Polished business plan lands loans.

Carol Jenkins Neil never intended to be an entrepreneur. She also never intended to be a nurse--until her father fell ill.

Neil, who worked for 10 years at TV stations around Jacksonville, Fla., decided to pursue nursing after seeing doctors struggle to find what was wrong with her father.

"My dad was very sick, but they couldn't figure it out, and I was frustrated because I didn't have that background," she said.

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Her father joked with her, she said, "'I paid for that broadcasting degree. I'm not paying for a nursing degree.' I said, 'Fine.'"

Neil's father was eventually diagnosed with bone-marrow cancer. Learning he was terminal, Neil thought, "Talk about pressure. I couldn't fail a class. I wanted him to see me graduate."

He did see her graduate magna cum laude. He even saw her in action. "I had to go home to Darien, Ga., and give him injections to stimulate the white blood cells," she said. It was then she thought of her business idea.

"I called it 'The Daddy Idea,'" Neil said. "There were days when my dad need-ed a place to go while my mom worked, but there was nowhere."

While pursuing a master's degree in 2000, Neff had to write a five-year, health-care-related business plan. "I immediately thought of 'The Daddy Idea.'" She got an A.

After receiving her master's while also working full time, Neil sought the advice of adult day care center owners in the area to test the waters for "The Daddy Idea."

"One owner told me about SCORE," she said. "So, I took it to (SCORE counselor) Tony Gabrielle. He looked at the idea and said, 'This is great." Then he made me rewrite my whole business plan. He didn't think my figures were real; he was correct."

SCORE, a resource partner of the Small Business Administration, often free and confidential business advice to entrepreneurs through a network of more than 10,000 volunteers and a Web site, www.score.org.

Armed with realistic financial data, Neff secured two traditional commercial loans to start her business and retrofit an existing doctor's office she leased.

But it was a $5,000 SBA-backed Community Express Loan approved by Innovative Bank in 2005 that she credits with bringing her company, Hope Adult Day Care Inc., into the black. "At the lime, I just wanted to make sure I had enough" working capital, said Neil. "The SBA was able to come through for me and because of that, we're profitable."

Hope opened July 28, 2005, and now has two full-time and four part-time employees. More than 20 clients use the center every day. It has the capacity to serve 35. "Some come five days, some come two," said Neil. Cost per day is $55.

Clients enjoy activities such as exercise and yoga with certified instructors, card games and reading.

"Carol has a heart of gold," said Susan Bmbaker-Butensky, R.N., who works part time for Neff. "Her motives are pure. She truly cares for these people."

Brubaker-Butensky first volunteered for Neff after she and her boyfriend brought his father, Steven Schoenfeld, 83, to Jacksonville Beach from New Jersey. Schoenfeld, a retired jeweler, doesn't need full time care.

Schoenfeld said he likes the companionship at Hope. "People here, my age. Male and female ... They take care of us. They bring us food, breakfast, lunch and dinner and then we play bingo. We like that very much. When you get to be 39, you like bingo."

Neil designed her business to cater to the caregivers as well as the clients. Hope is open one Saturday a month so family members can run errands. "Wednesdays, we're open until 9 p.m.," she said. "They call that 'Date Night.' They leave Mother with us and they go to dinner and a movie. When they come back, you can tell they had a good time.... When you work all day and have to pick up Mom and take care of everything at home, it's tough."

Sandy Catallo's husband, George, a retired attorney and CPA, was a Hope client who is now in advanced stages of Alzheimer's and requires 24-hour care.

"It was a wonderful respite for me" said Cattallo. "George enjoyed it, too. He thought it was his office. The facility and the comfort it gave were wonderful--the monthly support meetings. Her support system is unreal."

SCORE's Gabrielle still works with Neil as she looks for ways to grow Hope. "what we did was create a separate company, a nonprofit, that allows people to make donations so they can award scholarships to day-care centers for people who can't afford it," he said.

"The sole reason is to raise money to help all elderly individuals go to any adult day center in Jacksonville," said Neil. "It can take eight months to get any type of assistance from the state. We pay for at least six months for two days a week to any adult center. It's better than nothing."

NEIL'S GROWING PAINS?

"Cash flow and staffing issues. Before the Financial Matter reentering class, I didn't have a complete understanding of cash flow and the financial side of business. And staffing, I now have the most professional staff ... But before, I hired based on having the right gut feeling. That was just lack of experience on my part."

ADVICE FOR A STARTUP?

"Hold on to your money. Once you open a business and put all that money into it, it's gone, Then you have overhead and bills and payroll. Hold on to your money as long as you can and think it through before you spend It on whatever it is. Do not sign anything until you sleep on It. And get advice. I got a second opinion on the lease. The owner's son Is a real estate attorney. It was a long lease. After I read that, I felt like I had to get a real estate attorney to read It."

Hope Adult Day Care Inc. * 1560 Roberts Drive, Jacksonville Beach, Fla. 32250 * (904) 249-4673 www.hopeadultdaycare.com * Founded 2005 * 6 employees * 2007 revenue: $240,000