SBA helps veteran business owner pivot from suds to social media

His local fire department was on the verge of closing and Army veteran Dennis Guy stepped up to help.

He didn’t bring axes or extinguishers, instead, firefighters were one of the first to enlist in his Share Your Purpose Program. In six months, with newly acquired marketing and communication tools, the Mt. Oliver Borough Fire Department produced a  video citing a need for volunteers. Those community connections netted seven new recruits – saving the department while simultaneously creating a new business for Dennis and his wife, Samantha. 

Dennis and Samantha realized there was a growing, untapped market -- helping startup businesses, nonprofits and communities stimulate awareness and growth through multimedia marketing. 

Dennis, who owned a successful small business selling beer paraphernalia via a monthly subscription service, quickly pivoted from selling sudsy swag to social media services using skills he learned in high school and homed as an engineer in the Army.

“Small businesses and communities just can’t throw out the money and time to effectively promote themselves,” he said. “We were producing 300 pieces of organic content on seven different platforms, with other companies wanting to outsource us as marketers.” 

The veteran small business owner, one of 56,000 in Pennsylvania, used SBA’s resource partner network for free and professional counseling helping him transition his business model. He told me the assistance was invaluable. “My small business development center helped me with everything from learning about loans to finding and answering a Request for Proposal…you just have to be willing to put in the work,” he added.

Today, through First Sip Studios, the duo now is helping an ever-growing client base manage a business or municipality while also learning to market their products or services. “There is a big gap in both creating and deploying social media content and interpreting analytics to know what to post for small businesses in disadvantaged communities,” Dennis explained.

They developed 24 courses helping their clients create a healthy digital presence. “They learn what to post, how to stay on top, and the impact of videos,” he explained. “The adage of teaching a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime, is true with social media too.”

Dennis started learning as well. I provided him with information on the SBA’s veteran contracting assistance programs, certification, and our APEX Accelerators network. In western Pennsylvania, we have seven accelerators, all helping expand the number of small businesses participating in government contracting. Their free services helped him locate government proposals seeking his marketing services. 

To date, he’s been awarded contracts from cities like Pittsburgh, and Columbus, Ohio to seven western Pennsylvania small, disadvantaged towns. “We provide that personal training to those cities, businesses, and municipalities – whether the goal is selling more sandwiches or helping a small town retain their businesses.”

His success is fueled by a decades-long passion for storytelling, learning, and the ability to change course. “Small businesses can quickly pivot,” he said. “We’re like a speedboat versus the Titanic.”