Economic Fuel | 2010 Winners

Congratulations 2010 Winners!
$25,000 Grand Prize Winners
Eden Home TEAM MEMBER Alia Dunphy ADVISORS Gayle Abramson MOST USEFUL RESOURCES University coursework REASON FOR PARTICIPATING IN ECONOMIC FUEL This is an opportunity to fill a growing need in Humboldt County. With the Economic Fuel funding, I can open this business at a much faster rate than saving money on my own. This is an opportunity to allow my daughter, Alana, to see that the hard work of writing a business plan can translate into a viable operating business. ADVICE FOR FUTURE COMPETITORS Don't start unless you are fully committed. MOST VALUABLE LESSON LEARNED FROM WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN It is all in the details. Writing for the clarity of others is very difficult. Most of my previous writing had a great deal of “fluffiness” to it. Thanks to Gayle my writing has improved tremendously. ABOUT THE BUSINESS Eden Home aims to be a home for 6 full time residents, offering care in a respectful honoring fashion. At Eden Home, we will promote the dignity and self-worth of all of our residents, and strive to give them excellent quality of life, as defined by the residents.
Humboldt Home Health Services TEAM MEMBER Benjamin Adduru MOST USEFUL RESOURCE The internet REASON FOR PARTICIPATING IN ECONOMIC FUEL It is through my nine year experience serving in Humboldt County, as a medical professional, that I saw the need for home health services. Our county is underserved medically and many patients that I have treated, in physical therapy throughout the years, should have had a higher quality of medical care through timely, efficient, extensive home health services available to them upon discharge from the hospital. The two home health agencies in Humboldt County are Madriver Homehealth based in Arcata , CA serving the northern part of the county and St. Joseph Home Health based in Santa Rosa, CA serving the central and southern part of the county. Areas such as Pepperwood, Rio Dell, Garberville, and Willow Creek do not have any home health services coverage. Many patients, whom I have treated, have opted to stay in a nursing home for their therapy due to their poor experience with home health in the past as a result of sparse, ineffective medical interventions. With the two home health services programs spread out too thin, this area would benefit from a locally operated home health service. This type of service will only increase in demand as the baby boomers reach retirement and the percentage of seniors in our area increases. Humboldt County already has more seniors than in any other county in California which increases the demand for home health services. ADVICE FOR FUTURE COMPETITORS Do your research. Have passion in what you do. Put your extensive research together with your passion and a business plan is born. MOST VALUABLE LESSON LEARNED FROM WRITING THE BUSINESS PLAN I learned that I would have to love spreadsheets. I underestimated the amount of work that goes in to establishing a business plan, however sticking with a pattern or a sample helped keep me on track on the essentials. ABOUT THE BUSINESS Humboldt Home Health Services (3H-S) was created to serve the medical needs of Humboldt County. 3H-S provides excellent medical intervention through Occupational, Speech and Physical Therapy, Nursing Care and Psycho/Social Services to “homebound” patients caused by illness, injury or disability in the comforts of their own homes.
Luscious Gardens TEAM MEMBERS Kashi Albertsen Naomi Withers ADVISORS Janet DePace, Scott Hunt, Sandy Neil MOST USEFUL RESOURCE SBDC REASON FOR PARTICIPATING IN ECONOMIC FUEL To allow for growth of our business, to help strengthen the local economy. ADVICE FOR FUTURE COMPETITORS Start early and have a lot of people read your plan. Keep it clear and simple. MOST VALUABLE LESSON LEARNED FROM WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN Greater clarity of our vision. ABOUT THE BUSINESS Luscious Gardens is an edible landscaping company and nursery. We do full service edible landscaping, using plants that we have grown and propagated at our nursery, where we grow over 80 varieties of edible perennial plants. Our mission is to bring greater food sustainability to Humboldt County and beyond .
Sherlock Records Management TEAM MEMBER Corey Fitze MOST USEFUL RESOURCES My most useful resources were my business professor at College of the Redwoods - Christopher Gaines, various business consultants, and my family. REASON FOR PARTICIPATING IN ECONOMIC FUEL The opportunity to compete with a business of records management that I am passionate about and feel will benefit the county and beyond. Also, the opportunity to have top business people in the community learn about my business and ultimately agree that they feel it will be a success. The honor of being the recipient of this prestigious award will help facilitate the growth of my business. ADVICE FOR FUTURE COMPETITORS To pay close attention in your college classes because it will be useful. Also, utilize your family and the people around you to get constructive criticism. Know your business well and be detail oriented when writing the business plan. Read, Study, Read! MOST VALUABLE LESSON LEARNED FROM WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN I feel I know more about my business and I feel more confident about its success after writing the business plan. ABOUT THE BUSINESS Sherlock Records Management is a full-service records management company offering a wide array of services. Our services allow business clients to significantly reduce the costs of managing their hard copy and electronic business records, and to better concentrate on their core business.
$10,000 First Runner-Up
Entrance Art TEAM MEMBER Tyson Boynton James Roper MOST USEFUL RESOURCES The vast resources of the World Wide Web. REASON FOR PARTICIPATING IN ECONOMIC FUEL To focus our efforts on developing a concise and workable plan, and to get a shot at the $25,000 grand prize. ADVICE FOR FUTURE COMPETITORS Start early and definately be there before the deadline!! If not, better luck next year. MOST VALUABLE LESSON LEARNED FROM WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN Is that we truly have a viable business, regardless of the outcome of this competition. ABOUT THE BUSINESS Entrance Art is a general partnership company providing custom-made entryways manufactured with the finest hardwoods and specialized glass artwork, to grace the entrances of homes and commercial establishments in our local area, as well as, markets in central California and southern Oregon .
$5,000 Second Runner-Up
Rad Power Bikes TEAM MEMBER Mike Radenbaugh ADVISORS Rio Anderson, Jamie Radenbaugh, Tyler Collins MOST USEFUL RESOURCES Our most useful resource has been local community members; including company owners, business people, and teachers. Additionally, we received a vast amount of online support from various electric vehicle related companies and organizations. REASON FOR PARTICIPATING IN ECONOMIC FUEL To obtain funds for product development and business marketing. Winning an economic fuel prize will help us jumpstart the next steps in our development, as well as, helping us secure our market status as a leader in electric bicycle sale and manufacture. ADVICE FOR FUTURE COMPETITORS Start working on your plan early. I had no idea the time that is required to develop a business plan. You think 30 or 40 pages with a bunch of pictures can't be so bad? It has been dreadfully more complicated than expected. MOST VALUABLE LESSON LEARNED FROM WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN People within your community want you to succeed. Utilize your local resources. Look into your community for help. It is all around you. This is something that I will always remember in my business relations and my everyday life. ABOUT THE BUSINESS Rad Power Bikes manufactures and distributes custom electric bicycles, as well as, retailing electric bike kits and components. We provide a viable personal transportation solution that is clean, quiet, exciting, and economical.
$1,000 Honorable Mention
Shred Tec TEAM MEMBERS Kyle Visser ADVISOR Stilson Snow MOST USEFUL RESOURCES The most useful resource has been the SBDC. I was already meeting with a counselor from the SBDC before I was informed of Economic Fuel. The opportunity to meet with a professional, to help me better plan for and see the direction of my business, was invaluable. It was also great that they provide business professionals in specific areas, such as marketing and technologies. REASON FOR PARTICIPATING IN ECONOMIC FUEL I know that Shred Tec is a business that is going to make it. When I heard about Economic Fuel I saw it as an opportunity to grow as a business owner in writing a business plan, as well as, a chance to receive the capital necessary to expand my business. ADVICE FOR FUTURE COMPETITORS I would advise any future competitors to start as early as possible in writing and researching your business plan. It is a very lengthy process and one that needs careful attention all along the way. Make sure you allot enough time that when you are in the final stages of writing your business plan you can fine tune it as needed, to give it the polish necessary to set it apart from others. This should be done in time that you are not making these corrections right before it is due. Also, make good use of the counselors provided by the SBDC, they are a professional set of eyes to coach you along as you develop the ideas and plans for the direction you would like to take your business. MOST VALUABLE LESSON LEARNED FROM WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN I learned that it is important not to get caught up in what direction you want to take your business. The important thing is to analyze what is currently taking place and what effects the changes you are planning will have on the business. For myself, my plan during 80% of the time I was writing my business plan, was to use the prize money to build or buy our own shred truck. The more I ran the numbers the more I realized this would be a financially damaging decision. Writing this plan helped me to see what was really necessary in this case, as well as, teaching me to measure future business decisions against the effects they will have. ABOUT THE BUSINESS Shred Tec is a secure document destruction company picking up documents both on a will call and scheduled basis. All documents picked up are shredded beyond legibility and recycled. We also employ individuals with disabilities in an effort to provide them with the dignity of work.
Vance Banjos TEAM MEMBERS Alanna Tadic Colin Vance ADVISORS Phil Crump - local instrument builder William Goldsmith - proprietor of Radio Paradise Denise Dodd - local bookkeeper Ashley Hanson - Green Wheels development director Stilson Snow - SBDC advisor MOST USEFUL RESOURCES Our network of advisors. REASON FOR PARTICIPATING IN ECONOMIC FUEL To obtain capital for expanding our business. ADVICE FOR FUTURE COMPETITORS Utilize, to the best of your ability, all of your support network. Never settle for good enough. MOST VALUABLE LESSON LEARNED FROM WRITING A BUSINESS PLAN That we have a viable local niche business. THANK YOU for this opportunity. This has pushed us to step into the ring of entrepreneurship with our best effort. ABOUT THE BUSINESS Vance Banjos offers custom high end banjos along with repair and restoration work for acoustic instruments. Our product forms include a wide variety of banjos; 5-string openback, banjo ukulele and tenor banjo models. All our banjos have the added value option of highly ornate custom shell inlay, which we specialize in.