Website
  • Advising
    • Start Your Business
    • Grow Your Business
  • Training
    • Webinar & Events
    • Partner Webinars & Events
    • On-Demand Videos
  • Resources
    • Funding Resources
  • Programs
    • Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program (ICAP)
    • International Business Development Program (IBD)
    • Craft Beverage Assistance Program (CBA)
    • Cybersecurity
    • Veterans
  • Successes
  • About Us
    • Staff
    • Office Locations
    • Sponsors
    • Results
  • en English
    ar Arabiczh-CN Chinese (Simplified)en Englishfr Frenchde Germanhi Hindiit Italianpt Portugueseru Russianes Spanishvi Vietnamese
Website
  • Advising
    • Start Your Business
    • Grow Your Business
  • Training
    • Webinar & Events
    • Partner Webinars & Events
    • On-Demand Videos
  • Resources
    • Funding Resources
  • Programs
    • Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program (ICAP)
    • International Business Development Program (IBD)
    • Craft Beverage Assistance Program (CBA)
    • Cybersecurity
    • Veterans
  • Successes
  • About Us
    • Staff
    • Office Locations
    • Sponsors
    • Results
  • en English
    ar Arabiczh-CN Chinese (Simplified)en Englishfr Frenchde Germanhi Hindiit Italianpt Portugueseru Russianes Spanishvi Vietnamese
  • Advising
    • Start Your Business
    • Grow Your Business
  • Training
    • Webinar & Events
    • Partner Webinars & Events
    • On-Demand Videos
  • Resources
    • Funding Resources
  • Programs
    • Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program (ICAP)
    • International Business Development Program (IBD)
    • Craft Beverage Assistance Program (CBA)
    • Cybersecurity
    • Veterans
  • Successes
  • About Us
    • Staff
    • Office Locations
    • Sponsors
    • Results
  • en English
    ar Arabiczh-CN Chinese (Simplified)en Englishfr Frenchde Germanhi Hindiit Italianpt Portugueseru Russianes Spanishvi Vietnamese
Website
Website
  • Advising
    • Start Your Business
    • Grow Your Business
  • Training
    • Webinar & Events
    • Partner Webinars & Events
    • On-Demand Videos
  • Resources
    • Funding Resources
  • Programs
    • Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program (ICAP)
    • International Business Development Program (IBD)
    • Craft Beverage Assistance Program (CBA)
    • Cybersecurity
    • Veterans
  • Successes
  • About Us
    • Staff
    • Office Locations
    • Sponsors
    • Results
  • en English
    ar Arabiczh-CN Chinese (Simplified)en Englishfr Frenchde Germanhi Hindiit Italianpt Portugueseru Russianes Spanishvi Vietnamese
2021Business ExpansionNetworkingSouthern

Genesis Learning Center

Elysia September 9, 2021

Petersburg day care pushes past the odds

Secured a $900,000 loan to fund an expansion to serve 125 families and provide 25 full-time jobs.

Amy Venable-Turner, owner of the Genesis Learning Center, believes learning never stops. She’s built a thriving day care business focused on that approach.

“I started working for Genesis, a church-operated day care, when I was 21,” she says. Amy completed a degree in early childhood education and then decided to take a job on the West Coast. She was called back to Virginia by the Genesis Learning Center. “The school was failing, and they wanted to see if I could save it,” Amy relates. Three years later, the pastor gave the school to me — I guess you could say I inherited it.”

Since Amy took over the business in 2006, Genesis has expanded to include three locations. “In 2020, we decided to add a fourth location in Petersburg,” Amy says.

Amy had several goals when she contacted Ellen Templeton, Center Director of the Longwood University SBDC — Eastern Region, also known as the Crater SBDC. “I needed to understand the Petersburg market and wanted someone in the area to help me make connections and network,” Amy explains.

Networking began with an SBDC workshop on “How to Start a Business.” At that workshop, Amy made an important connection with Dennis Wagner of the Small Business Administration (SBA). This led to another connection to an executive at a Petersburg hospital looking for a source of quality childcare. “We had identified a location for our school in Petersburg,” Amy relates. “At that point, Ellen encouraged me to contact the SBA for funding.”

To apply for an SBA loan, Amy needed to write a business plan — something she had not done during her 14 years in business. “Ellen walked me through the application process and all the paperwork involved with it,” Amy continues. “We did secure a $900,000 loan for the Petersburg expansion to serve 125 families and provide 25 full-time jobs.”

It seemed like all signs were a “go” for the new location as things continued to fall into place. However, COVID had other plans. The pandemic abruptly halted the forward movement for the newest Genesis Learning Center. “The Petersburg project was put on hold,” Amy reports. “Now, in 2021, we basically have to start over from the beginning.”

Despite such setbacks from the pandemic, Amy is confident about the future. “Because Ellen walked me through the SBA loan process pre-COVID, I’m not afraid to start again post-COVID,” Amy says. “To me, that’s the real value of the SBDC.”

Amy doesn’t hesitate to recommend the SBDC. “I’ve had a wonderful experience with the SBDC and specifically with Ellen,” she concludes. “The SBDC has the experience and knowledge to help any small business owner succeed.”

Cybersecurity Awareness Month: How to Get your Business InvolvedCybersecurity Awareness Month: How to Get your Business InvolvedAugust 31, 2021
L’Auberge ProvençaleSeptember 9, 2021L’Auberge Provençale

Contact Us

+1 703-277-7703

help@virginiasbdc.org

10306 Eaton Place
Suite 180

Fairfax, VA 22030

Stay Connected

Facebook Instagram Twitter Linkedin Youtube

Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration and GO VIRGINIA, a state‐funded initiative administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) that strengthens and diversifies Virginia’s economy and fosters the creation of higher wage jobs in strategic industries.

Copyright © 2021 Virginia SBDC. All Rights Reserved