Summer Solutions Inc.
The entrepreneurial life has its challenges. They are only multiplied when you relocate yourself and your business from Pennsylvania to Lake Mary, FL. But that’s exactly what Keith Lorenz, founder and owner of Summer Solutions Inc., did in 2013. While searching for local assistance and learning the local business landscape, he found the support and assistance he needed to make a success of his move at the Florida SBDC at Seminole State College (FSBDC at SSC), a sub-center of the FSBDC at UCF, through its Advisory Board Council (ABC) program.
Summer Solutions is in the business of solving the problems that swimmers have with chlorine: the hair discoloration, the dry skin conditions, the deterioration of their swim suits to name a few. Summer Solutions offers a full line of products – shampoos, soap, swimwear care products – specifically designed to address the deleterious effects of chlorinated swimming pool water.
Lorenz started the company in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and made it a small success. Now he was ready to devote his full time to making the company a big success and answer some big questions: is this a real business I can grow? How can I scale it up? Where can I find the people I need to help me succeed?
It was then that he did some research and found the Florida SBDC. “I looked at all the different services offered by the FSBDC and saw the Advisory Board Council as the program that could really help me,” Lorenz says. “‘Wow,’ I said. ‘This is exactly what I need. Right here in Seminole County.’” He contacted Amy Kirkland, a consultant and the manager of the FSBDC at SSC, to apply.
In the Advisory Board Council program, the FSBDC constructs a no-cost board of experts that meets over an 18 month period providing advice and council to help businesses grow. The FSBDC acts as a matchmaker between established local businesses and area professionals who volunteer their expertise as members of an advisory board, with the Board customized and the volunteers selected to address the specific needs of the FSBDC client.
“My Advisory Board was invaluable. I was working on my own and needed advisors to bounce ideas off, to discuss issues with,” says Lorenz. “I wanted the accountability that would come from putting my plans in front a group of experts. And that’s what I got, and more, from my Board. They provided a forum that helped me make better decisions that helped my company grow.”
“My board saved me from taking some unnecessary risks and convinced me to invest in my marketing and sales efforts. They helped me analyze and redefine my target markets. We reassessed my website and they assisted me in finding the resources to improve it dramatically. They persuaded me that a dedicated sales person would have much more success than me doing it myself,“ Lorenz continued. “And the results speak for themselves: we now have a better focus on our markets, and our sales are up nicely.
