August 2019

Four Level Productions, LLC

Four Level Productions, LLC began on August 16, 2018.

Starting in early 2018, Jack Henslee, owner, has worked with the Pikes Peak Small Business Development Center by attending several workshops and taking advantage of one-on-one consulting. “The Leading-Edge class was probably the number one reason for me moving forward and starting a business. I was able to develop a clear direction of what I needed to do by working with the instructor Mark Bittle, exploring, and working on my business plan.”

Jack’s previous experience included being involved with Industrial Modelmaking, business ownership and working in engineering environments for over 30 years. Jack, although faced with some challenges, embodied strong entrepreneurial spirit, helping him stay committed and dedicated to the development of Four Levels.

When Jack first started his adventure, a different game was ready to be taken to market. Unfortunately, proceedings and negotiations for copyright approvals from the creator fell apart after eight months. Jack, with his determination, started again from scratch to bring another game to market. A new game Four Levels was developed within a month.

The Pikes Peak SBDC helped Jack make connections and provided resources to assist in the manufacturing of Four Levels nationally and internationally. SBDC Consultant, Loren Lancaster, introduced Jack to An Phu’ Vie?t near Hanoi, Vietnam. With this introduction, Jack was able to establish a good working relationship with An Phu’ Vie?t. The Vietnam based company has since provided competitive quotes for injection models for his project. The company’s capabilities also matched the need to produce Four Levels as the facility has large number of molding machines to be able to handle large quantity orders, have a very impressive product inspection to help assure a correctly assembled quality product, and have also embraced the project fulfilling packaging and assembly needs. Finally, Jack’s representative has been very helpful in working through the logistics of bringing the product to the United States.

While the mass production of Four Levels will occur over seas, Jack wants to be sure he creates economic impact in his local community. Jack strives to continue the development of his product by supporting local businesses. Services for 3D printing, laser cutting, website development and graphics were all supported by local Colorado Springs companies.

Jack hopes Four Levels will not only include national sales but international sales as well, with new versions released periodically. He hopes to help promote fun and the educational aspects of playing games in schools and organizations.\

The next few months are critical for Four Levels. A Kickstarter campaign will begin in May 1st, 2019 with the goal of selling over 2,000 games to raise capital for manufacturing injection models and the first run of games.

Since working with the SBDC, not only has Jack been able to get his product into development, but has also finalized his website, www.playfourlevels.com, promoted his game through social media platforms, and has had his first appearance of Four Levels at a local board game event.

Stay up to date on the latest of Four Levels at www.playfourlevels.com.

Coquette’s Bistro and Bakery

From the time Turu Marx was a young girl, her mother, Michelle Marx and she always talked owning their own restaurant and running it together. Today, their dreams have become a reality as they now own and operate Coquette Creperie in Manitou Springs. It has just won two honors from The Best Of The Springs 2010 from the Gazette; Best New Restaurant (silver) and Best Crepe!

They both had restaurant experience behind them in Los Angeles and New York, but their lives mostly took another path as they ventured into the entertainment industry. Michelle worked in entertainment pubic relations for the bulk of her life having been PR Director for A&M records before running her own successful firm for 25 years. Turu managed some of Los Angeles trendier eateries but then went on to travel as a singer with her band throughout the UK. The duo eventually came together to fulfill their desire of owning a restaurant together after Michelle purchased a building along Manitou Ave in Manitou Springs and Turu had returned stateside ready to settle into something different. Why a creperie? Turu fell in love with crepes in San Francisco, and then fell in love all over again when she experienced them in Paris, France. So, crepes it was!

Despite both of Turu’s management experience and Michelle’s being raised in ‘the kitchen’ of her father’s restaurant in New York, they knew they had some obstacles ahead of them in starting their business. They knew it was best to self finance the establishment as much as they could since loans weren’t plentiful for start-ups at this time. That didn’t make things easy. Starting a restaurant in a recession, during winter and in a summer intensive tourist town, they had a lot of factors working against them.

This is where the SBDC stepped in. “The counselor we met with helped us to fine tune our goals and gave us help in understanding the steps of the process and possibilities’’. Michelle and Turu did just that, and now have an exquisite 100% gluten free, international style menu in a warm, engaging cosmopolitan atmosphere. But don’t expect their dishes to taste anything less than spectacular because they’re gluten free. They spent months finding the perfect batter for their crepes and other alternatives for their entrées to ensure gluten free didn’t mean free of flavor, far from it. Because of their high demand, they now sell their flour as well.

Michelle admits that it is a lot of work and they find themselves exhausted by the end of the day, but the benefits make up for it. They’ve found the biggest reward is to see their customers buzzing and raving about their experience. It’s the positive reactions of customers that have literally brought them tears of joy. Another blessing is being able to work together as a mother/daughter team each day. Most family owned businesses end up sour but Michelle says that they are both working towards the same goals, have the same vision for the future and have excellently paired strengths. Any family issues are minor and non-disruptive.

They have seen strong support from the Manitou Springs community, news and radio, SBDC resources and their friends and family. Michelle and Turu are not ones to just settle and stay put. Their minds are geared towards expansion. They want to expand into more retail and merchandise; they’ve hired additional seasonal employees and maybe will even expand to locations in Denver or Boulder where they’ve been asked to open Coquette’s. Despite the hard times, Michelle and Turu have fought against the odds to create a successful and enjoyable dining experience for tourists and locals alike.

Bump on the Head

When Austin Shepard was 10 years old, a thrown baseball changed his life. Austin was in a coma for two and a half months. When he came out of the coma, he could barely walk, talk or do many of the things he used to do as a young, well rounded athlete. One little baseball changed his life forever.

It was when Austin turned 17, his principle and Psychology teacher asked him to speak to 600 of his fellow peers. After accomplishing this, Austin was inspired my many of his classmates who said his story affected them. Austin’s teacher encouraged him to become a motivational and inspirational speaker which became his dream in 2010.

Today, Austin’s dream has come true. He is the proud owner of Bump on the Head, LLC and works as a motivational and inspirational speaker for his business, You Inspire Me! Speakers Bureau, which is a platform for people who’ve experienced and overcame challenges or traumatic events in their lives, and who wish to share their story.

Austin attributes his success to his SBDC mentor and consultant. “My mentor shared with me how to write a business plan and how to put it into action. The success I have experienced with the help of writing a business plan was getting my business an extra boost to get started. My mentor helped me set a date for my Speakers Bureau Kickoff on October 8, 2014, and at that event, I raised over $2,800. In addition, I began my online Indiegogo crowd funding campaign and have raised an additional $1,045 for a total of over $3,800 towards my goal of $15,000. I am now happy to say my dream has become a reality thanks to my mentor and the fantastic staff and volunteers at the Colorado Springs SBDC”. Additionally, the SBDC assisted Austin with financial projections.
You Inspire Me! is different than other speaker’s bureau as it is comprised of speakers who have passion and experience of overcoming tragedy in their life. The average age of speakers is 18 to 30 years old, which by some standards, is quite youthful for being a motivational speaker.

As if Austin hasn’t accomplished enough in his life already, he has also received his Eagle Scout rank, graduated on time from high school with a 3.3 GPA, graduated from an entrepreneurial academy sponsored by Edison College in 2012 and continues to maintain a positive and uplifting attitude.
A
ustin’s goals for You Inspire Me! Speaker’s Bureau is to create teams of motivational and inspirational speakers to travel around the nation and the world sharing stories and encouraging one person at a time. Austin would also like to organize one day seminars, similar to the Zig Ziglar seminars of the past and fill conference halls and stadiums with young speakers and entrepreneurs to motivate and inspire the next generation.
Austin hopes that his Speakers Bureau will inspire others to overcome their obstacles and realize that life is worth living by encouraging them and inspiring them to share their story. “We all have a story to tell and we never know who we will impact with this story”.

For more information on You Inspire Me! Speakers Bureau, visit www.bumponthehead.com or call 719-661-6422.

Accinctus

Brian Siravo thought about starting his own business for a few years. After he was presented with some life challenges (loss of employment due to company cutbacks), it was the last lever that needed to be pulled to launch him into moving in the right direction.

With 20 years of experience in business continuity and personal preparedness, Brian wanted to share his passion for these topics with more businesses across the country. Brian started learning about contingency planning, training programs, and emergency response as a new Lieutenant in the Air Force. He worked for small business, as a consultant to a large federal government agency, and as a contractor and employee to a large international company.

Before opening his business, Brian visited the SBDC and received consulting services in a vast array of areas to include how to establish his business, business planning, service delivery, proposal writing, legal issues such as trademarks and copyrights, and many other aspects of starting a new business.

With the assistance of the SBDC, Accinctus opened on July 10, 2013. Like any start up, Brian faced some challenges. In the first 6 months, Brian needed to review business management, marketing for name recognition, pricing of services, and help getting businesses to understand the need for his services. Almost 75% of businesses in America have no disaster or preparedness plans in place because there is the dangerous assumption that something bad “won’t happen to me” or that insurance is all they need. Brian understood that he needed to educate businesses first on the need and risks they could face before purchasing his services.

Brian’s past experience has helped him develop a very unique perspective and base of knowledge to bring to his clients. Accinctus differentiates itself from other larger companies as the business is not only IT focused. Accinctus assists small and medium businesses with preparedness plans and employee training. Accinctus does not believe “one size fits all” and tailors their products to a business’s culture and requirements to create value. Lastly, Accinctus takes pride in building a long term partnership with their clients as they truly care about the long term strength of their company. When in need, a business can call Brian to help with any response and recovery processes. In fact, the Accinctus name is Latin for prepared, ready, well-girded.

Since opening his business, the SBDC’s assistance to Brian has been reversed. The Colorado Spring’s SBDC’s Disaster Relief Program has utilized Brian’s expertise in preparing clients with their business continuity by having him take part in expert panels and requesting his support with the creation of the Colorado Business Disaster Recovery & Continuity Guide.

The survival rate for small and medium sized business is 20 – 30% after a disaster. Brian’s goal is to positively impact the community by reversing this statistic and increase the survival rate to above 80% by educating and preparing businesses. Helping the community is at the forefront of the Accinctus goals. “If it weren’t for organizations like the SBDC, SBA, and other community organizations, a new business would not know where to turn for help. Without the assistance of the SBDC, especially the knowledgeable and professional consultants, I would not have learned so much and made so many gains in such a short period of time. The SBDC office is the first place anyone thinking about starting a business in Colorado should go.”

To learn more about Accinctus, visit www.accinctus.com, on Facebook, Linked In, or follow Accinctus on Twitter @AccinctusLLC.

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