8(a) program offers a broader brush.

AuthorBrus, Brian
PositionFROM BEGINNERS TO BIGSHOTS

When Melanie Breeden set out to make an indelible mark on the business world, she found an invaluable ally in the Small Business Administration.

Since opening in 2003, Cherokee Painting LLC has performed beyond her dreams. The commercial industrial paint contractor has landed jobs including school districts, the local Job Corps and Tinker Air Force Base, with contracts ranging from $30,000 to $1 million.

"It just took off," Breeden said. "I've got people with the right experience working for me, and I've got the management side of things covered here at the office. And having the SBA backing me up every step of the way has been a huge asset."

Cherokee Painting is nestled in an older residential area in Midwest City, Okla., on the eastern side of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The business is a block away from a busy retail street and a mile from Rose State College--where Breeden met Mike Cure, a business counselor with the Oklahoma Small Business Development Center.

Her single-floor warehouse buildings, painted dirty yellow with terra-cotta red highlights, are surrounded by a small fleet of white pickup trucks and vans with the company's logo on their sides. If the company continues to grow, Cherokee Painting might acquire neighboring lots, she said.

But the facade isn't a top priority: "We don't have to impress the public. We could have our warehouse in the middle of nowhere, as long as we have the materials and labor to get the job done," she said.

Breeden has even set aside her own office decor until this year. She promised herself a few comfortable furnishings and wall decorations for Christmas, but the price tags are still hanging on shelving behind her desk. The desk itself is a folding conference table.

Her spare surroundings aren't for lack of funds. Her second year of business grossed about $1.2 million; her third year, $3 million; and the last couple of years have grossed about $5 million each. Breeden is projecting more than $6 million this year.

The first year, though, kept her on the edge of her seat--needlessly so, Breeden said with hindsight.

"I knew the benefits of being 8(a) certified, so I didn't really have anything to worry about," she said. "I guess my toughest question at the time was, is this year of paperwork and all the steps I have to go through really going to be worth it? But I knew it would in the end."

The SBA 8(a) Business Development Program for minority and woman-owned small businesses helps with a...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT