Technical Assistance for Small Businesses

Continuing to develop and grow the unique custom portable commercial and residential building business of Tiny House Northeast has been made easier through the warm and generous spirit of the team at the Strafford Regional Planning Commission. The challenges of 2020/2021 meant our own team of all skill types were less available, even as we sought to design-build more to satisfy home office and affordable housing needs. Natalie and Zuzana pointed us to the right help. We deeply appreciate the funding made possible by the agency of the SRPC to help keep us "moving" in the right direction!

I received a ton of super useful information, assistance, and professional help. Thank you all so much for offering such a great program. It really did help my small business!!!

Words cannot express my appreciation to the Strafford Regional Planning Commission for their care and concern about my small wholesale distribution business. I wanted to help my country in its PPE need, but it was quite overwhelming. Their assistance was top rate, and thanks to Savoir Faire, the website designer, I feel as though I have a new lease on my business's life. My emoji should show praying hands for the gratitude I feel. I want to thank your office. Yours was the first true value-added assistance I’ve been given in my 2 years of trying to create this PPE business. Most of the time, state and federal governments offer seminars, which may be helpful, but it’s more helpful for their statistics of reaching out to small businesses. The reality is that it’s nearly impossible to break into federal government contracting. NHPTAC is great, but, again, they can’t award the contracts, but that office is helpful. This was an amazing gesture which I appreciate so much; Please let your Board know that this opportunity was so welcomed, needed, and I am humbled by your generosity. I’m someone who lets companies and members of Congress know the good, the bad, and the ugly about my experiences. You all have been the brightest light in my foray into the wholesale business. I’ve yet to make a sale, but it’s persistence that counts. It takes time, and my website gives me so much credibility.

Thank you for contacting me about this program. I was able to receive help in areas that I have no experience in. It in turn led to a larger customer base and more sales.

We work with seniors who suffer from dementia helping them and their families with the red tape that is Medicaid. Record storage and security are two major concerns of ours and on our limited budget they seemed to be unsolvable. The advice and support we've been given by ANS through the Stafford County Economic Development program has, literally, been a lifesaver.

Savoir Faire did an amazing job. Our situation was somewhat unique in that we have hundreds of pieces of great content, most of which is impossible to find on our existing website. They produced a great new architecture and a brilliant path forward that will enable us to meet our growth goals. Even better, they offered a way so that I can do much of the work on the new website it built. I feel like there’s a big new world out there that I can go out and conquer. Now I just need to figure out how to pay for the new website!

2021 was a hard year to launch our company Accelerated Tech Solutions. But we knew that our mission of getting girls excited in STEM by teaching them about drone technology and mapping was needed more than ever. We were so excited when Strafford Regional Planning Commission offered to fund professional help to get us started. Not only did we get great marketing advice from Christina Papas of Open the Door we are currently developing our project website with help from Stephanie McLaughlin from Savoir Faire to launch our newest project 1,000 Drones for 1,000 Girls.

I received feedback from Christina Pappas regarding my digital marketing strategy. Her advice to continue pushing online engagement through posts and contests has been working. We've experienced stronger brand recognition and growth and are also beginning our PR push now into Fall by partnering with SkiNH and working with the Fall Chamber of Commerce.

We worked with 2 fabulous consultants who were clearly subject matter experts. What a gift to be able to have them both as a resource to help grow our marketing efforts!