Recently, the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), Administrator Linda McMahon announced that this year’s National Small Business Week will be held from April 30-May 6, 2017.  

As part of National Small Business Week, each state had one small business owner recognized as the 2017 Small Business Person of the Year. From Missouri, Phillip Cohen, the founder and president of Cohen Architectural Woodworking, was selected.  

Phillip Cohen starting building porch swings in 1975, using walnut, cherry and cedar. A year later, Phillip and his wife, Gina, converted half their 575-square-foot home into a workshop. They used the space to build birdhouses, baby cradles and toy trucks. In 1982, he bought his first business license and was soon building cabinets for large general contractors, shipping the products across the United States. In 2004, Cohen Architectural Woodworking narrowed the product line to commercial cabinetry and built a 12,000-square-foot facility. 

Three years later they added 9,000 square feet to their existing building. As the company expanded, Phillip worked with the Small Business & Technology Development Center at Missouri Science and Technology University to fine tune his financial operations and business plan. 

In 2010, the recession and the loss of a large client sent the company into a nosedive. Phillip’s sales team secured short-term work that had very quick turnaround times. As a result, the company pulled through that difficult period and the company’s performance soon improved. 

In 2013, Cohen Architectural Woodworking had 40 employees and a total of $5 million in sales. By the end of 2015, the company saw $11 million in sales. It currently employs 75 people and is based in a 54,250-square-foot plant. Giving back to the community is a priority for Phillip. Through the company’s Cohen Cares Program, employees can donate part of their pay tax-free to a fund helping the needy. When a Saint James family lost its home in a fire, the Cohen Cares Program covered the family’s rebuilding costs.

To learn more about Cohen Architectural Woodworking, check out their website.

REMINDER:

The U.S. Small Business Administration, SCORE and cosponsors from Visa, YP, Google, Salesforce, Constant Contact and Chase will be hosting numerous training webinars/webcasts all week. The webinars/webcasts are free of charge, but registration space is limited on a first-come, first-served basis.

Register here

For additional information on National Small Business Week, please visit http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessweek

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