Chicken Farm Ventures LLC SBDC Success Story
Economic Impact
- Business Start
- Jobs Created: 7
Juston and Chasity Oakes are both employed as project managers for different companies, and they have also started their own real estate business. When they learned that a local art center was for sale, complete with a bed and breakfast, studios and onsite restaurant, they realized that it was an investment opportunity they had been looking for.
They were referred to the SBDC for guidance and were assigned to James Leavelle, senior certified business advisor. He worked with them on their financial projections, various topics related to purchasing an existing business, marketing, permits and other related items. He then assisted them with their business plan, which has been submitted to the San Angelo Business Plan Competition and advanced to the second phase of competition with high hopes of making it to the final phase.
The Oakes have been able to purchase the business and are working hard to grow sales in the Art Center, as well as expand the bed and breakfast in terms of available rentals and sales.
“James has been awesome in providing guidance in purchasing our new business! He has warned us against pitfalls and taught us new ways to look at our financials to determine our purchase viability. We are looking forward to working with James in more detail on scaling our new business and improving our business operations.”