Family health issues required Lynette Casazza's household to go gluten free. Lynette realized there was not a provider of gluten free baked goods in her area. For this underserved market she launched her own bakery with the help of TSBDC.

In an effort to save his business from the negative impacts of COVID-19, William Solis of Ruthie's Tex-Mex reached out to Tori Rayne, advising director at Fort Bend County SBDC. Rayne encouraged Solis to apply for SBA's disaster loans and any applicable grants. He received the PPP loan in May, 2020, and the EIDL and Fort Bend County Grant in August, 2020. The financial assistance enabled him to retain his employees, hire two additional full-time employees, and hire one part-time employee.

Seventy-nine years ago, in the summer of 1941 on 7th Avenue, Caroline Flores opened her business with her husband by her side. OMI, as it is affectionately called, was the first restaurant in Corsicana to sell alcohol since 1936. Today, food is still prepared and cooked fresh daily just as it was 79 years ago. OMI had to pivot during the Covid-19 crisis and begin renovation for customer social distancing and employee safety. During shelter in place, the business managed to renovate and retain 44 loyal employees.

GeneCo Technologies, LLC is a woman-owned small business located in Tye and Abilene, Texas since 2010. They stand by their work ethic and dedication to excellence.

Max Underground Construction, a minority-owned client since 2011, weathered delays in construction projects by turning to their SBDC advisor for guidance and benefitted from the SBA PPP to sustain payroll. While also battling the pandemic from a personal standpoint, the infrastructure contractor was able to retain 89 employees. "We will never get tired of thanking SBDC for supporting our success," say brothers Manuel and Max Salinas.