After eight years growing grapes on her farm in Marion County, Alex Ackermann decided to expand her business and open the first winery in the county.
Ackermann entered the wine business later in life. “My kids were growing up and I was looking for something to do,” she said. “My husband and I were looking at this property and my friend said, ‘ That sure would be a great place to grow grapes.’” Intrigued, Alex began researching viticulture and was quickly hooked. Read More →
Science, not business, comes naturally to Pat Lawless, founder of Biological Prospects, a high-tech company that produces a line of nutraceutical supplements for the equine industry. Uncertain how to market his novel product on an international scale, Lawless contacted Gordon Garrett, associate director with the KSBDC. Read More →
Mitzi Bender decided a rain barrel was the perfect solution to her flooding basement. Unfortunately, an attractive rain barrel that met her neighborhoods’ stringent requirements was nowhere to be found. Rather than accept a lifetime of soggy basement carpets, Bender partnered with her friend Karen Bell and together designed their own attractive “raintainer” for the capture of rooftop runoff. Read More →
Global Environmental Services (GES) is a leading certified electronic waste recycler licensed by the state of Kentucky. GES works with an extensive network of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and product brokers and offers a host of services from its state of teh art 70,000 square foot facility.
GES was founded in 2008 by Kenny Gravitt and Paul Haddix. Gravitt and Haddix sought to build a company that recycled electronics properly, doing no harm to the environment or communities around the world. Read More →
Karen and Norris Kennedy first approached the Hopkinsville SBDC in March 2009 with a problem – they could not find any good hot wings in the area. Norris, who is currently on active duty at Fort Campbell, wanted to remedy this problem by obtaining the local franchise for Buffalo Wings and Rings. Read More →
Treats Pet Resort, an upscale dog and cat resort offering long and short-term boarding, web-cams, ceiling fans, TV and other amenities, opened in Louisville in 2007. Despite experiencing sales that beat the business’ initial forecast, the building, equipment and payroll costs ran over budget resulting in severe cash flow problems within the first two years of operation. Read More →
Dr. Ira J. Bates wanted to do something completely different after retiring from a 40-year career as a health care executive. “I always wanted to build my own home,” Bates said. “I wanted to retire in a 21st century home with as many features of a modern, comfortable ‘green’ building that I could think of.”
For the next six years Bates worked on building his dream home atop a hill overlooking the Red Lick Valley near Berea. Read More →
Bluegrass Veterinary Specialists began as a vision. Dr. Antu Radhakrishnan, Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, saw the need to create a state-of-the-art regional referral center for small animals where services would be provided by board certified specialists. Prior to the formation of Bluegrass Veterinary Specialists in 2005, there were no board-certified small animal veterinary internal medicine specialists in Lexington. If a dog or cat needed a referral, pet owners had to travel to Louisville or Cincinnati. Read More →
