by Joel Addington
Staff Writer
Now three years old, Jacksonville’s Small and Emerging Business Program means many things to many people.
Visual Solutions Inc. CEO Melissa Hong said the JSEB program gave her the opportunity to learn from the biggest player in the computer software game — Microsoft.
Although Hong doesn’t have a direct line to Bill Gates, the 12-year Internet Technology company owner said receiving such a high-profile mentorship is humbling.
“I was very honored,” said Hong. “My understanding is they selected among all the IT companies in Jacksonville and only took one, so I was very honored.”
The JSEB program began at the behest of Mayor John Peyton, who created a commission on small and disadvantaged businesses that began gathering information in February 2004.
Roughly six months later, the commission’s recommendations were codified in an ordinance approved by the City Council.
The idea was to remove barriers to building up small businesses, and eventually grow them out of the JSEB program.
Since it started, the JSEB program has helped to secure more than $1 million in low-interest loans, gotten 19 businesses bonded and provided free training and education to small and minority-owned businesses.
Valuable relationships
Small business owner Mary Tappouni has been with the JSEB program, or its previous incarnations, since she started Breaking Ground Inc. 10 years ago, serving on the Mayor’s commission and participating in the City’s previous small and minority business programs.
“Especially with the new program, they’ve incorporated a lot of new pieces and provided a lot more contacts and resources in city government,” she said. “There’s a lot of networking opportunities for people who really get involved.”
Like Hong, Tappouni has taken advantage of the program’s mentoring opportunities and received significant guidance from the established design/build firm The Haskell Company.
“They have been a tremendous resource for us,” she said. “Every situation where I needed advice, they’ve opened their doors to us.”
Specifically, Tappouni said her contact at Haskell, Boyd Worsham, helped in analyzing and improving Breaking Ground’s field operations and would set up meetings with other Haskell experts who had knowledge of specialized areas like business development.
“And even though our formal, one-year agreement is over, they continue to keep me on and continue to mentor,” she said.
Hong has used her relationship with Microsoft to gain guidance in obtaining government contracts.
“We were heading in that direction,” she said.
Visual Solutions has also become a subcontractor for Microsoft, a more tangible benefit of their mentoring.
Making the dollars make sense
When formulating the JSEB program, the lack of access to financial capital was identified as a major impediment to the success of small and minority businesses.
To address the issue, the JSEB program includes low-interest loan and bonding assistance components.
To date, $1,005,869 in loans have been made from the pool of $1.065 million at local banking institutions and 335 companies have received bonding assistance through the City’s contract with P.A. Wallace & Associates.
“Of the many micro-loan and revolving loan programs made available to small businesses in our community, few in my opinion have had the success of the City of Jacksonville’s Access to Capital program,” said Cleve E. Warren, president and CEO of Essentials Capital, the program’s manager.
“Since its inception, there has been no experience of delinquent loans,” he added. “The disciplined repayment requirements are the key structural components that have made the program work and assured the preservation of the revolving loan pool.”
Carlos McGhee of Mc-N-Law, Inc. has used the program to secure a low-interest loan to help begin fulfilling its contractual obligations for the City through its contract with Jensen Civil Construction.
“Because of this opportunity, we consistently receive requests for bids and quotes from prime contractors throughout the city,” said McGhee.
While Roslie Lopez has not needed loan or bonding assistance, the owner of a local cement subcontracting company said the JSEB program has helped to ensure she receives prompt payment from general contractors and is given the proper amount of work as stated in the general contractor’s bid with the City.
“You can call on the City to be a mediator or problem solver for you if you have problems,” said Lopez. “Sometimes there are disputes as to the amount of work given to us. We bid a certain amount of work — so many feet of sidewalk — and they (general contractor) use that in their bid. They can’t come back and say you do half of it.”
“I use JSEB as much as I possibly need it,” she added. “It’s a good program. They’ve done right by me.“
For Tappouni, making sure her business is healthy financially is something that’s very important.
Her business will soon undergo the Fiscal Physical offered free to JSEB members.
“This is just another tool that’s allowed us to analyze the financial side of the business,” said Tappouni. “It gives you a three-year trending in all the financial factors and let’s me know if I’m growing in a healthy way — with not too much debt and enough capital.”
She added it’s important to have a good accountant, as the Fiscal Physical is based on information provided by the business.
Who can qualify?
There are a number of requirements to meet before being certified as a JSEB company.
First, the owner of the company must have resided in Duval County for one or more years or established a business headquartered in Jacksonville for three or more years, plus residency in Duval, St. Johns, Nassau, Baker or Clay County for at least one year.
The JSEB applicant’s net worth cannot be more than $605,000 excluding the owner’s personal residence, but including the businesses value and assets.
The business must also have three-year gross receipts averaging less than $6 million.
“Looking back, it’s allowed us to grow our business and learn how the City does business,” said Tappouni.
For more information about the JSEB program, call the Department of Procurement at 630-1184.
