{"id":34137,"date":"2020-04-13T13:29:55","date_gmt":"2020-04-13T17:29:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/?p=34137"},"modified":"2021-11-08T10:14:28","modified_gmt":"2021-11-08T15:14:28","slug":"south-florida-organic-business-turns-to-fsbdc-at-fiu-for-help-in-staying-afloat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/2020\/04\/south-florida-organic-business-turns-to-fsbdc-at-fiu-for-help-in-staying-afloat\/","title":{"rendered":"South Florida organic business turns to FSBDC at FIU for help in staying afloat."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"South<\/p>\n

Miami-based distribution and co-packing company I Was Thinking strives to grow the presence of its imported natural and organic products at supermarkets across South Florida and beyond. Yet the demands of operating in the COVID-19 environment threatened to bring the business to a halt.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe coronavirus hit us on two sides \u2013 payroll and customer demand,\u201d said co-owner Rodolfo Lorenzo, who launched the business with his mother in 2014. Today, the company has 22 employees and a payroll of $21,000 per week. Increased production means the company has to pay suppliers more upfront than in the past and now proceeds from sales can\u2019t keep up with expenditures.<\/p>\n

Lorenzo turned to the Florida SBDC at FIU Business<\/a> (FSBDC) for assistance with obtaining emergency funds to stay afloat. Last week, he was approved for a Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan, which provides up to $50,000 in loans to small businesses impacted by COVID-19.<\/p>\n

I Was Thinking\u2019s imports include organic quinoa, organic white\/brown rice, chia seeds, organic beans, organic sugar and mineral salt. The company works directly with farmers in Latin America and imports the products directly. It also specializes in co-packing organic products for private labels.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy the time we package, import and have to pay our producers, it\u2019s a good 60 days before we get our money back through sales,\u201d Lorenzo said. \u201cIt\u2019s been an uphill battle. We have hired a lot of people in this time of need because given the coronavirus situation, filling grocery stores is critical.\u201d<\/p>\n

I Was Thinking\u2019s bridge loan will be used primarily for payroll, allowing Lorenzo to keep his employees and continue filling grocery store shelves. The business is currently operating 6 or 7 days per week, from 7 a.m. until as late as 1 a.m. Its products are sold in three of the top grocery chain retailers in the U.S.<\/p>\n

\"Miami-based<\/p>\n

While the bridge loan will help keep I Was Thinking running, it\u2019s not enough for the company to stay on its growth track, Lorenzo said. The process isn\u2019t easy, he noted, adding that it seems like the larger banks aren\u2019t structured to handle a situation like the one that exists today.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe FSBDC helped me succeed rather quickly,\u201d Lorenzo said.<\/p>\n

Lorenzo has already applied for the Paycheck Protection Program and the SBA\u2019s Economic Injury Disaster Loan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we get that one, we\u2019ll be able to get rid of a bunch of other loans and lines of credit in the 12- to 15 percent interest range,\u201d said Lorenzo. \u201cWe\u2019ve been working not-stop just to pay the interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Miami-based distribution and co-packing company I Was Thinking strives to grow the presence of its imported natural and organic products at supermarkets across South Florida and beyond. Yet the demands of operating in the COVID-19 environment threatened to bring the business to a halt. \u201cThe coronavirus hit us on two sides \u2013 payroll and customer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":34141,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4611,10],"tags":[4587,3121],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34137"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34137"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36173,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34137\/revisions\/36173"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}