The U.S. Small Business Administration has named John Sweet, owner of Niedlov's Breadworks, as Tennessee's small business person of the year.
"I feel honored. It's been a lot of hard work over the years -- but to be singled out is humbling," Mr. Sweet said.
Kevin Maxfield, director of the Tennessee Small Business Development Center at Chattanooga State, said he nominated Mr. Sweet for his hard work, innovation and community-minded business objectives.
"For my senior project at Covenant College, I wrote a business plan for starting a small artesian bakery in Chattanooga," Mr. Sweet said.
After attending baking school and working as a breadmaker at another bakery, Mr. Sweet started Niedlov's with his wife, Angela, in 2002.
"We've been moderately successful," he said. "We've been pioneers in that we've tried to develop our local food community, encouraging people to buy local, buy organic and buy natural."
How winner is pickedEach city nominates one business for the award, then the state Small Business Administration chooses a winner based on the following criteria:* Staying power -- How many years has a business has been established? Has it experienced steady growth, or expansion?* Current and past financial performance -- Has profit consistently outweighed losses?* Innovation -- Is the company's product received well in the marketplace?* Overcoming adversity -- When things don't go according to plan, how does the company respond?* Job growth -- The SBA is interested in job creation; small businesses create 70 percent of the jobs in the U.S.Source: Tennessee Small Business Administration
Niedlov's was one of the first businesses to move downtown to East Main Street during the resurgence of recent years, he said, and was part of the process that has made progress in revitalizing the area.
"I get singled out for this, but I really feel that there are so many people who have come alongside us and supported us, and we wouldn't be where we are without these folks," he said.
Part of Mr. Sweet's community outreach has consisted of teaching baking classes to children and adults, donating bread to churches and other groups, and mentoring home-schooled students in the bakery to expose them to a business environment.
Walter Perry, Tennessee SBA director, said that Niedlov's, which employs 22 workers, is the perfect example of a small business contributing to the economic growth of a city.
"Niedlov's is a great story of having a dream of entrepreneurship, and seeing it through to a successful small business that thrives," he said.