“Your business plan doesn’t have to be some big, elaborate, 30-page document”

The Prince William Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated held its first business building workshop, on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014 at the Northern Virginia Community College Woodbridge campus.

The Chapter’s Economic Development Committee, partnered with the Delta Education and Public Service Foundation of Prince William County, and the Woodbridge campus of Northern Virginia Community College, sponsored a free event with the theme and the goal: “Come with your Dreams … Leave with a Plan”.

The event was exemplary of the outpouring of community support from more than 20 local businesses and sponsors such as the NAACP- Prince William Chapter and the National Coalition of 100 Black Woman of Prince William County.

The morning presenters included Mr. Carl Knoblock, District Director Richmond Small Business Administration (SBA); Mr. George Harben, Director Prince William County Economic Development Office of Existing Business; Ms. Sonja Caison, successful business owner and Women’s Business Center (WBC) Assistant Director.

Mr. Knoblock’s told seminar participants, “You have to stay competitive. Change is going to happen. You always have to be ready.”

He identified four stages of a business: Pre –“kick the tires”; start up- less than three years in business; growth and mature or possibly getting out of business. While the SBA provides assistance to small business owners at all stages, he recommended that business owners know the stage their business in because the assistance the SBA provides differs based on the stage.

Wilson Tarpey, owner of My Mind on Sports, identified his business as being in the start phase. He attended the workshop because he wants to move his business to the growth phase. Based on the information provided, Tarpey noted, “I learned the SBA is there to help me, it’s a great resource.”

Market research and Marketing Opportunities in Prince William County was the focus of the presentation given by Mr. Harben. He shared examples of the rich data mining opportunities available to business owners on the County’s Economic Development website. Currently, he admitted, the data can be a little difficult to find, but the information can be quite valuable to businesses in the Prince William market. He also noted the site is being revised to make it easier to navigate.

Mr. Harben also shared with would be Prince William County vendors and service providers the importance of registering as county vendor.

“It is incumbent on you to register with us,” he explained, “if you’re not registered and you want to do business with the County, get registered. It is a very simple process.”

Frances Walker, an attendee in the pre/”kick the tire phase” of starting a business, noted that even though fellow entrepreneurs may do research on their own, the workshop information was important. “There are resources and research available to us here in this area that we may not have discovered,” she said.

In keeping with the theme, “Come with your Dreams … Leave with a Plan”, Ms. Sonja Caison presented, Building Your Business Plan. Ms. Caison provided a business plan template resources like SBA.gov and even Microsoft Word. She also provided workshop guests with the five parts of a business plan: Executive Summary, Mission Statement, Marketing Plan, Organizational Matters; Financial Plan.

Although the WBC’s primary outreach is to organizations that primarily serve women, Caison noted, “We have clients male and female, all demographics, so everyone’s welcome at the organization (WBC).

The business plan outline and tips that Ms. Caison shared also provided Tarpey with this insight, “Your business plan doesn’t have to be some big, elaborate, 30-page document. It just has to stay true to your business.” For business woman Marlo Watson, the business plan session, “confirmed the importance of a business plan and the need to identify your target market.”

Workshop attendees were able to select from seven different topics presented by subject matter experts.

Session included:

Successful Small Business Franchising – Ms. Miriam L. Brewer, Senior Director of Education and Diversity for the International Franchise Association

Contracting 101- Mr. Al Thomas founder Thomas Solutions Incorporated, a small business government contractor

Veterans Business Building –Ms. Chanel Bankston-Carter, Director, of Strategic Outreach at the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Legal/LLC- Attorney Kiah D. Spinks;

Affordable Health Care/Small Business – Ms. Melissa Herd, Health Insurance Specialist Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; below – Ms. Kathleen Driver, owner and Chief Business Coach of Mind Your Business, LLC provides a breakout session on the importance of Branding & Social Media to business building.

The overall feedback from the attendees was positive. Ms. Robin Benson, a future non-profit entrepreneur, expressed her appreciation stating: “Thank you for having this wonderful event. The speakers have been right on point, what was presented was very current and very applicable to what we’re doing.”

The Prince William County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. is a sisterhood of women, actively engaged in programs of public service. This commitment is demonstrated by sponsoring a myriad of community projects for the public good. For more information please visit us a www.pwcacdst.org