Minority Business Development Agency

FYI: Business

The deal comes just weeks after BBI announced the launch of its first tri-brand stores in North Carolina and Oklahoma and is the first multi-unit agreement for the Smallcakes brand.

"We're very excited about this great milestone for BBI and what it means for our growth as an innovative restaurant development company," David Rutkauskas, BBI founder, president and CEO, said in a written statement. "Combined with the launch of our new tri-brand stores, we believe we're gathering huge momentum in our corporate growth strategy."

BBI and the Bauers believe they can reach their goal of 25 Smallcakes units within the next five years.

Founded in Kansas City in 2008, Smallcakes' unique "cupcakery" restaurant bakes 15 kinds of gourmet cupcakes daily. The price point per cupcake is $2.89 or $28.00 per dozen. The unique cupcakes have been featured on popular TV shows such as "The View" and "Cupcake Wars" on the Food Network.

BBI was founded under the leadership of David and Camille Rutkauskas and is responsible for the successful launch of more than 14 worldwide, franchised brands including Camille's Sidewalk Café, FreshBerry Frozen Yogurt Cafe, Rex's Chicken, Caz's Chowhouse, Dixie Cream Donut Co., Top That! Pizza, Blazing Onion Burger Co, In the Raw Sushi, Le Beau Rouleau Crepes and Croissants, and Smallcakes.

Minority honorees named Sapulpa-based Big Time Maintenance Solutions was among recipients of awards during Oklahoma Minority Enterprise Development Week and named "Minority Service Firm of the Year."

The celebration was coordinated by the Native American Business Enterprise Center of Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma Inc.

Eugene Big Soldier Jr., a Native American and Desert Storm veteran, launched Big Time Maintenance Solutions in 2010 to meet the need for quality, dependable commercial janitorial and landscaping services including routine post construction, tree trimming and final cleaning. Big Time Maintenance Solutions has created 20 jobs with 95 percent of the positions held by minorities.

REI opened the NABEC office four years ago through an award from the Minority Business Development Agency, U.S. Department of Commerce. Since then, the economic impact from NABEC services is more than $93 million, including the procurement of government contracts of $52 million.

Also, John R. Blue was named "Advocate of the Year.

Group O Hosts National Deputy Director of Minority Business ...

Group O , the optimization company that specializes in marketing operations, supply-chain and packaging solutions, is pleased to announce its sponsorship and participation in the White House Bi-State Minority Business Development Roundtable, organized by the Greater Quad Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (GQCHCC).

The event held yesterday at the i Wireless center featured keynote speaker Alejandra Castillo, national deputy director of the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), and involved the business community, including local, state, and federal government officials and agency representatives; Small Business Technical Assistance providers; Supplier Diversity & Procurement Officers; and other representatives.

With continued national economic uncertainty, the event represented a welcome opportunity for attendees to collaborate on growth strategies and partnership opportunities concerning minority- and women-owned businesses which leverage support from agencies like the MBDA. In her remarks, Castillo linked the importance of minority business development and supplier diversity programs to overall efforts of the Administration – including a federal procurement goal of 23 percent from small businesses – to create entrepreneurial, innovative job growth.

Following the program, Ms. Castillo toured the Group O headquarters and discussed with management how the company sees its continued leadership in the area of minority business development as a key contributor to not just its own continued growth – as evidenced by the addition of over 475 jobs in the last 24 months – but also a reflection of the growing diversity of customers, employees, investors and suppliers in regional and national markets.

“Growing the scale and scope of women and minority owned businesses has moved from a social issue to a critical global business imperative,” remarked Alejandra Castillo, “[Founder] Bob Ontiveros is a role model — [Group O] is a success story we want to replicate.”

“Our commitment to diversity – through both procurement strategies and employment goals – is foundational to who we are, at all levels in our organization,” stated Gregg Ontiveros, CEO of Group O. “Our diversity is fundamental to how we approach creating sustainable value for our clients such as AT&T and Caterpillar. We see exciting growth opportunities in all of our divisions – from high-volume mobile device logistics to direct mail campaign management – and we will continue to invest in and offer solutions to those markets where we can create value for ourselves and our clients.

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INFORMATION CONTACTS: Regional or Local Office: Contact nearest Minority Business Development Agency Regional Office listed in Appendix IV of the Catalog . ...