Big Business in the Small Business Industry

The following article has been reprinted from the Allen Image magazine with permission.

Not too long ago, many area employees personally experienced the downturn in the local economy. Some individuals used the time off from work to take a step back, evaluate their careers and try something completely different. If you ask Carl Haley Jr., he will tell you that if life gives you lemons, you make lemonade or in laymen's terms- you start a small business.

Haley was one of 800 individuals that the Collin County Community College District (Collin) Small Business Development Center (SBDC) counseled last year. Recently named regional SBDC of the year, Collin's SBDC assisted clients in obtaining more than $1 million in Small Business Administration loans in 2004.

According to Mark Langford, former director of Collin's SBDC, the downturn in the economy generated a lot of interest for individuals considering starting their own new businesses. "The SBDC provides services to help clients make an informed decision to determine if starting their own business is right for them. Small business creates two-thirds of the new jobs in America. As the economy turns around, many new companies and jobs are created by people who lost their jobs in the high-tech shakeout," said Langford.

Haley and his wife, Mia, had dreamed of owning their own business since they graduated from college, but they wanted to enter the corporate world before they ventured out on their own. When Haley, an information technology engineer for MCI, lost his job they seized the opportunity to start their very own small business.

"With the industry downturn, the market for my skill set was not in demand. I wanted to do my own thing and be my own boss. We had 401k's in place, and we saved our money, so we had the resources to start a business," said Haley.

However, just wanting to start a business was not enough to make it a reality. Haley learned about the SBDC when he was taking Oracle classes at the college a few months before his layoff. After an initial visit, Haley frequented the SBDC on a weekly basis, and over the course of a year Langford helped him evaluate and decide on a franchise, develop an extensive business plan and cash flow projection, and even set him up with a lender.

"Without the SBDC it would have been like throwing darts in the wind. The SBDC is very structured, and the coaching made it a lot easier than doing it alone. Mark felt my sense of urgency. It wasn't always a cake walk. I did not have a lot of collateral, but he told me, 'you can do it.' He did not sugar coat it. He was straight forward and honest," said Haley.

According to Carl Haley senior, his son and daughter-in-law come from good stock, but it is not chicken broth that this husband and wife team is cooking. Instead, they prepare shrimp, catfish, wings, salads, sandwiches, chicken tenders and sauces ranging from sweet and sour to homicide. With his mother, Delta, managing the kitchen and a 97 percent health department rating, Haley's Wings To Go restaurant, located on the corner of Bethany and Greenville in Allen, is off to a great start. Haley clinched his early success by providing more than 8,000 wings to meet the demands of SuperBowl Sunday just three days after he opened his new business in February 2005.

Haley and his wife say this business suits them perfectly because with a variety of entre options and the 100-inch, high definition projection TV, customers can relax in a "sportsy" atmosphere.

"We got approved by the first lender, and I don't think we would have done it without Mark. He had contacts with different banks, and he had a proven record with them. That made it easier for me because they knew Mark did a prescreening," said Haley.

Now, the thrill of being a small business owner is coursing through Haley's blood, and he has plans to open another Wings To Go by the end of the year. Today, as his own boss, he offers prospective new small business owners one piece of advice.

"Do not do anything until you visit the SBDC because you would not want to do it twice," said Haley with conviction.