Nebraska District Office Success Stories

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From downsized to opening a new trendy Omaha nightspot: Nosh Wine Lounge

So there she was, downsized from her corporate finance job in the Dallas area the day before, out with her friends, wondering what would be next in her life. She was over 50, without a job, although she was more fortunate than many in the...

Trading the executive job for the blank canvas of a business start-up

Tucked in the trendy AkSarBen Village, within walking distance of a park, shops and coffee sippers is what Kathy Byrnes hopes is to be one of Omaha’s hottest fashionable merges of gallery, retail and creative exploration. Village Canvas and...

Export Promotion Grant brings millions in trade sales for Nebraska small businesses

Thanks to a grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration, a couple of small businesses in Nebraska received financial support to help market their goods and services internationally – resulting in millions in potential sales contracts....

How can you tell a happy pet? The Tail Waggin knows

She has a love for pets, and with the help of funds through the SBA Microloan Program, turned that passion into a small business bringing joy and comfort to grateful dogs and cats across central Nebraska. Alison Martin owns The Tail Waggin, a mobile...

Building a business in Central Nebraska? Remember, Efficiency Counts

She was a great friend at the bank for small business owners who just couldn’t get the hang of accounting. She even went so far as to suggest her bank president boss sponsor a Saturday morning class where seasoned business owners could...

When it comes to their customers' rides, Hardcore 4x4 means business

Folks needing that hard-to-find tire for their four-wheel drive vehicle know they have a friend to do the work at Hardcore 4x4—thanks to SBA financing. What customers get there is service from somebody who turned his obsession into a...

Scottsbluff business helps put health worries to bed

For their friends and neighbors, they're the perfect solution for a good night's sleep. Never mind the work they do also can improve health and save lives. Since 2006, Western Sleep Medicine, the SBA's Nebraska 3rd Congressional...

Midlands Recycling helping to keep Lincoln green

Their Lincoln area neighbors can breathe easier, drink cleaner water and enjoy savings on their energy bills thanks to their hard work. But Midlands Recycling is too busy to take credit for a cleaner capital city in the Cornhusker State....

Bellevue's The Garrett Group an up-and-comer in government contracting

At the southern end of Bellevue's blighted Fort Crook corridor, one of the newest and hungriest technology contractors in the area has found a new home at the site of a notorious club once placed off limits by nearby Offutt...

Lender Relations Specialists help keep a funeral home deal alive

The Plattsmouth Chamber of Commerce organized a ribbon-cutting ceremony Sept. 24, 2010, for the Brian P. Harvey Funeral Home’s location on Main Street. Lender relations specialists from the Nebraska District Office worked with the...

SBA Express helps former Air Force medic open new Omaha law partnership

The two partners had a great idea and needed a little capital to make it happen. So they got a bank to loan them the money, leased an office, made some improvements to it, and jumped into business. Wait. There's a little more...

Omaha man puts away shirt and tie, dons apron, finds success at the BBQ grill

He traded in a button-up shirt and tie for an apron, and hungry barbeque lovers in Nebraska couldn’t be happier. Mike Popelier was a branch manager for a copier retailer in Omaha when he was downsized two years ago. But instead...

Microloan key to bringing authentic European flavors to Nebraska

Enes, Mira and Sandro Sljivo of EMSA Inc., pose in their sparkling clean kitchen. One taste of their hearty, garlicky beef kebob sausages and you understand how this family-owned business bringing authentic European flavors to...

SBA deal helps Lincoln's New Generation Construction build a bright future

Justin Hernandez (left), owner of New Generation Construction, talks with Region VII Advocate Becky Greenwald outside St. Michael's Catholic School in southeast Lincoln. He couldn't see himself working in an office at his...

Tasty franchise comes to the Big O!

Melissa Hagerty (left) and Sharon Hansen (right) of Nothing Bundt Cakes, shortly after their store opening. The new franchise store in an Omaha shopping center would open in about a half hour, with a line of eager customers already...

All the way from Ord to DC: The story of Sandhills Glass

Four years ago, Sandhills Glass and Garage Doors was on the verge of closing for good. These days, not only is business booming, but Bradley and Gina Babb, the owners of the Ord, Neb., business, were in Washington, D.C., a couple of...

A taste of Mexico in Gretna

From the first crunch of the tortilla chip dripping with savory salsa, you know you’re tasting some delicious, locally-made goodness. The smells of the fresh chips off the production line waft from the small warehouse in suburban...

Omaha firm takes advantage of government market with help from SBA and PTAC

President and CEO Sri Devi (left) and Business Development Director Mike Fisk of Guru Alliance outside their Omaha office. They're already known for their agility and ability to compete on price when it comes to finding software...

The Origin of Mail Order Comics: SBA helps propel business adventure up, up and away

Mitch Meyer (center, wearing dark hoodie) and the crew at Mail Order Comics in Gretna, pose with some of their wares. Mitch Meyer, the comic book fan, knows his Daredevil and his Punisher, his Dark Knight and his Green Lantern. But...

Need a status update on the latest player in marketing? Lincoln-based Hurrdat Social Media ready for a breakout

Four years ago, Blake Lawrence was an outside linebacker for the Nebraska Cornhuskers; his teammate, Adi Kunalic, served as the football team's kickoff specialist. Today, the company they started in August 2010 is an up-and-comer in the hot...

Norfolk shoppers find latest name brands at chic new second-hand kids' store

Along the sparkling restored streetscape in downtown Norfolk is a gem of a store set within the shabby chic bricks and mortar of the old Pasewalk Building. Bright pastels for the up-to-date interior design and shiny floors make it hard to...

A little room on the balance sheet means a lot to the patients Ortho Medics helps

A chance meeting one day with a new lender in their Kearney strip mall led to better cash flow for their small business and the resources to hire a new technician to continue to provide much-needed orthotic and prosthetic services to their neighbors...

Bringing the best theater experience to central Nebraska

The Tiffany Theater (left) and owners Stuart Fox and Andrew Solomon There’s a lot to like about this small town in Custer County in central Nebraska; friendly neighborhoods, fine lakes and quiet rivers, the Sandhills -- and...

Omaha's New Venture Brokers gets SBA 7(a) loan help

If you're a company in Nebraska importing key components of your small manufacturing business, there's a bunch of things that can mess up your supply chain, costing you money and perhaps even employees their jobs. Fortunately, thanks...

Thanks to 504 deal, new eatery comes to Central City

It's an old-fashioned downtown, with a few eateries crowded along with some storefronts and clapboard houses as U.S. Route 30 winds through this town of about 3,000 people. But for hungry folks in Central City, a town about 25 miles...

Adventure begins with Elkhorn toy company thanks to SBA financing

It's a day spent hosting some 60 children for a photo shoot for their newest catalog. Kids play with blocks, puzzles and even high-tech spy toys as the camera snaps. Outside, it's a nondescript location in an Elkhorn strip mall...

Mother of all frustrations leads to clear future for Lincoln window company

Although necessity is the mother of invention, it’s the mother of all frustrations which led to the creation of a small business in Lincoln, one that’s building a reputation nationwide as the go-to place to mix technology with historic...

OSBN helps North Omaha entrepreneur reach business dreams

When Tia Love was a 10-year-old kid living nearby the Applewood Golf Course in Ralston, she would spend summer days bolting down the fairways, wading into the ponds to retrieve errant balls to sell them back to the golfers at 25 cents apiece...

Express Loan Means Increased Capacity, New Jobs for Beatrice Manufacturing Firm

Thanks to the purchase of a high-capacity laser cutting tool, a manufacturing business in Beatrice is going to see a jump in its ability to turn out its products, and create some new jobs in the process. Precise Fabrication turns raw sheet metal...

Sand Creek Post and Beam named Small Business of the Year for 2011

If you ever go on a vacation to the French countryside, and chance upon a barn that reminds you of one populating the Nebraska prairie, you may see a sample of the work from a company in Wayne. Len Dickinson and his wife, Jule Goeller, started a...

Native American Minority-Owned Business Owner Named 2010 Small Business Person of the Year

As president of All Native Services, Lance Morgan leads an award-winning tribal-owned small business that provides managed and professional services, including program management, public affairs, and complete voice and data communications...

Nebraska Family-owned Business is Named Small Business Person of the Year 2009

James (Jim) Hellbusch, President, and Connie Hellbusch, Treasurer, of Duo Lift Manufacturing Company, Inc. located in Columbus, Nebraska has been named the Nebraska Small Business of the Year for 2009. Duo Lift Manufacturing Company, Inc. is a...

Green Business Owner Receives 7(a) Loans to Purchase Drill and Achieve Growth

There are a lot of Ideas for Green Energy, and an Omaha-area Company is Putting One of Those Ideas Into Place Geothermal Green Team is a 10-person engineering firm working out of a cramped office on the second floor of a warehouse in Gretna,...

Lincoln Technology Firm Named 2010 Nebraska Small Business of the Year

James Bowen and Nick Bock, and their company, Five Nines Technology Group, LLC, located in Lincoln, NE., have been named the Nebraska Small Business of the Year for 2010 by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The information technology...

Lender Receives Recognition for Commitment to Growth for Small Business Owners

Fast Growth, Personal Enthusiasm Define Nebraska’s Community/Rural Lender of the Year They’re pugnacious and they’re hungry, and they’ll show some hustle to get their customer a loan. So the bank has extra paperwork to do...