FSBDC at UCF, University of Central Florida, Small Business Assistance

Florida SBDC at UCF Successfully Helps Central Florida Companies Through Pandemic Get Back to Business and Get Back to Growth

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FSBDC’s Business Recovery Team Initiative Delivers Impressive Economic Impact for Diverse Businesses

Orlando, FL – The Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) today announced impressive results coming out of its CARES Act-funded Business Recovery Team (BRT) Initiative.

The FSBDC revealed the following economic development achievements resulting from its BRT Initiative:

  • 47 Companies from a Broad Range of Industries Assisted
  • $ 22.6 Million of New Capital Accessed
  • $ 42.0 Million of New Government Contracts Acquired
  • Companies from Six (6) Central Florida Counties Served: Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia
  • 47% of the Businesses Assisted were Minority Owned
  • 23% of the Business Assisted were Women Owned
  • 11% of the Business Assisted were Veteran Owned

The significant economic impact produced, and the wide diversity of historically underserved communities assisted, by the BRT Initiative demonstrates that the aggressive and effective actions taken by the Florida SBDC at UCF to address the damage from the COVID-19 pandemic achieved results. Thanks to funding from the Federal Government’s CARES Act, the FSBDC was able to help almost 50 Central Florida small businesses get back to business and get back to growth.

Client expressed considerable appreciation for the contribution to their businesses by the FSBDC’s Business Recovery Team initiative:

“Excellent Service!!! Best Business Consulting Team I have encountered in 25 years of business.” – William Wydra, Partner, Skyline Attractions, LLC

“Thank you again for all your help and support as we turn the corner to profitability with NEW SYSTEMS in place. We appreciate all the guidance and ideas to help our business grow.” – Mark Wagner, Founder, WISE Building EcoSystems from Pack-A-Drum

“We value and appreciate the professionalism of the leadership at FSBDC BRT and the professionals that committed to joining our ‘BRT Board’. They helped us focus our marketing efforts, showed us what we didn’t know and provided us with a number of positive and creative recommendations for sourcing personnel.” – Karyn Barker, Business Development, RUSH Facilities, LLC

Designed to help established Central Florida businesses navigate challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and guide them as they rebuild for long term success, the FSBDC at UCF invented and launched a new, focused, robust, and heavily resourced business assistance program in August of 2020 for small- to medium-sized businesses. This effort was built around providing Recovery, Resiliency, and Continuity support – all strengthened by additional staff and funding available as a result of the CARES Act.

The Business Recovery Team (BRT) program was specifically created by the FSBDC at UCF to help companies develop and implement customized business strategies designed to assist in recovery after the unexpected disruptions of COVID-19 and to build sustainability thereafter, including through realigning their business model and adapting to a new environment. This was a new and distinctive service offered by the FSBDC, available for a limited time dictated by CARES Act funding that has now ended.

Depending on the needs of the company, included in the process could be identification and articulation of company goals aligned with the COVID-19 ‘new normal’; enumeration of a recovery-focused business plan; and definition and deployment of critical business functions and resources. A BRT’s contributions ranged across financial, marketing, and operational areas of an organization and could comprise:

  • Post-COVID-19 Management Plans and Protocols
  • Financial Analysis, including streamlining and cost analysis
  • Digital Marketing Outlines and Services
  • Industry Market Research & Analysis
  • Business Resiliency Plans for the Future

For more information about the FSBDC at UCF, please visit www.sbdcorlando.com.

— FSBDC —

About the FSBDC at UCF

Hosted by the University of Central Florida (UCF), and with its main office in the National Entrepreneur Center located at the Fashion Square Mall in Orlando, the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) is part of the UCF Office of Partnership & Innovation and the Florida SBDC Network.

The Florida SBDC at UCF provides aspiring and existing small businesses with no-cost consulting, low-cost training, and access to business data and research resources. In addition to its core service offering, the Florida SBDC at UCF also offers specialized services to qualifying companies, including capital access, market growth, government contracting, international trade, business continuation, cybersecurity, disaster planning and recovery, and more. The FSBDC at UCF serves an eight-county area that includes Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties and maintains 9 service centers across Central Florida.

In 2020, the FSBDC at UCF served more than 2,700 entrepreneurs in Central Florida with consulting services, resulting in more than 10,000 jobs created, retained or saved; $1.2 billion in sales growth; $59.1 million in capital formation; $53.4 million in government contract awards; and 86 new businesses started. For more information, please visit www.sbdcorlando.com.

About the Florida SBDC Network

For over forty years, the Florida SBDC Network, the state’s principal provider of business assistance [Fl. Stat. 288.001], has nourished a statewide partnership between higher education and economic development to provide existing and emerging small and medium-sized business owners with management and knowledge resources that enable overall growth, increased profitability, and economic prosperity for Florida’s economy.

In 2020, Florida SBDCs provided 162,519 hours of professional business consulting to more than 24,100 client businesses, resulting in almost 38,000 jobs impacted; $4.4 billion in sales generated; $488 million in government contracts acquired; and $553.5 million in capital accessed.

A statewide network of over 40 offices, the Florida SBDC is funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Defense Logistics Agency, State of Florida and other private and public partners. The Florida SBDC Network, headquartered at the University of West Florida, is nationally accredited by the Association of SBDCs and is a 2016 recipient of the President’s E Award for Export Service. Florida SBDC services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Language assistance services are available for individuals with limited English proficiency. For more information, please visit www.FloridaSBDC.org.

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