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SBDC’s EATS program helps two motivated siblings find sweet success
01/12/2020
Business planning and forecasting helps Holey Scoops ice cream parlor put a smile on Palm Desert’s face.
Becca and Aaron Brukman have always been hard workers. After college Becca worked for a congressional member while her brother Aaron took a job with online retail behemoth Amazon. Despite their successes, both were drawn toward entrepreneurship. The Brukmans always liked making people smile, so they decided to open an ice cream shop. The only problem was that neither had experience in the food industry or with opening a brick and mortar location. Luckily, Becca came across an SBDC newsletter touting its EATS program. EATS is a training program for food startups that offers free six-week courses on how to successfully start your own food industry business. “The structure and specific focus of the EATS program was terrific. It helped us avoid a lot of costly mistakes and took the guesswork out of opening a food business.” Becca Brukman, co-owner Holey Scoops ice cream shop. SBDC consultant and EATS instructor, Greg Bell, got the Brukman siblings to write out a business plan that put their dream down on paper. “Writing it all down lets you take apart the scary unknowns. Proper financial forecasting is the key. Numbers don’t lie.” – Greg Bell, EATS Instructor and SBDC food consultant Greg helped the Brukmans determine their menu pricing using the actual costs of their products as well as the day-to-day costs of running the business. He also helped them map out realistic timelines of how long each phase of opening their business would take. Becca and Aaron opened Holey Scoops ice cream in Palm Desert this past December. The event was celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony facilitated by the SBDC. The ceremony was attended by the city’s mayor and members of the local congressional and state assembly offices.
So far, with a little help from the SBDC EATS program, the business has been a very sweet success. Back To News |
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