Florida SBDC at UCF Lake County Mentors American Backflow Testing, Inc.’s Growth

Assists Company in Obtaining Capital and Customers

March 5, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Hal Thayer, Communications Director, FSBDC at UCF, 407.420.4850 or hthayer@bus.ucf.edu

Orlando, FL –  Like many business owners, Gary Gamache, the president and CEO of American Backflow Testing, Inc., was looking for ways to grow his business. He understood that growth costs money and sought out the Florida SBDC at UCF (FSBDC) in Lake County for assistance in securing bank financing. His goal was to obtain a $50,000 line of credit to better manage the cash flow in his business and have funds to expand the business into additional business opportunities.

Gary first came to SBDC in January 2013 when he attended the Business Plan Writing Made Easy class taught by Stan Austin, a certified business consultant at the FSBDC in Lake County.  Shortly after the seminar, Stan started working with Gary to put together the business plan he would need to win approval of his bank loan application.

Through the summer Stan and Gary revised multiple iterations of his business plan.  By early fall, Gary was ready for a final printing.  The plan was printed for him in the FSBDC in Lake County’s office and bound with a comb binder.  Gary then approached several banks seeking a line of credit for his business.  Gary obtained a $50,000 line of credit with a bank in December 2013.

At the same time Gary was preparing his business plan, he began looking for new customers. One of the areas Gary has had business success is with local cities that need backflow testing done on a scheduled basis.  Stan introduced Gary to Derek Hudson, a CBA and member of the FSBDC’s Government Contracting unit [formerly its Procurement Technical Assistance Center – (PTAC)].  Gary attended all the Government Contracting classes available to better understand the “ins and outs” of working with government entities.  He immediately put to use what he had learned by winning business at another city by “piggy backing” on an already in place municipal contract he had with a city in the same area.

So it was that, once Gary had his credit line in hand, he was in a position to finance servicing new customers and better manage his cash flow. In Gary’s business, managing the payroll can put a strain on cash flow.  He must pay his employees for the tests they perform immediately, even though there is a lag in time before Gary is paid by his clients.  In addition, if Gary is to capitalize on the growth opportunities his national account clients are offering him, he needed operating capital to set up a larger support organization to manage the additional backflow testing calls.  The additional workload also would require him to add personnel in the office to manage the necessary paperwork for billing the clients, paying the subcontractors and recording the information regarding the backflow tests with the correct water authorities in each local municipality.

With the credit line in place, Gary was able to grow his business with a few major accounts and with local municipalities.  Gary has transitioned his personnel from using 3 subcontractors in 2013 to adding permanent employees in 2014.  He now has two permanent office administrators and three employees conducting backflow tests.  In May, he projects hiring one more field employee.

Two of his major accounts are now asking Gary to expand his testing operations to states other than Florida.  In addition, now that he has a solid working model for managing major accounts, he is actively pursuing additional major accounts with multiple locations.

Over the past year, Gary and Stan have enjoyed building a professional and personal relationship.  Gary counts on him and Derek Hudson personally to help him as he continues to grow his business.  He is also relying on Stan to continue to direct him to other resources within Florida SBDC when need be. “The FSBDC in Lake County has been an invaluable resource to me and my business,’ says Gary. “They have mentored and coached me on how to better manage and grow my business. Companies in Lake County are making a mistake not to take advantage of their amazing, no-cost consulting, training and support.”

— FSBDC —

About the FSBDC at UCF

With its main office in the National Entrepreneur Center located at the Fashion Square Mall in Orlando, the SBDC at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) is part of the UCF Office of Research & Commercialization and the Florida SBDC Network (FSBDC Network). THE FSBDC at UCF provides business seminars and no-cost, one-on-one business consultation to emerging and established businesses. The FSBDC at UCF serves an eight-county area that includes Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties and maintains 10 service centers across Central Florida.

In 2012, the FSBDC at UCF served almost 6500 entrepreneurs and small business owners through consulting and training, resulting in 9,961 Central Florida jobs created, retained or saved; $1.3 billion in sales growth; $50.4 million in capital formation; $104.6 million in government contract awards; and 108 new businesses started.

About the FSBDC Network

The FSBDC at UCF is a member of the Florida SBDC Network, a statewide service network funded in part through cooperative agreements with the U.S. Small Business Administration, Defense Logistics Agency, State of Florida and other private and public partners. The Florida SBDC Network is hosted by the University of West Florida and is nationally accredited by the Association of SBDCs. All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.

For over 35 years, the FSBDC Network has nourished a statewide partnership between higher education and economic development organizations, dedicated to providing emerging and established business owners with management and technical assistance, enabling overall growth and increased profitability for the businesses and economic prosperity for the state. The FSBDC Network is a statewide service system of 41 centers with 60 outreach locations, including the FSBDC at UCF.

In 2012, the Florida SBDCs served approximately 38,000 entrepreneurs and small business owners through consulting and training, resulting in 47,845 jobs created, retained and saved; $6.3 billion in sales growth; $235.2 million in capital accessed; $588.4 million in government contract awards; and 744 new businesses started. And, for every $1 of Florida public and private sector investment in the FSBDC programing 2012, $40 was returned to the state in tax revenue

FSBDC at UCF | 3201 E. Colonial Drive | Orlando, FL 32801 | p 407.420.4850 | f 407.420.4862
sbdc@bus.ucf.edu | www.sbdcorlando.com