Gina Blean and Kelly Arensdorf became friends while working together in a therapy clinic in Maquoketa. Their vision of creating a team oriented, holistic approach led to the opening of their pediatric outpatient therapy facility offering physical, occupational and speech language therapy services.

It took Gina and Kelly nine months from their initial contact with the Northeast Iowa Small Business Development Center to open their business, Unified Therapy Services. They enrolled in the center’s Smart Start class in July 2005, where they started learning the skills necessary to develop a business plan and cash flow statements. Through a number of one-on-one counseling sessions, e-mails and phone calls with SBDC Director Terry Sullivan, the partners perfected their professional business plan and cash flows for presentation to three banks. A major challenge in projecting the business’s cash flow was predicting the timeline of payments from insurance companies; it continues to be a challenge and requires constant monitoring.

Kelly and Gina started Unified Therapy Services with three therapists and one office support person in a 4,000 square foot facility. Several months after opening they expanded and hired five more personnel. In June 2007 they hired two more therapists. Their future plans include hiring four more therapists by the end of 2007 and increasing office space to 5,700 square feet. A quick fact to support the increase in personnel is their client load—during their first month, in April 2006, they had three patients; in April 2007 they had 120 patients.

In the first year of business, Unified Therapy Services contributed significantly to the economy of the City of Dubuque, the State of Iowa and the federal government. Eleven jobs were created, with a payroll in excess of $250,000; state withholding taxes in excess of $15,000 and federal taxes in excess of $45,000 were paid; Gina and Kelly moved to Dubuque and supported the economy by purchasing homes. The partners have a business loan for $150,000 for build out, equipment and working capital, and invested $25,000 of their own capital.

Gina and Kelly explain why they’re so very thankful for the SBDC, "The Small Business Development Center assisted us in making our dreams a reality. From attending the Smart Start class to all of our private meetings with the director, we learned to ask ourselves the tough questions. Through analyzing every component of our business and the statistical information of our small business and the Dubuque area, we successfully completed our business plan and ventured forward with our dream. The knowledge we gained from the private meetings enabled us to appropriately lay the foundation of what our business would be built on. The director was a great resource and someone we look up to and continue to lean on for guidance with various stages of our business growth. Without the support of the SBDC our small business would not be what it is today—a thriving and growing part of the Dubuque community."