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This week we’ll look at the rapid growth stage of the small business growth cycle. I haven’t spent much time on this stage of the growth cycle because it represents the opposite of what most small businesses want in their professional life – big corporate structure.

While many small business owners say they want to grow their business. Many of them don’t really understand what that means. In order to have rapid growth a company needs to create everything that caused many small business owners to leave corporate America in the first place.

This stage is based on an owner’s goal to grow the business set in the success stage. In the rapid growth stage large sums of…

To read more of this article from DE, Inc., click here.

You can also download the full Business Growth Matrix right here. This will discuss the many stages of business growth, not just the rapid growth stage discussed in the above article.

With the help of a state economic development program, Coastal Steel has landed a big contract with Lockheed Martin building mooring platforms. Gary Bolton, a welder at the pant, welds the mooring platform. [Photo: Malcolm Denemark / Malcolm Denemark]

This garden grows jobs.

Florida got into the act in 2009, when the Legislature agreed to Gov. Charlie Crist’s request to fund a pilot program, called GrowFL, based at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. It would be run by the Florida Economic Gardening Institute.

Since then, GrowFL has provided its free services to 388 companies statewide, including 13 on the Space Coast. Companies must meet some eligibility requirements, including being second-stage companies with a viable product or service but no more than 100 employees. Revenue must come from both local and non-local sources.

Coastal Steel in Rockledge enlisted GrowFL a few years ago as it battled a bigger, state-subsidized company outside of Florida for a contract with Lockheed Martin. Armed with research and business intelligence from GrowFL, Coastal won the contract.

“If we can give them information they couldn’t get access to on their own, because of cost, they can drive their sales activity quicker, and then with that comes the need to hire people,” said Fran Korosec, GrowFL’s director of client services.

With the help of a state economic development program, Coastal Steel has landed a big contract with Lockheed Martin building mooring platforms. Fitter/welder Lonnie Turbeville shims up aluminum before clamping during the fit and assembly phase of fabrication. [Photo: Malcolm Denemark / Malcolm Denemark]

Coastal hired between 55 and 65 workers for the Lockheed project. “It gave me that leg up that we needed,” Dale Coxwell, president of Coastal Steel Inc.’s manufacturing division, told me recently.

Last year, Gov. Rick Scott used his line-item veto on GrowFL’s $2 million appropriation. It remains to be seen if the program will survive Scott’s red pen.

Last week, the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast and the four Brevard-area chambers of commerce agreed to help support GrowFL, which means economic gardening can come to Brevard County in a bigger way now. More businesses should utilize this service.

Korosec said there shouldn’t be a shortage of eligible second-stage companies statewide or on the Space Coast. “Clearly, Brevard County has its fair share of those,” he said.

To read the full article, head to FloridaToday.com

Source: Florida Today

Coastal Steel is Making its Mark

It has been proven that the key to economic growth and new jobs are small businesses. In Brevard County, 63 percent of companies are classified as small businesses. Our economy continues to grow despite a slowdown in the aerospace industry making these same businesses all the more important. Growth can be contagious. For Coastal Steel, we took our role in one large project and parlayed it into a series of successes that have led to new revenue streams, new recognition and new chances to make a difference in Brevard’s business community.

Coastal Steel Inc. is a Native American and veteran-owned small business founded by my father in 1976. We are a nationally recognized, field service, fabrication and ride installation company, providing customized metal services to a wide range of aerospace, defense, ride/show and industrial clients throughout North America including NASA, Walt Disney World, Lockheed Martin and SpaceX. Coastal Steel has been an integral part of the industry for 36 years. Our portfolio includes projects such as the Animal Kingdom’s Expedition Everest, Magic Kingdom’s Mission Space and the 90-foot tall Mickey’s Sorcerer’s Hat at Disney Hollywood Studios.

Eye on the Prize

Our goal is to become a nationally recognized rapid response provider of heavy and light gage welded and machined close tolerance assemblies and components in support of the aerospace, defense and the ride/show industry. In 2006, we felt the need to diversify our services and capabilities by establishing a presence in the manufacturing industry. With support from the City of Cocoa, the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast, Brevard Workforce, the Florida Manufacturing Extension Partnership and GrowFL, Coastal Steel has secured valuable information, certifications and training that have assisted in the procurement of numerous certifications and projects.

One particular program has played a defining role in our endeavor to become nationally recognized. That program is Lockheed Martin’s Persistent Threat Detection System (PTDS). PTDS is a tethered aerostat-based system that is equipped with multi-mission sensors that provide long endurance intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and communications in support of coalition forces. Lockheed Martin issued a competitive solicitation for subcontractors to assist in the production of a series of PTDS. Coastal Steel was successful in procuring a contract as a prime contractor in support of the PTDS program. Our role was to build and pre-assemble the mobile mooring platform that is the main base structure of the system.

Change and Growth

Over the last few years, Coastal Steel’s newly formed manufacturing division has had the opportunity and good fortune to provide rapid support to Lockheed Martin’s PTDS program as well as numerous other aerospace and defense programs for a variety of customers. In doing so, our facility has experienced significant changes as a result of new manufacturing needs.

In order to support new production without disrupting the flow of existing programs, we expanded our facility by 7,500 sq. ft. in 2010 and an additional 20,000 sq. ft. in 2011. With current permits in place, we can expand by an additional 14,000 sq. ft. within approximately 90 days, if the need arises. In addition to the added assembly space, we added a climate-controlled machining and inspection facility with large capacity 5 axis vertical and 6 axis horizontal turning centers as well as certifications and registrations including AS9100C and ITAR.

Beyond adding new engineering and manufacturing jobs, our primary success has been our ability to sustain our existing employment base in a down market. We are just one of many local companies doing our part to keep the economy stable. When you combine our efforts with all of the small businesses across Brevard, you get a better measure of the immense role we all play in shaping our economy.

Dale Coxwell is executive vice president of Coastal Steel Inc. and president of Coastal Steel Manufacturing, a division of Coastal Steel, Inc. Coastal Steel is an Investor in the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast.

Source: Space Coast Business

COCOA, Florida – The Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast (EDC) has partnered with the Florida Economic Gardening Institute (GrowFL), Florida High Tech Corridor Council, Melbourne Regional Chamber of East Central Florida, Titusville Area Chamber of Commerce, Cocoa Beach Regional Chamber and the Greater Palm Bay Chamber to bring a greater emphasis on entrepreneurship in Brevard County and support for existing businesses. This effort is designed to stimulate job creation and foster the development of emerging growth-oriented companies.

The initiative will provide specialized services and support for CEOs of these businesses centered on helping the business achieve greater revenue and sales potential.

Through Economic Gardening, companies will focus on areas of their business they may not be able to find time for during daily operations.  The Economic Gardening program team will work in a virtual setting with CEOs on core business strategy review, market research, competitive intelligence gathering, internet strategy, social media strategy, website analysis and search engine optimization.  In addition, referrals will be made for areas including accounting, trademark and licensing, process design, information technology, business valuation, and international trade.

“This program was a community effort that could not have happened without our partners,” said Lynda Weatherman, president & CEO of the Economic Development Commission. “This is a valuable addition to our economic development toolbox and growing our existing presence will strengthen our economy and help ensure future job creation.”

This partnership allows for services to be provided to local Space Coast businesses by the Florida Economic Gardening Institute (GrowFL) and is comparable to those of a Fortune 500 company’s market research department. The services are designed to help a company increase sales rapidly, driving the creation of new jobs in the county.

“We like nothing better than hearing about the success of our client companies,” said Tom O’Neal, Associate Vice President for Research and Commercialization at UCF and and Executive Director of the Florida Economic Gardening Institute. “Companies that receive support to grow in an area are more likely to stay in that area and in these tough economic times we want to help as many communities as possible keep their lifeblood.”

Interested companies should contact their local chamber of commerce or the EDC for more information or to apply.

About the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast
The Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast is dedicated to attracting new business and investment and expanding existing industry throughout the Space Coast, influencing change on government laws and regulations affecting economic development, promoting the Space Coast to encourage new investment, supporting efforts of Space Coast military installations, and relaying new programs and procedures to assist manufacturing and high tech companies.  The EDC is a private, not-for-profit coalition whose stakeholders are business leaders committed to the economic growth and stability of Florida’s Space Coast. Visit www.SpaceCoastEDC.org.

Source: Brevard Times

Hillsborough County has partnered with the Florida Economic Gardening Institute at the University of Central Florida to offer an Economic Gardening program to help local qualified businesses achieve financial success. Economic Gardening is a concept developed to address the needs of growth-oriented small businesses to promote job creation and increase their sustainability.

The initiative, offered through the Institute’s GrowFL program, will provide specialized services and support for CEOs of second-stage businesses. Second-stage businesses are for-profit businesses that employ seven to 100 people. To be eligible for this program, businesses must be headquartered in Hillsborough County, and provide services or products locally, as well as for regional, national or international markets.

The program will assist qualified businesses with market research, business strategy, competitive analysis, Web and social media strategies, and search engine optimization.  These services are designed to help companies increase sales rapidly, with the goal of creating new jobs within the company and bringing positive economic benefits to the local community.

“I fully support the efforts for economic development by our County staff in conjunction with the Tampa Bay Partnership to promote jobs and growth for our small businesses in the Tampa Bay area,” said District 1 Commissioner Sandra L. Murman, who is a strong small business advocate. “I am proud of the fact that we are giving every citizen a chance to realize their dream of owning a successful business.”

Since its inception in 2009, GrowFL has helped create more than 3,200 direct and indirect local jobs, and contributed more than $510.4 million to Florida’s economy.

Businesses can apply for the program at www.growfl.com.

Source: www.hillsboroughcounty.org

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