We’ve helped thousands of entrepreneurs. Here are some of their

Success Stories

petersen

Petersen Custom Glass

After 15 years in the glass industry, Kris and Valerie Petersen opened Petersen Custom Glass, LLC in 2014. Kris has extensive experience designing and installing custom glass products. His specific areas of expertise include high-end frameless shower enclosures, ADA accessible showers and other custom glass projects. With his leadership skills gained from the military and her executive skills, Petersen Custom Glass has become a successful local business in Parker, CO, serving a 25-mile radius in the metro area.

In October 2015, Petersen Glass moved out of the 1100 sq-ft garage into a brick and mortar retail space. Business expanded quickly as capacity grew to include showroom and workshop space. “We feel that starting up slowly and receiving help from the SBDC along the way, we established a solid foundation from which to grow financially in the coming years.”

All three of the consultants in the Aurora-South Metro SBDC Lone Tree office assisted the Petersens with financing questions and concerns, advertising direction and a solid marketing strategy. With the consultants’ guidance and discussing the financial pros and cons of ‘taking the leap’, “we have been able to ‘crack the nut’ with an online presence and a new physical location”.

Marcia McGilley, Executive Director of the Aurora-South Metro SBDC, explains, “The Petersens took full advantage of the resources offered by the SBDC. They were diligent in their follow-up after consulting sessions and were able to implement changes and grow their business substantially, while staying true to quality craftsmanship.”

The Petersens are 100% owners in the LLC. Originally investing $10,000 of personal assets in 2013, the Petersens invested $30,000 from 2014 business proceeds in order to expand. Their business saw an 87% financial gain in the first year – and doubled again in 2015 to over $100,000. Additionally, Assets and Net Worth doubled in the first year and then doubled again in 2015. In other words, the Petersens took the business from zero to 93% growth in just over two years! And, they were able to do all this without going into debt. As Val Petersen said it so succinctly, “We’ve been blessed to have a thriving business with no loans to pay back.”

THE COLORADO GLASS INDUSTRY IS RELATIVELY SMALL. COLORADO REPRESENTS ONLY 2% OF GLASS AND GLAZING CONTRACTORS IN THE UNITED STATES, AND LESS THAN 1% OF ALL BUSINESSES IN COLORADO ARE IN THE GLASS BUSINESS. SOURCE: REFERENCEUSA

Since glass always breaks, the Petersens found their niche. They remain versatile, accommodating low-end to high-end customers, as well as ADA, restoration and remodeling companies. Their goal in 2016 is to add one employee to help Kris and Val and they continue to provide service to homeowners, home builders and remodeling contractors.

Their website, petersenglass.com, beautifully displays Kris’ custom glass installations, showing the superior quality and elegant results of his handiwork for both commercial and residential services.

Petersen Custom Glass is a veteran-owned and operated company, offering a 10% discount on materials to veteran customers.

To contact Kris or Val Petersen at Petersen Custom Glass, please visit their website at www.petersenglass.com or call the showroom at (720) 810-1160.

Leatherneck Precision Machine

Leatherneck Precision Machine is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business that specializes in precision machined components for the aerospace, defense, medical, dental, injection molding and other commercial industries that need precision machined parts for their product lines.  Sometimes people’s lives depend on special machine parts, such as aircraft structures, automobiles, and human-rated spacecrafts, and Leatherneck is an AS9100D- and ISO9001-certified company able to do that technical work.  He also has SDVOSB and SDVBE certifications (for small

Read More »
vintage
Vintage Theatre Productions

Starting out 15 years ago in a basement as a touring theatre group for small audiences, Vintage Theatre has grown from that “tiny” beginning to currently reaching over 20,000 patrons each production season. “It has been amazing to see the growth,” beams Cr aig Bond, Founder. Since moving to Aurora in 2012 into an existing black box theater, Vintage immediately added a second more intimate theatre to augment the season’s offerings. Creating a greater draw

Read More »
Pirate Chef LLC

“Aurora-South Metro SBDC gave us the empowerment, guidance, and connections to realize our dream of owning our own business with sustainability.” Ian and Vanessa Reeves believe that sharing good food is the best way to show love.  Pirate Chef specializes in bespoke catering, private parties, in home, and corporate dining. Taking experience from lives well-lived, they bring their clients a gastronomic encounter unlike any other.   Their business venture has been a longstanding dream, and they can’t wait to share it with

Read More »
Havana Street Tattoo and Legacy Tattoo Collective

Havana Street Tattoo opened 15 years ago in Aurora.  The tattooing industry has shown its potential for significant growth in the past 10 years and continues to do so, because the customer base and artists offering the service have evolved past an old stereotype into a market of true professional artistry and serious collectors. In mid-2019, business partners and co-owners, Larry Foussat and Gilbert Ledesma decided to open a new location in Aurora to expand the shop’s client base and

Read More »
Rustic Nomads

Starting a business in 2020—during the COVID-19 pandemic—has been a journey to say the least, but the owner of Rustic Nomads, Nathan Wiersum, will have bragging rights for life.   “The support received from the SBDC is why I continue to move .” With a loan from DreamSpring to purchase a food truck, the rest of the business has been self-funded.  Originally, the plan was to grow into a restaurant as soon as possible.  With the pandemic, goals were reevaluated.  The

Read More »
Aurora AutoPros

The Aurora AutoPros mission guides owners Edgar and Reneé Leon’s daily operations:  to provide the highest quality mechanical repair solutions in a professional, honest, and transparent manner.  They keep their environment clean, educate car owners and are family-friendly.  Their customers value AutoPros’ personalized service given by ASE certified technicians.  As a TechNet Professional Repair Shop, AutoPros’ customers receive a nationwide 36-month/36,000-mile warranty on all repairs that also includes roadside assistance for all invoices of $25

Read More »
Skip to content