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Peas of Mind, San Francisco

Helping a friend feed her toddler something much healthier than canned green beans turned into a full time job for Jill Litwin, creator and CEO of Peas of Mind.   The energetic and savvy entrepreneur quickly realized that she was creating more than just a product, she was creating a niche, a rare circumstance in today’s crowded marketplace.  There were baby foods and adult foods but nothing for the in-between “growing child” stage as Jill calls it.  Moms had little more than Cheerios and Goldfish for their 1 - 8 year olds to snack on; Jill Litwin soon had a tasty line-up of healthy and tasty Puffets, natural and organic wholesome meals for moms to feed their delighted growing kids.

Savantis Group, Inc., San Francisco

When Deniz Mater came to the SBDC in late 2006, she and her husband, Roel Deuss, were managing a one year old company, SAP Headhunter, Inc., from their home office. The company provides IT services to customers of SAP, a German company that is one of the leaders in Enterprise Resource Planning software. Deniz and Roel are providing consultants to these customers and conducting job searches for them. They also engage in a number of in-house projects for their clients. They were receiving a reasonable amount of revenue but the SAP market presented them an excellent opportunity for growth.

Regalito Rosticeria, San Francisco

Thomas Pena had spent several years refining family recipes and, as he was preparing his restaurant project, he traveled for months in Mexico researching new menu items and cooking techniques. He also had studied baking and pastry at the California Culinary Academy.

Rain All Day Books, Fortuna

Monica Hubbard had been working at a local bookstore in Humboldt County.  She had been gaining more responsibility at the book store, when she realized, “I could do this on my own.  I like this life of books and people.”  In September of 2006, Monica went into business for herself and opened up a used book store called Rain All Day Books. 

Sandy Westfall, Ferndale

Sandy Westfall, who was reluctantly closing her business of 30 years, found herself at the Employment Development Department.  She was there with the sole concern of taking care of her now former employees.  Sandy was unsure of her future and where she might be headed.  While at the center, she found that she too could use their assistance.  She saw that they had a professional organizer certification and decided to go for it.  However, once she received her certification, she didn’t know where to go from there.  The Employment Development Department then referred Sandy to the North Coast Small Business Development Center.

Finesse Mills LLC, Watsonville

Josie Steigman wanted to develop and brand a line of gourmet products using her Sicilian family recipes, and her husband Steve had companies interested in his formulation and production expertise for tea bagging, pharmaceuticals, natural products and spices. In order to bring together their goals, they formed Finesse Mills LLC. They moved their production operations to a new location in Watsonville from Monterey in April 2006 to expand the business, serve larger clients, and own their property and equipment.

Talmadge Construction, Inc., Aptos

Jeff Talmadge approached the Central Coast SBDC in March of 2008 to obtain assistance in developing a plan to hire a salesperson.  His construction company was not in good financial condition and sales were slow, and he knew he needed to make a change to his marketing plan  to increase sales in this challenging economy.

Original Sin Desserts, Santa Cruz

Tanya DeCell had decided to “retire” from her busy Silicon Valley career to change her path in the new millenium and indulge her baking passion. After attending the Culinary Institute of America and the Cabrillo College Culinary Program, DeCell began a successful wholesale catering business in 2003.  In late 2007, DeCell decided to consider expanding her business to include a retail location. She was driving in Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz and noticed a closed bakery being dismantled.  DeCell immediately seized the opportunity and moved quickly to create her business plan and look at financing options. 

Flexsweep, Watsonville

Simon Cassar first contacted the Central Coast SBDC in 2003 to review his business plan and start a home-based cleaning product business.  He returned in 2005 to develop a strategic plan for his invention of a connector that makes a push broom and dust mop unbreakable and ergonomic. The product created such a demand that Cassar applied for a business loan and contacted the SBDC in 2007 to meet with Advisor Linda Johnson to focus on a marketing plan with a goal of obtaining large volume national accounts.

Academic Tutoring Services, Inc., Santa Cruz

George Martinez had a vision for Academic Tutoring Services, Inc. (ATS) in 2005- to provide free supplemental educational services to low income students throughout California, contracting with school districts affected by the 2002 “No Child Left Behind Act”. He met with Jim McGovern to develop a successful business plan and apply for funding, as well as discuss how to conduct credentialed teacher recruitment. After multiple revisions, the business plan was ready for lender submission.