SBA Provides Clean Patch for Growth & Expansion

Situation

Jesse Camacho came to the U.S from Puerto Rico with his family in 1968.  They settled in the South Bronx.  His family had an entrepreneurial spirit…his dad had a grocery store in PR, and when they came to the U.S., Jesse’s dad instilled that entrepreneurial spirt in his children to work hard, take advantage of opportunity, and become the American Dream.

How the SBA helped

Jesse took his dad’s words and actions to heart.  After graduating from college, he worked selling cleaning products for a major distributor throughout Indiana.  Times became tough for Jesse and his young family when the company was sold, and Jesse was laid off.  That’s when he turned his bedroom into an office and used his connections to continue his sales career.  He began dreaming of expansion—hiring his own crews to clean the huge office spaces in Indianapolis.  But Jesse didn’t know how to get his foot in the door.

“I saw potential,” Jesse said, “but I didn’t know who I needed to talk to to secure cleaning contracts for all of these offices and facilities downtown. I talked to a connection of mine who was a member of the Hispanic Business Council (HBC).  He set me up in the HBC Mentor/Protégé program.”

Jesse’s mentor suggested he work with Indianapolis SCORE to develop a comprehensive business plan.  He also suggested Jesse look at the SBA 8(s) Business Development Program.

“Applying for 8(a) was one of the best moves my mentor suggested,” Jesse said.  “In the beginning, nine years sounds like a long time, but it’s not.  During that time, I was able to learn how to be the kind of company that federal government wants to hire—one that reliable, bonded and professional.  I also learned where to find bids and how to put together proposals that win contracts every time.  That’s valuable knowledge that can also be applied outside the federal contracting sphere.”

Impact/Outcome

Jesse graduated from the SBA 8(a) program in 2017 and went on to win the coveted SBA Indiana 8(a) Graduate of the Year award in 2023. Because of 8(a), Jesse has long-term contracts with multiple federal agencies, including GSA and the Veterans Health Administration.  He also applied what he learned to secure prime contracts with the City of Indianapolis, the state of Indiana, Indianapolis Airport Authority, Eli Lilly and others.  Jesse currently has 10 full-time employees and has established relationships with other small businesses who become his sub-contractors supplying crews to carry out conditions of larger contracts which ultimately provides hundreds of local jobs to people throughout the greater Indianapolis area and beyond.