If you’ve ever played a round at the Palmetto Bay Golf Club or walked the new sidewalks and admired the monument signs in Pinecrest Gardens, you’ve experienced Miliani Construction Corp.’s work in South Florida. The Miami company’s renovations can also be found in restaurants and hotels, including a new project […]
Success Stories
At top of the class, Smart Home Studio owner finds market niche, powers up sales
Imagine starting a new business amid the pandemic. Now imagine starting from zero: “No connections, no money, no capital, no partners.” That’s what Juan Santos says he faced, along with a stiff learning curve, when starting his business, Smart Home Studio, from scratch. He had a successful event marketing business […]
Florida SBDC at FIU Business helps entrepreneur make his Caribbean Fusion Sushi dream a reality.
By Michelle Lopez Alden Chance began working in the kitchen almost 20 years ago, after he and his family came to the U.S. from Jamaica in 2005. He started as a dish washer and eventually worked up the ranks to becoming a chef. In 2010, after a night out with […]
Innovative medical practice with holistic approach experiences healthy growth
Like this company’s name suggests, South Florida Integrative Medicine is on a mission to deliver mental health care in an integrative, holistic fashion. Dr. Hugh Humphery, who owns the business with wife, Reed Haslach Humphery, explains that while this medical practice and small business based in Coral Gables specializes in […]
Vegan Art by Indira adds SBDC at FIU to its recipe for success
Imagine this. It’s a child’s birthday party and all his little friends are with him having fun and admiring the beautiful, multi-tiered cake. And when that big, magical moment arrives – to sing Happy Birthday and cut the cake – the guest of honor can’t participate because he has a […]
Immigrant hustle plus strategy set these business partners up for contracting success
Grit and hustle can get your small business off the ground but strategic thinking and planning can put the company on a strong growth trajectory and ensure its sustainability. Reliance Contractors is an example of that. Reliance Contractors is a Miami-based facility support services company owned by Joshua Becker and […]
How Prime Experiences is making waves with yacht parties and corporate events
After Jose David Tobon and Juan Garcia threw a party for a friend on a 50-foot catamaran, everyone who attended loved it and started calling them wanting to know how they produced such an event. “We started seeing that there was a very big potential in the entertainment industry,” Tobon […]
Half Moon Empanadas: A savory success story baked with equal parts passion, perseverance, and vision
Even some of Pilar Guzman’s mentors advised her not to expand her Miami small business nationally, yet she persisted. Today, the tasty creations of this entrepreneur’s Half Moon Empanadas can be savored in locations across the US, particularly in airports, with more expansion on the runway. With trial and error […]
Raising capital? What you need to know, from an award-winning consultant who has been there, done that.
When it comes to raising capital, Florida SBDC at FIU consultant Ricardo Weisz has experience in the trenches on both sides of this entrepreneurial challenge. While an executive at The Walt Disney Company, he launched operations in multiple countries, and over the years he has headed and or invested in […]
For this small business owner, successful entrepreneurship is a family tradition
Chinedu Okoro began working at his parents’ janitorial services company just after finishing college at Chapel Hill. He needed the money, they needed the help – a win-win for that moment in time. He helped his parents’ company grow, but what also happened is that experience opened doors to the […]