Addresses of Distinction manufactures and installs stylish cast aluminum mailbox systems, plaques, street signage and outdoor accessories for planned communities across the Southeast. Owned by brothers Thomas and Reinhardt Cyphers, the company manufactures its products at a 6,000 square foot facility in Newnan, GA.  Addresses of Distinction has built its reputation by providing the highest quality products and the most outstanding service in their industry.  The company pledges that everything they sell provides a lasting and perfect introduction to a home.

Beginning with Lean training and 5S organization of their shop floor, the Addresses of Distinction staff worked with Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI²) consultants Tom Sammon and Ed Murphy and, within nine months, increased operating efficiency and – launched a new product line.

Developing a New Product Line

Working with consultant Ed Murphy, Addresses of Distinction launched a new product line, a line of quality street sign systems.   Georgia Tech was involved throughout the creation of the new product line, starting with design and financial preparations for growth.

Georgia Tech EI² advised Addresses of Distinction through the design and documentation process on an invention, including assisting with the patent application.  Next, EI² sourced a supplier for one of the new products and provided the drawing files for casting molds.

Addresses of Distinction consulted with EI² when upgrading accounting software in preparation for the new product and on general financial measures to help the organization execute growth.

Services are available to small businesses and entrepreneurs in rural areas of Georgia through a special grant funded by the OneGeorgia Authority.  To learn more, visit www.ga-esb.org or contact Karen Fite at karen.fite@innovate.gatech.edu or 706-542-8901.

Mark Grimaldi, owner of Equinox Chemicals

Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. relocated Mark Grimaldi from the Northeast to Albany in 2000. His impression with the area was love at first site. Three years later, when he and his wife learned that Merck was closing its Albany plant, he decided to open his own company, Equinox Chemicals. But where would he put it?

“We had to decide whether to stay or move the company back to the Northeast,” says Grimaldi. “We looked into it and learned that from a business standpoint, there were tremendous advantages to keeping our company in Georgia.”

Equinox designs and prepares specialty chemicals for companies that use the materials as raw materials and finished products. “Our chemicals touch just about every industry in the world: foods, flavors, fragrances, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, polymers, semiconductors, alternative fuels, government and other specialty chemical sectors,” says Grimaldi.

By May 2006 the business was thriving. Equinox Chemicals had five employees and monthly sales in the six figures. Grimaldi bought out his principals, and was looking at ways to aggressively pursue global sales.

At about that time, Dimitris Kloussiadis, an international business consultant with the Georgia SBDC Network, paid him a visit.

“With the SBDC’s help, we’ve improved our business systems in ways that are helping us cross growth thresholds where we need to comply with additional regulatory requirements” says Grimaldi. “For example, we are in a highly regulated industry. The SBDC has helped us comply with OSHA and EPA regulations along the way.”

The SBDC has also supported Grimaldi’s international trade efforts. “They helped negotiate with other countries for materials, gave advice on the information needed in contracts, and told us the pitfalls to watch for when bringing materials through customs,” he says.

“We have conducted extensive international market research to identify foreign buyers,” says Kloussiadis. “We also assisted with international methods of payments, quotations and international shipping of hazardous materials.”

“When Mark recognized that his company would need operating money to fill larger international orders, we discussed export receivables credit insurance and the SBA’s Export Working Capitol program. As a result of these discussions, Flint Community Bank of Albany provided them an international export revolving line of credit guaranteed by the SBA,” he says.

“When a snag held one of the company’s import shipments up at the New York ports, UGA’s International Trade Center and the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Global Trade Division provided invaluable assistance in quickly having customs clear the shipment,” says Kloussiadis.

Export sales now account for 40 percent of Equinox’s business, and the company employs 32 people ranging from administrative staff to technicians and engineers to Ph.D. chemists.

“Mark is great with the follow up,” says Kloussiadis. “We provide the service, and he follows up.”

When Grimaldi talks to business owners in other states, he says they’re amazed that the SBDC offers its high quality services for free. “The SBDC is one of the best things about doing business in Georgia. Without their help, I wouldn’t have been able to grow as fast.”

Steven Purvis, Founder of Huff's Drug Store

Access to health care is a challenge in rural America. Ellijay pharmacist Steven Purvis knew that his town needed more, so he came up with a solution. “We are a small town with a limited number of doctors. People here do not have as many options for immediate care,” he says.

Purvis is the owner and proprietor of Huff’s Drug Store, an independent pharmacy founded in 1949. When he built a new home for Huff’s across the street, he built out a space in the back for the new SelectCareRx Walk-In Clinic, where clients can be treated for common infections and minor injuries. The medical staff also provides vaccinations, health screenings and other services. The clinic opened in February 2009.

As SelectCareRx began to accept clients, Purvis quickly saw there were differences between managing a retail pharmacy and health care clinic. “I understand all the intricacies of operating a pharmacy, but I found I was facing a steep learning curve with the clinic.” He started looking for advice on managing his new business.

At about the same time, the University of Georgia’s School of Pharmacy had developed its new Independent Pharmacy Management Rotation program. A mutual friend referred Purvis to SBDC consultant Jeff Sanford, the program’s director.

Sanford and two UGA pharmacy students conducted a full financial evaluation of Huff’s pharmacy operations, including a break-even analysis of the medical clinic. “We spent a solid week evaluating the financial data, what was going on, looking at all types of cost structures,” says Sanford. “When we came back with the report, we showed Steve what the clinic needed to do to make it a profit center for the pharmacy.”

“I like Jeff because he talks very frankly about what needs to be fixed, and he breaks down numbers in a way that makes sense. A clinic can be very expensive to get started. Jeff’s input helped me take some things in different directions and change our business model to begin to make it profitable,” says Purvis. “Now that our model is closing in on profitability, we hope that it will soon be ready for other independent pharmacies to use in other rural areas. The impact of the SBDC’s work will be huge.”

Purvis has invited other independent pharmacists to take a look at his business model for the clinic, and in fact has received more than a half-dozen calls from those who would like to learn more. By sharing lessons he’s learned, he hopes to improve access to health care around the state.

“When you’re in a small rural community, you’re here to serve the community you live in,” he says. “As long as the clinic is not losing money and I’m serving the community, I think it’s worth the extra effort.”

Sanford sees these small clinics taking shape around the state, and credits Purvis for leading the way. “The number of new in-store clinics in the U.S. is expected to triple within the next five years. Steve is a pioneer, and more than a good pharmacist, he is a successful entrepreneur. He saw an opportunity and sought outside expertise to help it succeed.”

Darnall’s door-to-door days are long gone. She and her business partner, Lois Judy, now produce and sell Fondarific, a mouth-watering, high-quality fondant that is a favorite among sugar artists and cake decorators around the country. Michael’s Craft Stores sell their product under the private label of “Chef Duff Goldman distributed by Gartner Studios.” It sells nationwide under its own name in retail stores, bakeries and on the Internet.

The product began in 2004 as a candy clay-dough that Darnall created to use as a teaching tool for preschoolers. When she saw how much her students enjoyed its taste, she started test marketing it at a Savannah mall and put it on the Internet.

A judge from the Food Network, Kerry Vincent, found Darnall’s product on the Internet and contacted Darnall about attending the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show in Tulsa.  “I had two weeks to manufacture 1,000 pounds and get it out to Oklahoma,” she says. “When Kerry saw the response I was getting, she told me I needed to turn it into a fondant.”

So she did. With the help of her business partner, Darnall began building a new business around the product, branding both “Fondarific.”

A long-time client of Savannah SBDC consultant Connie Edwards, Darnall sought her help in developing a business plan, market analysis and financial projections. In 2009, Edwards and area director Lynn Vos helped them run the financials and assisted with obtaining a bank loan to produce larger quantities of their product.

“Laura and Lois continually research their market, attend trade shows and conferences, and network,” says Edwards. “When they began to get inquiries from outside the country, we brought in help from our International Trade Center to advise them on shipping their product.”

Demand for Fondarific has grown exponentially. By early March, sales were already three times higher than total sales in 2009. When they founded the company in 2008, they moved production out of Darnall’s backyard and into 1,500 square feet of industrial/office space. The company now occupies about 5,000 square feet. Employment has quadrupled, from three employees to 12, and they expect to hire more. And last year, Fondarific won the Flavor of Georgia Contest.

“Laura has been very persistent. She never gave up on developing products that she thought would work and finding the market for the product,” says Edwards. “That persistence has contributed to their success.”

“Connie is my concrete. I don’t think I could have done it without her and Lynn,” says Darnall. “Since 2004, anything I have needed, anything I didn’t know, they have found it for me.”

Owners Tim and Susan Lewis with part-time helper Nick Wood, a junior at Perry High School.

Lewis Farms Nursery is a small business located in Elko, GA.  The nursery sells plants year round as both a wholesaler and a retailer.  Owned by a husband and wife team, Tim and Susan Lewis, they provide annuals, perennials, hanging baskets, color bowls, ferns, mums, poinsettias, and vegetable plants to landscapers, florists, and garden centers as well as individuals for special events such as holidays and weddings.

Tim Lewis first contacted Donald Rhodes from the Macon Small Business Development Center seeking guidance in management, finance and marketing strategies to enhance his business strategy.  The relationship has grown and together Lewis and Rhodes have evaluated the nursery’s financial health and operational practices.

Lewis stated that the work the SBDC has done with his nursery has given him a better perspective from which to manage his business.  Rhodes has helped Lewis discover trends and visualize the direction that his business is growing.  By analyzing the nursery’s input costs and revenues, Rhodes has provided a helpful summary of the business’ history and a realistic prediction of where it is headed.

In addition, Rhodes has encouraged and coached Lewis through developing a marketing strategy. Since, Lewis has built a website and has learned to reach out to customers in new ways, such as e-mail and innovative advertising strategies.

Lewis Farms Nursery plans to work on an ongoing basis with Rhodes and the SBDC, specifically in the areas of financial trends and marketing strategies.  For more information on Lewis Farms Nursery please visit their website www.lewisfarmsnursery.com.

Services are available to small businesses and entrepreneurs in rural areas of Georgia through a special grant funded by the OneGeorgia Authority.  To learn more, visit www.ga-esb.org or contact John Maynard at 706 542-6811 or jmaynard@georgiasbdc.org.

ForesTech International was established in 1999 by four consultants: three University of Georgia professors and one private consultant.  Deciding they could provide a wider range of services to customers together, the four individuals, all with a background in technical modeling, decided to start a business focusing on consulting and software development.
In 2009, hoping to expand the scope of their business, ForesTech International contacted Rob Ginn at Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI²) to explore new business opportunities.

Working with Ginn, ForesTech International developed a new business strategy. The team developed a more dependable business plan and explored options for expanding the company’s services.  The results: a more reliable and increased cash flow, a new focus in data services and a strategy to expand ForesTech International’s market from mostly large timberland investors to medium and small investors.

The new business plan will provide an opportunity for the four consultants to “…back out of the day-to-day work and allow us to do a better job developing future products and future services,” says Barry Shiver, CEO of ForesTech International.

For more information on ForesTech International please visit www.forestech.us.  For more information on the Georgia Entrepreneur and Small Business Program please contact Karen Fite at Karen.fite@innovate.gatech.edu or visit www.ga-esb.org.

Has Your Small Business Outgrown it’s Accounting Package?-Webinar
August 25th, 2010, 12:00 noon