All Entries in the "Resource Partners" Category
Joseph G. E. Knight Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence
Christine Francis, Owner of Carmen & Ginger
Christine Francis, owner of Carmen & Ginger. Photo Credit to Rachel Hulin.
Christine Francis’ parents are collectors, so she attributes their example to her love of “everything old.” She always worked for other people and didn’t aspire to be a business owner because, as she says, “I’m not really a risk-taker.” Fate had a different plan.
Laid off from her full-time job in construction management at the end of 2008 and mostly as a way to generate some income, in January 2009 Christine started an Etsy shop called Carmen & Ginger. Carmen was one of her cats, and Ginger was a friend’s dog – hence, the business name. Christine had originally thought it would be easier to specialize and to do so in cat and dog-related goods, but she ultimately spread out to all things vintage. The Etsy-based shop quickly grew, supported by her active blog and a solid on-line customer base. Two years in, Christine was in the top 100 sellers on the Etsy site specializing in vintage goods.
After returning to full-time work, she continued to operate the on-line shop and, a couple of years later, she was ready for some risk: she left her full-time corporate job and opened Carmen & Ginger as a brick and mortar store in the newly-renovated Arcade building in downtown Providence. That was “Black Friday,” 2013. After the first year, the store doubled its size, expanding into adjacent space. Carmen & Ginger has thrived in that larger space, selling primarily vintage goods in categories as varied as clothing, jewelry, games, and housewares, but also new items such as greeting cards, hand cream, and Rhode Island and Providence-themed goods. In addition to the increased footprint, Carmen & Ginger now has 2 employees.
Having worked in the corporate world, Christine knew she needed a brand and needed to cultivate it. She has done so while creatively supporting her community. Although she returned to full-time corporate work in 2011, that fall she began the Urban Vintage Bazaar. The Bazaar is a semi-annual event featuring a variety of vintage resellers from Rhode Island and surrounding states. Moved to the Arcade in the spring of 2014, each event typically features approximately twenty visiting vendors and attracts more than 1000 visitors, benefitting other businesses in the Arcade and a non-profit organization that receives as a donation a portion of the vendor fees. The next Urban Vintage Bazaar will be held on April 28, 2018. In addition, in 2014, Christine produced the first ever Guide to Providence Vintage. The free guide, expanded in size and content in 2015 – including the production of an on-line version – was released again in 2017 and is available at locations throughout the city.
Christine’s awards and recognitions have grown as steadily as her business. For example, Rhode Island Monthly magazine twice recognized Carmen & Ginger in its “Best of Rhode Island” awards: readers voted it “Best Vintage Store” in 2016, and last year it was the editor’s pick for “Best Vintage Shopping in the City.” In December 2016, Carmen & Ginger’s holiday windows were featured in an on-line article in Country Living magazine, whose Facebook page has more than 5 million followers; the article has been shared more than 600 times.
For her entrepreneurial spirit, resourcefulness, and contributions to community-oriented projects, Rhode Island SCORE proudly honors Christine Francis, owner of Carmen & Ginger, as the recipient of the 2018 Joseph G. E. Knight Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence.
Home-based Small Business of the Year
Home is Where the Heart and Business Is
The owners of Stony Hill Cattle Company, Kim Coulter, William Coulter, Nina Luchka, and Joshua Coulter, raise beef cattle, hogs, turkey, broiler chickens and layer hens. They are fully licensed and insured to sell their beef, pork, chicken, turkey, and eggs, as well as their value added products such as bacon, sausage, and frankfurters to the public through their farm stand and farmers markets. While Stony Hill’s present offerings are impressive their story began in 1955, when Kim Coulter and Nina Luchka’s grandparents, Benjamin and Emily Luchka, purchased a dairy farm. Benjamin, Emily, and their two sons worked the farm until 1960 when they sold the dairy herd and purchased beef cattle. By 1985, the Luchka’s began selling their meat products to friends and family members. Before long, word of mouth spread about the quality products available at the Luchka farm. Without intending the Luchka’s found a new avenue of revenue, and with it a way of aiding in keeping the farm
operational. In 1996, Kim and Nina lost their father, Kenneth. Though distraught the sisters were thrust into their father’s day-to- day responsibilities. They quickly began focusing on growing the herd of cattle as well as the number of hogs they raised while also purchasing layer hens to expand their public offerings to include farm fresh eggs.
In 2007, Kim and Nina bought their uncle’s share of the farm, believing strongly in keeping Stony Hill farm in one piece. It was during this time that Kim and her husband William began working with six other farm families to start the Rhode Island Raised Livestock Association. Together, the group worked with the Rhode Island Department of Health and Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Agriculture Division, to bring about updated guidelines so that farmers could sell directly to the public, restaurants and public institutions. This act has directly led to farms in Rhode Island tripling in number while helping to usher in restaurants featuring local, farm-raised meats, fruits, and vegetables. Like many farms, revenue can have drastic fluctuations year-to- year. To ensure Stony Hill could withstand any unforeseen mishap they applied for a SBA Business Line of Credit for $25,000. The credit gives a safeguard against any herd loss or potential crippling economic disaster.
While Stony Hill is in business to make money, their values and priorities are that of the land, “We are farmers and we are landowners,” said William Coulter, “but most important, we are stewards of the land. It is our job to protect our natural resources,” he added. For their demonstrated success and growth potential, the U.S. Small Business Administration is pleased to honor Kim M. Coulter, William A. Coulter, Nina L. Luchka, Joshua A. Coulter, Owners of The Stony Hill Cattle Company, as the 2018 Rhode Island Home-Based Small Business of the Year.
New England Financial Services Champion
Buck Harris, Vice President of Community Lending at Community Investment Corporation
“Over the last several years of working with Buck, I have seen him go to great lengths to help small businesses get the financing they need,” said Joshua Daly, Director of the Southern Region of the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center. Those who know Buck know all too well that phrases like the one above are commonplace when discussing him.
Since spearheading Community Investment Corporations (CIC) offerings into Rhode Island, Harris has quickly launched CIC into both the number one SBA Micro-lender and Community Advantage Lender. Often Harris goes above and beyond to provide potential small business owners with every opportunity to acquire the capital they need. In most cases these borrowers are out of the realm of conventional lenders and, without Harris and CIC, would have no other options.
“Small business loans are life changing for people who cannot otherwise get the financing they need to open or grow a small business” said Harris, “and it’s not just capital we are offering; we are providing guidance, opportunity, and hope for a more rewarding life. The only thing our borrowers have to pay back is the cash! I couldn’t imagine a more rewarding career,” he added. Harris has become an asset to SBA resource partners like the SBDC and SCORE, working with their counselors, and building on their efforts by providing financing to their clients. CIC makes every attempt to expand their offerings to as many people as possible. In fiscal year 2017, between Community Advantage and Micro loans, Harris closed 21 loans for a total of $1,500,000.
“Buck is an asset for to Rhode Island small business community,” said SBA Rhode Island District Director, Mark S. Hayward, “There are times when conventional lenders aren’t able to help those small businesses in need. Buck has time and again reached out and done everything he can to help that population of people through education, referrals, and lending,” Hayward attested. While Harris continues to make his mark in Rhode Island, he makes it a point to serve other New England markets, including Connecticut. Remaining dedicated to serving as many in the small business community as possible, wherever they may be, whatever their circumstance might dictate, has bolstered Harris’ reputation amongst his peers and the entrepreneurs he works with. For his tireless work and dedication to furthering the small business community the U.S. Small Business Administration is proud to honor Buck Harris, Vice President of Community Lending at Community Investment Corporation, with the 2018 New England Financial Services Champion Award.
Small Business Exporter of the Year
“We have no limits to our world. We’re only limited by our imagination”
(L-R) President and COO, Richard Grundy; CFO, Anne Beaupre Sigourney; and
CEO and Founder, Michael Sigourney.
AVTECH Software, a private corporation founded in 1988 by Michael Sigourney, is a computer hardware and software developer and manufacturer. Since its founding AVTECH has continuously expanded their offerings, growing from a startup software developer to a small business with international reach.
Their progression was not immediate but gradual, taking the addition of key personnel and co-owners including CFO, Anne Sigourney and President and COO, Richard Grundy. Anne joined AVTECH in 1997, managing the accounting, administration and human resources departments while Richard came onboard in 2001, growing through engineering leadership roles and now overseeing day to day operations and executing the strategic growth plan.
With key personnel in place AVTECH worked to create a strong infrastructure, including the 2008 SBA loan funded purchase of its headquarters at Cutler Mill in Warren, RI. The facility continues to be a center of growth for AVTECH as well as the surrounding area which has seen significant investment
and improvement since that time.
In 2016, Grundy attended the SBA Emerging Leaders program, a seven month intensive entrepreneurship educating and training course focusing on financial literacy. Through this course Richard was introduced to the State Trade Expansion Program (STEP). The STEP program was created to increase the number of small businesses that export their product or service, as well as increasing the value of exports for those small businesses that already do.
AVTECH’s ownership team began meeting with STEP grantee, The Chafee Center for International Business at Bryant University. The Chafee Center helped educate AVTECH on exporting services and how to effectively reach and expand in different international markets. In turn, AVTECH began to accelerate the sales and marketing of their Room Alert® product line to businesses around the world. Room Alert® products monitor computer rooms, data centers and other facilities for conditions such as temperature, humidity, power, flood, water leakage, smoke and fire, air flow, room entry, motion, cameras and more.
Were thankful for the support and resources the SBA makes available to area businesses,” said Grundy. “Through participation in the SBA Emerging Leaders program in 2016, we were introduced to the STEP program and the Chafee Center at Bryant University. The STEP program and the many other resources provided by the SBA and Chafee Center have been instrumental in our international growth over the past several years," he added. Over the next two years AVTECH participated in four STEP sponsored trade missions to Canada, UK, Israel, and Ireland – with another trip scheduled for April 2018 to Dubai. AVTECH’s exporting business has grown from approximately 23% of their revenue prior to 2016 to over 30% in 2017, with forecasts projecting over 40% by 2020.
Our strong network of international resellers have helped Room Alert protect businesses around the globe from downtime and damage caused by extreme environment conditions,” said Sigourney. “Working with the STEP program and participating in state sponsored trade missions have made these global markets more accessible than ever before. We’re proud to manufacture Room Alertin the USA and appreciate the resources the SBA provides that have helped us reach customers now in 186 of 196 countries,” he noted.
For their accomplishments in expanding the global economy, the U.S. Small Business Administration is proud to recognize Michael Sigourney, CEO; Anne Sigourney, CFO; and Richard Grundy, President and COO of AVTECH Software, as the 2018 Rhode Island Small Business Exporter of the Year.
