Your Guiding Light

Lenny Johnson & his wife, Miranda, started Genesis in 2009. The store carries a range of popular clothing, footwear & accessory brands for men, women & children. “Anyone looking to start a business would benefit greatly from starting their project at Keith Olson’s door,” says Johnson of the advising received through the SBDC. “He and the ND SBDC have the resources to get any business off to a great start.” A new 5500sf facility is under construction and slated to open in the spring.

Ohio SBDC supports Veteran-Owned small business. From participation in transition assistance training at Wright Patterson to on-the-ground advising when a veteran calls a new community home, Ohio SBDC is proud to support veteran business owners as they seek success. Levi Duncan has found success with the Ohio SBDC at Springfield.

Trae Caldwell, retired United States Army officer, sought SBDC assistance to open the franchise, Metal Supermarkets in Tulsa. Caldwell was joined in his venture by Colby Piersall, a 20-year veteran of the United States Army with experience in supply chain management. Metal Supermarkets is focused on providing a variety of metal to manufacturing facilities with added services such as production cutting, shearing, and punching. Caldwell worked with advisor Ed Dyer to secure an SBA Patriot Express Guaranteed loan to start the business. Caldwell said, "The support provided by Ed at the SBDC was an instrumental piece of the SBA Patriot Express loan process. Ed’s guidance and mentorship helped make my dream of owning a business turn to reality."

Tommy Normand DBA Caliente is a veteran minority owned Mexican restaurant that started in 2007 with startup business planning need from Guam SBDC. Caliente continues to operate and survived both economic downturn and as recent as Covid19 adverse impact. During pandemic, Tommy continues to seek services from Guam SBDC; most recently he was able to receive assistance and received fundings from pandemic assistance SBA programs such as PPP, RRF and EIDL. With 14 years in operation, they will be celebrating their 15 years in business and now looking to expand and grow further.

For service year 2021, the PASBDC provided 5,502 client hours to 916 veteran clients — nearly 17 percent of its client base — resulting in 37 business starts, nearly 4,270 jobs created, and $1.6 million in revenue growth.