How David Brings “Positive Energy” to His Community

In December of 2012, David was brought down to Jacksonville, FL from New York City for a job opportunity. After working in the company for some time, one of the many things David noticed that could be improved was the customer service aspect of the business. Customers were seen merely as a connection to a profit, not as people in need of help. David found it very frustrating that any of his ideas that would improve customer satisfaction were dismissed. In addition, David was not making enough to cover his basic needs such as food and necessities. He soon realized that although he loved the work he was doing, he did not want to work for an organization that did not care about their consumer. He also wanted to find a way to continue doing the work he enjoyed but to also be able to make a living salary off it. He decided to start his own company.

David’s vision was to make customer satisfaction his number one priority. “I wanted customers to come to my business and know that there would be no mistakes, the work would be detail oriented, and that they would be given the best experience. I wanted my customers and community to be well taken care of.” When David first went into business, him and his wife had just had their fifth child. His goal was to simply pay each bill on the list. He had no vacation time, and no paycheck to fall back on. “It was all or nothing. Either I made it work or the bills wouldn’t get paid.”

THE CHANGING TIDES OF BUSINESS

In April 2015, Positive Energy Battery Company was founded. It provides energy efficient and environmentally friendly batteries for businesses. For the first year, David was always behind on rent. All he wanted was to be able to pay for food, housing, and utilities. He had to learn how to feed a family of seven in under $2 per person because of all the costs that went into starting the business. Three months into opening, David got his first decent sized battery replacement bill. “I remember getting that check and it could pay all the bills and thinking, okay, this could work.”

Eventually, David’s business picked up. His commitment to customer service produced many recommendations, and soon David no longer had to worry about the preliminary goals of rent, utilities, and food. He could focus on the bigger picture and growing his business. Just as David was thinking of reevaluating his goals, the pandemic hit. “It felt like the hunger games. No one knew which small business was going to survive and which one wasn’t.” For David, the main issue came with supply chains. David worked with a lot of diverse suppliers, but soon they were all having issues, and the costs for supplies skyrocketed.

MOVING FORWARD AND REFOCUSING GOALS

David was unable to get a traditional loan from a bank but needed the funds to restock his inventory of supplies, so he reached out to Ascendus and received an $80,000 loan from the Southern Opportunity and Resilience Fund. He used it towards working capital, establishing an inventory process, buying supplies, and investing into marketing. “The loan really helped me take my business to the next level. I expect 2023 to be a breakout year because of this.”

Since receiving the loan, David’s goals have been able to shift towards growing the business. He hopes to eventually expand enough that it isn’t just him working at the company. He also hopes to operate in more locations and open a recycling division of his company. “A lot of materials can be reused and recycled – with this new subsidiary it can do a lot of environmental good.” David and his family also invest a lot back into their community, and he hopes to one day start a non-profit division of his business that focuses on mentoring disadvantaged youth through community service. “When you come from nothing you know what it’s like. My family and I always volunteer with various charities and try to give back to our community as much as we can.”