SBA South Carolina Small Business Resource Guide
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SOUTH CAROLINA EDITION 2020 Small Business resource guide GROW YOUR BUSINESS IN SOUTH CAROLINA 1 2 CONTENTS South Carolina Edition 2020 Local Business Funding Assistance Programs 8 National Success Story 26 National Success Story Jerado and Joyce Reynolds Jennifer and Jeff Herbert’s know their local landscape for meadery has expanded into a entrepreneurship support. multimillion dollar enterprise thanks to SBA assistance. 11 Local SBA Resource Partners 29 SBA Lenders 13 Your Advocates 34 Go Global with International Trade 14 How to Start a Business 36 R&D Opportunities for 18 Opportunities for Veterans High Growth Startups 19 10 Steps to Start 38 National Success Story Your Business Cheeseburger Baby owner Stephanie Vitori persevered 20 Entrepreneurial through a financial storm and a Opportunities natural disaster. 22 Write Your Business Plan 42 Surety Bonds 24 Local Success Story 44 Need Financing? When Steven Ceccarelli wanted to distribute Fresh Produce Inc. products overseas, he turned to Contracting the SBA. 45 National Success Story Jennifer Rahn steers the course for Admiral Engineering, succeeding as a small business subcontractor. 47 Government Contracting 48 SBA Certification Programs 49 Woman-Owned Small Business certification ON THE COVER skyline of downtown Columbia, photo by Akhenaton06 from Wikimedia; Boyd and Nicole Johnson, courtesy of Boyd Cycling; Karen Jenkins, courtesy of Dan Beale, Bealebagley Creations LLC 3 4 5 PUBLISHED BY BY NEW SOUTH MEDIA New South Media, Inc. 304.413.0104 | newsouthmedia.com PUBLISHER Let us Nikki Bowman, [email protected] DESIGNER help give Hayley Richard, [email protected] ASSOCIATE EDITORS Pam Kasey, [email protected] voice to Jess Walker, [email protected] OPERATIONS MANAGER your story. Holly Leleux-Thubron, [email protected] ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Heather Mills, [email protected] ADVERTISING SALES We have all heard the phrase “content is king.” Meggan Hoyman, Kelley McGinnis, Bryson Taylor Creating rich, engaging, and inspiring content [email protected] differentiates your brand in the marketplace. But Copyright: New South Media, Inc. Reproduction in part or whole is strictly prohib- who has time to focus on anything other than ited without the express written permission of the publisher. © 2019 NEW SOUTH MEDIA, INC., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED running their business? Narrative works with you to develop the tools to The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Marketing & Customer Service directs the publication of the Small Business Resource Guide under SBA Contract #SBAHQ- tell your story across all media platforms. Powerful 17-C-0018. SBA publication summer 2019 national edition #mcs-0089. and authentic storytelling helps you stand out. It WRITER/EDITOR Becky Bosshart inspires action. It creates an emotional impact (202) 205-6677 [email protected] and forges enduring relationships. It separates you DIRECTOR OF MARKETING from the competition. Paula Panissidi Tavares [email protected] The SBA’s participation in this publication is not an endorsement of the views, opinions, products or services of the contractor or any advertiser or other participant appearing here. All SBA programs and services are extended to the public on a nondis- SCOPE OF SERVICES criminatory basis. Directory listings do not constitute or imply an endorsement by the SBA of any opinions, products, or services of any private individual or entity. Printed in the United States of America. Brand Voice Brochures While every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that the information con- Articles Photography tained here is accurate as of the date of publication, the information is subject to change without notice. The contractor that publishes this guide, the federal govern- ment, or agents thereof shall not be held liable for any damages arising from the use Blogs Videos of or reliance on the information contained in this publication. Website Content and more To schedule a meeting or to learn more, contact Buddy Butler at [email protected] or call 304.615.9884. 6 SBA South Carolina District Office Strom Thurmond Federal Building Charleston Office 1835 Assembly St., suite 1425 3294 Ashley Phosphate Road, Columbia, SC 29201 suite 1D (803) 765-5377 North Charleston, SC 29418 sba.gov/sc (843) 225-7430 @SBA_SCarolina District Director District Director Letter R. Gregg White elcome to the 2020 edition of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s South (803) 253-3360 Carolina Small Business Resource Guide. Small businesses are the backbone of [email protected] America’s economy, and that is reflected here in South Carolina. Over 99% of the Wstate’s businesses are small, and they are responsible for creating about 800,000 jobs in our Deputy District Director state. That is over 46% of the employed population. That is why the government works so Michael Corp hard to support small business. (803) 765-5961 The SBA helps make the American dream of small business ownership a reality. We are [email protected] the only federal agency dedicated to helping our 30 million small businesses start, grow, Charleston Senior Area expand, or recover after a disaster. The SBA South Carolina District Office works with an Wide Manager extensive network of business advisers and lenders to help South Carolina’s over 415,000 William Furman small businesses at every stage of development. (843) 225-7430 Across South Carolina in the last year, we empowered the state’s small businesses to: [email protected] • Find an ally, advocate or mentor via our 21 Small Business Development Centers and six SCORE chapters across the state. Lender Relations Specialist • Access over $312 million in SBA-guaranteed loans using local banks, credit unions, Frank Anderson community-based lenders, and microlenders. The 695 businesses that qualified for SBA- (803) 253-3018 backed financing hired thousands of new employees, bought needed equipment, and built [email protected] or renovated facilities. • Rebuild and recover from Hurricane Florence and Hurricane Michael with low-interest Business Opportunity Specialists disaster loans. Carl Faison • Gain more than $4.4 billion in federal contracting awards. (803) 253-3116 Our office is dedicated to ensuring that you have the resources you need to be a successful [email protected] entrepreneur. Stay up to date on SBA events near you and get valuable South Carolina business information by following us on Twitter at @SBA_SCarolina. Sign up for our weekly Angela Brewer newsletter at sba.gov/updates. Use our Small Business (803) 765-5907 Resource Guide to power your dream of starting, [email protected] growing, or expanding your small business here in Economic Development Specialist South Carolina. & Public Information Officer Sincerely, Savannah Wilburn (803) 253-3121 [email protected] Economic Development Specialist R. Gregg White & Administrative Officer South Carolina District Director Susan Chavis (803) 765-5373 [email protected] 7 LOCAL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE How We Did It Made toJoyce and Jerado Last Reynolds used SBA support to succeed. Written by Micaela Morrissette COURTESY OF SHANA SURECK PHOTOGRAPHY SURECK SHANA OF COURTESY 8 LOCAL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE eynolds Welding & Fabrication has grown steadily, building a loyal customer base, since Tips for Jerado Reynolds founded the company in 2005. Success R“At first the company was just Jerado,” recalls his wife and co-owner, Joyce 5 Find a great business mentor. Reynolds. “Then it was him and me part To find your local SBA office and time.” During the day she worked as a resource partners in your area, visit nurse and spent her evenings doing all sba.gov/localresources. the company’s paperwork. The Reynolds sank everything they earned into the business—money, time, and energy. She Have a healthy view remembers with pride helping Jerado of competition. weld a stair railing at a local school. Her COURTESY OF SHANA SURECK PHOTOGRAPHY SURECK SHANA OF COURTESY We’re not always competing. son later attended that same school, We’re a competitor, but if a similar and she watched her child and others SBA Resource Partner, where “from day business has extra work, they’ll send using the rail, benefiting from the one it was, Eureka! Everyone wanted it to us and vice versa. That’s the hard work the couple did together. It to see us win.” Women entrepreneurs relationship to have. was then Joyce decided as much as she receive essential business counseling and loved her day job, she wanted to devote training from this national network of herself full time to the family business community-based centers. Most helpful Record everything you do. in Windsor, Connecticut. She wanted was the detailed personal attention Navigating business relationships to work side-by-side with her husband, available through free one-on-one in this age means keeping an email fully focused on administration and record of everything you do. Leave a business counseling. Joyce also learned business growth. As they both hoped, clear paper trail. about workshops offered by providers like word of mouth spread; clients made the Metropolitan District, a Connecticut referrals. Joyce was soon overwhelmed nonprofit municipal corporation offering with paperwork. They brought on two water and sewer services. At a meet- Sacrifice to ensure quality. employees—doubling up in the busy We don’t cut corners. Sometimes you and-greet, Joyce understood how much seasons. They were able to maintain four have to lose money to do quality work— the SBA could help her business. An full-time employees by 2009. After this, it’s rough, but nothing is more important. SBA professional walked Joyce through Joyce says, they saw that “things were the extensive paperwork and, crucially, not moving.” She wanted to scale up. helped her register the company in Seek SBA assistance to Challenge the System for Award Management The company wasn’t growing in part (sam.gov), positioning the company for see if you qualify for because it wasn’t certified with the new federal contracts.