Small business development center debuts

Small business owners in St. Cloud can now receive support services every Thursday at St. Cloud City Hall through the Florida Small Business Development Center’s new St. Cloud office.

The FSBDC, funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, the State of Florida, and local cities and counties, helps micro, small and medium enterprises by offering access to no-cost consulting and low-cost training. In 2023, the FSBDC at UCF served more than 2,800 entrepreneurs in Central Florida with consulting services, resulting in: more than 10,100 jobs created, retained or saved; $743.5 million in sales growth; $59.2 million in capital formation; $122.5 million in government contract awards; and 164 new businesses started.

“We offer to entrepreneurs … and small business owners no-cost consulting by business experts. We offer training in the form of workshops and webinars, and we offer access to market research databases that are unaffordable for most small businesses,” said Hal Thayer, Associate Director of FSBDC at UCF. “Our tagline is, ‘We help companies start, grow, and thrive,’” he said.

One such company is It’s a Dog’s World in Kissimmee, a family-owned, family-run business dedicated to inspiring joy for dogs and their parents by creating safe, enriching Zorayma Barnard decided to launch her new business with support from husband Andrew, she turned to the FSBDC at UCF and its office in Kissimmee at the Osceola Chamber of Commerce for assistance. When It’s a Dog’s World was still just an idea, Barnard applied her vision, sense of purpose, focus, and determination to finding guidance for starting her business.

“The reason I got involved with the Florida SBDC is because I saw there were no-cost consulting resources, webinars and all kinds of great tools available for entrepreneurs,” she said. “I knew I needed support; I needed advice; I needed direction. When I saw the FSBDC had a local office, I reached out, and it’s been a great partnership ever since. My experience working with the FSBDC has been awesome and fun.

“My consultant, Rafael Pratts, brings a lot of great insight and thoughtfulness to our conversations. He provides me resources. He dares me to think outside the box. He’s just very innovative and it challenges me to be thoughtful and creative too.”

While the FSBDC already serves clients from St. Cloud through their Osceola office, the new St. Cloud office will make the services available every Thursday right in town, Thayer said.

Leading the services to the St. Cloud business community will be Maria Cevallos, who has more than 15 years of experience working on Wall Street. Cevallos has expertise in strategic advisory, business development, fundraising, artificial intelligence, business process redesign, and executive mentoring.

“Small businesses are key drivers of St. Cloud’s economy,” said Veronica Miller, St. Cloud City Manager. “Our new partnership with the SBDC demonstrates its dedication to supporting the entrepreneurs and small businesses in our community and fostering its positive economic growth.”

Alecia Fiechter, who opened Joy Music Studios in St. Cloud in 2019, considers the services offered by the FSBDC incredibly valuable.

“As small business owners, we have expertise in our specific areas of creativity or passion. But we don’t know how to do all the ins and outs of things like taxes and fundraising and AI usage and directing and business process optimization,” she said. “So having a mentor in these areas would be incredibly helpful for my small business.”

Fiechter said she navigated some of the startup challenges by joining the Chamber of Commerce to find business camaraderie and help.

“It is definitely a struggle and something that I would love more consultation in,” she said. “I love working as a small business in St. Cloud. It is a beautiful town to be a part of. I’m proud of our town’s growth, and I am very proud to be a part of that growth. I hope that I can continue serving with the rapid growth we are experiencing by getting the knowledge, guidance, and help that I need as a business owner to keep up with the demands of this small town that is becoming not so small very soon.”