Success Stories
Lindstrand Technologies
Partnership with IDA creates high flying opportunities.
South Boston, Virginia is proud to secure the newest location for Lindstrand Technologies. An innovative company founded in 1991 in Oswestry, Shropshire, England, Lindstrand specializes in many forms of “lighter than air” technologies including airships, gas balloons, passenger-carrying tethered aerostats, and inflatable buildings. No stranger to flight technologies, the founder of the company, Per Lindstrand, holds three hot air ballooning records, for the highest, longest, and farthest balloon flights ever made. An aeronautical engineer, Per envisioned and realized production of many technical innovations at Lindstrand.
Star Factory
Longwood graduates in the school of education are entrepreneurial adventurers. Two former Longwood graduates, Kelley Bennett Frakes (class of 1989) and Jenney Bennett Walters (class of 1995) have taken the discipline applied to the classroom to buying property with two other women in Dinwiddie County in order to build a multi-purpose gym. The vision for this new fitness facility emphasizes cheerleading, gymnastics and dance for children and adults.
Patriot Drug & DNA Testing
Patriot Drug and DNA Testing provides a recent example of how the SBDC network can help a new business navigate the myriad of start-up issues and develop an effective business model. Nancy Harms, and her husband William Holmes, business owners, worked with Diane Arnold, Branch Director of the Longwood SBDC Dan River, through the entire startup phase from concept to the actual expansion of their business concept “southward” to the Danville/Pittsylvania County area. Initially conceived as a Roanoke business, Patriot’s concept was changed in the planning process to include a headquarters in Chatham, Virginia and future field offices in Lynchburg, Virginia; and Mebane, North Carolina.
Rawles Aden Building Products
As a business owner, can you imagine overcoming fires, floods, hurricanes, the loss of the company’s founding fathers, off the chart interest rates and cash flow challenges? Just ask Jack Aden of Rawles Aden Lumber Company about his history, and he will quickly convince you that given persistence and a winning attitude, challenges can be overcome. Jack Aden, current owner of Rawles-Aden, and the son and close friend of the original owners, has seen the company through major crises. Rawles Aden Lumber Company, with the help of the Crater SBDC of Longwood University, experienced a positive turning point in 2000 and has since posted an average 12% gain in revenues over the past five years. To understand what Jack and Rawles-Aden have overcome, it is necessary to revisit their past. Jack himself states: “There is nothing I haven’t seen in my 30 years with this company.”
Farmers Daughters
What goes into the making of a successful business owner? Now, there is an age old debate: is it nature or is it nurture? Carolyn Bowman, founder and owner of The Farmer’s Daughters, a nursery and landscaping business in Burkeville, Virginia will tell you that it takes both, and that inspiration and creativity spring from challenges and hard work.
Carraway Glass
Why would a successful conference center director and registered nurse want to buy a glass company? Why wouldn’t they want to seek a more leisurely life style now that they are empty nesters? It’s the American dream of owning your own business which often transcends age and stage. David Mosley had always wanted to own his own company and his supportive wife Jeanette encouraged this initiative. Over the years they were financially prudent so they had the resources to look at a business venture or vacation home. The business venture was a strong draw and they were looking at a potentially once-in-a lifetime opportunity.
Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the SBA.
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