Success Stories

Stephanie Vitori, president of Cheeseburger Baby, originally joined the company as a delivery driver in 2001. After working alongside five other original employees, she was able to learn the business from the bottom up and officially took ownership in February 2004. Since that time, the company has grown to 20 employees and has more than $800,000 in revenues.

Over the years, the business continued to experience steady growth along with its fair share of challenges which came in the form of multiple hurricanes, a recession, and larger franchise burger companies moving into the same block.  After restructuring CBB’s business model to ensure the company ongoing success, it was not until 2017 when Hurricane Irma made landfall in South Florida that CBB encountered it biggest obstacle in its 18-year history. 

While taking the necessary steps and using savings to prepare and protect the... Read More

Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Mari Rubio moved to Miami in 2009 so she could turn her passion for cooking into a reality. After completing a six-month internship in Southern Italy and graduating from Johnson & Wales University Miami in 2012, she returned  home to Santo Domingo to spend the holidays with her family. Struggling with idle hands and time, she began experimenting with a pecan pie recipe. This experience proved life changing as the recipe was so well received by her friends and family.

After returning to Miami determined to create the same buzz as she did back home, Rubio eventually took the remaining $50 from her weekly allowance to purchase all the ingredients needed to bake her first batch of pecan pies. In less than a year, Rubio found herself, along with her mom and aunt, looking for a company name and kitchen space. Thus, Casa Gioia, which translates to “house of joy” in Italian, was born.

Mari needed help in growing her business, so... Read More

Burma Spice sells gourmet exotic spices on-line from its own website www.burmaspice.com and on Amazon.com. The company started as a home-based business in 2014 and has since outgrown the house and moved into a facility in Glades County Florida. Started in 2015, Burma buys many of its herbs and spices from local south Florida growers as fresh produce and washes and dries all its spices in-house.  

With spices coming from tree to table in days rather than months, the flavors are more vibrant and have been earning several five-star reviews according to the company’s owner, Ed Brakus. Transitioning from a home-based business to a larger organization with the added responsibility of managing employees, suppliers, and finances required a lot of learning on the job training. It was at that point that he turned to the SBA for assistance and expertise.

In helping Burma develop its business expansion strategies, Dave Hamblett from SCORE Ft. Myers Chapter introduced the owner to... Read More

Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, Kegman Inc. specializes in professional services that are strategically focused on the scientific, engineering and technical needs of the federal government. When the company first opened its doors for services in 1999, Susan Glasgow and her husband worked to build the company on a part-time basis providing commercial and residential security alarm services. After only receiving annual revenues of approximately $22K, the 25-year Air Force veteran who held years of  experience working for one of the world’s largest global defense companies decided to take the company to full-time operations in March 2011 by adding Government Services Line of Business to her company’s portfolio.

Recognizing the need for assistance, it was at that time that Susan met with local SCORE counselors who helped develop her business plan and expand her business model. In April 2011, the Small Business Development Center at Eastern Florida State College helped her... Read More

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