Reimagining Main Street

Davina and Danny Bare saw a need for housing while visiting Lynchburg. This spurred them to launch DBHomes4Hope. Davina says, “Danny, a contractor, and myself, a former Army HR officer, know to make homeownership happen.” They want to renovate homes and help clients buy homes. The SBDC - Lynchburg Region enrolled Davina in their Start Smart Class to write a business plan and connected her with Pinnacle Financial. Pinnacle approved a $10,000 loan. “Our mission is to help families gain homes for generations,” Davina says. The SBDC, she adds, helped make this journey possible. “I'm seeing progress in the families we're coaching and a sense of community,” Davina concludes. “The entity that brought it all together was the SBDC.”

The veteran-owned Aurora Coffee & More consists of a brick-and-mortar coffee shop in Fayetteville, WV, and a mobile shaved ice truck. They saw steady growth as COVID restrictions accelerated the demand for food truck vendors. One of their main coffee shop competitors was closed due to staffing. Co-owner Daniel Mikels needed additional employees for the coffee shop to continue booking more events for the shaved ice truck. WV SBDC Business Coach Heidi Prior helped the business get a customized employee handbook, a checklist to reference when hiring new employees, and a better understanding of how to organize employee paperwork safely. As a result, Aurora Coffee & More went from the two owners being the only employees to five employees.

veteran-owned small businesses at UW-Stevens Point SBDC's 2022 Veteran Business Expo and Veteran Owned Business Executive Roundtable events