Small Business Success Story - Living Green Insulation Products and Services, Inc.

Each year the New York Small Business Development Center recognizes outstanding small businesses in a variety of ways.  This Success Story from the  Buffalo SBDC  appears in our 2015 Annual Report. 

Jabril & Ellen Shareef
Living Green Insulation Products and Services, Inc.
Buffalo SBDC

Living Green Insulation Products and Services, Inc. has worked with the Buffalo State SBDC for several years. Co-owners, Jabril and Ellen Shareef have been engaged in construction related enterprises for over 20 years, and completed the Buffalo SBDC’s Minority and Women Bonding Readiness Program. When they approached the Buffalo SBDC more recently, they were forming their first green business enterprise, which converts recycled paper into cellulose insulation.

Jabril and Ellen worked with Advisor Bill Grieshober to develop a complex funding proposal for $960,000 that included funding from First Niagara Bank and the Erie County Industrial Development Agency. They also secured an energy savings grant from NYSERDA for $300,000. Funding was used to purchase equipment and rehab a historic building within the City of Buffalo that houses their manufacturing operations. More recently they secured $165,000 in funding from the Western New York Power Authority to further enhance their plant. 

Today the Shareefs employ more than 20 people. This summer they participated in a pilot training program -Entrepreneurial Effectiveness – the SBDC offers to experienced minority and women entrepreneurs. The program provided Jabril and Ellen with training in creative problem solving, the Seven Habits of Effective People, and social media communications. Jabril and Ellen plan to continue working with the SBDC into the future, commenting 

“Our business advisor was there with us whenever we needed him. Bill became a friend and a trusted confidant that made all the difference for us. Thanks isn’t enough.”