Jim Anderson, owner of ETCetera International, Inc. first got interested in international trade when he worked for his father’s manufacturing company in the 1970s. At the time, the company shipped propane tanks used to carry hazardous materials. The tanks had to be handled with cranes and shipped in an open frame container that did not fit the standard 20’ or 40’ shipping container.
Eventually the industry changed the open frame container to a standard square frame that could fit into a shipping container and the idea that his father’s company would no longer be restricted by geographic location was born.

When Debbie Miliara decided to focus her career on the packaging industry, almost 30 years ago, she never imagined she would have to overcome a fierce gender-related discrimination: from unequal treatment regarding hiring, promotions and benefits, to unequal access to credit. “In my employment history, on most occasions I have been the only woman in the position for which I was hired” explains Ms. Miliara in her SBA8a Certification Application. “… my gender was disproportionately underrepresented in my industry, negatively affecting my advancement.”
Debbie Miliara, owner of M-Pak, started this packaging company in 1999 in Dallas, after more than 20 years working in the packaging industry. She visited the CGC SBDC within two years of her business start-up in need of assistance for certifications, registrations and solicitations for government contracting.
“When we first came to see you…we were 100% clueless. You patiently guided and assisted us with the 8a and GSA application processes. We can now boast that we are an 8a firm with a GSA contract”, says Ms. Miliara.

People talked about it in the dentist’s office. Comments were made about it in church. It was the major discussion item at the local barbershop. What incredible hot item had everyone’s attention? A new bakery in town that had wonderful breads and muffins, but didn’t serve doughnuts!
The new ‘rave’ in Denton, Texas was Ravelin Bakery, owned and operated by Eric and Pamela Helland. The bakery’s offerings include fine European-style baked goods, including exotic chocolates, delectable pies, stylish cakes, aromatic breads, and unique muffins, tarts and other baked goods -- but no doughnuts!
Eric Helland began his career as a chef 20 years ago in the hotel industry. After receiving formal training and working as a chef for about a year he sought additional training with European trained pastry chefs. So, a strong European influence molds Helland’s business and product today. He has been the pastry chef for the Four Seasons and has participated in competitions in Chicago, Dallas, Phoenix, and even Ireland.

Karl Berry had experienced several career changes that included working for several firms and suffering through the down sizing occurrences that characterized big business activity in the recent past. Accordingly, he began to believe that he would like to become an entrepreneur and start his own business. A friend of his acquainted him with the business of selling mattresses directly to retail businesses for sale to the public. Karl began to order and store mattresses in his garage and sell them to retail stores in the metroplex area.
Karl had experienced several career changes that included working for several firms and suffering through the down sizing occurrences that characterized big business activity in the recent past. Accordingly, he began to believe that he would like to become an entrepreneur and start his own business. A friend of his acquainted him with the business of selling mattresses directly to retail businesses for sale to the public. Karl began to order and store mattresses in his garage and sell them to retail stores in the metroplex area.

Living life under the thumb of corporate owners who constantly changed the commission structure for their best outside sales representative was more than Dean LaBay could stand. He had proven himself as the local office supply company’s number one sales representative, but no matter how well he did, the money never matched his efforts. When a large sale was made, the commissions were lowered and he felt cheated from his rightful share. Ever since graduating from high school, Dean dreamed of one day owning his own company and being free to act as his own boss and make the money he deserved. David LaBay, Dean’s brother, owned a successful painting contracting and real estate business. He also had extra space in his office facility in Longview, Texas. Dean began his company in 1994 in that small space selling office supplies to customers he had serviced when he worked as a sales representative for his former employer.

While preparing to enter the real estate business, a friend from Houston, Texas called Connie and asked her if she would be willing to open a drug testing facility in Longview for the Forward Edge Company. Although she had little knowledge of the business, she felt this would be a great opportunity, since there was little competition here. She began educating herself on drug testing processes and all the regulations involved, and finding a location for the new office. She flew to Washington, at her own expense, and attended a Drug Testing Conference. She became the first Charter Member of the first association for third party program administrators. As a part time activity, Ms Hagen became the Marketing Director for National Drug Testing Newspaper and began to get national attention, which eventually led to a spot on ABC’s Connie Chung Show. The program was about falsifying drug tests using dried urine. The program caused a major stir in the Texas Capital.

Virginia Belmore Aicha is the Founder and President of Green Planet, Inc., located in Royse City, Texas. The business was founded in March 1997 to deal with the removal and transport of hazardous waste.
Green Planet is an environmental services broker. Their services are now the following: 1) waste management, 2) environmental services, and 3) supply sales (solvents and specialty chemicals and supplies, and equipment).
The company has removed and transported tainted soil and water for such Companies as HBC Engineering. It has also worked with Wal-Mart, the Austin School District, Dallas County Community College District, Verizon Wireless, the Dallas Police Department Property Evidence Room and J.C. Penney. In working with the U.S. Postal Service, it has tested for lead in water and asbestos in brakes.
Before starting their business, Virginia and her husband Hassan had a combined administrative, marketing, customer service, and hazardous waste management experience of more than ten years.

Elaine Bottone started her home-based company in 1994; Lazy B Fencing offers Residential, Commercial and Ranch Fencing from its location in Quinlan, Texas. A United States Navy veteran, Ms. Bottone has master’s degree in education and 21 years of experience as a high school teacher. She had previously started and operated a riding stable/tack shop. She also was the organizer and founder of an annual horseman’s fair. Ms. Bottone started the business in a primarily male dominated industry and experienced numerous related challenges in acquiring a toe-hold in the fencing industry.
She has received ongoing assistance from the Paris SBDC, including becoming certified with the North Central Texas Regional Certification Agency (NCTRA) and HUB certified as a woman-owned business. Ms. Bottone has now expanded into government prime and subcontracting for the state, cities and schools systems.

Mr. Hauke first approached the McLennan SBDC in 1992 during the start-up phase of his business venture. The SBDC assisted him in researching SBIR grant opportunities for developing his product. After a frustrating “near-miss” at obtaining SBIR funding for his prototype, Mr. Hauke “boot strapped” his company into existence in late 1992. During 1996 the SBDC assisted Mr. Hauke with obtaining a government contract for his power supply product. As a former employee of Electro Systems, Inc. Mr. Hauke knew the defense industry. He focused on developing his power supply products to meet the unique needs of military, Special Forces and security forces. He was intense about quality and service to his customers. The quality of his product is evidenced by its use to power the famous “football” carried by security staff for the President of the United States. As the demand for his products grows, McDowell Research Corp., Mr. Hauke’s company, continues to manage the growth with the help of the SBDC.

Donna and Randy Hood were working for a company that repossesses vehicles from owners that have fallen behind on their payments in Dallas since October 2003. The company had been in business for twenty-five years, and it was soon apparent that business was “falling off”. The business was out there, but the company was unable to obtain their market share.
They had a good relationship with the owner, but customer service and housekeeping standards had begun to slip, and the business was doing poorly.
After much soul searching Randy asked the owner if he would consider letting his wife come into the office to see if she could identify problems leading to the erosion of the business. The owner had indicated that he was considering selling the business and retiring. Donna approached the Dallas SBDC and inquired about purchasing the business. It seemed initially that Donna and Randy would have to borrow money to buy the ailing business and then rebuild it. A better solution was found, with the loan being funded by the outgoing owner over a ten-year period.

After 9/11 BTP Manufacturing, builder of electronic assemblies like circuit boards and cable harnesses, suffered as many others in this and other industry sectors. Most of the clients of this small business dropped their contracts, and BTP started to become late paying its dues. Walter Johnson, its owner, was not willing to give up and bankruptcy was not in his plans. Today, BTP has increased sales from $64,000 to $370,000 and has added 4 more employees to his staff of 3.
Walter Johnson started BTP Manufacturing in June 1995, after 30 years working on management, engineering and manufacturing for large corporations. Right after, the business recorded rapid and consistent growth, and was one of the leaders in the area with Raytheon as one of its main customers. It was during this start up phase when Johnson first contacted the Dallas Small Business Development Center (SBDC), a program partially funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) that provides management and technical assistance, free one-on-one business counseling, and training to current and prospective small business owners.

Lucia had always enjoyed working with blueprints and designs in varied circumstances. After obtaining her Bachelor’s Degree in Architectural Science, she started an architectural and interior design firm.
She diversified the company and in 2003 opened DAI (Design Associates International, Inc.) Industrial Division. The company offers high quality industrial supplies, including power and hand tools, safety supplies, paint, steel, cutting tools and automotive equipment.
The company has received numerous recognitions, among them the Quality and Excellence Award, and the Minority Business Development Administration’s 2000 Regional Director’s Award for Outstanding Commitment to Excellence. The client came to the Government Contracting SBDC wanting to expand their business to include federal and state governments. The client attended Government Contracting Orientation and General Services Administration (GSA) Workshops. They were shown how to access procurement information, PRONET registration, and the bid-matching service, and were provided various opportunities for contracting with governmental organizations.

In November of 2002, entrepreneurs Don Hutcherson and Dean Spence, who is a Vietnam-Era Veteran, approached the Small Business Development Center seeking assistance in opening a powder coating business in Gainesville, Texas. SBDC Director Cathy Keeler assisted the partners by providing feasibility study information, marketing plan details, acquiring a Manufacturing Sales Tax Exemption, and assistance with the creation of a formal business plan for a start-up business loan. In the initial phases special expertise was also sought via both the NTSBDC Technology Assistance and the Risk Management specialty SBDCs of Dallas, which provided additional research, industry classifications and assistance on critical environmental issues. In March of 2003, Enhanced Powder Coating, LLC, officially opened its doors with three employees and a conventional bank loan of $85,000. Their first year’s receipts totaled $43,000 with sales more than tripling annually since that time. This year’s sales have reached the $1.1 million dollar mark in only seven months.

On the Road Again could be the theme song written just for Ron West, owner of Freedom Charters & Tours. This customer-friendly business located in North Central Texas, is one of the Lake Texoma area’s premier transportation and leisure providers with chartered trips to events for civic groups, schools, churches, etc.
A few years ago West inadvertently discovered his dream job while driving part-time for a charter bus company. He found that he could actually make money while traveling around the country, meeting people, and creating opportunities for his ‘new friends’ to capture precious memories as they visited fun and adventurous places together. West had always believed the only way to get ahead financially was to become a business owner, so with this idea and strategy in mind, he and his parents, Leslie and Evelyn West, began putting into motion the operation of their own charter and tour service company.

Dora Arizmendez and Mary Lou DeAnda have been friends since childhood; they shared dreams since then and one was to have a project together. However, life took them to different careers: Dora to the home improvement retail business, and Mary Lou to the professional accounting business. It wasn't until Mary Lou took the opportunity to walk away from her position with a local utility company when their dream started to materialize taking the form of a new business.
After extensive research, Dora and Mary Lou found Curves, the largest fitness franchise in the world with over 8,000 locations worldwide. As plus size women they both could relate to the customer base for Curves, and found an attractive market for a fitness and weight loss facility dedicated to provide affordable, one-stop exercise and nutritional information for women. They found the SBA website very resourceful, but still had a lot of questions concerning the starting process. Mary Lou had already been in contact with the Best Southwest SBDC when she took a QuickBooks class, so she return there for business startup, marketing, business planning, management and financial counseling, and for encouragement. "SBDC was extremely helpful to Las Girls. They answer all of our questions no matter how many times we asked the same question. No question was too small or too insignificant", said Mary Lou.

Lanny had worked 25 years in the retail sector, including 19 as store manager. Nancy knew banking first hand and medical office transcription. However, in 2004, the Holmes decided to give a turn to their careers, face Lanny's layoff and start a new business. The result of that decision is Liberty T.V. and Appliances, a furniture, appliance and electronics retail business in Paris, Texas, with sales of $76,000 and 5,500 sq. ft. showroom and office.
These Texan entrepreneurs attribute an important part of their success to the services provided by the Paris Small Business Development Center (SBDC), a program partially funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) that provides management and technical assistance, free one-on-one business counseling, and training to current and prospective small business owners. "Actually, we had no idea what steps were necessary or how to start. Our counselor, Rudy Slusher, carried us through the whole process", said Lanny. The Holmes, already with the idea of starting Liberty, attended Basics for Starting a Small Business class in March 2004.

Evelyn West, an elementary school teacher for many years, decided to take over Myrtle's Sweet Shop, a wholesale candy distributor located in Marshall, Texas that her parents had owned for several years. She had the advantage of positive name recognition, but her plan was to transform the business from wholesale to retail with a full-scale bakery and catering service. Financial resources would be a challenge for West but following her mother's example would also help her overcome it.
Alvin and Myrtle Davis decided to close their candy factory in May 2004, after years of owning it. Evelyn, their daughter, saw the opportunity and felt that, with proper guidance, she could make the business succeed. She felt comfortable due to the experience she has gained working with Myrtle. From her she learned that to have a successful product only the best ingredients should be used, and that their combination with recipes used was a strong point of the final product. Myrtle had attended several courses on business development offered by the Kilgore Small Business Development Center (SBDC), a program partially funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) that provides management and technical assistance, free one-on-one business counseling, and training to current and prospective small business owners.

In 2000, after fifteen years working as professor and research scientist, Dr. Joel Bennett decided to focus his expertise in organizational and health psychology in order to start his own business; Organizational Wellness Learning Systems (OWLS) was formed as a sole proprietorship. His idea was to offer a variety of services in workplace wellness (stress management), and include research, training and development, and organizational consulting.
Joel needed capital to fund his research and development activities, and discovered the Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR). He learned that the SBIR encourages small business to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from developing products for commercialization. Joel thought this would be an interesting alternative to explore. However, the process proved to be complex at the beginning. He was rejected on his first attempt to get an SBIR fast-track contract.

Personally Fit By Chris Hill, Inc. is a semi-private fitness facility dedicated to one-on-one and small group personal training in Longview, Texas. The 3500 square foot facility holds only top-of-the-line Body Masters weight training equipment and Pecor cardiovascular equipment.
Chris and his staff make each and every training session tailored to not only push their clients to limits that they would never achieve alone, but also to be educational in areas like nutrition.
Chris Hill majored in Biology and Kinesiology at Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches. With his degree, he was able to start directly into physical therapy, earning his Personal Trainer Certificate and Specialist in Performance Nutrition Certificate.
Hill knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life because he enjoyed helping people. Making the decision to go into business was a little more unsettling. The research involved would require a lot of time but since he could not envision working for someone else, he was willing to invest the effort.

When Michael Pish lost his job last year, he decided to use his experience in saddles manufacturing and selling in his favor. In October 2004 he opened Pish Saddlery in Greenville, TX, a western saddles wholesale business. After less than a year in operations, the company has recorded sales for about $55,000 and is already "bankable" for financial institutions. But, what is making Pish Saddlery this successful?
According to some authors, lack of experience is the number one reason start up businesses fail. Insufficient capital and low sales are also determinants of success. In this case, Pish found a niche; he knew the product and its market as being the 3rd generation in the saddle business; he also had worked 11 years as production manager for three of the larger manufacturers in the industry. So experience was not a problem for him. Pish Saddlery's challenge, however, was money. Pish needed working capital to obtain better purchase power and to market the product. With this limitation, in January 2005 he visited the Paris Small Business Development Center (SBDC), a program partially funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) that provides management and technical assistance, free one-on-one business counseling, and training to current and prospective small business owners.

Lots of couples get together with pizza and a movie. For Dave and Tabetha Snow, pizza and movies have always been at the center of their relationship. He has spent his career working at pizza restaurants, and she has spent hers working for movie theaters. When they moved to the small town of Whitewright, Texas, they decided to combine their expertise to start two complementary businesses, The Pizza Place that opened on September 2003 and The Video Depot on December 2003.
Before opening, Tabetha visited the Grayson SBDC, where Director Karen Stidham helped her review all of the legal requirements for starting the businesses, as well as cash flow planning and setting up and maintaining financial records. "The information about selecting the organizational structure and legal requirements for starting the business was very helpful," Tabetha said.

A method that can be used to determine the temperature of a product at the time of sale or any variation of temperature permitted during shipment and storage? This is what Jon Cameron developed and patented after 15 years working in the consumer packaged goods and retail industries. He had found a niche when he identified some critical inventory control issues facing the industry. The result of his initiative was Pop! Technologies, a partnership based in Dallas, TX.
Cameron had an interesting product, a patent, but also a common barrier for many inventors, lack of funds to manufacture and launch it to the market. "Starting a small business is fraught with advice. Some of it is professional, some friendly; and, all unlikely to be tailored to your needs. Finding stable, unbiased counsel is a frustrating pursuit. It doesn't have to be", said Cameron. Looking for someone who could understand the implications of a patent and technology, and the financial needs related to them, he went to the Technology Assistance Small Business Development Center (SBDC). This specialty center of the North Texas SBDC network is a program partially funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) that provides management and technical assistance, free one-on-one business counseling, and training on technology transfer, product development, patenting and licensing, among other areas.

Jim Bovard worked for 16 years at the Whirlpool Corporation, in various sales, marketing and product development positions. Jim left his career at Whirlpool in early 2001 because he wanted to become an entrepreneur and run his own company. In 2002, he purchased Sport Seats Ltd., a consumer products company that sells a portable chair called a “Sport Seat”. Folded, Sport Seat is a walking stick for hiking hills, watching or playing golf, walking the local shopping mall, or making walking possible if your legs are tired or injured.
Bovard chose Sport Seats, because of its similarities to the Whirlpool Corporation – a manufacturing based company of durable consumer products consisting of metal & plastic. Jim was already familiar with similar distribution channels, consumer segments, and production processes. In addition, he really liked the product, which was also patent protected.

Carlos Nuñez opened Target Productions in September 2003. He wanted to turn his passion for adverting and video production, and his experience as businessman in Mexico into a profitable business in the U.S. "The business world was always my main interest", said Nuñez. "I knew since the beginning that I wanted to be my own boss and run my own business". Today, Target Productions has managed to increase its monthly sales to $35,000 and to employ 4 more people.
However, this didn't happen overnight. To start the business, Nuñez had to overcome the challenges of living in a different country _he was born in Mexico and is now a US citizen. He said "I came to the United States with the promise of a new better job and life from a man who only succeeded in failing me…the money I had saved up and earned from my former business was what I lived off for a year. I knew I needed to start over".
And he did but, as it occurs to many entrepreneurs, a weak business planning and a not strategically focused marketing plan were preventing him from taking advantage of the Hispanic market attractiveness in the U.S. "All his planning had been developed to attend the Mexican market in Mexico, and not in the U.S. A reinvention of the organization was in order" later said the Dallas Small Business Development Center Counselor who helped Nuñez improve Target Productions.

Tree Top Bird Center, located in Dallas, opened its doors in May 2004 selling exotic and wild birds, bird toys, cages, food and wild bird supplies, and providing boarding and grooming. Its owner, Deborah Thrasher, had been manager for a retail bird store in Addison following her life long passion for birds. Today, less than a year after starting up, Tree Top has recorded sales of $250,000 and has been able to employ 8 people, surpassing Deborah's initial projections.
However, as it is the case of many entrepreneurs, starting wasn't easy: navigating into a sea of paperwork and regulations, finding the right location, making the most out of the initial investment and finding the time to deal with all that were challenges that Deborah faced. Following a friend's recommendation, she looked for business advice with the Collin Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and found an effective resource for her start-up needs. "Starting a business is about more than a great idea-it's about tangible steps that turn dreams into reality. The SBA and Mark Langford provided me and Tree Top Bird Center the guidance with our business plan and contacts in the business community that crystallized mere paper into profitable action", said Deborah.

Acquiring an existing business is much of having a good eye and enough resources, but acquiring an existing business with financial problems also requires contrasting these to evaluate the viability of the company.
Steve Carroll worked for N-Comm when the owner of the company approached him; he had the intention of selling the Longview division. Steve and Sandi, his wife, faced both an opportunity and a challenge. On one hand Sandi was already working on a business plan for a new venture; on the other, the N-Comm's division had been operating at a loss.
The Carrolls knew that they had enough experience in the telecommunications sector to manage the operation of the company; however, if they were to consider the proposal, they were going to need assistance to make the purchase decision due to the financial situation of the company. Sandi had already been working with the Kilgore Small Business Development Center (SBDC), so they returned there for counseling and training.

Carolyn Russo, an IT professional that had worked for Nortel Communications, found on her love for animals a business opportunity: a boarding and daycare facility for dogs. Through perseverance she achieved success: four months after its opening, Waggin' Tails, her business, grew to be five employees with a revenue stream that was twice the value estimated in her original cash flow projection.
Like most entrepreneurs, Russo initially had challenges that months of planning and the right advice helped her face; location and financing were some of them. Frustrated by initial attempts to find a place that would accommodate her planned facility, she persevered _as she has done it throughout her business career. She located a proper facility in Plano, Texas, that in addition to supporting her internal space needs for boarding, also offered space for an outside dog play area. The Collin Small Business Development Center (SBDC) supported Russo throughout the start-up process, by counseling and training her on business startup, business planning, marketing strategies and financial analysis. After eight months of preparation and with a $50,000 SBA loan from Banco Popular, Waggin' Tails dog boarding and daycare center opened in August 2003.

After twenty years, business owner Wanda Fannin had decided to retire and sell the business. Sharon Harvey had been employed by Mrs.Fannin for a year before she and husband John Harvey decided to purchase Wanda Fannin Distinctive ladies Apparel. The store sells a wide range of upscale ladies apparel and related accessories. The business had a good reputation within the community in addition to having a steady customer base.
In May 2004, ready to purchase the store, Sharon and John approached Central National Bank for a $200,000.00 dollar loan. The bank referred them to the McLennan SBDC about SBA loan participation. The center guided the Harvey’s through the loan process, with extensive counseling in the areas of business planning and management assistance. Persistence by the SBA Fort Worth District Office also helped to ensure the success of the loan.