University of South Florida graduate Shaun Robinson has been a client of the Florida SBDC at USF since 2005. During that time, he attended eight Florida SBDC business seminars and consulted one-on-one with six Florida SBDC professionally certified business consultants covering capital sources, marketing and sales, human resources, growth and expansion and more.
Moving from College to Business
As founder and company president, Shaun has grown his firm to 30+ employees and has successfully converted his business model into a franchise. His company has provided work for more than 250 students and has moved thousands of customers. In 2009, Shawn was awarded the USF's Outstanding Young Alumnus Award.
Shaun started Strong College Students in his college apartment with a roommate and a fraternity brother. They each needed extra income and flexible hours around their class schedules so they decided to advertise their knowledge and strengths on a few local websites. They called themselves Strong College Students "Movers with Knowledge". Shaun said, "The phone calls and emails rolled in and suddenly we had more work then we could handle."
Franchising a Good Idea
After graduation, the company moved in a new direction, as it had grown into a full-time business. Shaun had a vision of seeing Strong College Students as a national brand. Shaun organized a plan and used his share of the profits to buy out his former business partners. He forged ahead building the systems, brand, and values that have lead to the success of Strong College Students today. Shaun said, "We are now growing dramatically and planning on opening new offices across Florida in 2013 and offering franchise sales nationwide."
