The Nebraska Enterprise Fund is proud to be participating in Omaha Gives! – a 24 hour charitable challenge organized by the Omaha Community Foundation. The online giving holiday will take place May 22nd from midnight to midnight. Mark your calendars because we need your help! We will be joining nearly 300 local nonprofits to raise money together and compete for matching funds and prize money. The more money we raise, the larger percentage of the match pool we will receive. The more donors we get to give to us, the more likely we are to win prize money.

Omaha Gives! is a one day event led by the Omaha Community Foundation to raise as much money as possible for local nonprofits through online fundraising. It is a community-wide event to show off Omaha’s spirit of giving, raise awareness about local nonprofits, and celebrate the collective effort it takes to make Omaha and the surrounding area great. Learn more at OMAHAGIVES24.org

Donate to NEF on May 22nd! Find the NEF profile on OmahaGives24.org

Tell your friends that you will be giving to the Nebraska Enterprise Fund (NEF) during Omaha Gives! on May 22nd and that you need their help.

Business Profile: Transformation Marketing

Shannon & Travis Filing  | Panama, Nebraska     

Business:  Transformation Marketing is a full service marketing agency based in a small rural community. The company has grown with business clients from all across the United States.  Shannon Filing started the company in her home in 2002 when her children were young. In 2007, her husband joined the company and the business continued to grow. They moved from their home office to an office space at a bank in town, but it soon became evident that they needed even more office space to more efficiently serve their clients. In 2011 they acquired an old fire barn in their community of Panama. After the facility was completely renovated to a modern office building, Transformation Marketing had the space it needed for production purposes and space to grow their staff.

Program Assistance: In preparing to buy the building and make extensive improvements, Shannon found NEF thru a web search. NEF provided technical assistance in preparing the business plan and financial projections for a bank loan request.  NEF then provided a CD Guarantee to help fill the gap in collateral, making it possible for the business to receive a bank loan for the renovation project. Shannon stated, “I found in a short time that NEF’s value to the business community goes far beyond the amazing financial/loan programs, because they value the growth and sustainability of the businesses they work with.”

Progress & Impact: NEF’s CD Guarantee product helped back the bank loan which was used to renovate the old fire station facility into an office building /studio with room to hire more staff.  The two studios on-site have made it possible to bring those services for their clients in-house. The business was quickly able to gain a larger footprint and serve more clients, add additional business revenue streams, and pay off a $40,000 operating line inside of 8 months.  Since the expansion project, gross profit increased by 61.5% and net income increased by 152.3% all while increasing staff, wages, and benefits to become more competitive in the workforce. Plans are to expand their internship program and add another full time position in 2013.

Business Profile:  Bloomfield Tire and Oil, LLC

Jeremy and Stacey Gill | Bloomfield, Nebraska

Financing Package Referral from REAP

Business:  Freeman Oil, Inc. had a solid history of being a good “community” business, serving area customers for over 30 years.  It’s one of those essential businesses in a rural place and is valued by the community.   It was important to successfully transition this business when the Freeman’s wanted to retire, so the business could stay open and serve the community.  Jeremy Gill worked in the business during his high school years.  After earning a technical college degree and working other jobs away from home, he found the opportunity to come back and purchase part of the business and become the new owner /operator.  The business is located along West Main in Bloomfield and provides gas, tires, oil changes, and auto repair services to its customers.

Program Assistance:  NEF received this loan referral from the REAP program.  All together there were four entities that put this loan package together to help the Gill’s purchase the business, including NEF, REAP,  First Ponca Financing and a local revolving loan fund in Bloomfield.

Progress & Impact:  The business transition has gone smoothly with business revenues flowing well. Four jobs were retained with plans to add another employee soon.   Most importantly, this business remains in Bloomfield and will provide service for customers, drawing on a 30 mile range, for years to come.  

Business Profile:  Lincoln Family Funeral Care                                                                               Vicki Newman & Scott Dewitt | Lincoln, NE  

Business:  Vicki Newman had experience in the funeral home industry and worked hard on plans for a couple of years to start a new funeral home in Lincoln.  After several challenges along the way, including the progression of multiple-sclerosis, Vicki’s dream of establishing the kind of “family funeral care” business that she felt was truly a need in the Lincoln market, came true. Vicki and licensed funeral director, Scot Dewitt as business partner, found an ideal location and supportive landlord that remodeled the facility to meet their needs. The business was opened in March, 2012.

Program Assistance: NEF received this business referral from Nebraska Self-Employment Services / The Abilities Fund.  To meet the needs of initial capital in the project, NEF provided a direct microenterprise loan. The business partners provided personal equity funds and received a small grant from Vocational Rehabilitation Services of Nebraska.

Progress & Impact:  Their first year far exceeded expectations! The goal for year one was to serve at least six families per month.  They quickly discovered good demand for their services and to date have averaged serving 16 families with funeral care per month.  Like most start-up businesses, they didn’t plan to take salaries or a draw from the business in year one.  Now that they have built up an operating cash reserve and secured an operating line of credit at a local bank, they are paying themselves in year two along with 3 other part time assistants.  They’ve also added health insurance benefits. Their positive cash flow allowed them to add two vehicles for use in the business and to make other business and marketing material improvements.

Vicki and Scot have recently added a new partner and are expanding the business by buying a larger funeral home in Colorado. This acquisition will create two new jobs and retain four existing jobs at that location.

Transformation Marketing is one of 4 finalists for the national Momentum Business Citi Microentrepreneur Award via the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO).  They are the only Nebraska business in the running in 2013!  

NEF worked with Transformation Marketing in filling a financing gap as they transformed an old fire barn in Panama, Nebraska into an efficient spacious office building.   Immediate results were outstanding as their business revenue grew and they added staff, including interns.   Here’s more of their story! 

Business:  Transformation Marketing owned and operated by Travis & Shannon Filing, is a full service marketing agency based in a small rural community.  The company has grown with business clients from all across the United States.  In 2011 they acquired an old fire barn in their community of Panama.  After the facility was completely renovated to a modern office building, Transformation Marketing had the space it needed for production purposes and space to grow their staff.  www.transformationmarketing.com

Progress & Impact:  NEF’s CD Guarantee product helped back an NBC Bank loan which was used to renovate the old fire station facility into an office building /studio with room to hire more staff.  The two studios on-site have made it possible to bring those services for their clients in-house.  The business was quickly able to gain a larger footprint and serve more clients, add additional business revenue streams, and pay off a $40,000 operating line inside of 8 months.  Since the expansion project, net income increased by 152.3% all while increasing staff, wages, and benefits to become more competitive in the workforce. Plans are to expand their internship program and add another full time position in 2013.

Thanks to Gregg Christensen of the Nebraska Department of Education for gathering this list of events and to the members of NET Force for the energy that they put forth in supporting entrepreneurship education and services across Nebraska!

http://www.education.ne.gov/entreped/events.html or

http://www.nebraskaentrepreneur.com/events/

Dena Beck of REAP presented information about the results of the Center for Rural Affairs 2012 Business Needs Survey.  Programs across the state are interested in the survey and its results and provide valuable feedback and assistance in disseminating the survey to business contacts across the state.  Click here for the Center’s small business survey report.

Alysse Kerr of the Oregon Microenterprise Network (OMEN) teleconferenced in to present information on their MarketLink program.  OMEN is their State Microenterprise Association.  OMEN provides MarketLink as a service to its member organizations to help them better serve their microenterprise clients.

Marisol Rodriquex and Veronica Doga of the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC) provided information on their areas of expertise within NBDC based at the University of Nebraska Omaha.  Marisol provided an overview of the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) assistance that she can provide small businesses.  Veronica reviewed her work in helping businesses interested in exporting their goods.  She noted that 96 % of the world’s consumers live outside the US and represent 2/3 of the world’s purchasing power, therefore in many cases it is truly a positive for US businesses if they can export.  Both presentations were very informative with training attendees thinking immediately of businesses that could use this assistance.

NEF provided a summary of loan and participant data gathered for fiscal year 2012.   FY’12 was a record year for loans provided to micro /small businesses across the State by NEF program partners.  177 loans were completed for just over $3.2M, leveraging $8M of loan capital from other sources.  Programs reported working with 2,306 participants in training programs, with technical assistance and/or loans.  To end the training NEF asked programs to complete a brief survey so we could learn about program training needs and their interest in working together on other topics in the coming year.

Rose Jaspersen, NEF Executive Director, teamed with Nick Vrba from First State Bank, Fremont to share information on financing resources available for businesses.  The presentation included pointers on traditional and nontraditional sources, how to prepare for a loan application and working with lenders beyond the loan to insure long-term success.

Check the NEF website, www.nebbiz.org, for future training opportunities.