7/13/2004
A Touch of Spain LLC
"I think (the SBDC) has been most helpful in acquainting us with resources that help not just in starting up but through the entire process. The SBDC offers a really well-rounded program. It's absolutely what we need."
A Touch of Spain By Phil Scruton (with photo) Entrepreneurs Bring A Touch of Spain Alicia Lomba and her Spanish-born husband Antonio were always impressed by the ceramic and linen goods they found in Spain during vacations. Why, they wondered, weren’t more of these beautiful and relatively inexpensive goods reaching the U.S.? “It’s much rarer to find Spanish goods here than Italian or Portuguese,” says Antonio. Thus are small business enterprises born: A market niche meets a market shortage and entrepreneurs step in. Today, Alicia has put her career as an international law attorney on hold and joined her husband in creating an internet retail operation called A Touch of Spain LLC. Their wares are hand-painted ceramics and linens made by Spanish craftspeople, often in small, out-of-the-way rural towns that the Lombas visit in the summer. For a look at A Touch of Spain’s range of goods and prices, see www.atouchofspainllc.com. Despite Alicia’s background in international law, including customs regulations, starting an import business has been challenging. Early on, they looked for help. “We found the Small Business Development Center on the Internet and began attending seminars,” says Alicia. “I have a strong background in customs laws,” says Alicia, “but the practical operation of an import business is something else altogether. I had to learn how the real world works.” Among the seminars the Lombas attended was one by Certified Business Analyst and import/export expert Parbatee Chang. Recalls Alicia: “She really helped us to pick out and think about the most important practical issues.” They also met with counselors to discuss choosing a business entity and marketing through press releases. The latter introduced them to the concept of “stealth” advertising in newspapers by pitching a business as a sequence of anecdotes, an adventure, a human interest story. That training proved valuable when Alicia found herself seated at a function next to a Palm Beach Post reporter. She described her business in such a way that the reporter saw the potential for a story – which soon appeared in the Post. “We were bombarded with e-mails after the article appeared,” says Alicia. Having begun selling in September of 2003, the Lombas now concentrate on marketing and attending shows, including the annual Tropical Flower and Garden show in downtown West Palm Beach. Their next step is finding a storefront, possibly in downtown West Palm Beach. Both Alicia and Antonio continue to attend seminars taught by CBAs at the Small Business Development Center. “I think it’s been most helpful in acquainting us with resources that help not just in starting up but through the entire process. The SBDC offers a really well-rounded program. It’s absolutely what we need.”