Profiles of Success

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Oswaldo Garcés
Clean-Tech Services, LLC
Grand Rapids, Michigan
As former president of a mountain climbers' association in his native Ecuador, Oswaldo Garcés is accustomed to hard work and leadership. He is also adept at overcoming challenges. So it is not surprising that when Garcés, 42, faced a change in the economic climate that had allowed his cleaning business to flourish, he turned to the Small Business Administration (SBA), and the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center.

Garcés and a partner started Clean-Tech Services in 1994, after working in the cleaning industry for a few years. They quickly turned their $1,000 investment into a $500,000 company. Soon there were 90 employees and $1 million in revenue. In 1998, Garcés bought out his partner and the future looked bright.

Then the economy flattened and Clean-Tech began losing customers. By 2001, the future looked uncertain. Garcés resisted the urge to bail out. Instead, he laid off workers, cut costs, and he and his supervisors began working the company's cleaning routes.

But business wasn't turning around. When Garcés heard about the SBA, he sought help, both in the classroom and in one-on-one consulting sessions. A turning point came when he was introduced to the concept of cash flow projections. "They give you a formula to figure your income, your expenses, and the breaking point where you're going to lose money or make money," he says. "That really got my attention. It can change the vision of what is happening in your company if you just use the tools that are there."

"It gave me confidence," he adds. "I have lost some business, and that's okay, I'm not paranoid about that anymore. The SBA helped me put structure into my business so I can see everything, and I know that as long as I'm selling more than I'm losing, it's okay."

Clean-Tech now has 50 employees and an annual revenue of $1.2 million. Garcés hopes to add 10 to 15 employees and grow to $1.5 million in 2004. He continues to work with the SBA on an as-needed basis.

Cynthia Guerra
SchooLocker Teacher Supply
San Antonio, Texas
When Cynthia Guerra earned an MBA in 1994 at age 50, she expected to use it to advance her 30-year career as a medical technologist. Instead, the lure of owning a business proved strong and, in 1995, she launched SchooLocker Teacher Supply.

Guerra was fascinated by the world of entrepreneurship and when one of her daughters, a teacher, pointed out the lack of resource materials for teachers and parents, Guerra began researching the market. By 1995, she had secured a $75,000 SBA loan and opened a small retail operation in San Antonio. The company thrived, expanding in 1996, and in 2002 moving into a 12,000-square-foot storefront in a better location.

Guerra is part of a growing trend. According to the Center for Women's Business Research, businesses with at least 50 percent ownership by women represent nearly half of all privately held companies. Between 1997 and 2002, the number of women-owned firms grew at more than 1.5 times the rate of all privately held firms. In that period, the number of Hispanic women-owned firms increased by 39 percent.

"I knew a lot about starting a business because I'd just finished an MBA," Guerra says, "but I got help from the SBA with critical aspects like cash flow projections. I also needed the $75,000 to rent space, buy inventory, and get equipment to get started." In 2002, she worked with an SBA partner, the Entrepreneurial Growth Program, to secure an additional $125,000 loan.

In 2003, she was honored as Minority Retailer of the Year by the San Antonio Minority Business Development Center, an SBA partner.

Today, her two daughters manage the retail operation while she focuses on accounting and marketing, sometimes with help from the SBA's Small Business Development Center.

Guerra, 61, is also working with husband Fidelio, a retired Spanish professor, to produce supplemental teaching materials in Spanish for U.S. educators teaching Spanish as a native or second language. They launched the new business, Guerra Publishing, in October 2003. Now, with 19 titles, they think the company is gaining momentum.

Eduardo Rabel
RUSH Construction Inc.
Titusville, Florida
When RUSH Construction was certified by the SBA in 1990 as an 8(a) contractor, the results were dramatic: one federal contract topped out at $5 million. It was a powerful shot in the arm for the Florida-based firm, founded in 1984.

Named for a section of the Small Business Code, 8(a) is a business development program created to help small, disadvantaged businesses compete in and access the federal procurement market. There are other avenues to government contracts-General Services Administration Schedules, PRO-Net, and others-but 8(a) is specifically designed to help small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.

"The federal government contracts have been there for us at very critical times over the years, and were incredibly significant to our success and growth," RUSH Chief Executive Officer Eduardo Rabel says.

"Through our 8(a) contracts, we have been able to establish those very important client relationships over the years," he adds. "As you become more comfortable with the bigger jobs, you're more confident and poised as you negotiate contract terms. The 8(a) program demystified the contract negotiation process."

RUSH Construction is no longer classified as a small disadvantaged business, but Rabel remains active in the 8(a) Mentor/Protégé program, working with a Hispanic firm to provide technical and management assistance in making the most of 8(a). The Mentor/Protégé program also allows for joint ventures. RUSH Construction and Rabel's protégé firm, ConsuTec Inc., are currently partnering on a $6 million 8(a) construction contract.

Ruben Molina
Mictlan Publishing
Los Angeles, California
Ruben Molina has a passion for music-particularly the music of his youth. He has been collecting 78 rpm and 45 rpm records since he was a kid, developing an appreciation for what he calls "low-rider" music. "It's what you played when you were cruising with your girl," he says, "the ballads, the sweet soul, the mid-tempo music that's usually on the B side of 45s."

Five years ago, the East Los Angeles native decided to write a book, The Old Barrio Guide to Low Rider Music, 1950-1975. "I did it so people will understand where this music comes from, what it meant to the community, and what it means today," Molina, 50, says.

With a loan from the SBA, Molina not only published his book-now in its second printing-but also created Mictlan Publishing.

Molina used SBAExpress-a loan program that reduces cumbersome paperwork-along with a guarantee from the SBA, to secure his $6,000 loan to publish his book.

The entrepreneur is a testament to SBA's success. "Not only has Ruben established a successful home-based business in Mictlan Publishing, he has also made a unique contribution to Southern California's cultural history and music archives," Alberto Alvarado, director of the SBA's Los Angeles district office, said in a July 2003 news release.

While Molina still works his day job as a design draftsman and engineer for a small manufacturing firm, he plans to keep Mictlan Publishing alive with other projects, including a novel set in East Los Angeles, where he grew up.

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