Fortified Development Trucking strives to be an innovative and solutions-driven, minority-owned trucking company, challenging their drivers to provide reliable and excellent customer service while balancing their career and family. Their mission is to become the transporter of choice for construction hauling and short- and long-hauling from coast to coast. With the byline “Realizing Potential at Every Level in the Trucking Industry”, Fortified Development Trucking offers reliable, safe, timely delivery that is the most cost-effective trucking carrier available for construction hauling projects and line-haul in all 48 states.

Fortified Development Trucking is a family-owned business, based in Aurora, that began in October of 2019. Owners Arthur and Monica Gilbert come from a trucking family in Pittsburgh, PA. After years in the corporate world, with husband Arthur in real estate and their son also in business, they decided to research the trucking industry. They found low-paying opportunities with taxing schedules, making it difficult to maintain a healthy home life. In response to the struggle, the partners pooled their experience to create a solution to meet their needs, as well as offering viable employment opportunities for individuals coming out of incarceration. 

They started their business with personal investments, credit cards, and a Small Business Administration loan from the Colorado Enterprise Fund. They believe in building relationships. Through partnerships with the community and the trucking industry, they are working to build a transportation company that delivers not only freight, sand, gravel, dirt, and more, but also “Hope“ to the community.

Their partnership with the Aurora-South Metro SBDC has spanned at least four years, gaining assistance in business planning, lending options, trucking regulations and government certification. Today, with help from the SBDC’s certified advisors, they hold the following small business certifications: MBE, DBE, WBE, SBE and ESB. Business is booming, with annual revenues increasing, for example, six-fold from 2021 to 2022. They’ve also added three full-time employees for a total of five. 

“The Aurora-South Metro SBDC has helped our business connect with technical resources, prime contractors, and other invaluable tools to sustain our business,” said Arthur Gilbert, owner. Fortified Development Trucking doesn’t just talk about hope for the community but they now provide prevailing wages for those who want to work in the transportation industry.  

- Arthur and Monica Gilbert
For more info visit https://www.fortifieddev.com/

“The SBDC helped me better understand and prepare my business plan. Growing up in a family business, a business plan was all about going with the flow. I never knew what a cash flow was, but support from the SBDC has increased my business knowledge,” said Thoa Nguyen.  

CEO and owner Thoa Nguyen is a pastry chef by day and a culinary chef by night. Branching out from the family’s restaurant, she studied baking and pastry arts, then traveled to France to continue her education, discovering a deeper meaning for food. “It has a way of connecting me to people, culture, art, memories, stories and experiences.” In fact, Plated Culture is her LLC.  It’s this concept that describes food as a worldwide language.  

Thoa took out a personal loan to start and grow the business. With a solid and realistic business plan, Banh & Butter Bakery Café survived its first year as a small business in Aurora near the Anschutz Medical Center, exceeding projections. What was a set menu, Thoa quickly recognized the demand for lunch items after interacting with the community. So, pastries and coffee became pastries and sweets, coffee and specialty drinks, baguette and croissant sandwiches, breakfast all day and merchandise items.  Bánh” is a Vietnamese term that is often applied to a wide variety of breads, sweet and savory pastries and goods. The bakery’s customers include students, teachers, service workers, neighborhood regulars, seniors, medical personnel and more.  

The future looks bright for this French-Vietnamese, Asian-fusion bakery café. “The Aurora-South Metro SBDC has resources that go beyond business planning. They keep in touch with my business, answer my business questions as I grow and help find resources for funding.”

Expanding on the bakery’s merchandise, the bakery will soon offer online orders and delivery. There is good potential in farmers markets throughout the year and special event catering. Thoa is researching the right products for grocery stores and wants to create an online store to ship nationwide. The key to Banh & Butter’s success is listening to customers and keeping up with demand.  

Banh & Butter is community based. They outsource their products locally, including a plant vendor, jerky vendor and coffee supplier. The bakery showcases artists who display their work at the café which takes no commission and fully supports student and other local art. Thoa wants to continue as a partner with the local community.  

The company has gone from four employees and three interns from culinary school to eight team members—seven full-time and one part-time. Meet their diverse and talented team online, and check out their delectable menu and what’s new from the creatives behind the name.

- Thoa Nguyen
For more info visit https://www.banhandbutter.com/

Starting out as a dream in 2012, Valerie Boyd developed her knowledge and contacts within the safety equipment industry to move forward with confidence in 2014. Valerie started to make the dream a reality. Coming from a family working in the structural steel industry, Valerie’s top priority is to keep families safe by keeping workers safe. Colorado Safety Supply does just that, providing safety training and equipment for construction job sites.

Located in Aurora, Colorado Safety Supply sells a variety of safety products, from fall protection to ladder climbing systems, from roofing kits to rescue and recovery devices. Colorado Safety Supply’s online store makes it convenient to find the right product for the job, and pride in customer service is the hallmark for every product sold and every training experience.

Valerie grew the business by 50% in sales between 2014 and 2015, then by 200% the next year. Valerie was able to grow the company on the profits. In 2017 Colorado Safety Supply worked with companies of all sizes and was growing to the point of needing more space to hold both a retail store and training facilities.

The new Aurora facility was near the previous location, and was completed in 2018. The office site includes a retail store, a supply warehouse and safety training facility for contractors and their employees. She has added an administrative staff member, an internal sales representative, two outside sales reps, and contracted providers for bookkeeping, marketing and web design. Working together, sales have increased by 67% over the past year, obtaining government contracts and increasing her product line.

Starting from scratch with personal funds and a line of credit, how did Valerie go from the start-up to expansion phase in just three years? She explains. “As a small business, I met with advisors at the Aurora-South Metro SBDC and was offered guidance in not only starting my business but giving me direction to grow my business. I attended the LEADING EDGETM Strategic Planning Series in the spring of 2015 and completed my business plan. By doing so, I realized the tremendous opportunity for expansion. The greatest challenge at this time is to complete the new facility from which we can provide more services in safety training and equipment rentals and sales.”

Colorado Safety Supply Company is 100% woman owned, with WBE, DBE, SBE, WOSB certifications. Although not veteran-owned, Colorado Safety Supply Company has tremendous respect and passion for veterans, working with many companies who employ and focus on the growth of veterans who are becoming educated in this industry through training and job exploration. 
 

- Valerie Boyd
For more info visit https://coloradosafetysupply.com/