Newsletter
Your Source for Free Professional Consultants
August 2009 Newsletter
From the Director
From the Director
Greetings from the San Francisco Small Business Development Center! 2009 marks seven years for me as Director and I am even more excited about our program than the day I started. We are working with determined entrepreneurs to launch, expand or strengthen their businesses. We are providing quality professional consultants to these businesses free of charge and we co-sponsor an exciting calendar of training events at the US Small Business Administration’s EntrepreneurCenter.
We’re a program of the School of Business at City College of San Francisco and with CCSF’s resources, those of the SF Economic Development Alliance and the SBA's volunteer force (SCORE), the San Francisco SBDC is capable of providing or connecting all small businesses with needed assistance.
Beginning with this issue, our newsletter will include a success story of one of our many client businesses, a list of upcoming classes and training events that we present and a spotlight of one of our consultants.
Future newsletters will also include and article from our consultants, the business owners and experts who work with and advise you our clients.
Al Dixon
SBDC Director
Success Story: Peas of Mind
The San Francisco SBDC helps numerous businesses owners achieve the success they strive for. Every month we'll highlight a success story in this section of our newsletter. This month we're spotlighting Jill Litwin and her business Peas of Mind.
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. She 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 few choices for their 1 - 8 year olds to snack on. Jill soon had a tasty lineup of healthy and tasty, natural and organic wholesome meals for moms to feed their delighted growing kids.
We’re a program of the School of Business at City College of San Francisco and with CCSF’s resources, those of the SF Economic Development Alliance and the SBA's volunteer force (SCORE), the San Francisco SBDC is capable of providing or connecting all small businesses with needed assistance.
Beginning with this issue, our newsletter will include a success story of one of our many client businesses, a list of upcoming classes and training events that we present and a spotlight of one of our consultants.
Future newsletters will also include and article from our consultants, the business owners and experts who work with and advise you our clients.
Al Dixon
SBDC Director
Success Story: Peas of Mind
The San Francisco SBDC helps numerous businesses owners achieve the success they strive for. Every month we'll highlight a success story in this section of our newsletter. This month we're spotlighting Jill Litwin and her business Peas of Mind.
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. She 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 few choices for their 1 - 8 year olds to snack on. Jill soon had a tasty lineup of healthy and tasty, natural and organic wholesome meals for moms to feed their delighted growing kids.
Jill found out that she would need a licensed commercial kitchen in which to prepare her product that she named "Puffets." Luckily she found La Cocina, a non-profit kitchen facility in its infant stage and became their first ‘incubator’ candidate. After a year and a half of making Puffets there non-stop, she was more than ready to turn the production over to a contract packaging company but had only found a very pricey company in Southern California. Making deliveries herself to the increasing number of markets carrying her products she was desperate to get a distributor so she could focus more on operations, sales and marketing.
Anni Minuzzo, specialty food advisor for the San FranciscoSmallBusinessDevelopmentCenter gave Jill the direction and guidance she needed to move forward. Soon they had lined up a co-packing facility in Northern California , Columbus Distributing Company, to handle her production, warehousing and delivery of her Puffets to her ever increasing retail base. Soon Jill hired a marketing manager for Peas of Mind to allow her time to focus on running her business.
In less than 3 years Jill has found success launching Puffets in markets around the country with accounts including Whole Foods, Shaw’s, Target Superstores, and Costco.
Jill’s dream of selling her business within the next 3-5 years is becoming a reality with imminent angel investments of $350,000. This capital infusion will allow Jill to take Peas of Mind to the next level of expansion, including new product introductions, product line extensions, and international market penetration.
Read more about Peas of Mind and Puffets at the web site: www.peasofmind.com
Anni Minuzzo, specialty food advisor for the San FranciscoSmallBusinessDevelopmentCenter gave Jill the direction and guidance she needed to move forward. Soon they had lined up a co-packing facility in Northern California , Columbus Distributing Company, to handle her production, warehousing and delivery of her Puffets to her ever increasing retail base. Soon Jill hired a marketing manager for Peas of Mind to allow her time to focus on running her business.
In less than 3 years Jill has found success launching Puffets in markets around the country with accounts including Whole Foods, Shaw’s, Target Superstores, and Costco.
Jill’s dream of selling her business within the next 3-5 years is becoming a reality with imminent angel investments of $350,000. This capital infusion will allow Jill to take Peas of Mind to the next level of expansion, including new product introductions, product line extensions, and international market penetration.
Read more about Peas of Mind and Puffets at the web site: www.peasofmind.com
SF SBDC Advisor Spotlight
Susie Biehler created her agency, Susie Biehler & CO www.biehler.com in 1984 with a clear focus on representing select restaurant, food and hospitality clients. Now, with more than 25 years of experience in consulting, public relations, marketing and journalism, she achieves stellar recognition locally and nationally both for her clients and for her agency’s work.
Susie’s successful philosophy has been to creatively provide the consultation, vision and strategy necessary to distinguish and leverage clients in the media and the marketplace. In addition to marketing and PR, Susie consults on new restaurant business plans, location selection, interior design, service plans and menus, and key staffing decisions for both new and makeovers of existing restaurants. She consults with the SBDC in San Francisco where she provides her time to work with first time restaurateurs in developing the marketing plans of their restaurants. Susie maintains an active select client list where she can be hands-on as principal and provide thorough and thoughtful service.
To request FREE one-on-one counseling from SBDC Professional Consultants:
If you are currently in business and generating revenue, please click here and complete the following form and you will be contacted to schedule an appointment.
If you are Business-Ready, have a business plan but not currently generating revenue, please click here.
