Inspired by his experience in theater design and his love for bicycling, Curtis Williams founded North St. Bags in 2009. North St. Bags designs and produces a remarkable line of all-weather bike commuter bags. His bags are well-received in the marketplace, but when he came to the PCC SBDC in March 2013 he was struggling to earn sufficient profits to sustain the business.
Through the Retail Small Business Management program and advising meetings, Curtis focused on reducing costs and increasing sales, especially to on-line consumers where the profit margin was greater. His lead advisor and digital marketing advisor assisted him with cash flow management, search engine optimization, and marketing, as well as, advice on what type of personnel to hire and implementing an effective hiring process. North St. Bags sales are now up by 200%. Curtis has better control of his costs, and he's much closer to his profitability goals.
Through the services provided by the PCC SBDC, Curtis has been able to make significant progress towards his business goals and be strategic about his future growth. In addition, Curtis says, “I've learned that pretty much all of the problems in my business have happened before. The SBDC has helped me identify those problems, and connect me to the person with the right answers.” *
