When cattlemen and business partners Steve Jackson and Kenny Woodham discovered an opportunity to purchase a meat processing plant, they knew it could transform their businesses and add value to their herds. The challenge was proving the venture, Sowega Meat Company, would work.
With guidance from the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center (UGA SBDC), the partners developed the business plan and financial projections needed to secure financing for the $2.1 million project. Within a year, their company grew sales by 567% while creating 15 new jobs.
Sowega Meat Co. is a meat market and meat processing facility headquartered in Colquitt, Georgia. The company processes cattle, hogs, goats and sheep and sells retail and wholesale to other retail facilities and restaurants. It sells its own beef and other items in its retail locations in Colquitt and Headland, Alabama.
“Kenny and I became partners after horse trading cows about four years ago,” Jackson said. “I put this deal together and realized this was an opportunity for someone who knows ranchers from central Georgia to east Texas.”
Woodham, among his several small businesses, runs a livestock auction in Dothan, Alabama.
He and Jackson began discussing financing the plant with Randy Griffin at CSRA Business Lending, a community development corporation. He referred them to the Albany office of the UGA SBDC, where Nema Etheridge serves as area director. Together, they worked with Etheridge to develop financial projections and an improved business plan to submit to CSRA and a local lender.
“It took multiple meetings with Nema because we were trying to decide on our direction,” Jackson said. “But we’re coachable guys. She gave us a lot of industry information we could move on.”
Etheridge said Jackson’s background as a business owner gave the team a strong foundation, but completing the project on schedule presented a significant challenge.
“One of their biggest challenges with this project was the tight timeline they were under,” she said.
To develop their plan, Etheridge, Jackson and Woodham met initially and then worked on things like understanding competitors, the marketing plan, who key employees would be, an equipment list, equity, projected sales and projected retail sales. They also looked at expenses and staffing.
Additionally, to meet the loan requirements, they needed to develop three-year projections regarding capacity, species processed, average rate per species and anticipated revenue per sales line and per item sold.
They received the $2.1 million loan, purchased the plant and made improvements, then received a large government contract to supply their product to local schools.
“We followed the business plan to a ‘T’ and then exceeded expectations,” Jackson said. “There’s nothing like outgrowing your business plan.”
Within its first year, Sowega Meat Co. grew from four employees to 19 and sales saw a 567% increase. When the federal contract expired, employment settled in at 12. Etheridge will continue to advise the partners as their attention turns to production at their new Athens processing plant.
“The SBDC has a golden child in Nema,” Jackson said. “I can’t brag on them enough. She and her team have been extremely helpful and are always interested in what we’ve got going on. We wouldn’t be where we are without them.”
Etheridge, for her part, believes the opportunities for these partners to find outlets for locally raised and processed meat will continue to grow.
“In this territory, there’s always a need to add value to agriculturally produced products,” she said. “How do producers get better connected with consumers? We’re seeing more and more opportunities and will continue to work to help them make that connection.”
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