When Katie Shull chose to step away from her desk job, she did not begin with a sweeping business plan—only a clear desire to spend her days around dogs. What started as a simple wish to “work with dogs instead of computers” evolved into a growing small business defined by care, commitment, and steady ambition.

After volunteering at a local animal shelter and several rescue groups, Katie realized that while she loved supporting animals, the emotional strain and limited income made long-term work there difficult. Seeking a more sustainable path, she reached out to a local kennel to gain hands-on experience. Sunny Ridge Kennels, just minutes from home, proved to be the ideal setting. When the longtime owner shared plans to retire, Katie began working part-time, learning everything from daily care routines to customer service. Over three years, she became part of the kennel’s rhythm and built lasting relationships with both the dogs and their owners.

When the moment arrived for Katie to assume control of the business, she encountered her greatest challenge: purchasing it. She sold her home to make the down payment and secured an SBA 7(a) loan to finalize the purchase. “It sounded a little crazy to some people,” she said, “but I knew this was what I wanted. It felt like a once-in-a-lifetime chance.”

That determination led her to the Shenandoah Valley Small Business Development Center (SBDC), where advisor Barry Henderson became an essential guide. “I didn’t know where to start,” Katie explained. “Barry helped me understand what banks needed to see. He taught me how to build a business plan and financial projections that made sense.” He also connected her with key resources, including an attorney who later became one of her boarding clients.

With guidance from the SBDC, Katie successfully transitioned from employee to owner in October 2024. She and her husband, Dustin, now operate the business and live on the property full-time, supported by a dedicated team of six part-time staff. Under their leadership, Sunny Ridge Kennels continues to offer a safe, clean, and nurturing environment for pets while preserving the personalized care that clients have come to rely on.

“The SBDC made a process that felt impossible seem achievable,” Katie said. “They gave me structure, confidence, and the right people to talk to when I needed them most.”

Katie’s journey is a testament to what happens when passion meets preparation. As Sunny Ridge Kennels celebrates its first anniversary, she remains focused on steady growth and happy dogs. “Every day I get to do what I love,” she said. “That’s success to me.”

As a banker, Lucia Resendiz Garcia was inspired by her entrepreneurial customers to start her own business. After working with the Laurel Ridge SBDC to establish Lucy’s Custom Arrangements, business is now in full bloom.

“I wasn’t sure at first what I even wanted my business to be, but I started to see these people on social media making these kinds of arrangements and bouquets,” Lucy says. “I fell in love with them. At first, I didn’t think it was possible because I was working full time, my son was three and I just didn’t feel like I had the time.’

“But then I said, let me do just one. I tried it and fell in love with it right away.”

That first arrangement proved to be the spark that ignited Lucy’s entrepreneurial spirit. She debuted her work on her own social media channels, and soon orders started to pour in. With the help of her mother, who is also a business owner, Lucy launched Lucy’s Custom Arrangements in June 2020.

In less than a year, demand grew to the point where Lucy needed to officially establish her business. That led her to the Laurel Ridge SBDC and Business Advisor Diana Patterson, who helped her set up Lucy’s Custom Arrangements as a registered company.

“Diana was a huge help at first,” Lucy says. “She made everything so easy and just very simple.”

With her business foundation established, Lucy’s sales continued to grow. She and her mother began selling their arrangements at pop-up shops during holidays like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. But her company soon outgrew that model, which prompted Lucy to consider a big next step.

“We did pop-ups at physical locations, and it was just a huge success,” Lucy says. “So many people were able to find us at our pop-ups, even if it wasn’t a known location, so I said we needed to have a physical space.”

After finding an available location on Costello Drive in Winchester, Lucy returned to the SBDC for guidance.

“Diana and I talked about opening a physical location, and she let me know all the steps I needed to take to make it happen,” Lucy says. “There was a lot [I hadn’t thought about], like getting renters insurance, finding a good CPA, that I could request rent abatement for the first month, and things like that. Getting [rent abatement] was a huge help; I didn’t even know that was an option until she told me.”

Since her grand opening in September 2024, Lucy has been working to make the new location her own. Her customer base has expanded into Richmond and Washington, D.C., while also retaining many of her original clients.

“A lot of my customers come in and they’re like, ‘I remember when you were working from home,’” Lucy says.

Just like her bouquets, Lucy’s business is blooming.

As nursing veterans with more than 40 years of combined experience, Desiree Shifflett and Sabrina Walker share a passion for providing quality care to the elderly and others in need. That mission forms the core of Nomad Nursing LLC and Nomad Nursing Academy, a health care staffing and education agency that the two founded together out of a small home office in 2023.

After running Nomad for nearly a year, Desiree and Sabrina connected with Central Virginia SBDC Business Advisor Rosi Beachy. That partnership proved to be transformative for their business, nursing staff, and the patients within their care.

“Rosi has been a monumental piece in our success,” said Nicole Tompkins, Nomad’s office manager and director of sales and marketing.

Spurred by the 2024 Standardsville Area Revitalization Business Pitch Competition, Desiree and Sabrina first connected with the SBDC to seek assistance writing a business plan for the competition. They ended up winning the competition — and a $10,000 grant — but the journey didn’t stop there. Rosi encouraged them to enter the QuadTank Pitch Competition in Orange seven days later, and they won that as well — along with another grant of $5,000.

“Securing those grants really gave us the ability to grow in the sense of finding a better working space,” Nicole said.

That growth also allowed the duo to launch Nomad Nursing Academy, an education center that has fulfilled Desiree and Sabrina’s vision for an all-encompassing, “one-stop shop” nursing agency. Nurses can take classes, receive certifications and then put their training into practice through Nomad’s staffing operation, which places them in care facilities in need of qualified professionals.

“There’s always a big gap for where health care providers can find classes,” Nicole said. “There are plenty of them, but they’re rarely in the area where they need to be, especially in rural areas.”

Currently Nomad offers courses ranging from entry level to advanced recertifications for practicing nurses and health care professionals. Training their nursing staff themselves provides Desiree and Sabrina the opportunity to share their own passion for providing care to those in need.

“Another reason we started the school is because we want you to learn what health care is and that you’re not walking in just to get a paycheck,” Desiree said. “You’re taking care of somebody’s family member. These are people who want to tell you their story. They want to joke with you. They want to be treated like adults.”

Desiree and Sabrina’s business has received that same level of care and attention from Rosi and the SBDC.

“Rosi really cared about us and was constantly checking on us,” Desiree said. “It didn’t feel like a job connection between us, and it was a really good relationship. She believed in us, and it really gave us the strength to keep going.”

A knee injury changed Dave Johnson’s life forever. Connecting with business partner Evan Eckersley and the Central Virginia SBDC to launch Icarus Medical Innovations turned that tragedy into triumph.

Dave’s injury — sustained while playing high school football at age 15 — led to early onset osteoarthritis, decreased mobility and chronic pain. As his symptoms progressed, and surgery proved ineffective, he began modifying his own braces by installing springs that offset the load on his knee. His first prototype allowed him to return to his longtime passion of snowboarding and bend his knee without pain. It also proved to be the foundation for Icarus.

“I knew I was onto something, and then every year I tried to make it better,” says Dave, who filed his first patent in 2016. He soon realized that his problem was one that impacted one in ten Americans seeking knee pain relief.

With a novel design but minimal experience running a business, Dave first met entrepreneur Evan Eckersley at a local accelerator program in 2020. Powered by the pair’s complementary skillsets and mutual excitement in driving impact through innovation, Icarus Medical Innovations took flight that same year.

When the two connected with Central Virginia SBDC Director Rebecca Haydock, Icarus began to soar.

“I come from a background of believing there’s nothing free out there,” Dave says. “But every time I met Rebecca, she was genuinely interested in what we were doing. She always asked how she could help and what we needed. She made introductions, got us mentors, got us connected to this or that. She’s been such a huge help.”

Rebecca had previously mentored Evan during his first entrepreneurial venture, Lytos Technologies. He knew she could connect their fledgling company with market contacts for manufacturing, sales and more.

“Rebecca was always bringing valuable guidance and connections to our team. Her mentorship is a big reason that I have continued down this path as an entrepreneur” Evan says.

Four years later, Icarus has expanded to nearly 50 employees, five lines of innovative braces with market-leading outcomes, and a growing national footprint. They have also been able to leverage other SBDC resources, such as the Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program (ICAP) mentors and International Business Development Program (IBD). Through the IBD Program, Dave and Evan visited an industry-heavy region in Northern Italy in October 2024. That trip put them in contact with Italian manufacturing companies seeking to collaborate with businesses eyeing international expansion.

“It’s interesting to us because we need a launchpad into Europe,” Dave says. “We can make any custom device from an iPhone scan using our software, instantly and anywhere in the world, so we’re looking at establishing 3D printing capability there. In the meantime, we’re trying to build demand and a distribution network, first throughout Italy but really all of Europe.”

That IBD Program trip weaved seamlessly into Icarus’ business model, which has leveraged digital technology with advances in 3D printing manufacturing to streamline production of bespoke devices at scale.

“We started out building braces practically in a closet,” Evan says. “Now we’ve established a print farm right here in Charlottesville using some of the most advanced software and additive technology in the industry. We’ve cracked the code on how to scale through our software.”

As Dave and Evan have proven, with the SBDC in Icarus’ corner, the sky is the limit.

Inspired by the recent surge of city-dwellers seeking new ways to experience the outdoors, Kevin Wilson decided to put his entrepreneurial experience to use in a new venture. With help from the Capital Region SBDC, his plans to provide a luxury “glamping” experience through Camp Yellow Cardinal are taking flight.

The idea for a glamping location near Farmville, an hour from Richmond and three hours from Washington, D.C., was a “meeting of the minds” between former Boy Scout Kevin and wife Laura.

“I’d be happy with a sleeping bag and the stars, but I think a Holiday Inn is about as close to camping as my wife wants to be,” he says. “Glamping really blends both worlds — you have the luxury of a high-end hotel in the great outdoors. With Millennials and Gen Z looking for these adventures, we felt this was the right time to capitalize on our idea.”

As a former restaurant owner, Kevin understands the stressors of opening and running a business. However, for his first foray into glamping and hospitality, he sought out the SBDC and business advisor Korinn Carter.

“I learned about the SBDC in 2024 at a finance seminar at the Henrico County Public Library,” Kevin explains. “It had been 16 years since I wrote a business plan. The SBDC helped me with that as well as the financial projections. Having another set of eyes on the business plan and financial piece was absolutely invaluable. With the SBDC’s help, I applied for and have been conditionally approved for a Small Business Administration 7(a) loan.”

And, even as a seasoned business owner, Kevin found the SBDC’s educational resources beneficial.

“It’s always good to have a refresher” he says. “In an hour-long webinar, there might be 59 minutes of information that was already familiar, but that one minute of advice I’d never thought about before made the whole hour worthwhile.”

Kevin has targeted a plot of land in Prince Edward County near Keysville as Camp Yellow Cardinal’s headquarters. While he waits for zoning approval, he continues to make plans for a luxury camping destination that will include six geodesic domes. Each will have its own hot tub, fire pit and grill, king-size beds, private bathroom, kitchenette, air-conditioning and wireless internet.

“Our goal is a boutique experience from the time guests hear about us until they leave with smiles on their faces,” Kevin says.

Kevin is also smiling as he recalls insights gained from the SBDC.

“I’ve told business friends about the SBDC and encouraged them to reach out,” he concludes. “Services are free, and you’ll get insights and support often lacking in the business world. The SBDC is staffed by entrepreneurs and experts. It’s advice you can take to heart —that’s been transformative for me.”

A teacher for 30 years, Mariela Formiconi knows the value of education. When Mariela and her business partner Celeste Diaz decided to add a childcare center to their Spanish Lab and Learning Center, Mariela sought out the Shenandoah Valley SBDC to learn specifics about the project.

“I’m from Argentina where I taught English as a Second Language,” Mariela explains. “Myriam was an early education teacher in Paraguay and liked the idea of adding childcare. That’s how we got into this place— and we’re super excited to be here.”

Established in 2023, the Spanish Lab and Learning Center offers group Spanish classes for children, teens and adults; private tutoring in Spanish and English; and day camps and summer camps for children in Spanish. But, in expanding their center to include childcare support, Mariela and Celeste needed a mentor of their own, which led them to the Shenandoah Valley SBDC and Business Advisor Diane McCarthy.

“Diane offered to meet with us, and my answer was — of course!” Mariela said.

Starting with an initial meeting in April 2024, Diane provided the business partners with a roadmap to open their Childcare and Preschool Center, as well as a plan to apply for a Harrisonburg City Childcare American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Grant. That grant, which included enrollment in the six-week Harrisonburg Childcare Business Training Program, helped fund their new childcare endeavor.

“Diane helped us through the whole process,” Mariela says. “She was instrumental in creating a business plan and took the time to meet with me many times. She directed us to an architect who helped pick the right building and subsequent change of use of the building. Diane helped us through the application process [for the ARPA grant]. I don’t have a business background. Without help from the SBDC, I would have given up.”

A successful application resulted in two ARPA grants that totaled $89,000.

“We are using that money to renovate our building,” Mariela says. “Once that’s done, the Spanish Lab and Learning Center will open its doors to the Spanish Immersion Preschool and Childcare Center.”

Diane has also continued to support Mariela and Myriam by helping them work on new ideas for the Spanish Learning Lab.

“She continues to offer ideas to make that side of the business grow,” Mariela says, “and we’ve already seen growth since we started working with the SBDC in April 2024. Our workshops and day camps idea, now impactful in our business, started with a discussion with Diane. We’re currently in the process of building a Childcare and Preschool Center and will add seven employees.”

As their business grows, Mariela and Celeste will continue to look to the SBDC.

“The SBDC is amazing,” Mariela concludes. “Working with the SBDC, I never felt alone; their advice gave me direction. If we hadn’t had the SBDC’s help, we wouldn’t have been able to work out all the details for a childcare business. It’s a great resource — and it’s free!”