Knoxville, Tennessee may not be the first place you expect to be carrying on the 2,300 year old Chinese tradition of dragon boat racing and you might be even more surprised to learn that the sleek, stylish, reptilian boats cruising by are doing it all for charity. But it’s that unique and truly creative combination that has caused Dynamic Dragon Boat Racing, LLC to make such a splash in waterways across the country. Owner Penny Behling was initially hesitant when offered the opportunity to buy out her partner in their business which organized and managed events and rented dragon boats – 46 foot long canoe-type vessels powered by a team of 20 rowers, a drummer and a steersperson. The business had been struggling, and Penny's financial situation made buying the business questionable. She contacted SCORE in 2009 for aid in analyzing the situation and determining the right move.
www.racedragonboats.com
Knoxville
TN
United States
My Successes
Penny began meeting with SCORE mentor Bill Beres in 2009, focusing their talks on how to revive a struggling business and expand their existing customer base. Collaborating with Bill allowed Penny to gain confidence in her ability to manage a business, and she soon realized that this type of event had a huge untapped market. "Previously we concentrated our efforts on cities on the Tennessee River, but through market analysis we began to realize that any city with a body of water was a potential prospect. That gave me the confidence to purchase the business and grow it through market expansion." With Bill’s help, Penny created a business plan which allowed the firm to increase the number of events it manages from three in 2008 to ten in 2011. She also has added new equipment to her fleet. In 2010 these events raised more than $200,000 for the charities they benefitted.
Dynamic Dragon Boat Racing LLC was the recipient of the 2011 Client of the Year Award from the Greater Knoxville chapter of SCORE.
Read more about Penny's success in the KnoxvilleBiz.com feature!
What's Great About My Mentor?
Penny reflected on her SCORE mentor’s influence saying: “My SCORE counselor encouraged and equipped me with methodology to reach what I thought originally might be impossible goals. It’s been a long road, but now the ride has been worth it.”
Special tax law provisions may help taxpayers and businesses recover financially from the impact of a disaster, especially when the federal government declares their location to be a major disaster area. Depending on the circumstances, the IRS may grant additional time to file returns and pay taxes. Both individuals and businesses in a federally declared disaster area can get a faster refund by claiming losses related to the disaster on the tax return for the previous year, usually by filing an amended return.
The IRS also offers audio presentations on Planning for Disaster. These presentations discuss business continuity planning, insurance coverage, recording keeping and other tips to stay in business after a major disaster.
The IRS maintains a valuable collection of resources for small businesses called the Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center. Visit their site for forms, articles, videos, webinars and audio presentations for small businesses.
Bonnie Chow Gutierrez secured a small business loan and bought a fortune cookie company in North Houston when she was just 27 years old. But she soon found profits to be lagging and knew she would have to innovate and sell to new markets in order to make money from her venture. With the guidance and technical expertise of her SCORE Houston mentors, she has managed to stay in business for 27 years and is credited with inventing the giant fortune cookie.
www.customfortunecookies.com
My Successes
Bonnie quickly realized that selling only to Chinese restaurants wasn't enough to keep her business alive. So she created the custom fortune cookie and the now popular giant fortune cookie. By putting the creativity in her customer's hands, her business has blossomed. Her cookies were recently featured on the Food Network and the movie "Freaky Friday" starring Jamie Lee Curtis. She has served famous clients including Kiefer Sutherland and has shipped orders for the campaigns of both President Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Reflecting on her 27 years in business Bonnie said, "I have had a lot of fun, it is this creative part of me that gets a different kind of satisfaction from it. It's not about money. It is providing something for people's celebrations."
What's Great About My Mentor?
After running into a jam when a critical piece of machinery, her 37-year old handmade cookie press, had broken and no local service technicians were available, Bonnie called the Houston chapter of SCORE - the same place she had called years prior for financial advice when first starting out. This time she was paired with mentor Mike Weltzien, a mechanical engineer who knew exactly how to fix her problem.
"Mike was just amazing. I have never met anyone like him and he has been such an inspiration," Bonnie says. "I will never be able to repay his kindness. I am forever indebted to him."
Broward SCORE participated in the Annual BIG Meeting of the South Florida Minority Supplier Development Council on March 23, 2012 at the Broward County Convention Center. Volunteers Paul Bosely, Jan Wild, Michael Bush, and Eivina Muniute Cobb were present as Expert Consultants for one-on one meetings to discuss finance, sales, franchising, and human resources with attendees.. Volunteers Kendrick Pierre & George Gremse manned a booth and distributed information about Broward SCORE.
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Business information, Business Statistics, Demographic information, Business Educational Resources.
Useful links for Gainesville and surrounding counties as well as State and National links for Business Information.
Links and Local Alliances 
Gainesville has relationships with many local agencies, businesses and organizations. The following alliances help strengthen our services to small business clients in the community
www.sbdc.unf.edu SMALL BUSINES DEVELOPMENT CENTER Our local SBA loan experts
This is a preview of Joe Kutchera's forthcoming book, Pursuit of the American Dream: Success Stories of Today's Immigrant Entrepreneurs.
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Here are 12 of the most popular web-based services that are being used by small businesses to keep the time commitment in check, while leveraging the power of social media.
Small business owners who are successful at marketing through social media often have help from a growing arsenal of time-saving tools and services that make it easier and more effective. Taking advantage of these tools can mean the different between having time to make social media marketing work for your business or not.
About the Author
Daniel Kehrer, Founder & Managing Director of BizBest Media Corp., is a nationally-known, award-winning expert on small and local business, start-ups, content marketing, entrepreneurship and social media, with an MBA from UCLA/Anderson. Read more of Daniel's tips at
www.BizBest.com, follow him at
www.twitter.com/140Main and connect on LinkedIn at
www.linkedin.com/in/danielkehrer.
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No matter what type of business you run, having a “mentor” to help guide you can increase your odds of success. Having a wise, loyal advisor – especially one who’s “been-there, done-that” – is like money in the bank.
By Daniel Kehrer
Founder, BizBest.com
No matter what type of business you run, having a “mentor” to help guide you can increase your odds of success. Having a wise, loyal advisor – especially one who’s “been-there, done-that” – is like money in the bank.
About the Author
Daniel Kehrer, Founder & Managing Director of BizBest Media Corp., is a nationally-known, award-winning expert on small and local business, start-ups, content marketing, entrepreneurship and social media, with an MBA from UCLA/Anderson. Read more of Daniel's tips at
www.BizBest.com, follow him at
www.twitter.com/140Main and connect on LinkedIn at
www.linkedin.com/in/danielkehrer.
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