDC definitely helped me focus on the big picture,” continues Yarborough. “It helped me by exploring the market and connect with people inside and outside my industry. The group I am part of – the Growth XChange – has been so helpful to my business. I get insights from other business owners, feedback on issues, ideas for business processes and financing. It’s really great to be able to be around others who are doing what I am doing, working through the same problems I am.” (Growth XChange is a facilitated peer-to-peer coaching program offered exclusively by the FSBDC at Daytona State to qualified small business owners.)

In addition to participating in the Growth XChange, Yarborough takes advantage of the FSBDC’s no-cost, expert business consulting and access to market research resources. “I especially love the one-on-one consulting that I get with FSBDC at DSC director Tom Daly,” Yarborough states. “He’s someone you can always go to. I went to cosmetology school. I didn’t get a lot of formal business training. I’ve had to figure it out on my own. Having people to go to, to ask questions of, get feedback from, to know what the next step should be, has been a gamechanger for us.”

“I have experienced tremendous growth within the company and really learned so much about how to run my business and how to grow my business since starting to work with the FSBDC,” Yarbrough explains. “Our company has grown by two more locations and doubled our staffing to almost 30. And that is all due to the consulting I have received from Tom at the FSBDC. If you are an entrepreneur or business owner and you haven’t reached out to the FSBDC, I suggest you do so immediately. I only wish I had known about them sooner.”

For information about MamaBare Sugaring Studio, please visit https://mamabaresugaring.com/.

Worldwide Sportswear Logo

Worldwide Sportswear

For many businesses serving the hospitality, travel, or food and beverage industries, the COVID-19 pandemic proved disastrous. Many did not survive. Fortunately for Nanu Manek, president and owner of Worldwide Sportswear, the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF), and its CARES Act-funded Business Recovery Team (BRT) program was there to assist him.

Based in Port Orange, FL, Worldwide Sportswear provides screen-printed and embroidered products such as t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and tote bags to the hospitality and tourism industries, including resorts, restaurants, state parks, and other vacation destinations. Worldwide Sportswear is known for capturing the latest trends and operating as a fashion company, producing Fall and Spring product lines every year. Its clients praise the company for its high-quality products and fantastic customer service.

Worldwide Sportswear grew rapidly until COVID-19 struck. “The pandemic brought us to a complete halt,” Manek recalls. Fortuitously, he was already in discussion with the FSBDC at UCF, seeking to join its award-winning Advisory Board Council (ABC) program. Designed for established, second-stage companies, the ABC program provides no-cost, customized teams of volunteer professionals who offer advice and counsel to help small businesses grow.

“Establishing a board for our company interested me a lot because we were growing by leaps and bounds at the time,” Manek says. “But when the COVID-19 shutdown hit, the FSBDC contacted me and shifted me to their Business Recovery Team (BRT) program. And it was phenomenally helpful to us, getting us through the pandemic and back to where we needed to be to start growing again.”

Launched to assist Central Florida businesses in overcoming the economic disruption caused by COVID-19, the FSBDC’s BRT program assembled its expert consultants on teams that were ‘custom-fit’ for the participating business to conduct in-depth strategic and business planning focused on financial, marketing, and operational issues aimed at returning the company to health and growth. Led by FSBDC consultant Jose Molfino, Worldwide Sportswear’s BRT team included experts in sales, marketing, and finance.

“The BRT Team has been fantastic,” says Manek. “Everyone is knowledgeable and really knows what they are doing. They guided us in a straight line, keeping us focused and doing a great job of it,” Manek declares. The BRT’s contributions at the company included a financial review that helped reduce costs, build budgets, and create a 12-month cash flow forecast to monitor progress. It put in place a customer relationship management (CRM) system that has added new clients and industries as revenue sources. And it guided the company in building a robust and highly effective social media and digital marketing campaign.

“While the business is currently still below pre-pandemic levels, the good news is that it’s trending positively. Business is up 100% more than it was during the pandemic, and sometimes 200% to 300%. The projections are definitely good and, once tourism really opens up, we feel that our business is going to thrive, and we’ll be above pre-pandemic levels by a lot,” Manek reports.

“For me, and for Worldwide Sportswear, the FSBDC has been indispensable,” Manek concludes. “Without it, we wouldn’t have had the guidance we needed to survive the pandemic. With the Business Recovery Team, we were able to stop the bleeding, set up a plan for the reopening and be positioned for a bright future.”

For information about Worldwide Sportwear, please visit https://wwspwear.shop/.

Fix-It Accounting

Building a successful small business and managing its development is not easy, whether there is a pandemic or not. Finding advisors, mentors or others who have dealt with or can assist with the challenges inherent in growing a business can be equally as difficult. Fortunately, there are excellent options for business guidance and assistance available in Central Florida, which is what Nancy Benet, president of Fix-it Accounting, Inc., found at the Florida Small Business Development Center at Daytona State College (FSBDC at DSC), a sub-center of the Florida SBDC at the University of Central Florida.

Fix-it Accounting serves a state-wide client base, specializing in IRS problem resolution in addition to offering bookkeeping and tax preparation services. “We are all about solving our client’s problems,” says Benet. “Resolving issues with the IRS is like solving a puzzle by putting all the pieces together. And that’s what we do. We help our clients get things right and put themselves back into good standing with the IRS.”

Like all business owners, Nancy Benet wanted Fix-It Accounting to be successful and has ambitions to make it a national firm. She also recognized it is harder to achieve those goals if you go it alone. “All great athletes have a coach. And every business owner who wants to be successful needs one too“ Benet states. “Along with leveraging their consulting, training, and market research resources, I sought out assistance from the SBDC to connect with other entrepreneurs and business owners through the FSBDC at DSC’s Growth XChange.”

The Growth XChange offers a confidential setting on a monthly basis for business owners to discuss vital business issues, opportunities, and trends with a group of peers.  By engaging in collaborative thinking, learning from subject matter experts and group problem solving, business owners are able to lead their companies more effectively to the second stage.

“The Growth XChange is a group of small business owners and entrepreneurs just like me,” continued Benet. “I’ve really benefited from it. It’s just blossomed. I’ve gotten a lot of help, a lot of peer-to-peer coaching. I really wish I’d done this years ago because I think I’d be a lot further along now.”

In addition to the Growth XChange, Benet has taken advantage of the FSBDC’s no-cost consulting and market research resources, working directly with the FSBDC at DSC’s Director Tom Daly. “Working with Tom and the SBDC has really allowed me to expand my business,” says Benet. “To have access to those services and that sort of expertise has been just amazing.”

“Since joining the Growth XChange and starting with the FSBDC, I have been able to achieve a lot of growth – about 40% per year – without expanding my team,“ Benet concluded. “We were also able to obtain funding to purchase a 11,000 sq. ft. office complex that will be our new headquarters. I don’t think I would have had the confidence and certainly wouldn’t have had the access to the right people to help me do it without the Small Business Development Center at Daytona State College.”

For information about Fix-It Accounting, please visit www.fixitaccounting.com.

Universal Pest Control

Universal Pest Control

Smart business owners have a saying: “You don’t know what you don’t know.” They recognize their strengths and their limitations and, paradoxically, in so doing position themselves and their businesses for growth and success. Seeking help to refine the areas where they find themselves to be weak is considered “wisdom’ by most people, and precisely what Todd Stebleton, owner with his wife Natalie of Universal Pest Control, did when he turned for assistance to the Florida Small Business Development Center at Daytona State College (FSBDC at DSC), a sub-center of the Florida SBDC at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF).

Serving Volusia and Flagler Counties, Universal Pest Control is a full-service pest control company that prides itself in its customer-oriented philosophy built on integrity, honesty, and openness. Offering a wide range of residential and commercial pest control programs, Universal Pest Control protects its clients’ homes, businesses, campers/RVs or boats from termites and other pests, including bed bugs.

“We saw a lot of opportunity for the company,” recalls Stebleton, “but I wasn’t sure how to achieve the growth we wanted. I don’t have a lot of history running a business and felt the need for some guidance. When I shared my concerns with a friend, he referred me to the FSBDC because he’s had great luck with their services. I contacted them and received immediate help. I felt like I’d fallen into some very capable hands.”

At the FSBDC, Stebleton worked with consultant Margaret ‘Maggie’ Incandela who mobilized all the center’s services for him, including its no-cost, expert consulting; business training and seminars; and access to market research and data. Incandela also provided significant assistance in obtaining critical capital including a line of credit and a bank loan that funded an acquisition of a lawn and shrub care business and allowed Universal Pest Control to expand its services.

“My experience with the FSBDC has been broad and advantageous, but I have benefited most from my work with my consultant Maggie,” says Stebleton. “She’s helped me understand my financials and focus where I needed to. From a marketing standpoint, I’ve been able to identify new avenues for my particular business thanks to her. Most important, she and the FSBDC challenged me to be a better businessperson overall and I think that’s what they have helped me become. I feel inspired to go to work now. It used to be that my business ran me; it was a grind. Now I come in enthusiastic and ready to go.”

“Since starting with the FSBDC, my business and I have grown in many different ways, and not just financially, although that’s certainly been a plus” Stebleton continued. “We have achieved the controlled growth we wanted: running at 10% year-to-date which is far better than last year, no question. But I’ve also seen advances in my management and the efficiency of the business. Working with the FSBDC has been very positive. It’s offered me great opportunities to grow.”

For information about Universal Pest Control, please visit https://bugandtermitecontrol.com/.