Great article on SBA 8(a) programs.
Veteran and former Newark officer honored as entrepreneur
Stacy Jones/The Star-Ledger By Stacy Jones/The Star-Ledger
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on May 15, 2011 at 12:00 PM
For the Star Ledger Jose (he goes by Joe) Rodriguez has been named NJ Small Business Person of the Year by the Small Business Association.
When Jose "Joe" Rodriguez was a Newark police officer, some people from the force got on his case for enrolling in college.
You think you’re better than us, they said accusingly.
Now that they’re retired, he said, they ask him for security jobs.
The Small Business Administration last week named Rodriguez, president and CEO of M.E.R.I.T. Inc., the New Jersey small business person of the year. His company has expanded into construction and software development since he started it 11 years ago.
"I tell people we’ll build it, make it safe and secure it for you," he said.
Rodriguez, of Newark, left 25 years in law enforcement with every intent of "moving to Florida to play golf and get fat, old and ugly."
His colleagues in the Ess*x County Prosecutor’s Office thought he should reconsider.
"I was getting to the end of my career and the attorneys approached me and asked if I was going to start a detective agency," he said from his office in Newark.
The walls around his desk are decorated with law enforcement and military certificates. A colorful wood cutout of Puerto Rico hangs over his chair.
His business owes a lot to the federal 8a program, which provides economically and socially disadvantaged business owners with mentors, training and financial assistance.
In 2003, Rodriguez turned to the SBA for help and learned that being a disabled veteran and a Hispanic business owner qualified him for 8a certification.
The program, named for the section of the Small Business Act that created it, enrolls entrepreneurs for nine years — four to help them develop their business and five to prepare them for transitioning out of the program.
Business owners also become eligible to bid for government contracts set aside for 8(a) companies.
Rodriguez said his company is currently working under 45 federal contracts, ranging from $200,000 to $7 million. In the past, M.E.R.I.T. has performed construction work on the Statue of Liberty, the VA Medical Center in Castle Point, N.Y., and Thomas Edison’s 29-room Queen Anne-style mansion in West Orange.
"We had to paint the entire inside of the place using historic paint colors," he said.
The 61-year-old said M.E.R.I.T. made $9.1 million last year and, according to his projections, it’s on track to make $13.5 million this year.
"If I were going to write a textbook about the 8a program, it would be about him," said Alfred Titone, the SBA New Jersey district director. "He came out significantly on top."
Nominees for the annual award are selected based on staying power, staff and profit increases, commitment to innovation, ability to overcome adversity and involvement in their community.
Rodriguez employs about 40 people and handful of subcontractors in the Newark area. He hasn’t been shy about also tapping his family’s talents for the business.
His wife, Sandra Rodriguez, manages M.E.R.I.T.’s finances and payroll. She also holds down the fort when he has to travel.
His daughter, Lisa Rodriguez, a Newark police officer herself, teaches her father’s staff how to perform CPR, administer first aid and use pepper spray.
"She followed in my footsteps," Rodriguez said, beaming.
She’s taken an interest in his business too.
"She loves it," he said. "And I would love for her to take over. But she can do that later. I’m not done yet."
John Sanchez, owner of Emergency Pest Control in Orange, has known Rodriguez since his days as a cop and watched him take his first steps as a business owner.
"It wasn’t easy when he got going," he said. "I would say the first year he was kind of disappointed. Nothing was happening."
Slow business wasn’t his only problem. Rodriguez made his share of rookie mistakes. Two years after starting M.E.R.I.T., his then-new insurance company told him that his previous policy hadn’t covered his armed security guards.
"Contractors have to take the time to figure out what’s in those big insurance binders," he said.
He’s also had staffing issues.
"I’ve had project managers, contractors and specialists who didn’t know their hand from their elbow."
Through it all, Rodriguez said, he appreciates having a seasoned businessman like Sanchez to advise him in tough times. But he doesn’t have any regrets about his first couple of years as an entrepreneur.
"You can’t determine whether you’re successful unless you have some drawbacks," he said.
Stacy Jones: (973) 392-7969 or stacy_jones@starledger.com
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