After 5 years of a high-paced life as an NFL running back, Ken Jenkins spent the next 20 years working for others in every industry from banking to IT. He grew weary of being at the mercy of industry fluctuations that could swiftly change his employment status and realized he had the skills and experience to branch out on his own. So he took the ball, and ran with it. Along with his wife, Amy Lewis, the duo combined their experience in alternative medicine to start Got Pro Health, LLC. Through the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) he was put into contact with the Washington, DC chapter of SCORE and began meeting regularly with his mentors who helped Got Pro Health define its offerings and learn how to broadcast that message to potential clients.
www.gotprohealth.com
Washington
DC
United States
My Successes
Ken describes his own launch into entrepreneurship as quite similar to his days returning punts in the NFL: “It’s the most frightening, harrowing experience ever but also hugely rewarding.”
Together with his mentors, Joe Clarke and Dee Rogers, Ken developed a business plan for Got Pro Health, LLC that has allowed the business to “prioritize goals” and “create a more focused strategy to grow.” Just 2 years into his alternative medicine business, Jenkins has already witnessed the improvements these plans have made; Got Pro Health will be adding 2 full time administrative employees by mid-2013 with plans to add 4 more positions by the end of the year.
Got Pro Health was chosen as a winner of the Sam’s Club Holiday Cheer initiative in December 2012, receiving a $1,000 grant and a trip to Dallas to attend a high speed growth marketing workshop hosted by SCORE. This workshop helped Ken develop a social media strategy for the business and a plan for improving their website.
The current aim of the business is to connect former athletes with alternative care providers but they also have an even greater goal of increasing awareness of the general public about health and wellness.
What's Great About My Mentor?
Once Ken got connected with SCORE, he says he attended a workshop and was immediately hooked. Since then, he’s met with mentors Joe Clarke and Dee Rogers once a month working to write a business plan, forecast projections, and learn about marketing, messaging and positioning. Ken says his mentors “gave us a structure for how to prioritize our goals which resulted in a more focused strategy to grow.” They are still in the process of implementing this strategy but are already beginning to see the results in the form of increased exposure and revenues.
Surcees is a distinctly Southern word that means “wonderful surprise.” And that’s exactly what Surcees Vintage Clothing and Handmade Gifts in Surfside Beach is. Owner Erin Adams says the vintage clothes “have lived and loved” and now need to be passed on to the next person who’ll treasure them.
Her natural gift for merchandising and marketing helps. So does the SCORE workshop she took to hone those skills.
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Cass Cannon is an entrepreneur. She’s followed her heart—plus gone into a lot of research and training—to start her own new business, “Peg’s Salt.”
She learned about what she was getting into before jumping off the new business cliff. “A year ago I went to SCORE,” a nonprofit association of volunteer business counselors throughout the U.S. with offices in Waynesboro and Charlottesville. Then she filled out the incorporation papers online. “Doing Peg’s Salt was like a no brainer,” Cannon said.
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Step into the skylightflooded fiber room at Yarn & Coffee and it's nearly impossible not to pet the product.
When California transplant Deborah Grossman got laid off from her Santa Fe IT job, she knew exactly what to do. The dream of owning a yarn shop had been festering inside her for a good 10 years.
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This is the place to go for on line forms and help with starting a business in Pennsylvania. Here you can find forms and tips about starting a business.
Click the link below to go to Pa Biz Online
Pa Biz Online
List of key places to go for Inofrmation about starting a business in Pennsylvania.
Small business owners are always devising “killer” marketing or ad campaigns that – in theory at least – will send business soaring. Whether created in-house or with outside help, it can be a great concept, with sparkling design and a compelling message and yet still bomb big time.
Small business owners are always devising “killer” marketing or ad campaigns that – in theory at least – will send business soaring. Whether created in-house or with outside help, it can be a great concept, with sparkling design and a compelling message and yet still bomb big time.
About the Author
Daniel Kehrer, Founder & Managing Director of BizBest Media Corp., is a nationally-known, award-winning expert on small and local business, start-ups, content marketing, entrepreneurship and social media, with an MBA from UCLA/Anderson. Read more of Daniel's tips at
www.BizBest.com, follow him at
www.twitter.com/140Main and connect on LinkedIn at
www.linkedin.com/in/danielkehrer.
Published Mar. 5, 2013
Choosing Among Sole Proprietorships, Single-Shareholder Corporations And Single-Member LLCs For New Businesses
Choosing Among Sole Proprietorships, Single-Shareholder Corporations And Single-Member LLCs For New Businesses
Q: I’m starting a new business in New Hampshire. I will be its only owner. Should my business be a sole proprietorship, a single-shareholder corporation or a single-member LLC?
About the Author
John Cunningham is a N.H. business lawyer whose practice is focused on LLC law and tax. He chaired the N.H. Business and Industry Association committee that drafted the Revised New Hampshire Limited Liability Company Act, a radical revision of New Hampshire LLC law that went into effect on January 1st. LLCs are, by a wide margin, the entities of choice for N.H. business start-ups.
Description of the SBA Loan Program
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