Mecatos Bakery & Café
Finding broad industry experience and deep functional knowledge that can accelerate revenue growth in a small business is generally not easy, even for the most ambitious entrepreneurs and business owners. Edwin Lurduy, founder and CEO of Mecatos Bakery & Café, had built a successful company from a simple, family-owned business started in 2015 that shared his passion for Colombian food and culture with its diverse communities. Featuring Mecatos’ by-now renowned Colombian specialty coffee, delicious baked foods, hot bites, and desserts offered in a welcoming, relaxed, and modern setting, the company had grown to four stores in Central Florida by 2022.
Lurduy believed Mecatos Bakery & Café could be much more, however, and to achieve the growth he imagined possible, he sought fresh perspectives and deeper expertise. This led him 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. Led by program manager Jill Kaufman, it offers small business owners the opportunity to work with a customized board of experts providing advice to help businesses grow – all at no cost. The FSBDC acts as a matchmaker between established local businesses like Mecatos and area professionals who volunteer their expertise and are purposefully selected to address the specific needs of the FSBDC client. Lurduy could not be happier with the results of his Advisory Board experience.
“The benefits we received from working with our Advisory Board, which was composed of people with decades of experience in marketing, legal, finance, and more, was incredibly valuable to a young organization such as ours” Lurduy recalls. “Every single idea or input they shared with us was important. They have lived this in much larger companies and it helped us to prevent or reduce mistakes and go in a better direction. It has meant significant changes at our stores and in our distribution center, some of the more critical ones being menu simplification, display and signage improvements, expansion of our catering operation, and help with sourcing and procurement of new products, how to look for them and how to negotiate them.”
Lurduy has long had aggressive expansion goals in mind for Mecatos and the ABC has helped him realize them. “We have received tools from the Advisory Board on how to reach those goals,” he continued, “all obtained from the Board based on their experience working with companies that have done this. From their feedback and advice, we have saved money, saved time, and made our operations more efficient. We have learned things that would have taken years and many resources to learn on our own.”
“During the term with our Advisory Board, they were crucial to our expansion plans,” Lurduy concluded. “While we were working with them, our organization grew from four to nine stores. Our revenues doubled. Our employee count doubled. Our distribution center expanded as far as labor and production. These are all numbers that were impacted in one way or another by the advice, help, and support of our Advisory Board Council.” And exactly the result he was looking for when he brought in its experience and expertise to help him.
For information about Mecatos Bakery & Cafe , please visit https://mecatoscafe.com/.
