Success Story

SPOKANE, Wash.—Vicki Hebert, owner of Smugglers Cove Flagging and a client of the Washington Small Business Development Center (SBDC) since 2020, has been named the SBA Seattle District Rural Business of the Year. Hebert will be honored at the Small Business Gala on May 7 at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

Smugglers Cove Flagging, which opened in 2017, now employs nearly a dozen people and provides flaggers, traffic control supervisors, flagger trucks and signs, traffic control plans, permitting and emergency services. Hebert is also a certified flagging instructor.

“Vicki Hebert and Smugglers Cove Flagging are an extraordinary choice for the SBA Seattle District Rural Business of the Year,” said Sheryl McGrath, state director of the Washington SBDC. “Vicki truly exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit that defies the odds and continues to fight for a better future for her family and her community.”

Hebert had more than a decade of experience as a flagger before she stepped back from that work to focus on raising her small children. In 2016, with her children older, Hebert got back into flagging, with a dream of opening her own small business.

Smugglers Cove Flagging was still in its early days when, in 2018, Hebert was injured on the job in a hit-and-run accident that resulted in a traumatic brain injury and nerve damage that made walking or even sitting unendurable. Her recovery, which included managing debilitating PTSD and depression, took precedence for the next several years, but she never gave up her dream of running her own small business.

Hebert said she used to believe that success meant having money, a college education, nice clothes and a big house. “Now,” she said, “I think success is just not giving up.”

When Hebert started working with the SBDC, she already had the experience, knowledge and certifications she needed to do flagging and traffic control, but she wasn’t an expert on starting and running a small business. That’s where the SBDC came in.

During COVID, while still unable to leave her home, she began attending online webinars presented by the Washington SBDC on topics such as website design and L&I compliance.

Then, in March 2023, she reached out to the SBDC for one-to-one advising and began meeting with SBDC advisor Janet Toth.

Hebert responded to a survey request after that first meeting by writing, “I cannot believe how hopeful I felt after my first meeting with my SBDC counselor. She had information and connections to resources and tools that are unimaginable. I can continue growing my business with more confidence and help. I believe she is the perfect counselor for me.”

Hebert met with Toth for more than a year before Toth left the SBDC and Hebert was matched with SBDC advisor SharonAnn Hamilton, who nominated Hebert for the SBA award.

Working with Hamilton, Hebert identified her strengths and weaknesses as a business owner and strategized the growth of the business.

“SharonAnn, she is such a blessing,” Hebert said. “They say the teachers come when the student’s ready, and I was ready.”

While the business originated in the San Juan Islands, Hebert has grown the company to serve Whatcom and Cowlitz counties, as well as the Olympic Peninsula. While staffing fluctuates depending on the contracts, she has about a dozen part-time employees. Company revenue has increased more than 300 percent.

“Having someone believe in me, to help me believe in myself, and guide me through this process has been amazing,” Hebert said.

As someone who first started flagging just out of high school, Hebert is committed to empowering workers in rural communities through training and education. As a Washington state certified flagger instructor, she has trained more than 700 flaggers. She believes that the training and lessons learned while flagging extend far beyond traffic control and can truly open up a world of opportunities.

“We are a second chance company,” she said. It’s not just that some of the people she hires have suffered setbacks, but that the work itself reinforces critical skills like being aware of your surroundings, setting boundaries and saying no. She often tells new employees, “I want you to leave here feeling better about yourself than when you came.”

The Washington SBDC is a network of more than 40 business advisors working in communities across the state to help small business owners and entrepreneurs start, grow or buy/sell a business. SBDC advisors assist clients in just about any industry and at any stage of business development. SBDC services are provided at no cost to the business owner and are completely confidential.

The Washington SBDC is part of a national SBDC program known as the America’s SBDC and is managed by a cooperative agreement between Washington State University and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). About half the funding for SBDC services is from the SBA and the other half is from multiple state and local funding partners, including the Washington State Department of Commerce, Washington State University, other institutions of higher education, economic development agencies and civic and business groups.

For more about Smugglers Cove Flagging, go here.

For more about the Washington SBDC, go to wsbdc.org.