The Business of Engineering
Sarah Blake, President of Elipsis Engineering and Consulting initially relocated to Florida in 2002 hopes of accepting a position with one of Central Florida’s largest employers, but decided to accept a position at a large engineering firm after the interview process proved to be lengthy. After 5+ years with the company, Blake accepted a position with a smaller firm to further advance her career, but was soon left unemployed when the recession started in 2009. Blake was able to utilize a stimulus package for construction engineering inspection, engineering, and materials testing to start her own business. She certified her company as woman-owned and disadvantaged through the Florida Department of transportation.
Although the company has experienced strong growth, Blake has faced some challenges along the way. The largest hurdle was and still tends to be that Blake is a young female entrepreneur, in a field dominated by men.
Blake was determined to succeed, and decided to work with SBA resource partner, The Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida to fuel her growth. She attributes a big part of her growth to an Advisory Board that was assigned to her through the SBDC. Blake says that at the onset, she had very limited resources like most start-ups often do. The advice she received from the SBDC Advisory Board not only helped her grow her business, but it is professional advice she still used today. Additionally, Blake secured a Certified Development Company (CDC)/504 loan. The CDC/504 Loan Program provides financing for major fixed assets, such as equipment or real estate. The company purchased it’s own office building which more than doubled its space to 7,000 square feet.
Blake has been able to grow the company from 2 employees and $175,000 in revenue to just over 50 employees and over $7 million in revenue, within 11 years. She has been recognized as the 2020 SBA North Florida District’s Small Business Person of the Year. Prior to that, she was given the award for SBA’s Woman-Owned Small Business Person of the Year for the State of Florida in 2015.
Contact:
Sarah Blake, President
Elipsis Engineering and Consulting
530 S. Main Street
Winter Garden, FL, 34787