Small Business Success Stories

Expert Guidance Paves the Way

NovoaGlobal
Orlando | novoaglobal.com

As if starting a new business wasn’t hard enough, imagine trying to do it in another country. That was the challenge facing Carlos Lofstedt, when he brought his idea for automatic traffic enforcement from Sweden to Florida.
There were immediate differences that needed to be navigated. Chief among them was the way these systems are sold and financed. In the U.S., more of the financial burden for equipment is born by the company, rather than the end user.
“In the U.S., you need to do the whole blown investment, so it’s a lot higher risk,” Lofstedt says.
His Orlando company, NovoaGlobal, offers a wide range of automated services geared toward making communities safer. A leading innovator in the field, the company’s systems monitor speeding, school zone safety, red lights, crosswalks and parking, among other things.
To help navigate the U.S. business landscape, he turned to the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida.
“They offered new ideas. So it was very good in that respect,” Lofstedt said. “They provided perspectives on how to solve certain problems that would pop up from time to time.”
NovoaGlobal tapped into the FSBDC’s no-cost Advisory Board Council program, which pulls together custom-fit advisory groups comprised of business professionals who volunteer their time to help young companies grow. Through quarterly meetings, the group offered a wide range of advice, including marketing, public relations, technology, law and business development.
“These advisory boards function as management think tanks and provide expertise and industry insight which Is usually not affordable or accessible to a small business,” states Jill Kaufman, associate director of the Central Florida University’s Florida SBDC center.

When It’s Time to Grow

Blue Bamboo
Jacksonville | bluebamboojacksonville.com

It’s one thing to run a successful business, but another thing to make it grow. Taking that leap was the challenge faced by Dennis Chan when he embarked on an effort to turn a small Jacksonville restaurant, Blue Bamboo, into his dream business.

He opened the small restaurant in 2005 in space rented from an uncle. But he had an opportunity to expand in 2019, when he found a location for sale that would be ideal for his unique brand of “Hip Asian Comfort Food.”

Coming from a long line of restauranteurs, you could say that he was born into the business. But despite being surrounded by a wealth of family experience, he wasn’t ready for this bigger, bolder move.

To aid his expansion plans, he turned to the Florida SBDC at the University of North Florida.

“My family had been in business for a long time. But we really just found the need and prepared the food for that need,” Chen says. “The SBDC provided a lot of information and techniques on how to manage the business side of things.”

Working with UNF’s Scale Up program, he learned about growth strategies and gained assistance navigating the complexities of outside financing and how to take advantage of SBA loan programs.

His experience also illustrates the potential complications that await even the best business plans. The new and improved Blue Bamboo was opening in the midst of the COVID pandemic. But what could have been disastrous, turned out to be perfect timing.

“When we built, the construction costs were significantly less,” says Chen. “And when we opened, people were ready to come out and eat.”

The Blessing and Curse of a Novel Idea

FairyTail Pet Care
Tampa | fairytailpet.com

Some business ideas have the advantage of being so novel that no one else has tried them. And that can be both a curse and a blessing.

Such was the case when lifelong friends Kelly Nova and Ilana Karcinski dreamed up the idea of making a business catering to wedding couples who want their pets in the audience — without having to saddle family or friends with the responsibility.

Thus was born Tampa’s FairyTail Pet Care, which offers round-trip escorts for pets to weddings, with optional wedding outfits and walks down the aisle.

Nova remembers that pitching the idea wasn’t always met with the warmest of welcomes.

“We met a lot of resistance and got a lot of bizarre looks along the way,” Nova says.

Turns out the idea wasn’t so strange. Today, the company has locations in five states, including California and Nevada. Nova sees their success as a reminder for other businesses with ideas that may be a little out of the mainstream: “If you’re persistent and confident in what you’re offering, and there are people out there looking for what you’re offering, then it’s going to come to you eventually.”

They are also thankful for the guidance they received from FSBDC at the University of South Florida. They attended workshops and classes and received guidance on how to launch and financially support their new franchise system.

“They were a really good resource for us,” Nova says. “It was nice to have an outside perspective to help us as we got the word out. They’ve helped us pretty much every step of the way.”

Taking Those First Steps

Navarre Montessori Academy
Navarre | montessorinavarre.com

Eight years ago, Kiani Richardson wanted to transform childhood education in her Florida Panhandle community. She just needed to figure out how to start her own business to make it happen.

“Being a teacher in a traditional school motivated me to start a different kind of educational method,” Richardson says. “But being a teacher, I didn’t know much about business. Another challenge was English, because my first language is Spanish.”

Today, her Navarre Montessori Academy offers a nontraditional education approach for kids up to the third grade. The bilingual curriculum discards formal teaching methods in favor of focusing on students’ own natural interests and activities.

She did bring some key skills to the endeavor — particularly her background as a math teacher. “Math is a big thing for a company,” she says. “If you don’t know how to handle your budget, your company can be badly damaged.”

Still, Richardson recognized that she needed help to overcome other challenges. So she took advantage of SBDC programs offered by the University of West Florida. With the program’s support, she was able to take the critical steps needed to start a business, including developing a business plan and establishing a budget. The center also helped her find and secure an SBA loan.

“They helped put my feet on the ground and then guide me on how to run a business,” Richardson says.