Poonam Datta, owner of Seva Adult Day Care, and her son and business partner, Chirag Datta, initially reached out to the UGA SBDC in early 2020 for assistance securing a more prominent location, as they needed room to accommodate their growing client base.
The pandemic put that search on hold, and they pivoted to an online business model. Later that year, as the pandemic slowed, they shifted to a hybrid business model, their new normal, and secured a new location.
The clients also needed assistance with financial projections when looking to expand their business offerings to ensure those expanded services were scalable.
"Others in our industry didn't want to do structured family care and encouraged us against it. But when we met with UGA SBDC and ran the projections, we realized the margins were there. We learned it is scalable. You can help a lot of people but actually grow the business. It helped us to know this is a business we can start. And it's a business that will serve our clients well."
The UGA SBDC helped the Dattas develop the financial projections needed to secure a loan to purchase a new business location and assisted in evaluating real estate options. The UGA SBDC assisted the clients as they switched to a hybrid business model during the pandemic, ensuring their financial projections were on track.
When the Dattas were ready to expand their business to offer home health care and structured family care, the UGA SBDC developed financial projections to ensure the business offerings were financially feasible and a model to guide them through the growth process.
From 2017 to 2022, the adult day care portion of Seva's business experienced a 1,686% growth in revenue and went from three employees to 16.
Adding the home healthcare platform allowed Seva to hire an additional 60 employees to accommodate the new service. Through home health care alone, the Dattas have served more than 80 families since 2021 and seen a 647% revenue growth in the business's home health care portion.
Seva has served five families in the first six months through their structured family care offering, with projected six-figure earnings from the service in the first year.
Kelley Manufacturing Company was facing barriers when looking to expand into the foreign market and were facing challenges selling their equipment overseas. They needed assistance making connections in foreign markets and keeping up to date on the frequently-changing international shipping laws.
"We are always looking at other countries where we are trying to expand, and the UGA SBDC is able to get me in quicker contact with people in those areas, so I continue to use them."
Kelley Manufacturing has worked with the UGA SBDC to gain research and data on countries they are interested in doing business with. In addition, the UGA SBDC helps KMC keep up-to-date on the international shipping laws and regulation
The UGA SBDC has assisted Kelley Manufacturing Company in making necessary connections to enter many additional international markets, including a dealer in Johannesburg, South Africa, which has become one of their largest dealers.
Kelley Manufacturing Company's international business has expanded with the help of the UGA SBDC. They now have relationships with seven international dealers in 22 different countries.
In 2017, Guzman founded his own plumbing company, Guzman Plumbing. The business had a slow start, and by 2019, Guzman was experiencing growing pains that prevented him from expanding the business.
"The UGA SBDC has delivered tremendous value for the overall health of my business. Not only have our sales increased, but our processes and procedures have improved."
The UGA SBDC helped Guzman develop an actionable business plan and have access to business planning software; Guzman participated in two of UGA SBDC's Signature Series trainings, StartSmart and GrowSmart. From those courses UGA SBDC helped Guzman develop an actionable business plan, have access to business planning software and develop a network of entrepreneurial peers and professionals.
In addition, the UGA SBDC assisted Guzman in redesigning the company's logo, optimizing the website, performing financial projections, and putting processes in place for hiring, onboarding, and pricing.
Since its rebranding, True Blue's sales have increased sevenfold. Guzman has expanded from one man and a van to four vans, six employees and has moved his operation to a new office complex
