Picture a bowling alley with axes instead of bowling balls. If that sounds like a little too much excitement, how about an escape room where a team of people solve puzzles in order to get out. Thanks to Christie Wall you’ll find both of these new waves in entertainment in Danville’s River District.…
SBDC helps bring business home
You could say that Pete and Bonnie Riddle built a romance with sheet metal and tools. Now, with help from the Longwood Small Business Development Center (SBDC), they’re making a business of it.
Pete and Bonnie, who were good friends in high school, grew up about two or three miles from each other.…
Drawing on SBDC experience
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.”…
SBDC helps Caring Hearts find success
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.…
Seafood market brings new life to Surry
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.…
Beauty comes to town — with help from SBDC
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).…
Southern Frills offers style and service
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.…
Brewery taps new markets with SBDC’s help
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 — a natural for South Boston
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.…
KJ’s finds a recipe for success
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.…