In December 2021 Gov. Ralph Northam announced a $3.6 million Growth and Opportunity Virginia (GO Virginia) grant that includes $674,304 for an innovation hub at Midtown Square in Farmville. Innovation hubs, like the SOVA Innovation Hub in South Boston established in 2020, provide space for community members of all ages to work, learn, innovate, create and connect to entrepreneurship resources.…
Amy Venable-Turner, owner of the Genesis Learning Center, believes learning never stops. She’s built a thriving day care business focused on that approach.
“I started working for Genesis, a church-operated day care, when I was 21,” she says. Amy completed a degree in early childhood education and then decided to take a job on the West Coast.…
In-Depth Productions owner Carl Bassfield recently opened for business on Main Street in Blackstone. Partnering with the Longwood Small Business Development Center, he’s turned a passion for photography into a profitable business.
In-Depth Productions, a full-fledged media company, now offers photography and cinematography as well as music engineering and production services.…
Although January 2020 was the eve of a tumultuous era, it proved an ideal time for Paul Dowdy to expand Royal Restrooms.
Paul explains that “a lot of businesses had to split their offices” to accommodate social distancing, referring to his partnerships with military sites and other businesses in the Lynchburg area.…
The Carrington and Crafton Academy of the Performing Arts (CAPA²) story is one of lasting friendship and the arts. Molly Williams’s grandmother, Ann Carrington, founded the Carrington Dance Studio in 1967, and Chelsea Moss’s grandmother, Petie Crafton, played the piano for the dance classes.…
Farmville’s A Great Escape Spalon, a rural full-service spa, is far removed from an urban big box store. That’s the transition Bridget Flannagan made when she moved to Farmville to take the job of business manager.
“This was my first foray into a small business environment,” she says.…
Piedmont Habitat’s ReStore offers the ultimate in recycling. The Farmville store “recycles” unwanted items into cash that in turn builds decent and affordable homes for local families in need.
ReStore Manager Sara Beachum described the process.
“We clean and sanitize donated items and make sure they function,” she explains.…
Jacob Dolence, a faculty member at the Longwood University Cormier Honors College and certified CO.STARTERS facilitator, is excited–and with good reason. As the first regional, virtual cohort of CO.STARTERS Core prepares to launch in the Southern Virginia area on August 18th, Dolence sees a future ripe with opportunities.…
Business is growing in more ways than one at Gavin’s House of Flowers in South Hill.
After a year of pandemic challenges, owner Gavin Honeycutt has added hope to his business plan. For that, he credits the Longwood Small Business Development Center (SBDC).…
Springtime blossoms accent a display of LorenLuxe skin care products developed by Jessica Hill and arranged on a table on her front porch in Warfield. Launched in March 2020 in the midst of a pandemic, Hill’s business, like her floral backdrop, has blossomed.…