A Fort Worth small business owner has received top honors from the U.S. Small Business Administration as the Texas Small Business Person of the Year.
Deborah Paris
Deborah Paris, president and manager of StraCon Services Group LLC, will travel to Washington, D.C. next month to be officially recognized along with winners from other U.S. states and territories. During the ceremonies April 30-May 1, the SBA also will announce three runners-up and the 2017 National Small Business Person of the Year.
It’s the kickoff to National Small Business Week, which takes place this year April 30-May 6.
“These small business owners define entrepreneurial spirit and best represent the 28 million small businesses that are the backbone and economic engine for today’s economy,” said Linda McMahon, the administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, in a news release.
Paris’ Fort Worth-based StraCon Services serves as a Department of Defense contractor, working mostly with the Navy and Marine Corps.
She told the Dallas Business Journal recently that she faced challenges securing capital when getting her company off the ground in 2010. A $125,000 SBA loan coupled with business development training from the small business agency helped her power through and ultimately grow her company.
In 2016, StraCon made about $13.5 million. It expects to reach between $18 million to $20 million in revenue this year, according to DBJ.
“If I wouldn’t have had them, I wouldn’t know where to turn,” Paris told DBJ about SBA.
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