Archive for category: Success Stories

Bloomfield is a small town located in Northeast Nebraska that has been named both the busiest city in the area as well as a haven for those who prefer small town life. While the population sits at just over 1,000, the community draws people in from a 30-mile radius, and serves as a hub for all who stop in. It is here, in Bloomfield, where you’ll find the Gill family managing their two businesses – Bloomfield Tire & Oil and Stingers One Stop.

Jeremy Gill, along with his wife, Stacey, and his parents, Ken and Janet Gill, purchased Freeman Oil, Inc. in 2012 from the Freeman Brothers and renamed it Bloomfield Tire & Oil. Jeremy’s ties with the business run deep as he worked for the former owners in high school – gaining valuable knowledge, experience and tricks of the trade. Over the years, Jeremy and his staff have made Bloomfield Tire and Oil is the place to go for any auto, farm, tractor and semi repairs.

While continuing to make a name for themselves, Bloomfield Tire & Oil started running into issues with the old shop – it was too small to fully accommodate for the newer vehicles that are bigger and longer.

The Gill family recognized that in order to continue serving their customer base well, a larger shop was needed.

“The shop got outdated and we needed to build something to really help us accommodate for everything,” Jeremy said.

Around the same time, they noticed the need for a 24-fuel station and convenience store in Bloomfield. From there, the idea for Stingers One Stop was born.

Native360 Loan Fund stepped in to help blend business and family. Pete Upton, Executive Director of Native360, was able to provide the Gill family with financing and educational opportunities to ensure that both businesses would be successful.

“Pete came into the picture and he’s really been a great guy to work with,” Ken Gill said. “You can’t ask for a better relationship than what we’ve got with him. He’s done wonders for us.”

In 2017, the Gills purchased a previously closed convenience store and by May 2018 Stingers One Stop opened with convenience items, homemade pizza, broasted chicken and daily noon specials. Stacey Gill, co-owner, stays busy managing her staff, helping her chef, Marc Sgroi, plan their daily specials, and keeping things moving through the breakfast and lunch rushes. Together, they feed Bloomfield.

Stingers One Stop serves up more than food, they’ve made it a priority to make everyone feel part of the Gill family. Great conversations around the table and laughs amongst staff and customers are in no short supply. It’s just another way they are able to bring family back to the community.

“People were excited to finally have a convenience store in Bloomfield,” Stacey said. “It didn’t take long for the word to spread about our food. In the three years we’ve been open, I’m happy to say our crowds have grown!”

By 2019, Bloomfield Tire & Oil was able to move into the back end of the Stingers building with a bigger shop and expanded equipment.

Keeping the businesses running is truly a family affair. Jeremy and Stacey run Bloomfield Tire & Oil and Stingers One Stop, while Ken and Janet Gill keep things going on the backend. Ken can be found helping with the maintenance of the building, bookkeeping and serving meals over at Stingers One Stop. Janet fills her days by managing accounts, making sure that all the bills are paid and has taken on the marketing role for both businesses.

“We all support each other, and we jump in to help one another when it’s needed,” Janet Gill said. “We love supporting the community and we love having our family close by. It’s really fun working together.”

Through partnership and hard work, Native360 and the Gills have been able to bring family and community back to Main Street.

“It’s been a dream come true,” Jeremy said.

 

For Rebecca Oberle, president of Jamico Construction, entrepreneurship runs in her family. So when the construction demands in Nebraska were growing, there was no hesitation to start a concrete flat work business.

The business idea initially sparked from a conversation with a friend in 2015. Through research and determining what she could specialize in, Rebecca brought in Brandon Johnson as a co-owner and hit the ground running in concrete flatwork. In 2019, the duo brought in their missing piece, Mike Roberts, to help manage the project details.

Jamico Construction specializes in concrete flatwork, including basic slabs, garage floors, sidewalks, driveways, large scale parking lots and highway projects, even expanding into walls and rebar installation.

“We make it easy”

What sets Jamico Construction apart from the competition is that they are very easy to work with. Every crew member can adapt to scheduling changes and stick to the project timeline.

“I believe that what makes us stand out is we absolutely make everything easy for our clients,” Rebecca said. “That along with the fact that our crew is excellent in our craft. We have some of the very best people in the industry and most of them have 15-20 years of experience themselves doing concrete work.”

In addition to being excellent in their craft, Jamico Construction has a WBE and DBE certification in Nebraska and Iowa that allows them to bid on large government contracts. There can be tough competition for small, emerging businesses, and those qualifications allow Rebecca’s female-owned business to compete in the open marketplace.

Those qualities and certifications are what has helped Jamico Construction have great success doing work in the Omaha area. Jamico Construction has been able to work on many projects including work for Elkhorn North High School, Bennington schools, the city of Lincoln, the Nebraska Department of Roads and the military base.

Paving the way

With great success comes growth. Pete Upton, Executive Director for Native360 Loan Fund, partnered with Rebecca and Jamico Construction from the very beginning to help the company develop credit.

As Jamico Construction has grown from one crew to three crews and additional job sites, Native360 provided equipment loans so they could purchase trucks, trailers and skids to keep up with their growing demand. Over the next few years they would like to see their company grow to five different crews and continue increasing the number of jobs they’re able to take on at once.

Lasting legacies

For Rebecca, Brandon and Mike, owning Jamico Construction has been a way to make something they are passionate about a part of their everyday life and leave a lasting legacy on the communities they help build.

“Having your own thing, your own passion is very important in life,” Rebecca said. “I am very proud to say that I have finally found mine.”

 

Hedgewood Tree Service LLC started in 2015 with one employee and minimal equipment. Over the years, and with the help of Native360 Loan Fund, owner Matt Nightser has watched his business grow tremendously. Matt and his brother, Mark, are located in Bellevue, Nebraska, where they lend a helping hand and their tree service skills to the Omaha Metro and Iowa areas. When tree trimming and removal slows in the winter months, Hedgewood is able to sell a byproduct of their tree service business – firewood.

“I got this idea (for Hedgewood Tree Service LLC) from my brother, Mark. I’ve done so many different things for work,” Matt said. “But then he started mowing lawns or selling firewood first, then getting into the tree work. We discovered that that was the way to go for probably the rest of our lives.

The success of Hedgewood Tree Service LLC was apparent to Matt from the start. As business continued to roll in through word-of-mouth referrals, the need for bigger and better equipment increased. Matt was able to contact Pete Upton, Executive Director of Native360, wanting to discuss loan opportunities as well as find ways to increase the efficiency of his business.

Securing loans is just one example of the many services Native360 has to offer. In addition to helping Hedgewood Tree Service LLC see continued success, Pete Upton assisted Matt through the legal process of turning his business into a Limited Liability Company and set up Entrepreneurship Trainings across Nebraska and Iowa for Native American-owned, small business owners.

“Matt really took hold of all of the concepts we presented to him all the way from legal structure, to marketing, to accounting and to making his business a lot more efficient,” Pete said. “He’s really grasped and implemented all of the knowledge we bring to him.”

Because of Native360, Matt was able to obtain a loan to purchase a 16-foot dump trailer and later a Haulotte 55-foot towable lift, saving Matt and his brother time, money and resources. Now, efficiency and productivity are at an all-time high for Hedgewood Tree Services LLC.

Before Native360, Matt and Mark could handle one tree a day. Days were spent climbing up and down, loading branches into a truck, cutting the branches and manually unloading them at a separate work site. With the improved dump trailer and boom truck, they are able to take on four or five trees in the same amount of time.

“We’ve been working towards this for years,” Mark said. Native360 stepped in and made the dream come true for the brothers, who feel that they have found their niche and taken the direction of the company into their own hands.

Working with Native360 has been a breeze for Matt. Because of the trusting relationship the two companies have formed, Matt knows he can rely on Pete and Native360 to answer any questions he has at any time of the day.

“They’re always there and on top of everything,” Matt said. “I really do feel like I’m taken care of with Native360. It’s personal and one on one. I’ve never had an easier time getting financial advice, help or loans than I have with Native360.”

For Pete, the reward comes from being able to bring the opportunity to succeed to businesses like Hedgewood Tree Services LLC. “Entrepreneurs will find a way to get it done,” he said. “It’s nice to be part of their success.”