United Virginia provides training, workshops, mentorship, networking and microlending options for Virginiaâs small business entrepreneurs. This nonprofit was founded three years ago to address the lack of traditional job opportunities in areas hit hard by the recession (including east Richmond) by facilitating self-employment via small business startups. The curriculum offered by United Virginia is 16-weeks of comprehensive information on starting a tenable new business, including legal advice, marketing strategy and more. Executive Director Josh Sheldon says that most clientsâ ideas for a business are feasible if properly executed. Their courses help entrepreneurs focus and strategize by defining their service, their customer, and their business plan. United Virginia is also affiliated with Workshop in Business Opportunities (providing the United Virginia curricula), Kiva (a microlending service), and CARITASâ The Healing Place (a substance addiction recovery program). For more information, visit http://unitedvirginia.org.
Elaine Summerfield, host Andrew Hawes, sound engineer