October 2019

It was Laura Neilson’s grandmother who spent hours teaching her children and grandchildren how to bake – while sharing life lessons and family stories. Grandma and her sister-in-law sold cinnamon rolls ‘in town’ to help supplement the farming income. Can you image the commute on horseback during the depression in a Minnesota winter?!

Laura had been making Grandma’s rolls and giving them as gifts and holiday treats for over 30 years. But as Laura’s career in commercial printing was winding down, the idea of baking and selling cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls, monkey bread and other ‘sweet treats’ came to the forefront.

Laura recalls, “Attending the LEADING EDGETM program in 2015 was probably the smartest move we could have possibly made. The curriculum was interesting, detailed and informative.” They learned about a host of resources available to businesses. By the end of the series, Grandma’s Rockin’ Rolls was formed. Rolls are freshly made in small batches, from scratch, all natural with no preservatives.

The Neilsons began with one farmers market in 2016 and grew from there. The beauty of this humble beginning was the ‘face-to-face’ sales experience. Customer feedback, product testing and surveys allowed them to grow their product line, improve packaging, streamline labeling and create a true one-of-a-kind customer experience.

They quickly outgrew the Cottage Industry requirements – as well as their tiny kitchen. Rather than spend money on renting a commissary, Randy Neilson remodeled and installed a commercial kitchen. By the end of 2017, they placed Grandma’s Rockin’ Rolls in 90 markets, and they registered with the FDA, allowing them to ship product in the continental U.S. The business grew by 440% in the first year!

By 2018, they realized that their best fit is selling at special events. Randy did the build out on a concession trailer. Their business model is straight forward: “We bake and wrap items in our kitchen. We then pack, ship and sell rolls and beverages from the concession trailer.” Laura does the baking, purchasing, sourcing and scheduling, while Randy (who still works full time) takes care of taxes, web development, kitchen and trailer repairs, and setting the trailer up at events.

“The Aurora-South Metro SBDC has helped us every step of the way. Their team assists with surveys, financial analysis, and resources for business growth. Sometimes when we are ‘stuck’, we can call, email or stop by for brainstorming, and always leave with a solution or idea.” Their product has been tested at CSU Food labs for shelf life, packaging and product stability.

The Neilsons are currently doing research on automated production to grow business capacity beyond the current 24% growth rate (over 20,000 rolls). They plan to work with the SBDC’s Small Manufacturer’s AdvantEDGE program. This has been the experience of a lifetime for the Neilsons. “Our goal is to leave an indelible impression on the people who enjoy Grandma’s Rockin’ Rolls.” (GrandmasRockinRolls.com)

Robert and Olga Mead, the owners of GradePower Learning, started out with a vision to help build children’s confidence and self-esteem. They found an opportunity to do that not only through tutoring students, but also in teaching them how to learn. The LEADING EDGETM Strategic Planning Series was the perfect tool for Olga to test her business model. She graduated from LEADING EDGETM in 2015 and continued on as a client at the Aurora-South Metro SBDC. Not wanting to reinvent the wheel, the Meads obtained advice about purchasing a PreK-12 learning center franchise. They also sought assistance for researching the industry and customer base.

GradePower Learning opened a year later. Just before the soft open in April 2016, GradePower Learning received a commercial loan with the help of the SBDC financing consultant, and the Meads put equity cash into the business as well.

GradePower Learning offers supplemental proprietary curriculum for students, prekindergarten through high school, to help students catch up as well as get ahead academically. High school students focus on college preparation and filling any learning gaps they may have acquired through years in school. In just over a year, the business has been able to break even, with steady growth in enrollments via word-of-mouth and networking.

The business is veteran-owned. Olga served in the U.S. Army, CO National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserves. Robert served in the U.S. Navy. Olga Mead is the Center Director for GradePower Learning. There is one other full-time employee and seven part-time employees who are specialized coaches for the students. Their next step with GradePower Learning is to provide Spanish and Sign Language classes. Olga has also recently received additional consulting in obtaining contracts with schools.

Olga and Robert have a passion for helping students in need and thoroughly enjoy enriching students with new cognitive learning skills. They welcome you to visit their center in the Southlands community of Aurora (http://gradepoweraurora.com).

In the restaurant world a successful business often begins with family. When Cranelli’s Italian Restaurant, a new hotspot in Lone Tree, opened, the whole family pitched in to help owners Jim and Lasinda Crane make their dreams come true. Hours after the ink was dry on the restaurant lease, the couple began updating the décor and kitchen with the help of friends and family. Lasinda’s father David, a retired electrician, helped build a bar and rework the lighting system, while nephew Mike rerouted the bar’s plumbing. Lasinda’s niece Lisa helped to write the business plan. At the restaurant’s busy opening on December 26, 2013, Lasinda and her daughter Brittany served as waitresses. Lasinda continues to run the restaurant’s operations and Brittany waitresses three days per week. Jimmy serves as the executive chef, assisted by their son Connor, nephew Merrick, and longtime friend John Sebring, cooking up delicious Italian favorites every day.

“This place was meant to be,” said Lasinda. “We wouldn’t have been able to do this if we hadn’t had our friends and family to help us.”

Both Jim and Lasinda have extensive histories in the restaurant industry. Jimmy started as a dishwasher at Garramone’s in Lakewood when he was 13, progressing from these humble beginnings to chef and general manager of several high profile Colorado restaurants. Jimmy also worked as a restaurant consultant, helping a friend open an eatery and successfully reinventing a struggling steak house. Lasinda brings a wealth of business and restaurant experience to Cranelli’s, having worked in the mortgage industry followed by progressive positions in several restaurants and coffee shops including server, administrator, trainer, and general manager.

After years of helping other restaurants flourish, Jim and Lasinda decided that it was time to open their own. When they found themselves overwhelmed by the process of writing a business plan they turned to the South Metro SBDC. They arrived at the SBDC in search of business plan assistance, as well as help obtaining a loan.

“Our SBDC consultant walked side-by-side with Cranelli’s, investing over 12 hours of consulting in anticipation of their opening,” said Executive Director Marcia McGilley. “We are thrilled with their success.”

From the beginning, a combination of luck and perseverance has made Cranelli’s possible. Lasinda got into a minor traffic accident on the way to her first SBDC appointment. She only had 20 minutes to meet with her consultant, but she returned to work on her plan. “He went line by line and put it into the basics,” Lasinda said. In addition to fine-tuning the plan, the SBDC helped open doors at the Colorado Enterprise Fund, where they ultimately obtained a loan. “Because of that email, they wanted to work with us. It is the connections that make it happen,” said Lasinda. The SBDC diligently followed up with lenders, which ultimately assisted the couple in finding the right location. SBDC counselors warned them that they might not qualify for the loan amount needed for their original location choice. When the smaller amount was approved, Jimmy and Lasinda began searching on Craigslist for restaurants. They discovered a hidden gem, a turnkey location with an existing commercial kitchen where they saw great potential. The entire process took a great deal of work and phone calls, but in the end, it was worth it. “We really had to follow up with everyone to make it happen, but looking back it wasn’t that bad. The fact that we’re successful now reaffirms that it was meant to be,” said Lasinda.

One of the factors behind Cranelli’s success has been Lasinda’s diligent marketing. When a new office building opened near the restaurant she brought fresh garlic knots to the staff, which she plans on doing for other businesses in the area. With her daughter’s help, she has utilized Facebook and a weekly enewsletter to advertise specials. She also provides catering for a local soup kitchen twice per month. The restaurant currently has eight kitchen employees and is in the process of expanding their staff to include more servers to keep up with the crowds. Lasinda plans on planting an herb garden on their newly refinished outdoor patio so that they can illustrate how they use their own herbs in recipes.

The next time you’re in the mood for a family meal, stop by Cranelli’s. As Lasinda says, “At our restaurant it’s a handshake first and a hug after that.”

Starting out as a dream in 2012, Valerie Boyd developed her knowledge and contacts within the safety equipment industry to move forward with confidence in 2014. Valerie started to make the dream a reality. Coming from a family working in the structural steel industry, Valerie’s top priority is to keep families safe by keeping workers safe. Colorado Safety Supply does just that, providing safety training and equipment for construction job sites.

Located in Aurora, Colorado Safety Supply sells a variety of safety products, from fall protection to ladder climbing systems, from roofing kits to rescue and recovery devices. Colorado Safety Supply’s online store makes it convenient to find the right product for the job, and pride in customer service is the hallmark for every product sold and every training experience.

Valerie grew the business by 50% in sales between 2014 and 2015, then by 200% the next year. Valerie was able to grow the company on the profits. Now, in 2017, Colorado Safety Supply works with companies of all sizes and is growing to the point of needing more space to hold both a retail store and training facilities.

The new Aurora facility is under construction near the current location and expected to be completed in 2018. The office site will include a retail store, a supply warehouse and safety training facility for contractors and their employees. She has added an administrative staff member, an internal sales representative, two outside sales reps, and contracted providers for bookkeeping, marketing and web design. Working together, sales have increased by 67% over the past year, obtaining government contracts and increasing her product line.

Starting from scratch with personal funds and a line of credit, how did Valerie go from the start-up to expansion phase in just three years? She explains. “As a small business, I met with consultants at the Aurora-South Metro SBDC and was offered guidance in not only starting my business but giving me direction to grow my business. I attended the LEADING EDGETM Strategic Planning Series in the spring of 2015 and completed my business plan. By doing so, I realized the tremendous opportunity for expansion. The greatest challenge at this time is to complete the new facility from which we can provide more services in safety training and equipment rentals and sales.”

Colorado Safety Supply Company is 100% woman owned, with WBE, DBE, SBE, WOSB certifications. Although not veteran-owned, Colorado Safety Supply Company has tremendous respect and passion for veterans, working with many companies who employ and focus on the growth of veterans who are becoming educated in this industry through training and job exploration. Visit her updated secure website, https://coloradosafetysupply.com, for both products and classes.