Veteran trades Civil Service for Health Food with SBA Financing and SBDC counseling
Patricia and Kaleb Warnock were thinking of opening a business in their adopted hometown of El Paso, Texas, when Patricia suggested health food. They knew they needed a small business loan and so they reached out to the Small Business Development Center for personalized assistance with their business plan, financial statements, and SBA loan application. This trifecta of support allowed the Warnocks to secure the location for their first health food business, FloWar DBA Tropical Smoothie Café.
When the business first started, it had a limited product offering, selling mostly mulch and stone in bulk quantities to landscapers and homeowners. Today, the inventory includes over 1,800 different items Once they broke ground on their first location, they were still faced with a few challenges when it came to expanding their business into the franchise it is today. They faced a few paperwork hurdles with Patricia’s citizenship application. They faced day –to-day issues with raising a family, working and starting a new business. Kaleb was working full time with the Border Patrol at the beginning of this entrepreneurial venture and was effectively juggling two full time jobs. He fell back on the discipline and hard work instilled while in the Navy, as a Master-at-Arms for five years. The Warnocks attribute their success to the SBDC and the assistance received there. Specifically, the Small Business Management Program was instrumental to solidifying their knowledge base and allowing them to expand to the three Tropical Smoothie locations they currently have, as well as the two additional sites being built now.
The SBA’s small business loan, and the SBDC’s counseling services not only allowed Kaleb and Patricia Warnock to start and grow their Tropical Smoothie business, it also gave them the tools to expand their business to include commercial construction design, business management, as well as taking on a pizza franchise. They are proud of their growth and trust that a key component has been how they believe in and treat their employees. Their many businesses experience low turnover; and staff has remarked on the flexibility available to them regarding school hours and personal development. Patricia and Kaleb Warnock care about the people that work for them, they want them to benefit from being a part of the burgeoning success that is FloWar DBA Tropical Smoothie Café.