Small businesses schooled at SMC
SANTA MONICA COLLEGE — A little bit of skill in threading a sewing needle and a whole lot of marketing IQ has proved to be a winning formula for James Cragg.
For the past 10 years, the Army Reserve captain has made a living selling customized military search-and-rescue clothing and gear, stitching vests and backpacks in his brother’s Encino home.
It wasn’t until earlier this year, when Cragg enrolled in a marketing course at Santa Monica College’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC), that the company really took off, growing in sales by about 520 percent (to approximately $13 million) and nearly tripling in personnel.
The success story of S.O. Tech, which stands for Special Operations Technologies, has been one of the biggest highlights of the SBDC since it opened in January 2006.
Located on SMC’s satellite campus on Airport Avenue, the center provides counseling and assistance from SMC professors for start-ups and aspiring entrepreneurs, offering tips on how to successfully manage a new enterprise.
The concept for S.O. Tech came to Cragg during the 1990s, when he left active military duty after contracting malaria while working overseas in a refugee camp. He began sewing and customizing gear for his friends in the military and the hobby slowly grew into a business, officially launching in 1997.
The company customizes and designs backpacks, harnesses and swings for search-and-rescue operations for military and law enforcement.
Two years after launching, Cragg began seeking the help of the SBDC in Santa Monica, enrolling in seminars covering topics such as starting a business and learning about state and federal laws. At the time, the center was independently operated.
“When you go into business and you go in alone... you really have very little structure and guidelines on what to do, whereas when you go to the military, there are a million regulations and there are people telling you how to do things,” said Cragg, who lives in Hermosa Beach.
Cragg returned to the center throughout the years, retaking courses to see if there were any new business trends.
It was his most recent visit, at the beginning of 2007, that led to the expansion of S.O. Tech, which added 28 new products, including women’s fashion and accessories for recreational equipment, such as surfboard bags and backpacks.
“We’re trying to translate that technology into something that would help everybody in their everyday life,” he said.
But what has really aided S.O. Tech’s growth is a new contract that the company recently secured with the federal government to supply medical equipment, Cragg said.
Over the past 10 years, the business has moved out of its original home in Encino to a small factory in Los Angeles, even expanding to another factory in Carson.
Since its opening, thousands of people have taken workshops offered at the SBDC, covering topics such as business law and marketing. The center is currently working with about 600 clients, said Tricia Ramos, the director of the SBDC.
“There are certainly other success stories we’ve been able to brag about,” Ramos said. “His is the most highlightable because of the contracts he’s received since he’s got help from us.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 8, 2007. Read the original PDF.