Success Stories

Tucson Project, LLC provides business process solutions to government and industry in the areas of administrative services, project management, logistics and transportation.  Following his honorable discharge from the United States Marine Corps, D.A. Jordan, the firm’s founder and CEO sought to continue serving his country in a worthwhile capacity.  As a result, Tucson Project was established in 1997. The company has since secured several contracts providing services to government agencies, including: US Postal Service,  Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice and Health and Human Services.

Tucson Project launched its transportation/logistics line in 2002 with an Irving, TX FedEx Ground contract and one delivery van, operated by Jordan himself. Fifteen years later, the contract has grown into a multi-million dollar contract with 10 tractor-trailers and with over 11 million safety miles. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has been instrumental in... Read More

Bear Creek Smokehouse Succeeds with Help from SBA

Nestled in the East Texas piney woods of Bear Bottom, four generations of family tradition surrounds Bear Creek Smokehouse. Originating in 1943, Hick and Nellie Shoults have raised and cured their own smoked meats. Since then, the Smokehouse has grown from a backyard venture with 600 birds to one of East Texas’ largest USDA approved food processing facilities producing a wide variety of smoked delights. Bear Creek Smokehouse’s retail location is one of the oldest stores in East Texas still in operation, offering products such as ham, peppered pork tenderloins, smoked ribs, pork loins, brisket, a variety of birds and much more. The store also offers a range of soups and beverage mixes, along with chocolate fudge and praline pecan desserts.

Bear Creek Smokehouse’s first customers were local grocers who placed orders at the local Agricultural Extension office. Today, their customers reach into the thousands and can order over the phone, by mail, fax or online. With their... Read More

Torrez Paper Company, owned by Colinda Torrez, is one of the top Hispanic and women-owned businesses in the Country and a very successful distributor of paper products, industrial equipment and supplies. The company has several important contracts at the DFW Airport and a new contract with the City of Dallas’ Omni Hotel has recently been awarded as well.

Torrez Paper Company is on track to make 2012 four years in a row with over a million dollars in revenue and should be the best year yet. This is still a big deal because according to SBA statistics, Torrez Paper Company, Inc. will be part of only 3% of all women-owned businesses that ever exceed a million dollars in revenue.

Colinda Torrez is the President and sole owner of the corporation. Torrez Paper Company is certified by the U.S. Small Business Administration as a Small Disadvantaged Business, certified by the State of Texas as a Historically Underutilized Business, certified by the North Central Texas Regional... Read More

Donna Anderson, an African American woman business owner came to Dallas SBDC for counseling in February of 2010 after her application to gain office space at the Dallas Business Incubator Center (BIC) was approved. She left corporate America after securing a small line of credit from a factoring company in order to start a trucking company. Donna started to visit Dallas SBDC with a goal of becoming a stable, innovative and growing woman owned freight brokerage firm. She was familiar with this type of business because her father supported her family as an independent owned truck operator.

She had planned her transition from corporate America to entrepreneurship by scaling down her expensive lifestyle to live in a modest apartment on a tight budget. As a result of her financial acumen, she was on her way to attaining her dream. Donna came in for regular counseling where she learned how to prepare for a business loan, how to grow her small business through acquisition and... Read More