Keywords for this post: Minority business, Investors, SBA, Business Plans for Women, Business Plans
Minority and women entrepreneuers in Virginia are in luck!
Minority and women business owners seeking information about where to find capital to start, grow or expand their small business will find the tools and resources they need during the 2005 Minority Business Enterprise Capital Call. It will be held June 5-7 in Virginia Beach.
The 2005 MBE Capital Call will introduce Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs) to myriad resources for capital and credit and expose private and public entities to business opportunities with MWBEs. The event is a call to MWBEs to avail themselves of the knowledge of varied financial products and services, capital and credit markets, and resources to achieve wealth through business creation and expansion.
According to James R. Taylor, Director, Virginia Housing and Community Development Corporation, “the Capital Call is a timely initiative for what I believe will be a very challenging environment for small business and community development in the not-so-distant future. It’s clear to me the time is ripe for innovative measures to assist those who will be most affected by government spending cuts and redirected federal resources.”
The Capital Call will feature 23 seminars, lead by notable experts in their fields, as well as a series of in-depth panel discussions on a variety of small business financial topics, including accessing business capital and credit. Experts from the U.S. Minority Business Development Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration, along with representatives of leading business law firms, venture capital firms, community banks, and successful small businesses will share their wisdom, experience, and advice.
“Access to capital and credit has been a significant problem for minority and women-owned businesses. There are perhaps several reasons. However, with literally billions of dollars of private equity and other forms of capital and credit available, the MBE Capital Call will deliver the knowledge resources necessary to enable more of those dollars to flow to Minority- and Women-owned Business Enterprises.”
For more information about the 2005 MBE Capital Call or to register, visit www.mbecapitalcall.com. Early registration deadline for the event is Thursday, March 31, 2005.About VHCDCVirginia Housing and Community Development Corporation (VHCDC) is a private, non-profit community development corporation principally serving disadvantaged, low-income communities in the cities of Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach, Virginia. VHCDC is a 501(c)3, charitable Corporation, focused on innovative, community-based initiatives that advance the success and growth of disadvantaged micro and small business enterprises, stimulate job creation, and rebuild and revitalize distressed communities. For more information, visit VHCDC online at: www.vhcdc.org###
Contact Information
Shelia HarrisonTrio Marketing and Communicationshttp://www.mbecapitalcall.com757-289-6681
Saavy entrepreneurs will go prepared -- with a business plan in hand. Add that to a lot of executive summaries, a pocket full of business cards, and a brief case to carry home all the leads you will find, and consider yourself on the way to funding success!
Thanks for the post. However, the MBE Capital Call is open to Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises nationwide!
ReplyDeleteBest regards,
James R Taylor, Director
Virginia Housing and Community
Development Corporation
www.vhcdc.org
757.671.8333
As an award recipient of the 2005 MBE Capital Call Business Plan Competition I'm writing to give the 2006 contestants the heads up about the competition. First of all, none of us have seen one dime of the grant money. The rules stated that the funds would be given out in either cash awards and/or goods and services. In June 2005 we were told that everything would begin in July. In July, I was told that the funds would be available some time in September. Mr. Taylor fails to inform all of the contestants that they will not receive the funds in their hands. According to him, he has to meet with the business owners, review the business plan thoroughly, determine a course that the business SHOULD be headed in, determine the needs and AGREE upon the purchases for the company. I couldn't even get $200.00 for software purchases and if the $5000 truly existed, that minimal purchase should have been granted. After my last request for the software purchases, he replied via email requesting the following: the updated business plan, the updated profit and loss statements, my personal financial statement, personal equity and business equity. I refused to give him this information a third time. It all seems like a stalling tactic because the funds don't actually exist. Even one of the judges for the 2005 competition had no idea that the funds have not been given out and that person refuses to be involved in the 2006 competition.
ReplyDeleteIn order to protect those who are uncomfortable about this negative exposure, you can visit the VHCDC website and look at the winners list. Contact each of us as I've volunteered to be the "loud mouth" about this competition. Feel free to email me at cmscopyright@earthlink.net.
Just once, we all felt that there was truly an organization that would help the minority businesses get established with no strings attached. I cannot tell you how wrong I was about this competition. I can speak about it as there hasn't been a press releases nor have I signed any release papers (as mentioned in the 2005 rules for the competition). All of us have been more than patient and understanding with a competition that changes the rules on a month to month basis.
I will be more than glad to talk to anyone about this as I've given the organization until Sept. 1, 2005 to give out the funds to ALL of the recipients.
Feel free to contact me at 434-589-5470.