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2007 Entrepreneurs of the Year(photos by Timothy H. Raab) Minority Entrepreneur of the Year: Penny T. Richardson, Penny T’s Express Van Service Minority Entrepreneur of the Year:
Agricultural Entrepreneur of the Year:
High-Tech Company of the Year:
Female Entrepreneur of the Year:
Manufacturer of the Year:
SBDC Exporter of the Year:
Start-Up Company of the Year:
Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year:
SBDC Phoenix Award :
SBDC Phoenix Award : 
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. |
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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 
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.
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.
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.
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.
