SBA - NSBW Awards - Washington, DC May 2nd, 2016

Support and commitment to our nation's 28 million small businesses. Our presenting sponsor this year is Chase for Business, and our gold sponsor is adp, who you'll be hearing from shortly. Today we are also working with Colonial Life Square, Sam's Club, YP Marketing Solutions, and Intuit QuickBooks to present a free educational webinar during the week. Our bronze sponsor sponsors are Facebook, the National association of Government, guaranteed lenders, Microsoft ESET, Lockheed Martin and VEDC. We also have a list of over 35 nonprofit and trade groups that have joined us supporting as co sponsors. Ladies and gentlemen, let's give a hand to all of our co sponsors. I also want to take a moment to recognize the small businesses that have been helping SBA plan and execute today's events. The company livestreaming this week's events is Sweet Spot from New York City and our event planners are Decibel Management from Alexandria, Virginia. Let's give these small businesses a round of applause. So I'd like to welcome you to this very special venue. The United States States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan conflict management center created by Congress to prevent and mitigate international conflict without resorting to violence. USIP works to save lives and enhance our national security. I would like to thank USIP for allowing us to hold our special event here today. So we have an amazing group of small business business owners in this room and congratulations to you for your accomplishments and contributions to our economy. In fact, it's small business owners who create two out of every three net new American jobs and produce close to half of our nation's goods and services. You are part of the 28 million small businesses that propel our economy forward and define our national entrepreneurial spirit. And so, to get things rolling, I would like to introduce Sal Hasday, Senior Vice President of Service and Operations for Small business services at ADP. Sal oversees the initial setup and ongoing support of 465,000 small business clients. He has worked at ADP for nine years in a variety of roles, including strategy, business development, marketing, product management and operations. He most recently ran service and operations for ADP's insurance agency. Please help me welcome to the stage Sal Hasday. Sal.

Thank you very much. Morning, everyone. As you know, I'm Sal Hasday. Or as you now know, I'm Sal Hasday, Senior Vice President for Service and Operations at ADP Small Business Services. We focus on the part of the small business market that's under 50 employees. And so obviously that makes us, I think, think the best and most exciting part of ADP I'm very proud that ADP is a gold sponsor of National Small Business Week and supports this great event. But I'd like to start this morning by congratulating you, the members of the audience. Out of 28 million small businesses in the US you have the distinction of being named one of the very select few SBA Small Business Persons of the Year. So you were chosen for your innovation, your creativity, your entrepreneurial spirit, and it's an incredible honor and I congratulate all of you. I was asked not to make this a speech for this speech, a commercial for adp, which I wasn't too concerned about because most people who I tell that I work for ADP think that I work for an alarm company. That includes my parents. Unfortunately, it's also not the first time it's happened to me. When I worked for Office Depot many years ago, everyone always wanted to know how things were going at Home Depot. So I'm okay with people not knowing what I do for a living. But throughout this week, you've already heard a few interesting statistics and you're going to hear a lot of great statistics about how small businesses are truly the engine that drives the growth of the US economy. I'm in a unique position serving over 465,000 business clients where we can look at our own client data and see what's going on in small businesses. And I'd like to share a little bit of that with you because it's a lot of good news for the most part. So if we look at our own client data at ADP and Small Business Services, we're bringing on more brand new or first time businesses. We're seeing fewer clients go out of business or declare bankruptcy. Our existing clients are adding more employees and they're also paying their employees more. I think this is an incredibly positive sign for the state of the small business market. Just to put it into perspective, the small business community was a family. You'd be seeing more births, fewer deaths, more children per couple, and everyone's earning a little bit more money. In short, you're expanding a little bit like the Kardashians, but much less controversially. I'd also like to share some softer facts that speak to the tremendous sacrifices that small business owners like you make every day. 90% of small businesses are family owned, 61% of small business owners give up vacations and 57% give up free time to run the business. Small businesses donate 250% more than larger businesses to non profit and community causes and 68% of the money spent at a small business stays in the communities that they serve. So this last fact actually resonates a lot more to me since moving from Miami, a very big city, to a small town in New Jersey. And I can see that the impact that small businesses have on the strength of a local community. So that's really important. It's also a really important concept for adp. We're working on a program to encourage our employees to shop at our own small business clients. So hopefully that's something that we can start giving back to our own clients. The final thought that I'll leave you with is based on looking at the great schedule of events that the SBA has organized for you this week. These presentations cover many of the most important topics that small businesses need to focus on, including healthcare and its impact on your ability to become a great place to work. Financial technology, or fintech, as people call it nowadays, and its impact on payments, on small business lending and other aspects of the economy, and cloud, mobile, and social technologies, and the new way of running and promoting your businesses. I'm very excited to be here, and I'm very excited that we serve our small business community at adp. Thank you again for this wonderful opportunity to sponsor the event and enjoy this great week.

Thank you.

Thank you, Sal. So at this time, we would like to take a short break and kindly ask our state winners to meet behind the stage. So all of our Small Business of the Year state winners.

No.

Okay. Actually, have a seat. My error. Okay, great. So what I would like to do is to invite to the stage SBA administrator Maria Contrera. Sweet. Many of you all met her last night, and I'm happy to have her on the stage. She is a part of our President's cabinet and our advocate for small business Administrator.

Thank you. Thank you. Did we all have a great dinner last night? That was unbelievable. And to be at the Smithsonian at the exhibit of Free American Enterprise, which is what you epitomize. Thank you so much for joining us last night. And then to have that incredible flag right by behind us that represented the first flag that flew over Fort Myers after having been bombed and burned. Our American flag still waved and inspired Francis Scott Key to write our national anthem. What a special evening. And you made a. And you being our stars, it was really spectacular. Listen, we all had a great evening and I shared with you all of the services of sba, so I'm not going to repeat that. I want to just now say, we are family. We are one. You met my family. Last night. And I didn't get a chance to tell you why I'm so passionate about small business. You see, I was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, Jalisco. And I got here at the age of five. I am one of six children. I was number five in the lineup. And I still remember leaving and not understanding why my mother was bringing her six children all alone, coming to a new country to try to understand how we could find our way and getting here, not speaking a word of English. I was so pleased that I finally started to begin to learn the language. And then eventually, in third grade, I became the milk monitor. Very proud of that accomplishment. Made sure everybody got milk. But I want to say that I remember writing to my abuelita Emilia, back in Guadalajara to say, grandmother, I'm in charge of the milk. And she said, it's not the titles you have. It is what you do with the titles you have. And so truly, I've taken her words to heart and hopefully brought others along in everything that I have done. And when we arrived, my mother couldn't speak English either. And it was a small business. She couldn't get a job in government because she didn't know the language, and she couldn't get a job in a corporate setting. It was a small business that took a chance, hired her and a refrigerated poultry processing plant. And I saw her legs stiffen and her fingers thicken. Then when I set out, same problem. And so it was a local florist who allowed me to start making bows on holiday. That became my very first job. So, you know, I believe in small business and eventually got hired by a corporation and then eventually became California's secretary of transportation, where I learned and met so many small businesses that taught me that they couldn't get access to capital. And that's why I couldn't get local businesses in my contracting supply chain. They couldn't get a surety bond. They didn't know how to proceed. They couldn't get access to capital. So I was determined when I left office to help continue to grow our economy. And I did what every woman says to do. She sees a problem, she finds a solution. So I said, well, I'll just find. No, I'll start. And found a community bank. And so I was so pleased that we're able to start a community bank in Los Angeles, the first one started by a woman in two generations. I was very proud of that. But I still remember my grandmother saying, although we're a family of migrant workers, someday you might be able to work in an office and be a secretary. The good Lord answered her prayers, and I was allowed to hold office and to be a cabinet secretary. That is the power of America. Thank you. Thank you. So I'm deeply in this with you and appreciate it, and that's why, you know, I love each and every one of you. Let me just say that there is someone who has really captured my attention. You know, we all meet, and in particular in these positions, we're in a position to meet prince and billionaires and kings and heads of state and all sorts of very interesting people. And oftentimes, once you meet them and they make it, they go into hiding and you don't have access to them. Here is one person that stepped forward and said, how do I take my life's lessons and make them available to the world? And so certainly he didn't need the financial remuneration that he'd received from running a show, but he knew that talking about his experience and bringing others to the table, that it would transform the way we think of free enterprise and entrepreneurship. And so I can't tell you how proud I am that I called on him and said, I've just met the most amazing state winners in the country. These are our state winners from Los Angeles, California, all the way across the country to New York. And he said, I will be there. I want to meet these fine people who make up Americana. And these are the people that you will not find in the Panama Papers. These are the people that you are not going to find opening up accounts in the other countries, let's just say Bermuda or Cayman Islands. These are the people that support our economy. Again, ladies and gentlemen, I give you a friend of mine, a friend of America, and a voice to the world on the power of entrepreneurship and the importance of mom and pops around the world. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Mark Cuban.

Thank you. And first of all, congratulations. I know it's not easy, not just starting a business, but reaching a level of success and to, you know, find yourselves here as winners, being recognized for all your hard work. That's phenomenal. So congratulations to each and every one of you. I wanted to start off saying that I give a lot of talks to entrepreneurs, which all of you obviously are. I give a lot of talk to startup communities. And typically, when I walk in there, it's just the nature of the business. I see all these college kids. I see high school kids, maybe kids that are just out of school. When I hear Millennial Story. Millennial Story. You know what I love about this room? It's all 29 year olds.

You know.

A lot of us started young. I started my first business at 12. But we don't stay 12. We don't stay 18, we don't stay 25. We go on. And as entrepreneurs, we often find ourselves being challenged because there's always a new kid on the block. Once we were the new kids, but now we've gone out and started our companies. We are, you know, we are the grinders now. And what I love about watching this, seeing this audience, and what I love about, love about the fact that you've been rewarded for your success is that you don't get to be where you are without grinding. You know, you don't get to be where you are without understanding that sales cures, all that your businesses are built on actually selling something, actually making customers happy, actually having to look and make a profit. What a nice concept. Particularly now in this day and age where you have, you know, in D.C. you have people talking about, well, maybe business people aren't all they're cracked up to be. Screw them, right? The reality is you are every single thing you are cracked up to be. You are not just our past, you are not just our current, you are our future. And as small business people, we know that there's things that we have to get to every single morning, right? We don't just wake up anymore. You know, when we first got started, when I first got started, you know, first company, it was like, I remember counting the months I've been in business, one month I've been in business, two months I've been in business six months I can move out of this apartment that has, where I have five roommates. No lie, I didn't have my own bedroom, didn't have my own bed. I mean, and I had $15,000 in the bank. And that was just a huge success. And then as I grew and my company started to be a little bit more successful, I started realizing there were other responsibilities that it wasn't just about growing. It was about building a business. It was about understanding the responsibilities of being an entrepreneur, being a business person, the responsibilities that I have to my customers. It's amazing how important customers are. And we lose track of it when we hear about entrepreneurship. You know, the one thing about customers, I tell this to all my Shark Tank companies. Anybody watch Shark Tank here? You know, it's funny, when you make an investment on Shark Tank, we get a chance to do due diligence after the fact to make sure, you know, if on the show they said the widget cost a dollar to make, but it only cost a dollar if you sold a billion of them, right? Otherwise it's $50. But it's amazing how often when I talk particularly to younger entrepreneurs, they don't understand the concept of customers and the importance of customers. I always try to tell them, you don't own this business, your customers own this business. Right. Your job isn't just to look, you know, try to be special or be an entrepreneur. Be an entrepreneur isn't special when you're running. Being an entrepreneur is a job. And we have to convey to everybody that our customers own our companies. We don't, because without customers we have nothing. And it's still, it's crazy to me that even on Shark Tank that people don't always understand that. So I'm not going to talk a long time, but I want to give you guys a couple rules of things I've learned from Shark Tank. Y' all have been around the block a couple times. These may not be new, but you know what, if you learn something from them, great. But also I'll ask you, you guys are the winners. You guys are the successes. Talk about how amazing it is to be an entrepreneur to the people around you. You have a responsibility not just to your customers. You have a responsibility not just to your employees. You have a responsibility not just to your business, but you have a responsibility to be part of communities like this, to convey that being an entrepreneur is a good thing. That as you grow your company, it's a learning curve that never stops. But there's folks like you that can convey and share that information, just like I'm trying to do today. Just like that's why I do Shark Tank. I don't do Shark Tank because I want to invest in, you know, Q Flex, a back scratcher, which was an amazing business.

Right.

It's not. You know, I've had some good ones and I've had some, eh. But I do it because Shark Tank is the number one show watched on television by families together, which is crazy when you think about it. I don't do it because, hey, you know, I get a great investment and some of them good. I do it because parents walk up to me and say, I watched the show with my 10 year old, I watched the show with my 8 year old and now they think being an entrepreneur is cool. Well, that's part of your responsibility too, to show you don't stay. You don't get up extra early in the morning and stay up late at night because you don't love what you do. You don't, you know, you don't go through all the grief of that one customer or two or three customers we all have in our businesses. That's just the biggest pain in the butt, right? That you knew you shouldn't have taken them on as a customer, but you just, how could you say no? But it'll be different for us, right? We'll do a better job than the other guy. And they, there's a reason why they left and now they're just a pain in the butt. You don't get up and deal with that just because you do this. Because this is who you are. You're an entrepreneur. You're a business person. You have goals, you set goals, you've reached goals. And here we are in D.C. if we want our country to be great, we have to convey that to others around us. It's responsibility not just to be who you are, not just to grow your company, but to share your wisdom. And that's why I'm glad I'm talking to a room of 29 year olds because there's so much wisdom here and there's so much that we can do. You know, earlier we heard from adp, Brad adp.

Yeah.

But we heard earlier about the growth in our, in our companies and the growth and things are getting better, but they're only going to continue to get better if each and every one of you shares everything you've learned here. Shares not just inside your company, but outside your company. Working with those 18 year olds and 19 year olds and 21 year olds. Because as smart as they think they are, as much as they think they know everything, as much as they think technology is everything and anything, the wisdom that you bring, the things that you do that define your success are the true harbinger, the true values that make small businesses great. And you can't at any point in time forget that little bit of responsibility to help the people around you and what you'll find, it's the best networking in the world because that's what brings us new customers. You know, I've always, I'll leave with one little thing, you know, and this might be a little bit too blue for the room, so I apologize in advance. You know, someone said, what is the key to being a great, to running a great company? What is the key to being successful with your customers in particular? Because there's no business without sales, right? What is the key to great customer service? I said, it's like great sex. You ask them you do your work, you do your job, you ask them if they like it, and if they say yes, you do it again. That's the key to being a great small business. Hopefully you share your keys. Thank you, everybody.

What a.

What a pearl of wisdom to follow. Okay, so now at this time, we'd like all of our state winners to gather right back here. So Natalia is raising her hand. So if you all could gather right back here. Janie is raising her hand. And we'll take a short break while they gather.

I know.

That. It.

Who knows if it falls or moves or whatever.

Yeah, it'll be. We're. That.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you could please return to your seats. The program will resume shortly. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back your. Your master of ceremonies, Tamika Montgomery.

Thank. You.

Great.

Well, great. So I am excited to get us started on our state Small Business Persons of the Year awards. And so welcome back. So let's continue our awards. And so I would like to welcome our administrator, Maria Contreras. Sweet.

And.

We will be presenting the boards in alphabetical order by state. Great. Welcome. Mark as well. And so we will start with Alabama Fun Factory, Xiomara Hernandez Blacken. And then we're going to take a shot right here. Congrats. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Did you tell us what state?

Alabama.

We're going alphabetical order.

Alaska. Cold Spot Feeds, Connie Cordobay. And unfortunately, Connie is not available to attend, so we accept this award on her behalf. Arizona sonoran technology and professional services. Paul a. Smiley.

All right, there we go. Okay, you got it.

Congratulations.

Arkansas Galley Support Innovations. Gina and Wade Ratke.

We're gonna flank you. You're gonna be the middle. All right? All right. How's that? And now I'm going to take your tag off just for a minute. Oh, well, they all have them on.

California Equator Coffee and Teas Incorporated. Helen M. Russell and Brooke J. McDonald's.

Good to see you again.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And he's got one more. No, no, it's fine.

There's three of us.

Colorado ink monster, reed h. Silber.

Thank you again.

Appreciate it.

Connecticut, Greenwich Education Group. Peter and Victoria Newman. Delaware, henlopin city. Oyster house. Chris j. Besaha and joseph a. Baker.

No, I'm joking.

Okay, we'll switch you guys. Thank you.

Thank you. Congratulations again.

District of Columbia. Creative Business Solutions Incorporated. Robert C. Palmer. Florida k9 campus llc. Sherry akin. Ruha maki. Georgia cat media incorporated. Catherine a. Downey. Guam asc trust corporation. David j. John.

We do.

It's a family affair.

Thank you.

Hawaii native hawaiian veterans, llc. Raymond jardine jr.

Could you do that again?

Idaho. Enrique's mexican restaurant. Enrique f. Contreras and anna m. Paz.

Okay, let's do this. Tell them how many restaurants you're up to. Now.

How many?

Oh, one. Oh, I thought I heard eight.

Okay. Illinois software tech enterprises. Dwayne s. Jackson, jackson, Indiana. Agdia inc. Basil and albert vrant.

There you go. Thank you. Now we got it.

Iowa. Hoover's hatchery company, llc. Anthony d. Halstead, Kansas. Great day. Moving. Roger Lee Ward III and Dana Ward. And unfortunately they were unable to attend, so we accept this award on their behalf. Kentucky flavorman, david a. Defo, Louisiana perez, apc angela o', byrne.

Maine.

Maine. Was works, llc. Margo walsh, Marilyn new wave telecom and technologies incorporated. Patrick b. Mooney, Massachusetts. Stratcom incorporated. Robert j. George.

Good job.

Michigan rb construction co. Russell beaver, Minnesota. Oli's home. Olu center center. Gloria j. Freeman, Mississippi. Everything kayak, llc. My mike pornowitz.

Or just have him hold it then. I don't know why. Somehow the wrong one came off. So let's just hold it. I'm going to. So that was. That looks like the woman. The last one.

Jay Freeman.

That was hers. Oh, yep.

That was when I saw.

All right, is Missouri next?

Yes, Missouri. Okay.

Okay.

Missouri. Bailey's Restaurant. David A. Bailey.

There you go.

What kind of food you guys?

Everything.

Montana. Montana. Merchandising Incorporated. Greg Thayer. But unfortunately he was unable to attend. So we accept this award on his behalf. Nebraska, Little Miss Fashion llc. Yolanda S. Diaz.

Okay, this is actually.

This is hers.

There we go.

There we go.

Okay. Our back room.

You have a bottleneck. Anybody can help?

Thank you so much.

Nevada, the egg works. Bradley j. Burstall, New hampshire. Mega x. Ellie l. Excuse me. Ellie l. Chiffon, New jersey. Stonefield engineering and design, llc. Charles olivo. And he is not here today, so we accept his award on his behalf. New Mexico Private Label Select.

Carl S. Halpert.

New york. Green goddess foods, llc. Tammy lowey and kate wind reese. And accepting the award is tammy lowey.

Thank you so much. Thank you again. We enjoyed meeting everybody last night.

North carolina. Ns aviation llc. Charles ashton creech thomas harold chappelle, kenda ann richards, stanley k. Haynes, russell cater kota joel sydney marion james dupont mcfail and david mark cove.

Somehow we're going to make this. Don't you love it? You drop the whole business. Y. I love this.

All right, here we go.

You got it? Are we in here? Could you just drop this for.

Thank you.

Congratulations. Thank you.

Congratulations. Congrats. Appreciate the help.

North dakota, bismar aero center. John simmers.

Congratulations.

Ohio Casters Connection. Sally Hughes, who is unfortunately unable.

You're here. Sally. Hi. Hi. How are you? Good to see you.

Congratulations.

Oklahoma, the macintosh group. Ellis lanny mcintosh.

Thank you.

Oregon five star guitars. Jeremy murphin, josh joff metz and john paul simone.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you guys. You have a beautiful family. Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Pennsylvania acoustic sheep llc. Dr. Wei shin lai.

I already just did it. Part Pennsylvania.

Oh, the one you hold.

Erie, Pennsylvania. Yeah. I'm from Interest. Your invention was sleep phones.

Witches sleep phones.

Sleep phones. They help me sleep.

Okay. And Cuban Achievement.

Puerto Rico Prime Janitorial Service Corporation. Fernando J. Rodriguez.

Oh, sorry.

Thank you.

Rhode island. Parsons kellogg llc. Thomas parsons kellogg ii. Thomas. South carolina. Spartanburg meat processing co. Incorporated. Joanne lauria labounte. South dakota cellular only connections incorporated. Janet r. Eining. Tennessee alliance corporation. Terrence andrew douglas. Texas southwest university of el paso. Yolanda arreola. From gu.

She's from gu. Oh, that's wonderful. So proud of you. I knew there was an.

Utah Alpine Home Medical Equipment. J. Benjamin Broadband, who unfortunately was not able to attend, and so we accept this award on his behalf. Vermont High Mowing Organic Seeds. Thomas Stearns, who also was not able to attend, so accept this award on his behalf. Virgin islands flagship llc. Brianne beatty and ryan beatty. B. Skinner. Excuse me, sir, there's another one for you.

Do you have a partner? She couldn't make sure. Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

Virginia TaylorMade Diagnostics Incorporated. Caroline A. Taylor.

Well done.

Thank you. Yes, ma'.

Am.

Beautiful color.

Washington eden saw woods, kiwi ferris. West Virginia. Allegheny Science and Technology Corporation. Aria Hines, who unfortunately was not able to attend today. So we accept this award on her behalf. Wisconsin Crystal Finishing Systems. Mark Mathias.

So proud of you.

I don't know what to do with it.

Well done. Wyoming aaa building services incorporated. Anthony andrew aguirre. Great. So now we are moving on to our second group of awards and we are going to begin to recognize our winners in federal contracting. Last week, the SBA released its annual Small Business Procurement Scorecards, which provide an assessment of each federal agency's annual small business contracting achievement. Against this goal, using a grade of A through F, the federal government received an A on the Government wide scorecard for 2015, reflecting significant efforts by federal agencies toward meeting our 23% statutory goal. The federal government also reached its small business federal contracting goal for the third consecutive year, awarding 25.75% federal contracts to small businesses totaling $90.7 billion. The 25.75% of contracts awarded to small businesses represent the highest ever percentage of contracts awarded to small businesses by the federal government. Last month, the SBA announced at a press conference that for the first time in history, the federal government has met the 5% goal for contracting with women owned small businesses. And record achievements for service disabled, veteran owned and smart small disadvantaged businesses.

Yes.

The procurement awards that we will present this morning honor the best that the federal contracting community has to offer. We're pleased to recognize some of the leaders in the procurement community who do so much to further this important relationship that the government has with small businesses. With small businesses that drive our economy forward. And so I'd like to ask John Shiraka, the Associate Administrator for the Office of Government Contracting, to come up to the stage. Our first award winner from for Small Business Subcontractor of the Year is Xavier Fleming of Sound Roof Systems.

This is my buddy.

Congratulations. What are you doing?

My son's it.

He's part of the deal.

Wonderful, wonderful. Fantastic.

Big for you.

He runs your contract. Thank you. See you later.

Congratulations.

The Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year award winner is James Boothillier of McLaughlin Research Corporation.

About 100 people watching live. Can we just wave to them for a minute?

Okay. Hello, everybody. Big winner number one. We are streaming the event so people across the country are watching the show. He had 100 people watching this morning.

And now the dwight d. Eisenhower award for excellence. Excellence for manufacturing, bae systems electronic systems. Here to accept the award are lisi dang, deborah rakowitz, karen raymond and monica st. Julian.

You didn't know that was coming, huh?

Congratulations.

Got it.

Cozy. I'm so proud of you. Keep it going, Keep it going, keep it going.

Excellence for research and Development. Jill CLO Johnston, Brookhaven Science Associates. Accepting this award on behalf of Jill is David.

Povelho.

Thank you. Excellence for services, comprehensive health services incorporated. Gary g. Palmer.

These are the surprise awards.

Congratulations.

So good to see you. Thank you for coming on.

And our eight a graduate firm of the year is diane lewis jackson of action facilities management.

Thank you so much. So excited for you. Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you so much. Of course.

Of course. And so now I'd like to ask Eileen Sanchez, Assistant Administrator for our Office of International and Trade, to help present the National Exporter of the Year winner.

Our next stop is Cuba.

So our next exporter, our National Exporter of the Year winners, a team that has successfully taken their business global by Expanding their customer base to countries beyond our borders. Please help me welcome to the stage David Bellow Sr. John Hartnett and David A. Bello of endoscopy replacement part.

Congratulations.

Congratulations. Okay.

Okay.

Thank you. Congratulations once again. Congratulations.

All right, And so now we will take just a short break and when we return, our administrator will come up to announce the third, second, first place and winner of the Small Business person of the Year.

It.

It's. No, we got one.

We have one more.

Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it, guys.

Thank you.

Yeah, thank you.

Awesome. It. Sam.

How much crap do you need to do? There we go.

Ready?

One, two, three.

Thank you.

Thanks for getting started.

Ladies and gentlemen, could you please take your seats? The program will begin promptly.

So now for the big finale. If you would take your seats, We'll be starting momentarily.

Great.

So now the big finale. I would like to ask our deputy administrator Doug Kramer to come up to the stage. Also our administrator, Maria Contreras Sweet to come to the stage who will announce the first, the third, second and first place runner up as well as the national Small Business Person of the Year.

I wanted Doug Kramer to stand up here because I shared with you last night and you just heard Tameka announce again that the SBA in the last couple of years has really been strutting. I shared with you that we are at historic levels of putting access to capital out the doors, record levels of contracting, record levels of investment and renewed and refined and more efficient programs around our disaster recovery. And all with the help of an enormously talented team. From our Chief Learning Officer, the first ever at sba, to our Diversity and Inclusion officer. All of these people come together and I have the proud pleasure of traveling the country and boasting and working fighting with each one of these program offices. But when I'm away, there are two people who run our operations and run the entire enterprise. And first and foremost is the Deputy Administrator, Doug Kramer. Thank you for being here, Doug. He was of special counsel to the President and was confirmed to be be our Deputy Administrator when I took office. I'm so proud. And you know there is nothing that happens without the Chief of staff. And I'm sure hoping that Nick Maduros is in the room. Nick, you in the house? Nick Maduros, I see him. This is. He's always making sure the operations are going. Nick Maduro's chief of Staff. Thank you, Nick. Thank you. Thank you. Gave up a very successful business to come and be a part of this operation. He said I want to serve and then I need One more applause. And that is the entire event that you are experiencing has been put on by our Office of Communications and Public Liaison OCPL leader Brian Weiss. Brian, Thank you. Thank you. So what he's got me doing is right out of here, we're heading over to New York and we're going to be at the Apollo Theater. We hope that you continue to watch our streaming. And then from there we're heading over to Denver on Tuesday. Wednesday, I've lost track. And then we're heading up to San Francisco and then Thursday we go to Oakland and I close it out in Los Angeles. So this is always my favorite part of the year. And now, ladies and gentlemen, the three runners up. Our third place runner up started his business with one customer and no employees. So many of us know that story. But that quickly changed as the company rapidly grew. As his business evolved, SBA was there to assist with both 7A and 504.

Mark.

I do promise we'll come up with better names for these loans. I do promise. He was able to grow his business to 30 full time and part time employees. His thirst for business led him to start an international beverage manufacturing company as well as an artisan distillery and education center. I had the pleasure of visiting this place. Coming from the beverage business, I was really taken in that somebody could come in and compete with the very large master brewers through Flavorman. Please welcome up David Defoe, the founder and CEO of Flavorman. Congratulations.

Fourth runner up.

Third runner up. Third runner up. He is so committed. He now has people coming from around the world to come to his incubator. They're creating beverages, coffees, sodas, distilleries, spirits, beatbox that Mark invested in. All good. Thank you. Congratulations again. Thank you. Our second runner up also has a very impressive cv. His company has expanded its lines of business to all 50 states and territories as well as 20 countries. Everyone is also familiar with his main customer, the federal government. The largest procurer in the world for which he has handled hundreds of contracts. Contracts both as an 8 certified subcontractor and a prime contractor. Now his business has diversified into areas such as emergency management, security services and anti terrorism protection. In addition to being an SBA loan recipient, he was also utilized at the Small Business Development center and Procurement Technical Assistance center where he was providing providing his services there. We are so grateful that this business owner has served his country honorably in the military as well. Ladies and gentlemen, please help welcome up our second runner up all the way from the state of Hawaii, Raymond Jardine. Junior, the chairman and CEO of Native American Hawaiian Ventures. Thank you. Thank you so much. All right. Thank you. Oh, Oh, I get it. Oh, I totally got it.

All right. Thank you.

Thank you. That was cool. Our first runner up. Now we're going to do this right. We know how it goes on beauty pageants. Our first runner up has never lost her determination As a woman in a male dominated field and a survivor of one of our most devastating hurricanes in the US she beat, beat the odds. With a staff of more than 50, she has grown her business with 15 branches, including those along the east coast, the Gulf coast, the Midwest, and even now doing business in Afghanistan as an emerging leader participant, which is our Cadillac program. For those of you who haven't heard of it, it's a mini mba And a recipient of the SBA disaster recovery loan. She has built her architecture and construction business literally from the ground up. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome up our first runner up from the great state of Louisiana, Angela o', Brien, President of Perez apc.

Congratulations.

Thank you so much.

Truly, your story is remarkable. All right, thank you. Okay, Thank you. I shared with you last night that we're to committed. Committed to making our organization smart, bold and accessible. Streamlining bolder markets around the world and making certain that we are an inclusive organization. So I want to share with you one of my favorite comments that Warren Buffett said is that he's been so successful because he's been competing with only half of the population. Well, that's challenging and got to be changing. American women today own 10 million businesses. That's more than one in every three. The Census Bureau recently reported a 27% increase in the number of women owned businesses in the U.S. increasingly, America's economic growth depends on our nation's ability to harness the extraordinary untapped economic potential of the female gender. Women now control 73% of the household spend. That is up to more than 5 trillion a year. Women entrepreneurs naturally have an especially valuable perspective on what women want to buy. Yet today, women led Companies receive only 4% of venture investment. I went to Wall street and to Silicon Valley to address this question. Why is it that right now VC is coming from three states and only going to 25 zip codes and that only 4% is going to women? We must change that. I was taken in and I don't know if some of you saw this New York Times article. It Talked about the CEOs of the Fortune 1500. You gotta hear this. It read, fewer women run big companies than men named John. That's Right. More men named John run our leading companies than women named anything. It's quite remarkable. I thought you'd really be taken in by that data point. This year, our National Small Business Person of the Year is actually two women. Their leadership and vision as partners has put them at the leading edge of a new generation of extraordinary accomplishers whose time has arrived in the business world. There's more to their story. Some of America's greatest entrepreneurs started in a garage. You all heard the story of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates and all of them. Their inventions didn't just change the industry, it changed our lives. The two trailblazers we're honoring this morning also began their business in a garage. They share something else important with the growing movement of socially conscious businesses in the Bay Area. They share a determination to make a profit and make a difference. Only they aren't in the high tech business. They, they're in the coffee business. Yes.

Hold on.

My favorite part of this story is that when they went looking for partners to finance them, they didn't go to Silicon Valley. They went to the SBA. They sat down with their local SBA lender. They received a $1.1 million loan that put them in a 5,500 square foot facility in Marin County. That did was pretty good and it saved them about 10% on their cash flow. Their vision expanded and they came back to SBA for a second loan to open another cafe at the most popular surf shop in all of the Bay Area. Today this recipient, a small business based in San Rafael, California, started their garage. In their garage, now they have 90 employees. They're projecting revenues they at 15 million. Their company has its very own coffee farm located in a high altitude in Panama near a town called Cerro Punta. The farm, called Finca Sofia, was founded on a largely deforested piece of land in the mountains adjacent to the Parque Internacional La Amistad Equator Coffee and Teas has planted hundreds of native shapes trees on this farm, along with thousands and thousands of coffee plants. They've transformed the landscape as well as the composition of the soil. They maintain a deep commitment to sustainability across all of their operations. They treat their workers with dignity. They ensure that all the children of their farms attend school. They support the coffee farmers in their growing network. They pay higher premium wages than most of the mass retailers have. They support micro finance projects in Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua. And they're improving the quality of lives for those who work on the farms all around South America. They show a special concern for the rights of women in too many societies. Women live and farm on land that they can't illegally own. Since 2012. I was just about to say the name. Has participated in a local program. For every pound of coffee they purchase, they make a contribution to the fund that helps the Nicaraguan women secure land rights because of the outstanding quality of their coffee and the business commitment to sustainability as well as to the entire higher benefit and improvement of our ecosystem. Well, I just said it again. Anyway, let me just say I could.

Go on and on.

Just. Let's bring them up. This is the first LGBT team to ever receive this award from the sba. Ladies and gentlemen, Equator Coffee and Teas. Let's bring them up. Thank you.

Congratulations.

You.

Thank you.

Please meet Brooke McDow and Helen Russell. Thank you.

Our vice president.

And thank you so much for being here. Thank you. Thank you. Can you hold this? All right.

Oh, I'll hold it right here.

Okay.

Never mind.

Hey. Hi. Thank you.

Good job. Thank so much.

Thank you.

Say a few words.

Yes.

Yes.

And now we're going to hear from these amazingly talented business women. Thank you.

Thank you. Oh, my God. Good morning and thank you. It's such an honor to be here and congratulations to all the other fellow nominees and all the winners of all the states. I want to have a special thank you to the administrator, Maria Contreras. Sweet. Not only is she a role model, her leadership, her intelligence, her elegance is just something to be admired and to be in the same room with. So thank you so much for that. I want to acknowledge my business partner and Life partner, Brooke McDonnell and Maureen McHugh. We started in a garage in Cortima Dera in 1995 when we're looking for jobs and when we used to wear shorts and believe it or not, we're all baristas as well. I don't have the tattoos to show it, but only in this country can you start in a garage and fast forward. Have over 350 wholesale customers, have 90 employees, have four retail stores, own a farm in Panama, win the Good Food Awards. We're fortunate enough to pay for. We have 90 employees. We pay for all their health insurance, 100%. I was once asked by the San Francisco Business Times, what's your greatest achievement? And I said, supplying health insurance for all our employees. I'm very, very proud of that. And only in this country can you come from Mexico and from other parts of the world. Everybody in this room, unless you're a Native American, has come from somewhere else. And we're able to build our businesses and be entrepreneurs. And create impact by supplying jobs. So I couldn't be more proud. And I would also like to say being the small business winner for the state of California, which is the 8th largest economy in the United States, it's unfathomable. I mean, I think we can all relate to after 21 years in business being an overnight success that we've all had our heads down, and we've worked so hard to get to where we are today. And most recently, we were certified by the lgbt, and we are the first LGBT certified business in the United States to be recognized as the small business of the year. So we're really, really proud of that. And for all the other LGBT companies, we know there are more that came before us, but we are the ones who are acknowledged, so we carry that with us. We're very, very proud of that. So thank you. So what we're going to do and what our promise is as a company is we're going to continue to layer our company with the next generation. As Maria had mentioned, we had one loan with the sba. We opened up a retail store with the SBA loan. We are going to be purchasing a very large piece of equipment the first quarter. So in my opinion, the SBA and all the people that work with Maria, her team, this is a part of the government. I think the government sometimes gets a bit bad rap, but every time I've called the sba, they've been there for us. They've had our backs from the very, very beginning. This is something that works really, really well, and only in this country can we have access to this type of capital and opportunity. So I'm so, so grateful. So thank you, sba. Thank you to all the fellow award winners for being in this room. The energy is wonderful. And again, thanks to my team and the other. These are the founders.

This is.

You know, it's interesting. I want to talk about Maureen for a minute. Maureen's from the Bronx. Okay. Maureen is from the Bronx. She has been with us for 21 years. She has never missed a day of work. That is Cal Ripken material right there. So thank you all very, very much for this.

Hon.

Wow.

Congratulations. I just want to say that I feel so fortunate, and I think the team at sba, we feel so fortunate to be able to work for an agency that has the opportunity to help people, to come alongside people and allow them to realize their dreams. And again, I just want to commend you all for your audacity to have an idea, to give birth to that idea, and to nurture it into something that not only provides for you and your family, but also has the potential to help others in your community, for your employees and for our nation. And so I just thank you for all the work that you all do. And so you all are winners. While Equator Coffee has won the Small Business Person of the Year award this year, we hope to see many of you back again next year. And we just encourage you to continue the hard work that you all are doing. As Mark said, the grind that you all are engaging in daily. And so as we wrap up today, this morning, I would like to invite you all, for those who are staying, to join us right over there in the Frank C. Carlucci Auditorium where we will be having a cybersecurity panel at a around 11am this morning. And so this is your opportunity to learn and engage about the importance of safeguarding your business's assets against cyber attacks. So again, thank you so much. Enjoy the rest of your week. Enjoy National Small Business Week. Thank you all so much. It.