News from others

When he was in the Air Force, while traveling extensively throughout Asia, Europe, Middle East, and the United States, Peter DelCotto developed a wealth of knowledge about food and exotic cultures. He came to believe that food tells a certain story about the people and their environment. He decided to become a chef to share his experiences in other cuisines by highlighting the most popular dishes of each respective culture. In 2011, Peter expressed his passion for cooking in an essay submitted to a ChefUniforms.com contest and won a trip to the National Restaurant Association conference. After earning a degree in Hospitality Management from the Russell J. Salvatore School of Hospitality and Business at Trocaire College in Buffalo, Peter consulted the SBDC for assistance in refining his business plan and financing. With the help of Business Advisor John McKeone, he got funding and founded The Woodshed, a family owned and operated restaurant that serves up traditional Southern style smokehouse barbecue. The restaurant is Peter’s lifelong dream - a place with a relaxed casual atmosphere and great food on the table. Whether you dine outside on the patio during the summer months or inside during the winter, at The Woodshed, you’ll enjoy an atmosphere that is warm and inviting.

A family owned and operated restaurant cooking up traditional Southern Style Smokehouse BBQ and American Style Food all hand crafted utilizing the finest ingredients. Located just outside Buffalo, New York, it's a scenic drive down Rt. 219, at 8038 Boston State Road in Hamburg.

A wide variety of flat bread pizzas are available along with our WNY Fish Fry on Friday nights, and Create Your Own Combination Meals.

From Breakfast, to Lunch, to Special Event Catering, we've got your slow-cooked BBQ and Homestyle Meals in WNY.

The Woodshed was founded as part of a lifelong dream, coupling great food with a relaxed casual atmosphere. Although, many may recall the woodshed as a place where discipline was instilled by our parents, today it is a place of comfort and companionship. The venue's intent is to create an atmosphere that is warm and inviting, coupled with great food and community fellowship.

Its creator, Peter Del Cotto is a 9 year Air Force veteran and holds a degree in Hospitality Management from Trocaire College, Russell J. Salvatore School of Hospitality and Business.

While in the service, Peter has traveled extensively throughout Asia, Europe, Middle East, and the United States bringing with him a wealth of knowledge about food and exotic cultures. His vision is to share his experience with you, under one roof. This vision could not be realized if it wasn't supported and influenced by friends, family, and patrons like you.

Lending commitment will support estimated 2,000 Veteran-Owned Small Businesses, Add $475 Million in Capital

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced the SBA Veteran Pledge Initiative, a commitment by its top national, regional and community lenders to collectively increase their lending activity to veterans by five percent per year for the next five years.

Oftentimes, veterans face challenges in raising capital or have trouble receiving a conventional loan. With the support of SBA’s top 20 national lending partners, and approximately 100 additional regional and community lending partners across the United States, SBA expects to assist an additional 2,000 veterans obtain loans to start or expand small businesses by increasing lending by $475 million over the next five years. This equals a five percent increase above historic veteran lending activity by the SBA.

The initiative also complements SBA’s existing partnership with the National Association of Development Companies (NADCO) VetLoan Advantage strategic initiative that offers small business financing discounts and training to veterans who own businesses or are interested in small business ownership.

“Our service men and women have made incalculable contributions and sacrifices for our country, and supporting them as they pursue their dreams to start or grow their own business is one of SBA’s highest priorities,” SBA Administrator Karen Mills said. “Through this partnership with national lending partners and regional and community lenders across the U.S., we stand ready to serve veteran entrepreneurs with loan-guarantees, entrepreneurial training, and resources that are critical tools to help them start businesses, drive the local economy and create jobs for themselves and their communities.”

Veterans make up a large number of successful small business owners. Nine percent of small businesses are veteran-owned. These 2.45 million veteran-owned businesses employ more than 5 million individuals. In the private sector workforce, veterans are more likely than those with no active-duty military experience to be self-employed.

Administrator Mills announced the Initiative Tuesday at Ft. Bragg, NC, together with representatives of the SBA lending community from across the country, the U.S. Army and transitioning service members who have chosen to participate in SBA’s Operation Boots to Business (B2B) Program, an initiative to train veterans and transitioning service members in business entrepreneurship.

SBA currently engages veterans through its 68 local SBA district offices, 15 Veterans Business Outreach Centers nationwide, and its partnership with 1,000 Small Business Development Centers and some 12,000 SCORE – Counselors to America’s Small Businesses volunteers. Each year SBA helps more than 200,000 veterans, service-disabled veterans and reservists. To learn more about additional opportunities for veterans available through the SBA, please visit the website at www.sba.gov/veterans.

In 2011, Jason DiBenedetto and Leo Rentzis, friends with a shared vision, started Noble Wood Shavings (NWS). NWS is Central New York’s only manufacturing facility dedicated to producing the absolute best quality bedding for horses. They use an exclusive recipe of soft wood species to ensure a top quality product that is consistent, super absorbent, and rot free. The product is super-heated during the drying process to kill bacteria, fungus, and molds. Business Advisor David Lerman worked extensively with the partners to draft a solid business plan and projections. The business plan included several letters of interest from prospective customers, which proved to be key to the successful funding of the project. Locating the business in Sherrill Manufacturing Park with low cost power and overhead helped keep NWS’ operating costs competitive, as did an abundance of local low cost raw material.

NWS opened for business with financing from Alliance Bank (an SBA guaranteed loan), Mohawk Valley EDGE, MORECO, and a grant from Oneida County. Late in 2011, NWS reached capacity and consulted the SBDC about new capital to fuel its rapid growth. In March 2012, NWS won the EDGEccelerator competition, receiving $20,000 in cash and a $50,000 low interest loan, which leveraged additional capital. NWS, which saw double digit growth in 2012, and expects to double production again in 2013, employs 11 and has tallied $469,000 in economic impact. Jason DiBenedetto commented, “David Lerman has been instrumental in the success of Noble Wood Shavings. His guidance and expertise have been invaluable for the growth of our business.”

"A lot (of our business) we found out is word of mouth and repeat customers," Lynn Burkdorf said, but she's hoping participating in Herkimer County Chamber of Commerce's Small Business Week May 19-25 will draw new customers to her establishment, which opened late last year.

Throughout the state and the nation, chambers of commerce and business organizations celebrate, honor and promote small businesses through small business weeks or days.

During last year's Small Business Saturday - which began in 2010 and takes place the Saturday after Thanksgiving - U.S. consumers spent $5.5 billion at small businesses, American Express spokesman Scott Krugman said.
He said no statistics were kept in the two prior years.

Of the tens of millions of Americans familiar with the event, 67 percent planned to “shop small” last year, according to the Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey. About 44 percent of those surveyed said they shopped small in 2011...

At the Small Business Development Center at University of Albany, Director Bill Brigham said more could be done.

"When I think of a great way of promoting small business, I always think of Small Business Saturday around Christmastime," he said. "Do something to declare a week to recognize and support our small businesses."

More HERE.

Graduate of Monroe Community College, Rochester Institute of Technology and St. John Fisher College, Kaye holds an A.S. degree in Computer Science, a B.S. degree in Computational Mathematics and an M.B.A. In 2011 Kaye retired from a 25-year career at Xerox Corporation where she spent several years as a senior executive in their North American Service organization.

In late 2011, she and her husband Ross formed Stone Goose Enterprises, Inc. and in February 2012, Stone Goose Enterprise, Inc. purchased Smith’s Gravel Pit in Sodus, New York. Kaye is currently the President / CEO of Stone Goose Enterprises, Inc. and President / Owner of Smith’s Gravel Pit. In her roles she runs the day-to-day operations of Smith’s Gravel Pit, an aggregate mining facility; which also provides trucking and excavation services and works strategic development / business expansion for Stone Goose Enterprises, Inc.

Kaye was one of the Rochester Business Journal 40 under Forty recipients in 2004 and in 2006 she was inducted into the Monroe Community College Hall of Fame. Kaye served as the March of Dimes Board Chair for the Genesee Valley Finger Lakes Region from 2004–2011. Currently Kaye resides on the Board of Directors for both the Wayne County Business Council and the Professional Women of Wayne County.

Married to Ross Gansz, General Manager for CGS Fabrication, a division of Calvary Automation in Webster, New York; they have a daughter Jacquelyn and son Jon Ross. They currently reside in Newark, New York.