SMALL BUSINESS PROJECTS
Alpharetta, GA - RadarSign, LLC
A small manufacturing company in Alpharetta, GA asked that we walk through their ISO Certification procedure manual. They had paid to get their certification, but the certifying company did not follow through on what really needed to be accomplished. The manufacturing company was touting that they were certified, but soon realized that they did not have the procedural documents needed to prove out their products.
We went in and learned about the company, their products, their clients, and evaluated the manufacturing process. There was no documentation on how the orders were handled when they came in, how work orders were sent to assembly, assembled, and shipped. All of the knowledge was kept by the specific individual doing the specific task at hand. We started documenting and along the way the owner would set the standards that was expected for each task. This was great for the employee engagement side, in that they had the chance to improve their part of the process and make it more efficient for them. At the end of the day, the owner was happy that if a person was off, that there was documentation to ensure that the process continued.
Kennesaw, GA - ADS Marketing Group
Working with ADS Marketing’s startup and early-stage clients to establish a reporting package to include: income statement, balance sheet, cash forecast, budgets, metric reporting, market information, and forecasting. These small businesses were looking for advisors to help them put their business plan to paper. We also helped them walk through fund raising through angel investors, as well as, small business loans via the Small Business Administration.
Atlanta/Baltimore - Cigar Shop & Mobile Sites
As a startup, these U.S. Army Veterans and entrepreneurs wanted to make their dream become a reality. This group’s dream was to have a high-end cigar lounge with a mobile lounge for all occasions. The lounge would offer a small but upscale tapas menu.
We pulled research on the municipalities’ permits, licenses, and taxes that the group would incur during the regular course of business. We networked with cigar shops and met with suppliers to help us understand the market, as well as, help us set expectations on selling prices. We interviewed restaurant managers to help us understand the gross margins for that side of the business. At the end of the project, we delivered a marketing strategy along with a financial model that allowed them to look out 3-years and make plans for multiple locations and mobile lounges. This plan along with their management background, allows them to scale their business with the understanding of the top line effect and the bottom line growth.