UGA SBDC expert advice puts Sandersville land management company on right path

Chambers knows hard work. From age 14 to 21, he had worked for a small business owner in east Dublin, Ga. When the recession hit, Chambers went to work in a Dublin paper mill. By the end of his first year there, 2010, he opened an erosion control business. He had saved $10,000 to use as operating cash and a banker gave him a $50,000 line of credit. 

“Me being successful wasn’t a choice,” Chambers said. “I’d just started a family and a new business at the same time.” 

Chambers met Frickey in 2014 and was learning how the UGA SBDC could assist his growing business. About the same time, he’d run into some major challenges when he hired staff to take on a new industrial maintenance division. 

“I was in a jam, but I didn’t know enough about business,” Chambers said. “I knew how to trust people and build relationships, but I didn’t know enough about my financials.” 

The situation reached a turning point when Chambers realized he couldn’t make payroll. He knew he had a problem but wasn’t sure what it was. When Frickey reviewed the books, he discovered the big issue was cash flow and receivables. 

“On the balance sheet, Joey had almost half a million dollars in receivables,” Frickey said, “but he had no late payment penalty, no collections policy. The money was slower coming in than going out. He needed to get his clients to start paying.”  

Under Frickey’s advice, Chambers worked with a finance company to purchase, or factor, his invoices at a discount for immediate cash. To straighten out his cash flow moving forward, he established a collections policy with penalties on late payments. He also attended the SBDC’s GrowSmart® training. 

“In GrowSmart I learned a lot of good things about structure and expectations of myself and other people,” Chambers said. “In some areas my business was excelling, and in others I could see where it was failing. You can’t finance other people’s businesses—they need to pay for your services. When it came time for me to accept this, Eric helped.” 

The cash flow fix helped turn the business around quickly. Chambers made payroll, hired a CPA and expanded into mass earth grading and mining. His employment number grew to 80 and revenues reached eight figures. Superior Custom Services now operates in Georgia, South Carlina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida. Chambers’ phone rings nonstop.  

“I watched Joey go from being naïve to being a very good businessman,” Frickey said. “During one of our meetings, he realized he didn’t need me anymore. I could tell he was running his business with confidence.”