June Estimated Rate on 20-year is 4.53%
If you’re like me, you wonder about odd things when you’re driving through southeast Georgia. Things like: who changes the blinking lights on those signal towers? Who maintains them? Does someone have to climb those towers to change the signal bulbs ensuring aircraft safety? Read More
Savannah-ians love a good story. Ghost, love, drama, thriller – we adore the intrigue, the fear, the sweet moments and good amount of southern sap thrown in to hold it all together. Read More
Did you know that you can find the inspiration to open a small business while eating frozen yogurt at Walt Disney World? For Stacy Kurko, new proprietor of Menchie’s Eisenhower Square..that’s exactly what happened. The Kurko family took a spring break Read More
The Small Business Assistance Corporation (SBAC) received notification from the U.S. Department of the Treasury that the Certified Development Financial Institutions Fund (the CDFI Fund) has certified the SBAC as one of 25 CDFI institutions in the State of Georgia. Read More
Being back on West 52nd Street is a homecoming for Shannon McAdams of Echelon Studio & Boutique. She began her career in the same storefront when it was Chris’ Coiffures as a shampoo girl. Miss Chris encouraged Shannon to pursue her cosmetology degree and use her natural talent for hair and welcoming personality to make the ‘after school job’ a career. Read More
After a relaxing, enjoyable weekend at a bed and breakfast, some of us say to our significant other, “wouldn’t this be great. Can you imagine meeting all these amazing people? One day, we should open one of our own!” Read More
Ever wonder how a doctor’s office gets up and running so quickly? Where do they get staff, equipment and all the ‘little things’ – pens, paper, files – needed to get going? Then, the last and most complicated part – the billing. Who actually knows how to code, file, bill and follow-up with insurance companies, agencies, individuals? Gives the average person a headache just at a cursory glance, but Annie Harvey and Rita Murphy of Innovative Healthcare Management Solutions are far from average.
Since December 2003, Innovative Healthcare Management Solutions have assisted dozens of offices in the medical profession get started and remain efficient through variety. Three years of fast-paced growth brought Annie and Rita to a crossroads in 2006. They desperately needed to expand, hire more staff and find a permanent location that could give them the ability to continue to grow in the future. Knowing their long-term goals, Patrece Grant at Capitol City Bank & Trust directed Annie and Rita to the Small Business Assistance Corporation.
“We looked at the SBAC loan programs several times. We kept thinking, ‘This loan is going to be so much paperwork. We won’t have time to do it,’” says Annie Harvey. “Then, it came to the point where we decided to do it. It was so simple and the SBAC’s staff helped us each step of the way.”
The SBA 7(a) loan guaranty program gave them the capital they needed to acquire a larger building and the City of Savannah Martin Luther King, Jr. Revolving Loan Fund -EDA program for the operating expenses incurred by the business expansion.
Four years later and they have a lot of advice for small business owners. “Don’t lease any equipment – buy it,” Annie says laughingly. “But seriously, we got into several leases that upon reviewing what we paid out of pocket for versus what it was to buy them new – we could’ve had 4 of them!”
“Don’t be afraid of your business. It’s a living being that needs to be fed and will grow in the right environment. If you need a bigger place, new employees, equipment, get the capital you need and make the expansion,” adds Rita.
“Follow your passion.” Simple advice, but these three words catapulted Savannah Bee Company’s, Ted Dennard, from teaching beekeeping to village farmers in Central America to bottling honey for gifts and making lip balm as gifts to 2010 Inc. Magazine list of fastest growing companies for the second year in a row…accomplished in a mere twelve years.
Ted began the journey at the SBDC writing a business plan with the focus and assistance of Lynn Vos. “A small business is like a hive. Every person and item has a role to play and can influence and change their environment. I needed the funding to take those people and the product to the public.” He went “public” on Broughton Street with an EDA-MLK loan in conjunction with the City of Savannah. “Savannah Bee Company had a unique, high-quality product that was ahead of the curve,” says Stephen George, Vice President of the SBAC “Ted and his team were the first in their niche. We knew from his first visit that his passion and impeccable organization would make Savannah Bee a success.”
The EDA loan that created the signature storefront Savannah-ians and visitors still buzz about spurred an addition to the Savannah Bee Company hive. Ted revisited the SBAC needing to build a warehouse & second store on Wilmington Island. An SBA 504 loan with its flexible use, low interest rates (4.62% for Sept. 2010) and long-terms (up to 20-year fixed) fit the needs.
After so much success, what does the King Bee have to say to others venturing to build their own business hive? “Many people in business don’t realize how far-reaching their seemingly little product or service is for people in the community. The analogy of small business as a beehive – every person has a role and an impact. We all interrelate in so many ways that in the day-to-day gets overlooked. But that’s where the most important stuff happens.”
Swank, sexy and sophisticated industrial chic, Jazz’d Tapas remains one of the hot
spots in nightlife and dining in downtown Savannah. It seems like they’ve always
been downstairs serving us great food, memorable martinis and the varied live
music acts to round off the perfect evening. However, just 8 years ago Savannah-
ians had never experienced an evening at Jazz’d.
In 2002, Brian & Julie Curry had reached in an impasse. They found the location,
had the business plan, but needed the working capital to launch. Their banker,
Walter Bowden, advised them to visit the SBAC. He believed they would be able
to put the pieces together and get this ambitious couple open for business. Brian
said, “Walter was a different banker. We were not the best looking prospects on
paper, but he had this unshakable belief in me as a customer and businessman.”
Walter Bowden was right. The team at the Small Business Assistance Corporation
in conjunction with the City of Savannah used funding from the Business Loan
Guaranty Program.
The Business Loan Guaranty Program assists Savannah businesses to obtain
financing under the City of Savannah’s CDBG Revolving Loan Fund. The Small
Business Assistance Corporation makes a business loan directly available to qualified
borrowers. Priority is given to businesses located in low to moderate income
neighborhoods, minority owned businesses and businesses that will create jobs
for low to moderate income persons. Funding is eligible for working capital, land
and building, machinery, equipment, furniture, fixture or inventory acquisition,
renovation of current facilities, or payment of accounts payables.
“Jazz’d was a new concept for Savannah. Brian and Julie had years of restaurant
management experience and were savvy entrepreneurs. We knew it would be a
business to benefit the City of Savannah for years,” stated Stephen George, Vice
President of the SBAC.
Brian makes it clear that being a restaurant owner is “24/7 and rarely if ever the
glamour people might think it is. “This is your lifestyle. I am owner, maintenance
man, counselor and more. I know to the penny how much we make from
every dollar. I have to know. Just a 1% change in a few areas can make all the
difference.”
Teresa DeSimone has joined the Small Business Assistance Corporation (SBAC) as a new Microbusiness Finance Associate at their satellite office in Bluffton, South Carolina. Ms. DeSimone will be responsible for production of small business loans throughout the lending process including the Microloans and 6 loan programs available in Beaufort, Hampton and Jasper counties. She will also represent the SBAC in community outreach and participate in seminars to small business & banking institutions.
“Ms. DeSimone is a welcome addition to the SBAC team. She will be in our new South Carolina office and be able to better serve our future and existing customers in Beaufort, Hampton and Jasper counties,” stated SBAC President Tony O’Reilly.
Ms. DeSimone, originally from Tennessee, brings over 13 years experience in the commercial lending/financing sector. She was previously employed by Carolina First Bank as the Vice President, Commercial Lending officer.