Don't Just Dream About It, Make it Happen!

Newport Sea Salt Company is set to launch this week at our inaugural Farmer’s Market in Newport, Rhode Island. We could not have gotten to this point without the small business support from local resources and of course the enthusiasm from our family, friends and new acquaintances. Read on to learn about our path to creating our small business. 

It all started with us chatting about the idea with a friend. Our enthusiastic friend pointed us in the direction and guided us to ‘run don’t walk’ to the Small Business Association of Rhode Island. From there folks, the proverbial ‘ball’ started to roll! There is that quote about being an entrepreneur….

Well, we have been building our business along the way as we gain momentum from local, state and federal resources and word of mouth. From our meeting with our business counselor from the SBA, we learned about a local university that would be interested in working with us on our business idea. Josh Daly put us in touch with  Salve Regina University business teacher and she invited us to pitch our idea to a group of 30 business majors. Matt was able to prepare a business pitch for the very next day and by the end of the week we had 5 seniors working on our business plan. (Now let me tell you, both Matt and I do not like speaking in front of large groups. This experience is making Matt comfortable in front of an audience because he is passionate about this small business being a success. Me…I still fumble with saying my name out loud!) Over the course of the spring semester, we met with our team of fantastic future business leaders discussing our operation, marketing ideas, and our financial plan. It was such a great experience and opportunity to work alongside our team. They provided us with an awesome business plan to expand on as we grow. 

Then our SBA counselor told us about a local food incubator. Right about now you may be asking, “What is a food incubator?”. Hope and Main is a non-profit culinary business incubator helping local entrepreneurs jump-start their companies through the use of their certified kitchen space, small business classes, and a supportive community. Hope and Main is a blog post in itself! 

Being that Matt will be retiring from the United States Navy after a twenty year career, we were able to take a Transition Assistance class called ‘Boots 2 Business’. 

Boots to Business is the two-step entrepreneurial training program offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as a training track within the Department of Defense’s Transition Assistance Program (TAP).

We sat amongst a small group of soon to be retiring military service members and received information from the Small Business Association. SBA collaborates with its resource partners (Veterans Business Outreach Centers, Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers and SCORE), the Department of Defense and other federal agencies and local military installations to provide FREE support and education for service members and their family members. 

Whew…so it has been exciting (and sometimes overwhelming) learning about all the available free business resources for start-ups like us. For years I have had so many potential business ideas that I thought were a great idea, but that is where it would stop. So the best advice is if you have an idea, run with it. Check your local and state for small business and entrepreneur resources and talk to friends. Don’t just dream, make it happen. You never know where it will take you. For us....our first stop will be the Aquidneck Grower's Market in Newport, Rhode Island. Hope to see you there! 

Cheers, 

Tami

Newport Sea Salt Co. Crew Member