Kansas SBDC March 3, 2018 Leave a Comment

Angel Competition Bikinis

Upon graduating from KU in 2013, twins Karah and Lauren Beeves began their chosen careers – Karah as a respiratory therapist and Lauren as a preschool teacher.

Always looking for their next challenge, the twin sisters took their passion for working out and, in October 2013, Karah entered her first body building competition. Lauren was not far behind entering her first competition in March of 2014.

Struggling to find quality competition suits the twins decided to make their own, and Angel Competition Bikinis (ACB) LLC was born.

Karah and Lauren were taught to sew at a very young age by their mother. The girls knew design and construction and knew they could build a better suit than what was currently available to a growing market.

On June 24, 2014, Karah resigned from her job and started ACB using money saved from her salary. Lauren joined the business full time the following August, requiring both girls to continue living like they were in college and reinvesting all their revenue into the business.

Combining a unique social media strategy with their higher quality product, ACB sales exceeded every expectation and all projections in its first full year. ACB began 2016 with record sales. It became apparent the business was growing faster than Karah and Lauren could accommodate.

In 2017 ACB was referred to the Kansas SBDC at Johnson County Community College (JCCC). They met with Stephanie Landis, their SBDC Advisor. Initial conversations focused on purchasing a new building. “Stephanie has been AMAZING helping us with the purchase of our new building… (She) has helped us apply for the correct zoning, set up the most efficient production flow line, finance the building, and much more.”

This initial work was just the beginning. With a commitment to continually improve themselves and the business, the sisters are working with Stephanie Landis in all areas of their operations – including process and production flow systems as well as employee and inventory management. In addition, the ACB owners actively participate in GAME – Growth through Action, Measurement and Engagement – a strategic planning workshop series offered at the Kansas SBDC at JCCC. While 2017 began with an analysis of profit and loss statements and production flow, the year ends with drastically improved financial records tracking revenue by product line and accounting that is more reflective of a true manufacturing business.

2018 will bring continued success in a new 6,000 square foot building, systems to enhance operational efficiencies as well as six full-time and five part-time employees. The Kansas SBDC and its group of advisors are extremely proud to support this uniquely creative and passionate team of entrepreneurs.

More Angel Competition Bikinis

Website: Angel Competition Bikinis
Twitter: @AngelBikinis
Pinterest: Angel Competition Bikinis

Kansas SBDC Advisor

Stephanie Landis, JCCC

How Kansas SBDC helped Angel Competition Bikinis

Building Purchase
Operations
Cash Flow Projections
Business Plan
ProfitCents Analysis

Kansas SBDC March 2, 2018 Leave a Comment

Double D Family Mat Shop

In 1995 when Dale Goetz began using old tires as door mats on his family farm in Park, Kansas, he didn’t know it at the time, but he was laying the groundwork for what would become Double D Family Mat Shop Inc.

While Dale had created a pragmatic solution out of old tires, a fellow feedlot owner from St. Francis noticed a different opportunity. He noticed the tire treads being discarded to make the door mats and asked Dale if it would be possible to produce mats from the treads to be used in the feedlots.

This made total sense to Dale. Tire tread was an effective and durable anti-slip surface. By applying the material attributes of treads, Dale could develop mats that could be used to protect his cattle from injury. ‘‘I fed cattle my whole life,” shared Dale. “I noticed that they would slip, fall and get hurt in our feedlot. Those injuries were costing us a lot of money. The concrete surface was uncomfortable for them, and it made the processing area very noisy.” Dale cut the sidewalls out of the tires and created a machine that would cross cut the tread so that it was able to lay flat. To create the mats he would manually assemble basket-weave style mats cattle could walk on.

Curious about performance of the mats, Dale tested several at a St. Francis feedlot.

After seeing the mats in action at the feedlot, farmers and feedlot owners from surrounding towns began contacting Dale to purchase his mats proving the concept of the product.

Dale and his wife Dena decided to officially launch their cattle mats manufacturing business in 1995.

Since that time their journey has been full of successes both domestically and internationally. In 2014, the company decided to enter the global market. Their first major international order came from Mort & Co., feeding lot specialists in Australia.

‘’In the beginning, it was difficult and scary because we had no exporting experience’’ says Christin Merwald, marketing director of the company. ‘‘That is when we decided to contact the Kansas SBDC. The SBDC was very helpful in providing initial export guidance on how to correctly file export documentation. They referred us to the right resources – like the International Trade Administration and the U.S. Commercial Service – who helped us participate in the Alberta Beef Industry Conference in Canada. We generated $10,000 in sales from this connection. They also guided us in the process of obtaining a D.U.N.S. number and provided us with a list of potential local customers in a 100 miles radius.’’

The company has successfully entered the Canadian and Australian markets. In three years, they have shipped over $270,000 worth of products. Currently, they ship annually three containers to Australia and an average of 10 pallets to Canada. ‘‘We are looking forward to continuing our work with the Kansas SBDC and Mariel, our advisor, to help us find distributors in Australia and Canada, and develop an international business and marketing plan that will allows us to successfully enter new markets in South America, Central America and Asia.’’ says Amber Hutchison, Double D Family Mat Shop’s COO.

Dale’s advice to someone thinking about starting a business is to ‘’Go for it. Whatever your idea is, don’t be scared. But always be careful who you let in the door. Protect your secret of success, and take the time to find and use the resources available to help you grow.’’

This year, Double D Family Mat Shop celebrates 22 years of manufacturing custom-built, heavy-duty livestock slip reduction mats.

More about Double D Family Mat Shop

Website: Double D Family Mat Shop
Facebook: Double D Family Mat Shop

Kansas SBDC Advisor

Mariel Huasanga, FHSU

How Kansas SBDC helped Double D Family Mat Shop

Business Plan
Marketing Plan
Market Research
Export

Kansas SBDC March 2, 2018 1 Comment

KYVZ Super Hits 106.1

KYVZ super hits 1061 fm business award

Broadcasting was something Joe Vyzourek knew he wanted to do since he was a kid.

Joe’s idea to manage his own business came from a conversation with his dad years ago.

‘’My dad and I were listening to a baseball game on the radio. During a pitching change, we started talking about working for yourself,” shared Joe Vyzourek, owner of KYVZ radio in Atwood, Kansas. “My father has been working for himself for over 40 years as a farmer. He told me that as long as you work for someone else, that person will always determine your pay and hours. When you work for yourself, hard work will pay off.’’

What you may not know about Joe Vyzourek is that he’s visually impaired. Joe never let his visual impairment stop him from achieving his goals.

After receiving his degree in broadcasting from Colby Community College, Joe landed a job at Colby’s local radio station KXXX. Joe was recognized multiple times as one of the main radio personalities of the network.

One evening in September of 2013, Joe was reading information on the FCC website, and noticed an upcoming auction for a construction permit for a radio station in his hometown. Joe recalled that day. ‘’My mind went back to when I was a kid. I jumped at the chance and purchased the construction permit while dreaming of the day I would turn on the transmitter for my own radio station.”

Vyzourek was excited with the possibility of making his dream come true, but he knew he needed business assistance to be able to obtain the funds required to make it happen. ‘’My banker told me to contact the Kansas SBDC to help me put together a loan package,” said Joe. “My consultant at that time helped me develop a strong business plan and effective financial projections. The result was that I was approved for a commercial loan and an e-community loan; and when we first went on the air, we were already cash flow positive.’’

Joe had to overcome multiple challenges along the way that tested his perseverance and confidence on his project. ‘’The largest challenge I faced was finding a tower. I worked for several months trying to find a tower owner that would rent tower space to a small radio station in this area. Finally in March 2015, I thought I caught a break. The Kansas Department of Transportation had a tower 12 miles west of Atwood and gave me a reasonable quote. Unfortunately, they had some internal changes over the following weeks, and no longer were willing to rent tower space for my antenna. By then, I had already quit my full time job in Colby.’’

Joe did not let that event discourage him from pursuing his dream of having his station on air by the end of 2015. He actively continued to look for a tower to purchase. A few months into his search he found a small tower company in Texas that was able to provide a tower and travel to Atwood to install it. His parents provided the funds and let him use part of their land to build the tower. ‘’My parents, my wife Becca and our marketing coordinator, Chelsea, were my strongest support during the journey, I wouldn’t have done it without them.’’

In 2016 Joe spent the last months filling out the required paperwork, getting the station ready and supervising the tower construction. Finally, on March 17th, 2016, KYVZ radio went on the air.

Running the only locally-owned and operated radio station in Western Kansas and Southwest Nebraska, and being recognized as an example of entrepreneurship in the region, are only a couple of Joe’s successes. If you ask Joe one of his biggest accomplishments is in the support and what he’s been able to give back to his community. ‘’It is gratifying to me that our station can support area projects. We have been able to donate to the local 4H dog training, playground equipment, local cheer squad, high school sports clubs, and other projects that help our small town move forward.’’

Joe believes that his secret of success lies in patience and planning to fail. ‘’Honestly, I think a lot before investing, I did a lot of research on equipment, I was able to purchase good used equipment and that saved me a lot of money. I look for alternatives, talk to other independent radio owners to get their opinions and make more informative decisions. Also, I have always been told to plan to fail, never fail to plan. Looking back to when this journey started, I am glad I did.’’

Joe’s advice to entrepreneurs and small business owners is to “get ready for an emotional rollercoaster ride. One day you are full of excitement, and another day you ask yourself why you are doing this. You are going to face many obstacles, but never give up. Remember to do your research, and then when you think you are done, do more research. Talk to as many people as you can that are doing what you are trying to accomplish. Fight the battles that you can’t afford to lose. If you know that the future of your business depends on you doing a project, make it happen, don’t be afraid to go out on a limb from time to time; but at the same time, learn to know when it’s the right moment, both financially and strategically, and for that you have to be patient.’’ In a challenging industry, KYVZ radio continues to grow. ‘’I plan to keep growing, add more employees and features. I want it to be the best independently-owned radio station that I can make it to be.’’

Currently, Joe and his Kansas SBDC advisor are working on a website where people will be able to listen to his station live while reading the latest local and state news. ‘’I believe that the future of broadcasting goes hand-in-hand with the internet. You need to make yourself available for listeners on computers and smartphones. I think it helps with the exposure of the radio as an important communication medium.’’ Joe and his advisor have already planned their next project, the KYVZ Android/iOS app.

More about KYVZ Radio

Website: KYVZ Radio 106.1
Facebook: KYVZ Radio 106.1

Kansas SBDC Advisor

Mariel Huasanga, FHSU

How Kansas SBDC help KYVZ

Marketing plan
Market Research
Website Development, Photoshop, HTML coding

Kansas SBDC March 1, 2018 Leave a Comment

Radius Brewing Company

Radius Brewing flight of beer

In 2012 U.S. microbreweries were on the rise.

For Justin “Gus” Bays, chef at the Grand Central Hotel in Cottonwood Falls, this was the right time to explore an opportunity. He approached his friend and nascent brewer Jeremy “J.J.” Johns about the idea to open a brewpub in historic downtown Emporia, Kansas. Emporia, the county seat of Lyon County and home to Emporia State University was undergoing a renaissance.

Bays and Johns began putting out feelers to learn if the Emporia, Kansas, market was ready for a microbrewery. Together they sought out the local Kansas SBDC at Emporia State University (ESU) and began meeting with SBDC regional director, Lisa Brumbaugh, to talk about their plans. Brumbaugh pulled in SBDC business advisor, Jim Stephens, to help with the process.

Since a brewpub was a relatively new business model for the area, it took some creative funding to get the business started. Bays and Johns worked not only with the SBDC, but also with Emporia Main Street and NetWork Kansas, to secure loans they needed. To ensure the business model would thrive, the team crowdsourced a critical piece of the funding. Bays and Johns put out a call for private investors willing to lend $5,000 with creative terms: The principal is repaid in full in cash after seven years, and interest is paid in the form of $30 monthly food credits at Radius Brewing Company, LLC.

The funding model worked.

Radius began producing beer in January 2014, and began selling it for off-site consumption in February while construction of the restaurant wrapped up. Radius completed their team towards the end of construction by adding Chad Swift to the team. Swift had just graduated from Wichita State with a business degree and filled the role of General Manager, adding some much needed business knowledge, and “Front of House” aka bar experience.

On April 24th of 2014 they opened their doors for full restaurant and bar service. More than 4,500 customers were served in the pub’s first 10 days according to Johns.

Swift became a co-owner in 2015 joining Johns and Bays to complete the Radius team.

Since their start, Radius has drawn in numerous customers from outside the area with a few famous customers visiting as well. In June of 2015 William Shatner (aka Captain Kirk/Star Trek aka Denny Crane/Boston Legal) stopped in with a film group to taste the local fare.

More about Radius Brewing Company

Website: Radius Brewing Company
Twitter: @RadiusBrewing
Instagram: radiusbrewingco

Kansas SBDC Advisors

Jim Stephens, ESU
Lisa Brumbaugh. ESU

From Jim Stephens, SBDC business advisor: For me as a business advisor, I believe a business plan is a living instrument that creates success.

Sometimes creating a business plan can be a grueling process for startups as they want to ‘just get it done.’ Most have an idea of a plan in their head. The key is to get it out and make it concrete in order to follow it. With Radius we worked together to dig deeper and deeper into what became a working plan. The guys persisted and ended up with a plan that gave them a road map to success. That road map, according to Justin and J.J. was still used a year ago rather than sitting on a shelf.

How Kansas SBDC helped Radius

Cash flow projections
Business Plan
Market Research

Kansas SBDC January 18, 2018 Leave a Comment

Business Services in Kansas

Services

By guiding small businesses through our services including strategic planning, market evaluation, and more, our clients have reported a significant impact on their business in the form of profitable business expansion, increased sales, as well as job expansion and retention – outcomes that show in our clients’ success.

This year you can learn more about the services our clients use by typing in the service (i.e. market research) in the search box on any page of our website to connect with more stories and resources.

Some of the key areas where we consistently help our clients are the areas of marketing, business planning, and financial analysis. In addition to advising, we refer and connect businesses to the resources they need to succeed. Our clients include business service providers, retailers, and others in business-to-consumer B2C and business-to-business B2B entities.

Any business can access any of our services no matter where they are located in Kansas.

Kansas SBDC Core Services

Marketing

For Kansas SBDC business clients, we help them get their hands around ‘all things marketing.’ We make it manageable for businesses to evaluate their advertising, promotion, and sales efforts.

Often our clients come to us looking for help with marketing choices and are frustrated with trying to evaluate options on their own. We help them weigh the options to make effective decisions that in turn can help their businesses succeed.

Business Planning

For Kansas SBDC business clients, we help them develop business plans that make sense. We help business owners that are expanding, reorganizing, or just starting.

Often our clients come to us looking for help with the idea of developing or modifying a business plan. We help them cut through the extras, dive deeper into the analysis, and focus on what they really need to develop a workable plan.

In addition to assisting with business plan development, we help with other organizational choices. Our goal is to make it manageable for businesses to evaluate their market opportunities, project cash flow, and leverage the right financing.

Read more about Kansas SBDC Business Planning

Financial Analysis

For Kansas SBDC business clients, we help them make sense of their numbers. We help business owners that are scaling up, reorganizing, or just starting.

Our clients come to us often looking for help with the data they need to be watching and what cash demand can mean to their business, . In other words, we help them focus on managing by the numbers instead of having them numbers manage them.

As the needs of small business owners have changed, we’ve kept our core services while adding specialized assistance to keep up with their needs.

The following are specialty services we offer at the Kansas SBDC. Advising is offered at no cost to the business. Fee-based consulting is offered for businesses that need a more hands on approach. In all areas we advise, refer, and connect businesses to the resources they need to succeed.

Read more about Kansas SBDC Financial Analysis

Kansas SBDC Specialized Services

Cyber security

For Kansas SBDC business clients, we break down the complexity of cyber security. We make it possible for all businesses to reduce their risks in real time. We advise, refer, and connect businesses to the resources they need to succeed.

We help business owners and decision makers faced with HIPAA and other regulations and businesses that need to comply with new NIST cybersecurity framework and standards to continue doing business with the federal government. Our clients include pharmacies, manufacturers, and business services. Our clients are trying to comply with regulations on their own so we assist them to ensure they are not only in compliance, but more importantly, pull together a manageable plan to protect their businesses.

Read more about Kansas SBDC Cyber security

Technology Commercialization

For Kansas SBDC innovators, we break down the complexity of commercialization. We make it manageable for businesses to run their existing business while expanding through research and development. We advise, refer, and connect businesses to the resources they need to succeed and ensure the engagement on both sides of the table is more productive.

We help innovators interested in working with the U.S. government and private enterprise by connecting the idea people with the people that need the ideas. Our clients include individual developers as well as industries such as biomedical, software development, and UAS. We help our clients make meaningful connections to take the next steps in commercialization.

Succession and Exit Planning

For Kansas SBDC business clients, we help them through the challenge of leaving their business. We make it manageable for business owners to evaluate their options with confidence.

We help business owners who are interested in selling their business to internal or external buyers. By working with owners on how to make the most of their business value, we address their retirement or exit financial needs, and plan for what happens after they sell. Our advising helps reduce the stress of the process.

Our clients include business owners in a variety of industries that want to transition their business to their children, to employees, or to partners as well as sell the business on the market to an outside buyer. Our clients are often unsure of what steps to take to make a smooth transition so we help them plan for a future with which they can be comfortable.

Exporting and International Business

For Kansas SBDC business clients we make it manageable for small businesses to thrive locally while expanding globally. We advise, refer, and connect businesses to the resources they need to succeed.

We help business owners who are interested in expanding their sales to new overseas markets. They may just be trying to find buyers for their products or deciding on which markets to enter. Our clients include business services, resellers, and manufacturers. Business owners are often unsure about the processes, rules, and regulations as well as the time and effort it will take to explore new markets. We help them determine if and how exporting fits with their overall business, how to find the right markets, establish the right distribution chains, and price effectively to preserve profits.

Market Research

For Kansas SBDC business clients we break down the complexity of market research. We make it manageable for small businesses to stay focused on their current day-to-day operations while helping them develop plans for the future.

We help business decision makers from the operations, sales, or marketing side of business by finding the data they need to make critical marketing decisions. By providing our clients with research they can use, we help our clients break down the complex data into actionable information. Our clients often couldn’t afford extensive research and became overwhelmed when deciding what data to use. Using our research with our one-on-one advising we’ve helped our clients determine where to locate, which markets to pursue, and which markets to avoid.

Read more about Kansas SBDC Market Research

Strategic Planning

For Kansas SBDC business clients, we break down the complexity of strategic planning. We make it manageable for small businesses to stay focused on their current day-to-day operations while helping them develop plans for the future. We advise, refer, and connect businesses to the resources they need to succeed.

We make it manageable by providing a customizable approach to fit their specific needs. Our clients include business service providers, manufacturing, retail, ecommerce, and high tech. Our clients come to us at a point where they need a team from the outside to provide a fresh look into their businesses. So we help our clients develop strategies they can live and work with while meeting their current obligations and future goals.

Read more about Kansas SBDC Strategic Planning

Angel Competition Bikinis

Upon graduating from KU in 2013, twins Karah and Lauren Beeves began their chosen careers – Karah as a respiratory therapist and Lauren as a preschool teacher.

More Angel Competition Bikinis

Kansas SBDC Advisor

How Kansas SBDC helped Angel Competition Bikinis

Double D Family Mat Shop

In 1995 when Dale Goetz began using old tires as door mats on his family farm in Park, Kansas, he didn’t know it at the time, but he was laying the groundwork for what would become Double D Family Mat Shop Inc.

More about Double D Family Mat Shop

Kansas SBDC Advisor

How Kansas SBDC helped Double D Family Mat Shop

KYVZ Super Hits 106.1

Broadcasting was something Joe Vyzourek knew he wanted to do since he was a kid.

More about KYVZ Radio

Kansas SBDC Advisor

How Kansas SBDC help KYVZ

Radius Brewing Company

In 2012 U.S. microbreweries were on the rise.

More about Radius Brewing Company

Kansas SBDC Advisors

How Kansas SBDC helped Radius

Business Services in Kansas

Services

Kansas SBDC Core Services

Marketing

Business Planning

Financial Analysis

Kansas SBDC Specialized Services

Cyber security

Technology Commercialization

Succession and Exit Planning

Exporting and International Business

Market Research

Strategic Planning

Policies

Contact Us

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