All Entries in the "SBA" Category
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.
Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Small Business of the Year
Gil’s Appliances: A Family Tradition of Trust and Integrity
Sisters, Lisa Sienkiewicz and Gail Parella quite literally grew up in the business started by their parents, Gil and Sarah Almeida, in 1961. The Almeida family lived in an apartment upstairs from their original store on Wood Street in Bristol. Gil’s began as an old-fashioned, family-run record store before shifting focus from music to televisions and appliances. In 1976, Gil and Sarah moved the business to its current, larger location on Metacom Avenue, and in 1995, Lisa and Gail took over the business from their parents and began focusing solely on appliances. Since that time the sisters have been dedicated to continuing the tradition of trust, integrity, value, and exceptional customer service that their parents
began over 55 years ago.
In 2016, Gil’s opened a second retail showroom on Aquidneck Avenue in Middletown, RI, to
better serve the Aquidneck Island and South County communities. In 2017, the sisters completed a renovation and expansion of their Bristol location, nearly doubling their showroom space while adding working kitchens for cooking demonstrations and special events highlighting local chefs and artisans.
The sisters continue to move the business forward in ways that allow them to thrive in an ever-changing economy and meet the needs of new generations of customers. Gil’s customers enjoy the personalized service of a family business without paying more for the benefit. This is possible thanks to their partnership with a large east coast appliance buying group which gives Gil’s more purchasing power and an even greater selection than big-box stores.
Lisa and Gail have also ensured Gil’s web presence flourishes by completing a website redesign and expanding their overall online and social media presence. By continuing to invest in digital marketing content and advertising campaigns on multiple platforms, Gil’s has seen a rise in brand awareness and support. As a result of their efforts, Gil’s experienced impressive sales growth in 2017 and was able to add new employees to their staff.
In addition to focusing on the economic success of their business, Lisa and Gail strive to be the same reassuring and supportive presence in their community that their parents were by supporting local groups through sponsorships, donations, and volunteerism. Gil’s sponsors several local Little League baseball teams, community festivals, and food and toy drives. They are proud to sponsor such community events as the iconic Bristol Fourth of July Concert Series, as well as the Last Night Concert in Bristol featuring the RI Philharmonic over Labor Day weekend. The highest honor in Bristol was recently bestowed on Lisa and Gail when they were named Chief Marshals of the 2017 232nd Bristol Fourth of July Celebration for their ongoing commitment to family and community values and local commerce. The highlight of their philanthropic work is their partnership with RI Child & Family, in which Gil’s hosts an annual Holiday Toy Drive to benefit Child & Family’s Adopt-a- Family program.
For their demonstrated longevity, success, and community outreach, the U.S. Small Business Administration is pleased to honor Lisa Sienkiewicz and Gail Parella, Owners of Gil’s Appliances, as the 2018 Rhode Island Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Small Business of the Year.
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.
