Success Stories

Success Story: Wisconsin –

Katrina and Jason Julian want to feed your family affordable, delicious, healthy dairy and beef products. Three generations, from Jason’s mom to the Julians’ three sons, work in the family business.

The Julians raise certified organic, grass-fed and grass-finished Fleckvieh cattle, a breed remarkable for its suitability for both meat and milk production. The Julians’ horses are just as remarkable: their team of American Brabants (a relative of the Belgian draft horse) takes the place of tractors for much of the farmwork.

Katrina and Jason, who both grew up on farms and met in the agricultural program at UW-River Falls, began farming conventionally when they bought a dairy farm in 1996. But a desire for a lifestyle more in line with their family values led to a switch in 2007. (more…)

America’s Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), SBDC leaders, advisors, clients, partners, and stakeholders gathered on Capitol Hill for the fifth annual Client Showcase and Reception on Tuesday, February 12. Representative Steve Chabot of Ohio, Ranking Member of the Committee on Small Business, addressed the reception guests. Several of his colleagues also visited the reception, in which America’s SBDC Network showcased 11 SBDC clients from across the country.

The SBDC clients were Butter Cloth (California), Atlantic Models, Inc. (Florida), Nymbl Systems (Kentucky), Jordan Research and Development, LLC (Maryland), Inductive Intelligence LLC (Michigan), DogSpot (New York), Whites Energy Services, LLC (Oklahoma), Extremiti3D (South Carolina), Port City Brewing Company (Virginia), FLEXHIBIT (Washington), and JesterLine (West Virginia).

“America’s SBDCs are proud to play a critical role in the health of small businesses. The success of our clients is a sign of the shared hard work of our advisers and our clients. For almost 40 years, small businesses have been going to their local SBDCs, building relationships, and getting the training, financing and expertise they need to thrive,” said Charles “Tee” Rowe, President & CEO of America’s SBDC. (more…)

JesterLine (@JesterLineGT)
Countdown to the 2019 Client Showcase: #1

SBDC: West Virginia SBDC – Upshur County EDA Center (wvsbdc.com)
SBDC Advisor: Susannah Higgins.

JesterLine is West Virginia’s first high-end gaming technology and innovation center. It specializes in bringing the newest gaming technologies for all ages to the surrounding community, staying up-to-date with technology trends and advancements.

JesterLine offers customers a safe, family-friendly environment where they can experience the best that modern gaming has to offer, including competition with other gamers, both locally and globally through its network platform. It also gives its customers the opportunity to build necessary skills through computer-based training. It provides options for K-12 technology solutions and SMB services, with IT consultations, hardware and software solutions, and repairs. (more…)

FLEXHIBIT (FLEXHIBIT.com)
Countdown to the 2019 Client Showcase: #2

SBDC: Washington SBDC, Spokane (wsbdc.org)
SBDC Advisor: Vern Jenkins and Duane Fladland.

FLEXHIBIT is an exhibit manufacturing company that provides innovative, engaging, and high-quality STEM exhibits to Science Centers and Children’s Museums. With help from the Washington SBDC, FLEXHIBIT has successfully expanded its market internationally.

The company’s exhibits work with a portable, modular wall system called FlexWall, which allows customers to switch out inspiring STEM exhibits in a highly affordable manner, with quick turnaround times. Mounting on modular wall systems means you can rotate FLEXHIBIT exhibits – they can be swapped out in hours for new exhibits that can be arranged in a variety of patterns, which helps the science center or children’s museum stay relevant to its visitors. (more…)

Port City Brewing Company (portcitybrewing.com | @portcitybrew)
Countdown to the 2019 Client Showcase: #3

SBDC: Virginia SBDC, International Business Development Program (virginiasbdc.org)
SBDC Advisor: Aaron Miller.

After successfully working for a number of years with the Alexandria SBDC on their domestic business, Port City Brewing Company wanted to test the waters of international trade last year and quickly discovered a need for more expert advice. Port City was put in touch with the Virginia SBDC International Business Development Program.

“When we first started looking at exporting to the United Kingdom, we thought we’d go it alone and figure all this out on our own,” Bill Butcher says. “Working with Aaron Miller at the SBDC really helped us navigate a new facet of our business we really were not familiar with.” (more…)