Success Stories

Yakima Construction Firm Grows with SBA Contracting Program and Tax Cuts

Shannon and Richard Sevigny first met on a construction site – at the time, both were working with their respective families. They soon fell in love, married and decided to go into business for themselves. In 1990 the Sevignys opened a general contracting business – RJS Construction (RJS) – in Yakima, Washington with Shannon Sevigny as the majority owner. While she worked on running the administrative side of the business, Richard Sevigny tackled operations. Over the next 20 years RJS steadily grew, specializing in residential and commercial construction projects of all kinds. As the business grew, so did their family. At one time or another, six of their eight children have worked for RJS. Business was thriving until the recession hit hard in October 2008. Within 10 days, a year’s worth of RJS contracted projects called to cancel. The Sevignys had no choice but to let most of their staff go... Read More

Millennial Business Owner Grows Specialty Woodworking Shop 600% with SBA Loan

At the age of 19, Nathie Katzoff earned his diploma in wooden boat building in Kennebunkport, Maine. There he began to develop his mastery in sophisticated woodworking techniques such as joinery and steam bending. Upon graduation Katzoff relocated to Seattle and founded in NK Woodworking in 2011 as a small one-man shop. His first residential staircase was commissioned in 2012 by family friends for their home in Bothell, Washington. That staircase earned Katzoff his first national design award and attracted national attention from high-end luxury home designers and architects. Despite the regular demand for his high-end custom wooden staircases, furniture, architectural woodwork and bathtubs, Katzoff found himself in need of working capital to build out his shop and add employees to fulfil the incoming commissions.

Solution

In 2015 Katzoff was approved for an SBA Guaranteed... Read More

How Going Global Paid Off for Ellensburg Hay Business

In December of 1997 the Haberman family farm produced their first pressed bale of hay in Ellensburg, Washington. The original reason the Haberman’s got into pressing hay was to supplement their family farm income, which consisted of raising timothy hay, seed oats and a custom feed lot at that time—with another income-generating activity. Co-owners and brothers Bob and Brad Haberman steadily grew the hay and foraged-products pressing side of their business over the next few years and made their first international sale of pressed hay bales to Japan in 2000. By 2003 the Haberman family farm needed to create a new company known as the Number 9 Hay Trading Company because of the expanding international orders for their products but had an issue with cash flow management. Traditional business lenders weren’t willing to work with them since they had self-financed their entire operation until this point and didn’t have a... Read More

IT Firm Builds Business and Community with SBA Contracting Program

It’s not common for two Native American tribes to get together to create a business, but that’s just what the Craig Tribal Association and the Organized Village of Kasaan tribes of Southeast Alaska did. In 2001, the two tribes formed the Prince of Wales Tribal Enterprise Consortium (POWTEC) with the mission to build and sustain a strong and profitable business to contribute to the progress and well-being of the tribal communities. POWTEC Solutions, LLC was founded in 2010 to provide onsite IT support for federal agencies, state and local governments and tribal entities. In the beginning, they found it difficult to win government contracts. They successfully won a few commercial contracts, but it was all thanks to previous relationships. The government contracting field is competitive and POWTEC Solutions needed a way to differentiate their business.

Solution

In 2013, POWTEC Solutions was... Read More

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