Scape Group, Inc. Keeps Making Dirt Pretty with the Help of SBA’s Covid-19 Relief
The pandemic impacted small businesses everywhere, creating an economic slowdown few had seen before, and Scape Group, Inc. was not immune to the effects. President and CEO DeLynne Ano started Scape Group ten years ago after working for over three decades in the sourcing departments of corporate giants. After several years consulting in the oil maintenance industry, Scape Group evolved and split into two branches: Mecca Remediation Facility specializes in the recycling and remediation of California non-hazardous contaminated soil and liquid. The facility, located on the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians tribal land and adhering to their rigorous environmental standards, treats the contaminated material and then recycles it through tribal land stabilization and dust suppression systems. Process Panda is a business consulting company specializing in creating and implementing operational processes, systems, and procedures that increase business efficiency. Process Panda creates the structure and actionable processes needed to bring a small business owner’s vision to life.
As a former Chairman of WBENC-West and long-time partner with the SBA, both as a corporate partner and small business owner, DeLynne knew the benefits of the SBA’s resources. Utilizing the services & expertise of the Women’s Business Center in the Coachella Valley and the SBA, DeLynne made sure her business was certified as not only a Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB), but went on to become certified as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE). These diverse certifications allowed her to gain contracts in the male-dominated construction and oil industries.
Even armed as DeLynne was with diverse certifications and decades of industry expertise, the pandemic proved to be a larger storm than she could predict. As soon as the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) were made available through the SBA, DeLynne was quick to jump on the opportunity to better weather the pandemic and its impact on new incoming business prospects. Utilities were her “bread and butter” and oil & construction were her “gravy” but the ripple effects on the economy impacted these industries as well, halting construction projects and bottoming out oil prices. The PPP allowed DeLynne to continue to pay her employees and keep staff onboard while the EIDL provided much needed cushion to continue to pay business obligations. There were still some difficult business decisions to make but she claims she would not be in business today if not for the help of the SBA’s coronavirus relief funding programs. If the coronavirus continues to impact her business, she knows there may be the need to pare down further but feels confident that Scape Group will survive the pandemic to fight another day.