Free Help from Uncle Sam to Start or Expand Your Business. Fred Hess

(most of them designed to help underprivileged and minorities to get a fair shake), success stories reported by the SBA and its supported agencies (SCORE, SBDC, SBIR, et al.) dominate the news. Often overlooked, however, are success stories from other agencies such as the Department of Commerce, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Energy. Here are a few from which you might draw helpful inspirations. Taking advantage of them can save you many $$$.

An Entrepreneur with a Nose for Opportunity

      San Francisco, CA – Nearly a third of all Americans have some kind of allergy. Chart Yu figured there had to be a way to help Americans breathe easier, so he created Gazoontite, a consumer-friendly retail store devoted to allergy products.

      In 1997, Yu voluntarily gave up his management position at Clorox to become a sales clerk at Crate & Barrel –- a daring move that gave him valuable retail experience at 15 percent of his previous salary. He easily could have spent the next several decades trying to learn all the other aspects of running a successful start-up business. Instead, he began seeking out resources to help him formulate a realistic business plan. A visit to the San Francisco office of the Small Business Administration led him to the local chapter of SCORE.

      “SCORE helped me understand the big picture – addressing consumer needs and developing a strategy for meeting them,” Yu says. “We covered everything from the first small steps to the long term moves that would sustain my company’s growth.”

      Yu’s first Gazoontite store opened on San Francisco’s upscale Union Street in April 1999. A month later, gazoontite.com debuted in cyberspace. Both were immediate hits for allergy sufferers and their families. Yu’s idea also sparked interest in the financial community, attracting over $30 million of venture capital financing that has allowed Gazoontite to open stores in New York, Chicago, and Costa Mesa, California.

      In 2005, Gazoontite LLC was acquired by The Clorox Corporation.

Help for Freon Sniffer

      Townsend, VT -- The Instrument Division of Janos Technology developed a significant product that has the ability to detect freon-based refrigerants. U.S. and import auto manufacturers are considering whether to offer the tool as “mandated” or “optional” tool to dealers. Specifically, Ford and GM are looking to this device to comply with clean-air standards to refrigerant recycling. The company received a $600,000 guarantee loan through the Department of Agriculture Rural Business Services.

      The company continues to be successful, and currently provides 77 jobs for its community. Funding will be used for company expansion and is expected to save the existing 77 jobs while providing 10 new jobs.

Fiberglass Auto Parts

      Grand Ledge, MI -- E-T-M Enterprises manufactures reinforced fiberglass parts for truck, automotive, and recreational vehicle manufacturers. A guaranteed loan from the Department of Agriculture enabled the company to expand its manufacturing plant. The project saved 330 jobs currently provided by the company and will create an additional 230 jobs.

Wood Products

      Medford, OR -- Southern Oregon Regional Development Inc. is in the Pacific Northwest Economic Adjustment Initiative (PNWEAI) and funds are from the PNWEAI reserve. Preference was extended to businesses that create or retain industrial production of wood products. Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development, Inc. (SO-REDI), estimates that by targeting a maximum of $20,000 per job created or saved, the $1,500,000 IRP loan will create or save at least 50 jobs in the fund’s first round of loans for the communities of this two-county area. SO-REDI has initially identified 28 potential small businesses that could benefit from the IRP funds. IRP credit needs for these businesses total approximately $2,000,000.

Seed Conditioning

      West Lebanon, IN -- Hubner Industries purchased a seed conditioning plant. The company purchases raw seed corn and soybeans to condition, packages and stores in a warehouse, and distributes to wholesalers and retailers. They received funding of $2,400,000 through the Department of Agriculture Rural Business Service Loan Guarantee Program. They will export some seed to Italy, France, and Spain. The funding resulted in the creation of 24 new jobs.

Zero-Cost Consultant Spots Problem

      Vienna, VA -- This couple bought a five-year-old quick-print shop with four employees. Within a year they ran into many problems. Primarily, they were unable to do more than break even. Somebody introduced them to a management consultant who charged them $80 for the first session. As the shop owners anticipated a long consulting relationship at considerable costs, a friend told them about the Washington area Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) office. An experienced management expert from SCORE quickly pointed to the problem: employee inefficiency. It was a tough decision, but one man was laid off and a profit leak in the business was immediately plugged. “Five out of six small businesses fail during the first two years,” said the counselor, “due firstly to poor management, and secondly to lack of adequate financing.”

Seven Percent Interest Reduction

      Valparaiso, IN -- After 22 years as an employee in the food industry, this man decided to go into the wholesale meat packing business with his three sons. They obtained financing through the SBA but at high rates existing at that time—151/2 percent. Within a few months it became clear that the business could not take off as quickly as anticipated, and that the onerous financing terms were making survival impossible. An old friend who was now a counselor with the nearby SCORE office went to bat for the new entrepreneur and arranged with the SBA rescheduled repayment at 81/2 percent. Now, nearly seven years later, the business is prospering and its products can be found from Detroit to Chicago.

SCORE Team Helps Float Business to Success

      Boise, ID -- A vacation in the Idaho River country led San Francisco businessman, D.T., into a partnership with a local river raft builder. At first, the company’s quality products enabled it to grow from $250,000 to $750,000 annual gross. However, such rapid expansion brought its problems, namely purchasing, scheduling, inventory control, production snafus and managing employees, which had grown from three to eleven people. A call to the local SBA office got them in touch with a retired Boise Cascade executive who was now a volunteer SCORE counselor. With his continued help and another experienced volunteer, new production schedules were worked out and quality products restored. The SCORE counselors have become an integral pan of the firm’s team and at no cost to the company. This was truly free help from Uncle Sam!

Cemetery Saved from Going Under

      Albert Lea, MN -- Privately-owned and -operated cemeteries can be big business, but like all enterprises, they are subject to the risks and frailties of private enterprise. The local burial facility had been a family-owned business until it suffered a number of acquisitions by absentee owners. Advance payments for graves and a mausoleum were absconded and the property was embroiled in litigation and bad public relations. While the state filed charges against the latest owners, investors in the cemetery banded together and formed a cooperative association, obtained the court’s approval to try and save the company, and brought in a SCORE team from nearby Minneapolis to offer a revival plan. More than 500 lot owners were located, brought together, and offered the SCORE reorganization plan. The latter hands-on assistance and the establishment of a volunteer board of directors brought the nearly defunct cemetery back to life again.

Community Taken by Storm after Tornado

      Council Bluffs, IA -- A tornado caused $30,000,000 worth of damage and the local mayor called in the local SCORE chapter to get the town back into business. Within six days, 18 members met to map out a rescue plan. One hundred thirty-four businesses were damaged; $4,500,000 was needed; 105 workers were put back to production.