Women Entrepreneurs

Square One Rental Kitchen Serves Restaurants, Cooking Buffs - Paul Flessland

Date
Wed, 2013-01-16 09:24

Casey Steele once rented space in a commercial kitchen to bake cakes for weddings and special occasions.  She opened Square One Rental Kitchen & Event Center last week to provide cooking enthusiasts and organizations with the equipment they require to meet their cooking needs.

Steele turned her business dream into a reality with the help of Jim Stenerson, a mentor from SCORE.

 

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New Boutique Born of Shopaholic's Dissatisfaction - Ragan Robinson

Date
Mon, 2013-01-14 09:58

Barbara Bailey was frustrated with the skimpy local pickings for plus-sized women’s clothing.  So she took her savings, teamed up with Lekesha Bell, and did something to add to the boutique scene.

They sought help with business planning from the Small Business Center at Gaston College and Charlotte SCORE.

 

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Little Island

I have loved cooking and baking since I was a little girl in Jamaica. I once tried to bake my sister a birthday cake using a wood-burning stove. That cake wasn't a success but my latest venture into preparing food for others shows every sign of becoming a big success. Last May I opened “Little Island”, an authentic Jamaican Restaurant, in Hillsborough, New Jersey.

I got the idea to open my restaurant in the summer of 2011. I was taking the science courses I needed to get a degree in nursing, but really wasn't enjoying my studies. When I thought about what I really wanted to do, I kept coming back to my love for the Jamaican food I grew up enjoying.

The next step I took was to start my research — were there any direct competitors in Hillsborough?  How far would I be from nearest Jamaican restaurants?  What did they serve on their menus?  What was their pricing?  And, of course, what would it take to open my own restaurant?  Could I find a good location?  What licenses would I need?  What equipment?  Who were good, reliable vendors?  And most important, what would it cost?

All of this information is necessary, but can be overwhelming.  My son, Michael, suggested that I go to SCORE to seek advice.  I started working with SCORE mentors in August 2011.  My first focus was on forming an LLC and reserving my desired name both as a business and for my website.  I then moved on to developing a business plan that would allow me to determine what I would need to invest to open a new business and support that business through the critical first 12 to 18 months of operation. Fortunately, I didn't allow myself to be rushed into decisions.

My Location
378 South Branch Road
Hillsborough NJ 08844
United States
Year Company Formed
2012
My Successes

Local News Article on Us by the Hillsborough Patch

What's Great About My Mentor?

L to R: Gene Strupinski, Hillsborough Township, NJ Business Advocate, June Lee, Ownerand Nancy Bukovina, SCORE Central Jersey Mentor

 

How SCORE Helped

SCORE Counselors worked with me from early in the planning effort for this business.  I first came to SCORE looking for guidance in forming a business entity and establishing a plan for my business. After the initial meeting, SCORE counselors assisted me in developing my business plan, defining strategies for negotiating my lease and determining an initial marketing strategy. I researched the pricing and quality of directly competitive restaurants within a viable commuting distance of my chosen location. SCORE then assisted me in developing a pricing strategy for my own menu that would be both competitive and profitable.

Yo Ho Ho and a Barrel of Rum: North Hampton Startup Making Drink the Old-Fashioned Way - Katie Fiegenbaum

Date
Tue, 2013-01-08 10:36

Yo Ho Ho and a Barrel of Rum: North Hampton Startup Making Drink the Old-Fashioned Way

Starting a business brewing artisan rum in an industrial park in North Hampton with little previous experience may sound like a crazy idea. However, Heather Hughes started her own microdistillery, Sea Hagg Distillery, in North Hampton a little over six months ago and business is still going strong.

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Pizza-flavored Healthy Candy Invented by Doctor Being Made in Philadelphia - Kelly Roncace

Date
Fri, 2013-01-04 09:25

Approximately two years ago, Dr. Rita DiCarlo, now of Palm Desert, Calif., who has a doctorate degree in chiropractic medicine and is also an RN, was inspired to create something that’s fun to eat for those who have a restricted diet.  “I was sitting there thinking about all the patients who want to eat pizza and can’t,” she said. “I thought, there has to be a substitute or a way to make something.”

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Footloose: Entrepreneur dances to success

Date
Thu, 2012-12-27 16:07

When Evelyn Squires launched her dance studio five years ago in partnership with her mother-in-law, Heather Squires, she made one crucial, yet common, misstep.  She focused too much on the passion, and not enough on the business basics. “I was a dancer,” Evelyn Squires tells Coffee Talk. “I thought as long as I offered dance lessons, the studio would thrive.”

But the studio, after five years of trial and error, in addition to significant assistance from nonprofit business counseling service Manasota SCORE, is now flourishing.

 

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Tails Wag at Indoor Doggie Park - Kim Kalunian

Date
Fri, 2012-12-21 09:13

Bow Chika Wow Town, which inhabits an 8,700-square foot former factory and garage on Pavilion Avenue, was the brainchild of Alisa Paykos-Theurer.  Paykos-Theurer moved back to the States from Japan in 2010 with her husband, Mark, who’s in the Navy. It was then that she began wondering why she couldn’t find an indoor facility to take her dogs and let them play; everywhere she went required enrollment in some sort of obedience or agility class.  So, after searching and coming up empty, Paykos-Theurer decided to take matters into her own hands.

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Beyond Made in America

Date
Thu, 2012-12-20 09:21

This holiday season ABC World News has been encouraging viewers to have a Made in America Christmas. That if all of us spent even just a small portion of our gift budget on American-made, we could create thousands of jobs across the country. That goes for here at home too.

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Gardens 4 Education

Every year we all shell out exorbitant amounts of money for unnecessary items like cookie dough, candy and giftwrap in an attempt to support our local schools.  But most of that money ends up going to the fundraising company instead!  One parent, Jeannie Williams, had had enough.  She decided to turn this grievance into a business opportunity and utilize her organic farming skills all at the same time.  Soon, Gardens 4 Educations, an ingenious fundraising program that both fosters healthy habits and results in more profits for schools, was born.

www.gardens4education.com

Owner/Founder
Jeannie Williams
My Location
Hanford CA
United States
Year Company Formed
2011
My Successes

The Gardens 4 Education fundraiser started as an easy to use garden kit in a disposable six-pack carrier. Jeannie first tested out the practical use of her concept in her daughter’s classroom during the Spring of 2011. The fundraiser was a hit. That Fall, she sought the help of SCORE and her mentor, Harley Roberts, helped her work through many of the questions and issues she faced as a new business owner. Harley connected Jeannie with ABLE Industries, an assembler and distributor committed to improving the lives of people with disabilities by creating opportunities to maximize their independence.

The garden kits have now evolved into a four-pack of large plants in a reusable garden tote with advertising space sold on the side. This advertising opportunity increases even further the significant profit potential of the fundraiser for schools; while most fundraising programs offer 20-40% of profits to the school, Gardens 4 Education offers 50% plus the advertising potential.

In 2013 the Gardens 4 Education fundraiser will be available to all schools in the Kings and Tulare counties of California.

What's Great About My Mentor?

Jeannie reflects on her mentor’s influence saying, “I feel very fortunate to have Harley Roberts as my SCORE mentor.  He has helped me realize opportunities that I didn’t even know existed.  His suggestion to contract assembly and shipping through Able Industries ultimately changed the direction of my distribution model to one that can grow and reach more schools.  I don’t think he realizes just how instrumental he has been in helping me develop Gardens 4 Education into a viable business.”

How SCORE Helped

Jeannie plans to continue working with SCORE as Gardens 4 Education continues to grow.  She say, “We have come a long way but there’s still a long way to go.  It gives me confidence to know that I have a resource where I can get help from people who have been there.”

Small Biz Success Story: Luludi Living Frames and SCORE - AnnMarie McIlwain

Date
Fri, 2012-12-14 11:26

Liza Fiorentinos had been going to SCORE for years with ideas, but Living Frames was the one that really got them excited. Thanks to her primary SCORE mentor, Seth Rogovin, Living Frames launched a little over a year ago and is generating revenue. Liza is hopeful that profits are not far behind, based on the business plan she crafted with Seth.

"This is not something I would have undertaken without SCORE." - Liza Fiorentinos

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