Success Stories

James Bradley is a second-generation commercial fisherman from South Carolina. He’s the owner of Bradley’s Commercial Fishing, a family-owned business on St. Helena Island. The company provides shrimp and other seafood items to local restaurants. Fishing has been a proud tradition for the Bradley family, which has been in the seafood business for more than 100 years.

Long hours and double shifts are a familiar routine for many entrepreneurs and Racine, Wisconsin-based aesthetician Tristah Romero-Kelly is no exception. In 2019, she opened her own business, Renew Medical Aesthetics , while continuing in her “day job” as a nurse practitioner at a clinic in Milwaukee.

Rob Snowberger is a U.S. Navy Veteran and local entrepreneur in Wilmington, Delaware. In July 2019, he opened the Faire Market and Café, a grocery store and coffee service. In addition to offering the community more food choices, this unique endeavor also served as an economic revitalization project, bringing new customers to the downtown area.

When psychologist Haleigh Scott completed her postdoctoral clinical training at the University of California, Davis she knew she could best continue her commitment to individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities in a small setting that would allow personalized patient treatment and case management.

Mike Williamson is a former Air Force mechanic from Lynchburg, Tennessee. After serving his country, he returned to his hometown and opened Lynchburg Machine Tool, which provides tools and dies for the local automotive manufacturing industry.

Over the last few years, many Americans have moved to Florida, making it one of the top destinations for domestic migration. In 2021 alone, more than 220,000 people moved to the Sunshine State.

Coupled with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, this mass migration put a serious strain on the state’s resources, minimizing its lending power to small, minority-owned businesses and other entrepreneurs. However, with assistance from the Economic Development Administration (EDA), the South Florida Regional Planning Council (SFRPC) is helping many such businesses develop and grow.

With a population of just 11,000, the coastal community of Newport, Oregon has managed to establish itself as home to one of the richest seafaring traditions on the West Coast. It’s a destination spot for visitors from throughout the United States who come to see the town’s working waterfronts and maritime-based attractions, such as the Oregon Coast History Museum, historic Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, and notable restaurants and fish markets. Newport’s Oregon Coast Community College offers the nation’s only degree program in aquarium science. The city also serves as Pacific Fleet headquarters for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, hosting Maritime Operations Center – Pacific and the survey vessels NOAAS Bell M. Shimada and NOOAS Rainier; since 2005, Newport has been designated an official Coast Guard City.

Helen Hayes once said that age is unimportant unless you’re a cheese. For the city of Willows, California, that adage also applies to cheese factories. In the mid-2010s, the town’s 100-year-old, family-owned cheese producer was on the cusp of relocating its operations to a new facility in a different area, a move necessitated by its increasingly antiquated factory. The potential loss of this major employer created economic uncertainty in the region.

​​​​​​​Tewelde’s Lafitte Drugs has operated inside a grocery store in Lafitte, Louisiana, for more than 40 years. It has long served an important role in the rural community of 2,500 people.

Towanda is a small community in northern Pennsylvania, just a short drive from New York. It was founded in 1786 along the Susquehanna River, and by the 1800s, it was a thriving port for merchants. It was incorporated as a township in 1826 and is now home to more than 3,000 residents.