Columbus OBGYN Practice Turns to UGA SBDC for Business Restart
November 8, 2024
Through her partnership with the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center (UGA SBDC), Labrescia “Breezy” Dawson has watched her real estate company’s earnings surpass $1 million, secured a government contract worth up to $1 billion and positioned her business for further innovation and adaptability.
“With the UGA SBDC’s help, my business is in the right place for growth,” Dawson said.
Dawson attended several classes with the UGA SBDC to find ways to improve her real estate company’s business operations. There, she met Donald Lamar, area director of the UGA SBDC at Morehouse College. It was the beginning of a fruitful partnership.
“I learn just as much from Breezy as she does from me,” Lamar said. “She’s committed to growing her business, committed to her vision and mission. She goes and gets herself equipped with the right training and resources to go forward. She’s a model all clients would be wise to follow. She’s very consistent, continuously adds value and is very successful in all her efforts.”
Dawson, an Atlanta native, started her business with a strong background in car sales.
“A couple of clients told me I should try selling real estate and talked about the money I could make,” Dawson said. “The competition in car sales taught me to be tough and go for it.”
In 2003, she opened Dawson’s Realty, and her business expanded quickly. When she learned she could also sell mortgages, she went back to school, got licensed, and changed her company name to Dawson’s Realty and Mortgages.
In 2006, she established Dawson’s Management to offer asset management, general management, construction management, facilities support services and logistics. The company was part of the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract program, which allows businesses to compete for federal contracts reserved for the program’s certified participants.
In 2020, Dawson was doing government work through a prime contractor and wanted to pursue more opportunities on her own, so she attended a UGA SBDC class on government contracting. That’s when she met Lamar.
He led Dawson through strategic planning and the SBA’S 8(a) Business Development program to help her business grow in the federal contracting space. Dawson’s company recently was awarded a 10-year contract worth up to $1 billion with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“I wanted to learn how to expand my business into government contracting,” she said. “Donald taught me how to get into this space.”
Dawson also was looking at operational systems she could put in place to make her business more scalable and accountable from a reporting standpoint. She needed to add infrastructure to put it in growth mode. Lamar led her through a strategic planning exercise, looking with her at her vision, mission, values and defining goals. He gave her an overview on federal government contracting, helping her think about what she needed to do to land a government contract.
“I had stumbled upon asset management for the government while subcontracting for a company that worked with HUD,” Dawson said. “I realized how many REO (real estate owned) properties the government owns and realized I’d already sold more than 100 REOs for them. I figured my company could be an asset manager and pitched that to the government.”
Before she was awarded the $1 billion HUD contract, Dawson’s company had been awarded a smaller two-year contract and did well. After making six figures, Dawson’s Management is now a seven-figure company. It has grown from a single agent to employing 18 real estate agents and partnering with a network of 2,000 brokers to sell properties nationwide and in Puerto Rico and Guam.
RESULTS
“Donald was instrumental in coaching our organization and enhancing our infrastructure. His advice will enable us to leverage the tools and solutions the UGA SBDC provides, ensuring we remain competitive in our industry and that we have the ability to innovate and adapt to changing market conditions.”
For More Information: University of Georgia SBDC | (706) 542-2762
All programs of the UGA SBDC are open to the public on a non-discriminatory basis. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance.
Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The University of Georgia
Small Business Development Center
382 East Broad Street
Athens, GA 30602-5412
P: (706) 542-2762