Brooklyn's Progress
April/May 2006

BY KHADIJA BATUTA

Sony Titus, Director of EpiServe Corporation, is gearing up for the new business his company recently landed with the Long Island Rail Road, thanks to the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce’s Brooklyn Connects procurement assistance program.  The $400,000 contract awarded to the systems integrator distribution firm will require them to replace LIRR’s current MRP (material requirement planning) system.

“We received a lot of help from Bomi Kim and the Brooklyn Connects program,” explained Mr. Titus.  “Bomi helped us to become certified and pointed us to upcoming bids, which ultimately resulted in $400,000 of new business for us.  We already knew how to prepare bid packages, but the Chamber’s Brooklyn Connects program kept us in the pipeline for new bid opportunities that our company could successfully compete for.”

"Sony and Elaine were a pleasure to work with and their company provides great services and products that can assist businesses like LIRR achieve both efficiency and cost-effectiveness,” said Bomi Kim, Manager, Brooklyn Connects.  “The MRP program that EpiServe will design will save LIRR both time and money.  Brooklyn Connects provides businesses like EpiServe technical assistance with certification as well as bid notifications and preparation. The program is open to all businesses at any level of development, and can be tailored to meet individual business needs.”

The Brooklyn Chamber launched Brooklyn Connects in mid-2005 to help minority/women and locally based enterprises in the borough grow their businesses through increased access to millions of dollars available from government contracting and purchasing at the federal, state and local levels, as well as the private sector.  The program operates in conjunction with the Brooklyn Business Solutions Center, a mayoral initiative that partners the Brooklyn Chamber with the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS).

Small Biz Start-up
EpiServe Corporation was the brainchild of Elaine Titus, wife and business partner of Mr. Titus, who started the company in September 2003.  Mrs. Titus handles the administrative side of the business while her husband focuses on the technical.  With a background in operations and administration, Mrs. Titus has a keen understanding of consumers’ needs from her past work experience as a consumer of data processing products and services.

Mr. Titus’ contribution to the partnership comes from his years of industry experience with IBM where he sold and serviced many corporate accounts – small and large, and also worked in product development.  Mr. Titus’ history with IBM helped him develop best practices to provide reliable, quality service for EpiServe’s customers, which now includes the Long Island Rail Road.

Money to Grow
The firm’s next step is to secure financing to ready the business for its continued growth.  Mr. Titus has been working with the Brooklyn Business Solutions Center analyzing his company’s cash flow projections and preparing a loan application package.

“Elaine and Sony are perfect examples of entrepreneurs who had a great idea, put in a lot of hard work and are now ready to take their business to the next level.  I am pleased to be working with Sony to put together a plan to secure the financing necessary to take that next step,” said Daniel Fisher, Director of Financial Services, Brooklyn Business Solutions Center.

To learn more about Brooklyn Connects, contact Bomi Kim at 718-875-1000 ext. 140, or at bkim@brooklynchamber.com.  For other business assistance needs including financing, business and marketing plan preparation and more, contact the Brooklyn Business Solutions Center at 718-875-3400.