When Audrey Sullivan opened Red Door 104 Art School and Studio in Farmville four years ago, she had a plan. It worked in Northern Virginia, so why not in Farmville? Pretty quickly Sullivan found out that business plans aren’t “one size fits all.”
“It didn’t take me long to realize I ‘wasn’t in Kansas anymore,’” she says with a smile.…
In little over a year Shannon Facchhina turned a love for children into a successful South Hill business. Caring Hearts Academy opened its doors in October 2018.
“We started one year ago with 23 families, and yesterday I took in my 45th enrollment,” Facchina says.…
Everett Howell came back to Surry in 2015. When he found his hometown without a single grocery store, Howell decided to do something about it. Last October he opened Rivertime Seafood Market & Deli in a building that once housed the town’s grocery store.…
Sunae Pletcher started a beauty supply business 16 years ago with a loan from her cousin in Korea. Today she owns two stores in Farmville and plans to build another in the near future. Pletcher credits her business success to determination, hard work and a helping hand from the Longwood Small Business Development Center (SBDC).…
In 2017 Lauren Tetterton and Taylor Jennings decided to open a women’s clothing store in Downtown South Boston (SoBo) that would offer more than a no-frills shopping experience. The result was Southern Frills, a trendy boutique with a focus on customer service.…
Ballad Brewing Company opened in Danville in 2017 with a plan to start small and grow from there.
“The first year we sold beer in our own tap room to learn what our customers liked and chose the beers we wanted to send to distribution,” Ballad Business Operations Manager Tim Meyers explains.…
Manna The Natural Experience is making some changes on South Boston’s Main Street, and owner Kecia Kalu is pleased to see it. As the store’s name implies, Kalu believes the natural path to health is the only way to go.
“Previously I was helping out at my uncle’s health food store,” Kalu says.…
LaKisha Jackson doesn’t believe in giving up. When she was laid off from her job in 2009, Jackson didn’t despair; she made cakes instead. Now Jackson has her own business on South Boston’s Main Street.
“My aunt got me into cake decorating,” Jackson says.…
What started as a home-based business now has a new home and retail location in downtown South Boston.
Candace Baskervill started a personalized t-shirt business in North Carolina six years ago. Last year she opened Sweet Cee’s, a gift/kid’s consignment business on South Boston’s Main Street.…
Haley’s Honey Meadery is the new business on the block in downtown Hopewell, and Tonya Haley couldn’t “bee” more pleased. Bees and beekeeping have been a part of her family for two generations.
“My mom and dad were beekeepers in Richmond for years,” Haley says.…