Success Stories

Vermont Success Story, by Amanda Kuhnert –

TimberHomes Vermont, a design-build timber frame company, had been in business over a decade when the owners decided it was time to build on their success. First, they decided to transition from an LLC to an employee-owned cooperative, giving more decision-making power to their team of dedicated employees. Then they began planning for their next stage of business growth.

Partners Josh Jackson and David Hooke founded TimberHomes in 2005 after working together at the Mountain School in Vershire, teaching high school students to timber frame using only hand tools. The company’s third partner, Timo Bradley, signed on shortly thereafter.

In 2017, after 15 years of constructing custom barns, homes, pavilions and trailhead kiosks, the partners decided it was time to build something for themselves. They needed a facility that would serve as a space to welcome clients and showcase their work, as well as a larger shop to enable them to build year-round. With the second shop, they would also be able to expand their capacity, hiring a number of new employees in the process. (more…)

Success Story: Arkansas –

One way to know spring has arrived is the familiar whir of lawn mowers. The sound is music to the ears of the Sabbs family.

Faithful Cuts Lawn Care Etc. LLC is their family-owned and operated lawn care and ground maintenance company. The business was started by Leon Sabbs of Little Rock, who has 30 years of landscaping experience.

Leon and his son, Gabriel Sabbs, worked with the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center (ASBTDC) to organize the business and secure a FORGE microloan last fall to prepare for the 2019 season, and now they are “heading into it at full throttle,” said Gabriel.

“The 2019 season focus will be on building and maintaining our brand and truly building a client network. We want to expand our business to bigger heights and focus on job creation, while not compromising our quality of service,” he said. (more…)

Success Story: West Virginia –

After a successful career as a pharmacist, Walter Moore should be playing a round of golf right about now. But you won’t find him on the greens, decked out in Titleist apparel and celebrating retirement with a victory cigar. Instead, he’ll go to work on Monday, put on his white coat and spend his morning filling prescriptions behind the counter at his pharmacy.

“I was retired for seven years and I would look back on my time as a pharmacist and see how much I took it for granted,” Moore, 70, said. “I’ve got a new outlook on life.”

For many, retirement is something to look forward to. After all, isn’t the American dream enjoying the fruits of your labor in your later years after a prosperous career? For Moore, retirement was pleasant, but ultimately felt hollow.

“You have to find something to do with your life. I just assume keep working and take chances,” Moore said. “I’m so grateful that I’m a pharmacist. I got tired of saying I used to be one. Now that I’m back, I really appreciate every customer who comes through the door. It’s been energizing to come back to work.” (more…)

Success Story: Illinois –

Infinite Wellness Integrative Medical Center owner Dr. Ryan Cleland worked with the Illinois Small Business Development Center (SBDC) for the Metro East at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville to successfully open his newest wellness center in Glen Carbon.

Cleland has been in the medical and health industry for 13 years and has run a private chiropractic practice for 11 of those years. SBDC Director Jo Ann DiMaggio May assisted Cleland in polishing his business plan and cash flow projections to introduce Infinite Wellness to a lender.

Cleland is motivated by helping people find natural ways to live their best lives through nutrition, safe pain relief and tissue regeneration, bioidentical hormone therapies, anti-aging science, weight loss, proper joint and spinal biomechanics, and more. (more…)

By Amanda Kuhnert –

If you live in Vermont and appreciate good beer, then you’re probably familiar with Lawson’s Finest Liquids. Last fall the company celebrated the grand opening of its 80-seat taproom, retail store, and 30-barrel production facility in Waitsfield. What you might not know is that 11 years ago, this thriving Vermont-based business was simply one man’s hobby.

“I have had a passion for beer and brewing since discovering the joy of home brewing in college, as a student at the University of Vermont,” company founder Sean Lawson said. He homebrewed for about 20 years before friends and family finally persuaded him to begin selling his product to the public. In 2008, Sean and his wife Karen launched Lawson’s Finest Liquids out of a small outbuilding next to their house.

They started out as a one-barrel nanobrewery, and in 2011 ramped up to a seven-barrel microbrewery. This is when the owners reached out to the Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC) for assistance with their business plan and advice on financing their capital expansion. (more…)