The Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce has released the finalists for the 2018 Small Business of the Year awards. The Small Business of the Year of the year award announcements is Feb. 20, just before Mayor Betsy Price delivers her State of the City address.
The finalists are:
Emerging Business Category
Alchemy Pops – Alchemy Pops creates handcrafted gourmet frozen pops from farm-fresh ingredients, striving to delight their customers while cultivating a sense of community, one pop at a time. The word “alchemy” means the magical process of combination and creation, exemplified through creative flavors and local collaborations. Their frozen pops are all-natural and never include artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. As a small, woman-owned business and finalist in the 2015 Fort Worth Business Plan Competition, Alchemy Pops started as a mobile service with just one pop cart. The first Pop Shop opened in 2017 at 411 South Main St.
CAET Project Management Consultants LLC – CAET Project Management Consultants, LLC began with the idea of providing quality construction management and owner’s representation to clients in the commercial aviation industry. They identified a need and formed a team with these values and qualities: collaborative; accountable; excellence; and trusted. They demand honesty and integrity in the work that they do and manage on behalf of their clients. Their goal is to deliver projects on time, on budget and just how the client expects it.
Site Barricades – Site Barricades is a full-service traffic control company that specializes in maintaining the safety of workers, their employees and the traveling public through construction zones and special events. They opened November 2014, and in the span of less than three years, have established themselves as a leader in traffic control throughout North Texas. They pride themselves in customer focus, maintaining a high-level of employee morale, and recognizing the importance of social responsibility with the community. These three principles guided them to their present success and will serve as a beacon for future success.
1-10 Employee Category Business Category
Affairs Afloat Balloons LLC – Affairs Afloat provides balloons ranging from small gifts to large-scale tradeshow displays. They provide a “wow” effect that is not created anywhere else. They began in 2003 when founder Tammera L. Hollerich identified this as an unfulfilled need within DFW. In addition to décor, they fulfill orders from all over the world through Balloon Planet. All their balloon artists are ABA or CBA certified. They thrived through tough economies because of their philosophy: Do it with excellence, or go learn more. At the 2017 Ballooniversity, they won first place in large sculpture competing against 200 artists from around the world. It is their mission to “Blow Away” their customers with creativity and excellence with every encounter.
Healthy Lifestyle Secrets LLC – Healthy Lifestyle Secrets (HLS) teaches the health and nutritional information you should have learned at age 13, but did not. Since 2006, their seven-week educational program has helped thousands of people to lose weight, reduce the need for prescriptions medications, and improve their overall health. HLS provides a personalized nutritional profile for each student to follow using criteria unique to their program. After one session of HLS, students have the skills to clean up their foods, lose fat and become healthier than they have ever been. Healthy Lifestyle Secrets is not a diet or a fitness program – it is a way of life. Their mission is to empower people through education to a healthier lifestyle and a new way of life.
The Paisley Heart – The Paisley Heart brings affordable and unique boutique women’s clothing straight to your phone and/or computer taking the legwork out of a physical shopping trip. Maintaining a personal and intimate environment is key to continued success, as word of mouth is the best advertisement. They want women to feel like they went shopping with their best girlfriends and that they have experienced something they cannot wait to talk about and share with others.
11-50 Employee Category
iKids Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics – iKids Pediatric Dentistry began with a vision for a new kind of dental office. They envisioned a healthcare facility where patients would be treated as “guests,” and they would leave wanting to come back. Children would enter the office expecting an “experience,” not just a dental office visit. Modeling their customer service philosophies after The Walt Disney Company has allowed them to achieve success. Their extensive list of services include: preventative care, restorative and cosmetic dentistry, oral surgery, infant oral care, habit prevention and management, orthodontics, endodontics, emergency treatment, routine check-up and cleaning, oral home care instruction, treatment of special needs/medically compromised children, nitrous oxide, oral sedation, IV sedation and hospital dentistry.
Muckleroy & Falls – Muckleroy & Falls (M&F) is a full-service commercial construction company formed in 1979. Its client-centered focus has allowed it to work with some of North Texas’ most prestigious names, including Alcon, American Airlines, Cook Children’s, EECU, Mouser Electronics, Nike, Southwest Bank, TTI, Texas Christian University and Union Gospel Mission. M&F’s performance and reputation have allowed it to establish long-term and effective relationships with some of the area’s premiere owners, real estate developers, architects, and subcontractors. The firm is recognized for respecting the heritage of the Fort Worth area and using legacy products such as Acme Brick in projects.
For more on Muckleroy & Falls: www.fortworthbusiness.com/news/muckleroy-falls-looks-to-past-in-planning-the-future/article_071456fa-9bc5-57e3-8473-6ddc48f6ab03.html
Pointwise Inc. – Pointwise writes engineering software for computational fluid dynamics (CFD), a “virtual wind tunnel” that simulates the flow of fluid through or around objects ranging from artificial heart pumps to wind turbines and the F-35 aircraft. Pointwise focuses on CFD’s most costly component: mesh generation, creating the digital version of the object. The International Meshing Roundtable has recognized Pointwise three times with their “Meshing Maestro” award. Seven magazine covers have featured customers’ use of their software. One of their meshes appeared on a U.S. postage stamp. Their employees’ professionalism, innovation and dedication to customer service has made their success possible.
51-100 Employee Category
BorrowWorks LLC – BorrowWorks LLC helps banks and other lenders make better lending decisions through data and technology. With more than $100 million in loan decisions managed, they have helped their clients launch new products in challenging regulatory and consumer credit environments. They have helped create consumer access to credit that banks to-date have not been good at providing – credit that is much needed in today’s economy. They employ smart, driven people and empower their creativity in innovation while driving growth that meets the high compliance standards of their partners.
Care Associates P.A. – Care Associates, P.A. provides nurse practitioner and physician assistant staffing for 14 emergency departments in Dallas/Fort Worth and surrounding areas. They are an established company with more than 14 years of experience and currently employ over 70 full-time and part-time providers. Care Associates is one of the few companies in the Unites States specializing in staffing solely nurse practitioners and physician assistants. Because of this specialty practice, they understand the nuances of being an Advanced Practice Provider and stay abreast of the regulations that allow them to practice. They also individualize the schedule for each team member for better work-life balance.
StraCon Services Group LLC –StraCon Services Group, established in 2008 as a military training company, has evolved beyond training, and now provides engineering, logistics, program management and other technical services for all branches of the military. StraCon is honored to sustain a culture of individuals in their company that pride themselves on their ability to support their nation’s warfighters. In May 2017, their president was awarded the Small Business Administration (SBA) Small Business Person of the Year for the State of Texas. This award reflects the pride and commitment of every person in the company to support our nation’s warfighters.
For more on StraCon: www.fortworthbusiness.com/news/small-business-pushing-forward-with-a-dream/article_a0c78ac4-1bd0-11e7-a3ec-2bf43bf7e772.html
Information from Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce.