SBA Loan & Emerging Leaders Program Make a Concrete Company's Goals Attainable

Jacqui and Doug Ortmann operated Ortmann Concrete from their home for 11 years. An SBA 7(a) loan and Jacqui's participation in the SBA Emerging Leaders program have given the company valuable tools for growth and stable operations.

Jacqui Ortmann knew she wanted a career in business from a very young age. As a high school student, she took a job at a fast food restaurant and was quickly promoted to assistant manager. When she married Doug Ortmann, her high school sweetheart, they combined her talent for managing a business with his passion for working with concrete and launched Ortmann Concrete in 2003.  

For the first 11 years, they ran the business from their home with Jacqui managing the budget, human resources, marketing strategies, and the overall business plan. The equipment was stored in their yard, which is also where their employees reported for work each morning. They had outgrown the space and were looking for a place to rent.  

Jacqui got involved with a local networking group, where she met a representative from an SBA lender bank. Eventually, through an SBA 7(a) loan, the Ortmanns were able to purchase a building, rather than rent it. They secured enough funding to renovate the space to include both a showroom and the office they currently occupy.  

The SBA loan allowed the Ortmanns to expand their staff and streamline their processes with all employees reporting to a centralized location. Since its launch in 2003, Ortmann Concrete has grown from five to 12 employees, and the additional staff has afforded Jacqui time to participate in the SBA’s Emerging Leaders Program.

The program is the SBA’s executive training course that teaches selected business leaders strategic planning principles that emphasize the need to transition from working in the business to working on the business.  

“The Emerging Leaders Program has been a valuable tool in the growth of our company," Jacqui said. "It helped identify what we were missing in planning, goal setting and accountability programs. The education, resources and tools I gained are now a part of my daily operation.”