2007 Entrepreneurs of the Year

(photos by Timothy H. Raab)

Minority Entrepreneur of the Year: Penny T. Richardson, Penny T’s Express Van Service
Agricultural Entrepreneur of the Year: Goold Orchard
High-Tech Company of the Year: Multiplex Biosciences, Inc.
Female Entrepreneur of the Year: Beverly Welch, Dust-Busterz
Manufacturer of the Year: The Black and White Cookie Company
SBDC Exporter of the Year: MAC’s Antique Auto Parts, Inc.
Start-Up Company of the Year: Daylight Donuts
Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year: Dan Kerning
SBDC Phoenix Award: Mitchell Goss, ZeroIn Media
SBDC Phoenix Award: Ed Singer, The UPS Store

Minority Entrepreneur of the Year:   
Penny T. Richardson, Penny T’s Express Van Service (York SBDC)

When Penny T. Richardson started Penny T’s Express Van Service in early 2004, the business barely grew. She visited the York SBDC, and started working with Business Advisor Brian Yeung to secure financing for a larger truck. Yeung recommended the SBA Community Express Loan program, which is designed for small companies with limited resources. The Information Specialists at the SBDC Research Network provided a wealth of industry-specific data, including trade periodicals, pertinent DOT regulations, and trucking industry trends. Yeung helped Penny develop a business plan and loan application, and two days after she submitted the loan request, a commercial bank granted the loan.  Penny plans to continue to revise and update her business plan, integrate technology into her operations, and rent warehouse space to store cargo, turning her company into a one-stop shop for customers. She is now applying for women-owned business certification that will qualify her for government contracts.

Agricultural Entrepreneur of the Year:
Goold Orchard (Albany SBDC)

Since 1910, the Goold family has been growing and selling the highest quality apples, and has established its orchard as an agricultural economic engine in Rensselaer County. Goold Orchard is involved in the community as the host of farm festivals and grade school outings – their Annual Apple Festival attracts more than 20,000 people and benefits many businesses in the surrounding area. The Goold Orchard farm store sells apples and cider, baked goods, regional non-apple based farm products, and custom gift baskets. Sue Goold Miller and husband Ed Miller sought assistance from the Albany SBDC to diversify, and with the assistance of Business Advisor Homer Lavoie applied for and won a grant under the USDA’s Value-Added Business Producer Grant program to produce and sell a line of bottled wine. The orchard fermented its first line of apple wine under the Brookview Station Winery label and opened a tasting room and retail store. Sales of the wine have exceeded projections and they are increasing brewing capacity to keep up with demand.

High-Tech Company of the Year:
Multiplex Biosciences, Inc. (North Country SBDC)

When Dominic Eisinger and Laurie Stephen, of Lake Placid, decided to start a biotechnology company, their first stop was the North Country SBDC. Business Advisor Tony Maglione helped them write a business plan and develop detailed financial projections. The SBDC also counseled the clients on different business structures, as well as the pros and cons of taking on additional equity investors. As a result, Dominic and Laurie attracted $233,000 in funding including a loan from Lake Placid’s Revolving Loan Program. In April, they started renovations on an old warehouse in Lake Placid. The lab was completed in June and the company hired its first two employees on July 1. Today, Multiplex Biosciences, Inc., (MxB) is a New York State C-Corporation, providing R&D and manufacturing services to biotechnology companies and institutions worldwide in the field of multiplex immunoassays. One of the fastest growing areas of biotechnology, multiplex immunoassays can simultaneously measure multiple types of proteins in a single sample. Proteins are key elements in most biological functions. In August, MxB signed an agreement with BioLayer Corp. of Australia to collaborate on product development, technical support, and licensing.

Female Entrepreneur of the Year: 
Beverly Welch, Dust-Busterz (Watertown SBDC)

Beverly Welch was pursuing a successful career in finance and advertising when she was laid off after a slowdown in the local economy due to troop redeployments at nearby Fort Drum. She decided this was an opportunity to pursue a longtime dream for self-employment. Qualifying under the DETA – Defense Economic Transition Assistance – program, Beverly enrolled in the Entrepreneurial Training Course at the Watertown SBDC, and worked with Business Advisor Sarah O’Connell on a business plan and financial projections. The result was a micro loan from the Jefferson County Job Development Corporation that enabled her to hire two employees, and open “Dust-Busterz” janitorial service. Two years later, when business opportunities opened up at Fort Drum, Beverly worked with O’Connell to register with the Federal government’s Central Contractor Registry (CCR), as well as the SBA HubZone program. When Fort Drum hired a private company to oversee expansion and maintenance of on-post housing, Beverly used the CCR and HubZone certifications to win a $168,000 subcontract for construction cleaning. She has grown her staff to 12 employees, and continues to expand her business. In 2005, Beverly won a Small Business Excellence Award from the SBA’s Syracuse District.

Manufacturer of the Year:
The Black and White Cookie Company (Binghamton SBDC)   

Joshua Auerbach and David Raphael developed a small, specialty Kosher cookie-manufacturing business in Manhattan, selling original-style New York black and white cookies over the Internet. In 2004, they decided the time was right to expand their business and move it to Binghamton. They contacted the Binghamton SBDC for help in refining their business plan, locating a production facility, and securing funding for site improvements, equipment, and supplies. The Black and White Cookie Company began production in its new location in July 2006. The company launched an intense marketing effort promoting their all-natural product. They presented the cookies with great success at the NYC Fancy Food Show in July and were interviewed on “ABC Money Matters” in October. The company sells in retail and wholesale venues, and offers cookies with custom logos and edible-image cookies over the Internet, at www.blackandwhitecookies.com. This year the company expects sales to reach a half-million dollars.

SBDC Exporter of the Year:
MAC’s Antique Auto Parts, Inc. (Niagara SBDC)

MAC’s Antique Auto Parts started in Douglas McIntosh’s garage in Lockport, New York in 1978, as a place to buy Ford Model T parts. Today, through the leadership of Richard and Randall McIntosh, MAC’s Antique Auto Parts, Inc. is one of the world’s largest suppliers of vintage and classic 1909-70’s Ford and Mercury replacement automotive parts. MAC’s offers everything and anything that goes in and on a vintage or classic car or truck through 11 printed and on-line catalogs, and sells products in more than 50 foreign countries. MAC’s was the first antique auto parts company to go on-line with a fully interactive website, and the company remains on the leading edge of e-commerce in the Ford antique auto field. MAC’s currently offers over 40,000 SKU’s for export, and the company’s international revenues amount to about 15% of the company’s total revenues. MAC’s worked with the Niagara SBDC to prepare a business plan in an expansion project to build a new state-of-the-art, 35,000 square foot building that will enable the business to create 20 new jobs during the next three years. The company’s sales, both domestic and international, have maintained steady growth over the years, and since 2000, international sales have increased by approximately 85%, from just over 1 million dollars to almost 2 million dollars in 2006. The combination of MAC’s extensive experience in the antique auto parts business, their great familiarity with exporting, and their location in New York State instills confidence in their customers. The company is one of the largest UPS shippers in Niagara County.

Start-Up Company of the Year:
Daylight Donuts (Mohawk Valley SBDC)

Brothers Chuck and Michael Sadallah wanted to open a retail bakery and coffee shop in New Hartford, NY. They decided to work with Daylight Donuts, a unique franchise that sells bakery equipment and raw materials for baked goods but does not require a franchise fee. Mohawk Valley SBDC Senior Business Advisor Norm Ruzinsky worked with the brothers to prepare a business plan narrative and three years of projected financials. Since opening in December 2005, sales quickly exceeded first year projections. Since the opening, the Sadallahs have created 21 new jobs. In July 2006, the brothers returned to the SBDC and asked Ruzinsky to determine the feasibility of opening a second store in Yorkville. They secured financing from a commercial lender and hired 14 additional employees for the new location. In addition to providing the best coffee and baked goods in the area, the Sadallahs support many local organizations. Recently the brothers held a special one-day sale at their New Hartford store to benefit the family of a police officer who was killed while protecting the community.

Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year:
Dan Kerning (Farmingdale SBDC)

Dan Kerning, a 16-year veteran who flew planes for the US Navy in Operation Desert Storm, established Web House, Inc. in 1997. Web House Inc. is a full-service Internet hosting company – a one-stop shop for telecommunications and information technology services for small businesses, offering everything from state-of-the-art phone systems, development and marketing services, to information storage and technology solutions. The company has expanded rapidly over the past nine years, serving a growing number of private, for-profit clients. Kerning contacted Veteran Business Advisor John Narciso in July 2005 when he wanted to expand his company’s client base to include state and federal government agencies. Narciso helped Kerning get his business certified as a Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Business, a designation that entitles the company to bid on the basis of certain set-asides, and helped get the company listed on the General Services Administration’s schedules for federal contract announcements. Web House ended the year with sales close to $10 million, and projects that sales will increase to $30 million within a few years.

SBDC Phoenix Award :
Mitchell Goss, ZeroIn Media (Pace SBDC)

Mitch Goss, founder of ZeroIn Media (ZIM), is a pioneer in the 21st -century digital signage industry. His idea is to distribute real-time information, entertainment, and advertising through strategically installed Internet-controlled digital displays (such as plasma, LCD, or LED) in public spaces. ZIM’s first project was a plan to install large displays at the South Street Seaport in Lower Manhattan, shortly before the terrorist attack in 2001. The South Street Seaport project was eventually completed, but as with so many NYC businesses, the catastrophic financial impact of 9/11 on ZIM, lasted for years. Pace SBDC Business Advisor Catalina Castano helped Mitch with the loan process and made valuable introductions that led to funding from a private capital company. ZeroIn Media is now a profitable and rapidly growing concern and a resident of Pace University’s Incubator Program. ZIM manages digital signs ranging from small 17-inch displays to huge, Times Square-style digital billboards in about 100 commercial locations nationwide, including dozens of ShopRite Supermarkets, over 50 banks, numerous retail locations, the Empire State Building, and on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.

SBDC Phoenix Award :
Ed Singer, The UPS Store (Staten Island SBDC)

Ed Singer had worked for over 30 years on Wall Street before being laid off in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Ed found the Staten Island SBDC through one of the Veterans’ Outreach Seminars offered jointly by the SBDC and the SBA. He was interested in self employment and in opening a UPS retail franchise store on Staten Island. SBDC Business Advisor John Blohm introduced him to an organization called VetFran, which links over 1,000 national franchisees - including UPS - that provide discounted franchise rates and other incentives to US military veterans. Blohm and Singer worked together to produce a business plan and secure an SBA- guaranteed loan. Singer opened his UPS store in August 2004 with two full-time and one part-time employees. After a slow start, business has steadily improved, and revenues nearly doubled in 2006. Singer, who understands the value of hands-on, personal service, is behind the counter serving customers every day.