Financial fundamentals, UGA SBDC support put Conyers homeopathic business on track for more growth

Roberts and Swanson met while working at the same table at a Rockdale County Chamber of Commerce event. When she found out what he did, she asked him for advice.

“Marge had been running the business for a couple of decades and knew about financing, but she needed help with her financials,” Swanson said. “I suggested we could work together on that.”

Newton Laboratories, Inc., which does business as Newton Homeopathics, is an FDA-registered homeopathic manufacturer established in 1987 and located in Conyers. Founder Dr. Luc Chaltin named Roberts as CEO in 2003, but she had never run a business. When he passed away in 2008, he bequeathed Roberts the company.

“I wish I would have met Ryan back then, but I didn’t know the SBDC or the services it provided existed,” Roberts said.

Swanson and Roberts worked together on financial records and bookkeeping, reclassifying some transactions and moving away from what Swanson calls “bank statement” financial management to an accrual-based accounting system. They worked on projections to help plan for and improve inventory accounting and update the pricing of products, which had been unchanged for years.

By reviewing her wholesale relationships and the cost of goods sold, Roberts discovered that her business was losing money on a deal with a major retailer—so she canceled it.

“Newton Homeopathics experienced an uptick in sales after implementing suggestions from the SBDC,” Swanson said. “Cancelling the deal cut revenues, but it improved the company’s bottom line significantly, the results of which we expect to see by year’s end.”

To further grow the business, Swanson introduced Roberts to UGA SBDC consultant Candice Abolarin, who worked with Roberts to put a fresh new spin on the company’s social media marketing.

“Meeting and working with Candice has been really beneficial,” Roberts said. “Not many people understand homeopathic remedies, so I had been more of a customer service person. Candice has helped me find better ways to introduce the benefits of our products to our retailers and new customers.”

Online sales are increasing as the business sells directly to its online consumers, said Roberts. As a result, she expects a 100% increase in sales in the next year.

“We’ve started posting ‘A Minute with Marge’ on Instagram, YouTube and Facebook, and post daily on social media. I also lead a ‘Room for Zoom’ every third Tuesday with health food stores to promote our products, and we’ve started a club,” said Roberts. “It makes such a difference. For example, one store manager attended the Zoom, and their sales went up five-fold. She’s being educated. Education and awareness online will build our sales.”

Swanson also encouraged Roberts to attend the SBDC’s GrowSmart program last summer. The 35-hour course is designed for established businesses owners to develop effective growth strategies.

“My amazing staff of 15 employees has spent five, 10, 20 years with the company, and through GrowSmart, I learned to implement change with more involvement from them,” Roberts said. “We put our values in writing. We updated our mission and vision. Now our staff meetings are more engaging. I wish I’d gotten started on this 20 years ago.”

Roberts continues to call Swanson and Abolarin for advice and guidance.