Asiala Dickson Rivera, a lifelong resident of Springfield, MA, started CCR Freight Logistics - the first female, black-owned business at the beginning of the pandemic. Since its inception, the company has provided education and career opportunities in the trucking logistics industry.
In March of 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act was introduced to help struggling businesses. Ms. Rivera also faced financial difficulties and needed capital to keep her business afloat. However, the application process turned out to be quite challenging and complicated. One of the biggest hurdles she faced was obtaining the necessary funding and navigating the complexities of the ARPA allocation grant application process. The lengthy and complex process required a lot of patience.
"My SBDC advisor introduced me to the world of networking, an invaluable aspect of my journey. Through my advisor's connections and mentorship, I have had the privilege of engaging with remarkable individuals and opportunities that I could have only dreamed of. Notably, these connections have afforded me the honor of meeting the Governor of Massachusetts on multiple occasions, as well as receiving recognition on both the state and city levels through Proclamations and Citations. An especially proud moment was when I was honored with the Black Excellence Award at the Massachusetts State House in April 2023, an achievement I am immensely proud of."
The assistance provided by the advisor at the Massachusetts SBDC Western Regional Office was invaluable and covered a broad spectrum of areas, ranging from technical expertise to strategic guidance. The advisor's dedication and expertise played a crucial role in helping navigate the complexities of the grant application process, resulting in a significant boost to the business operations.
After providing years of assistance, the SBDC Western Regional Office played a crucial role in helping to secure a $40,000 ARPA grant in Springfield in December 2023.
Woo Juice, LLC opened to promote health and wellness in the community by selling freshly pressed juices, smoothies, and wellness shots. As a small start-up, owner Noel Stemn faced the challenge of operating the juice bar without a well-defined strategic plan and expansion strategy. After successfully establishing a location at the Midtown Mall in Worcester in February 2023, Noel was keen to open a second location in the very popular Worcester Public Market.
"We wouldn't be here if it weren't for the SBDC."
After communicating with Woo Juice at weekly meetings, SBDC Central Regional Office student interns, under the guidance of an SBDC senior business advisor, applied data to establish a robust regression model to predict the impact of various weather changes on future sales. The students used interactive Tableau dashboards to examine sales fluctuations and quickly identify root causes. The team created Google surveys to refine the strategy further, explore product and customer satisfaction metrics, and develop a loyalty program.
The SBDC team analyzed Woo Juice's customer data and selected an RFM model algorithm for customer segmentation. Continued meetings with Noel facilitated tailored solutions, including COGS and OPEX bifurcation, resolving transaction disputes, refining business valuation methods, and using QuickBooks to import and explore financial data from various sources. Moreover, the SBDC launched the Wednesday sales event with an eye-catching promotional flyer that was included in email campaigns.
The partnership with the SBDC not only resolved immediate challenges, but also positioned Woo Juice for sustained financial success and strategic planning. Woo Juice opened a second location in October 2023
Established in 1956, Diamond Antenna and Microwave has grown to become a leading global competitor in design, manufacturing and testing of high-reliability precision radio frequency (RF) rotary joints and integrated rotating subsystems for ground, shipboard, submarine, aircraft and commercial platforms, as well as space applications. The company employs 68 people at its headquarters in Littleton, MA and has been exporting for the past 20 years. As Diamond Antenna's international business started expanding in the mid-2010s, the company needed to establish solid export compliance and operational procedures to avoid violations and streamline its order and fulfillment processes.
"Diamond Antenna has worked with Massachusetts Export Center for a number of years, and they've been a valuable resource assisting us with improving our processes, procedures, training and overall knowledge, allowing us to safely and confidently increase our international business."
The Massachusetts Export Center, part of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center, has helped Diamond Antenna with a various export-related issues, focusing on export regulatory compliance and export operational concerns. The Export Center's assistance included export compliance manual reviews, export classification, export licensing determination, origin determination under Free Trade Agreements, and a comprehensive export compliance risk assessment.
Through the Export Center, Diamond Antenna has also taken advantage of the STEP Grant program. Diamond Antenna has been a member of the Export Center's Compliance Alliance initiative for the past 8 years and has also taken extensive advantage of the training programs offered by the Export Center, with the employees of the company attending over 25 online and in-person events to keep current with export regulations and best practices.
As a result of the Massachusetts Export Center's assistance with the company's export operations and export development activities through the STEP grant, Diamond Antenna has been able to launch an international expansion that resulted in significant export growth. Exports currently account for approximately 27% of the company's overall revenue, and Diamond Antenna is well on its way to achieving its goal of increasing export revenue to 35% of total revenue within the next three years. Diamond Antenna has expanded to about 20 export markets, including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Norway, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
In recognition of the company's export success, in 2024, Diamond Antenna and Microwave was named winner of the Massachusetts and New England Regional Small Business Exporter of the Year awards, presented by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The Massachusetts Export Center was honored to nominate Diamond Antenna and Microwave for these awards.
The Massachusetts Export Center has been working with SemiNex Corporation for over ten years in the area of export regulatory compliance, Customs regulations, logistics, and export operational concerns. Most recently, with a change in staffing responsible for international trade operations and compliance within the company, the Export Center's assistance has focused on compliance with rapidly changing regulations. With the company's market growing in China, their concerns have centered on end use/users, compliance with the Military End Use (MEU) rule, and due diligence associated with avoiding these restricted parties. Additionally, with over half of the company's business derived from global sales, SemiNex has been intent on tightening compliance practices company-wide to safeguard the business from costly violations
SemiNex's compliance team engaged with the Export Center in late 2022 to conduct a comprehensive export compliance risk assessment and thorough review of the company's procedures to enhance its Export Management Compliance Program. This assessment identified compliance gaps in several areas, including screening, export reporting, routed export transactions, deemed exports, technology control safeguards, and export classification recordkeeping. The company's compliance team participated in training with the Export Center to better identify risks and implement procedures to strengthen compliance and operations practices. The Export Center has continued to provide support as Seminex fully optimizes its Export Management and Compliance Program.
Since conducting the assessment and prioritizing compliance areas of concern, the company has subscribed to an automated screening software solution in an effort to identify restricted parties and ownership of customers better to fully comply with the MEU rule and other applicable regulatory requirements. The Export Center continues to train SemiNex staff in identifying restricted parties, export reporting, documentation, and logistics. Since the Export Center started working with the company, SemiNex has grown significantl in China and South Africa and is seeing new opportunities in Europe. The company currently employs 22 people, including a recently hired Chief Commercial Officer for European Expansion, and a Regional Director for Greater China Expansion, and is in the process of hiring an additional 8 – 10 positions
