Escala Honors Big Plans at Small Business Competition

NVFS’ program for small business, Escala, held its sixth annual Business Plan Competition on March 26 at the Capital One headquarters in McLean, VA. Three entrepreneurs won cash prizes to help fast track the expansion of their businesses. The winners included:

· Octavio Diaz, whose Arlington small business, Inti Electric, helps train electricians in Spanish for their Journeyman and Master Electrician licensing exams. Diaz’s business plan includes expanding to offer vocational training for students interested in starting a career or business in the electrical field. ($1,000)

· Nelson Lopez’s Grasshoppers Landscape is based in Leesburg, and provides residential and commercial landscape work with an emphasis on clear communication and great customer relationships. Lopez presented his vision to add two more vehicles so that he can obtain more commercial contracts. ($500)

· Henry Trujillo, whose growing business, Answers Cleaning, prides itself on responsive customer service and excellent treatment of employees. Trujillo’s goal is to continue expanding from Arlington into Washington, D.C., and throughout Northern Virginia. ($250)

Five finalists presented their plans to establish and/or grow their small business. A panel of volunteer judges evaluated the plans’ overall description, competitive advantage, target market, promotional strategies and profitability to select the winners. The event also featured a video to catch up with last year’s winners, and can be seen on NVFS’ YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCir-qBQd3Q. Please note, this file is in Spanish but has English subtitles.

“I could see the long-term vision in all the business plans this year,” says Adrienne Kay, Escala program manager. “I have no doubt that we witnessed the seeds of high-growth future businesses with big impact on their communities.”

NVCC Global Learning Center and Kenya Zambrano State Farm Agency sponsored the event.

In addition to the business plan competition, Escala services include:

· One-on-one business consulting

· A four-week basic start-up course

· A ten-week business plan course, NxLevel

· Crowdfunding campaigns to invest in small business plans

· Additional workshops and events

Escala is housed at NVFS’ Multicultural Center, 6400 Arlington Boulevard in Falls Church. Classes and consulting services are currently offered at this location with satellite offerings at SERVE in Manassas. For more information, please contact Adrienne Kay at (571) 748-2892.

Founded in 1924, Northern Virginia Family Service is the largest private, nonprofit human service organization in Northern Virginia. NVFS helps nearly 34,000 individuals and their families each year find housing and emergency services; health and mental health services; anti-hunger programs; early childhood education and child placement services; intervention and prevention programs; job training; and legal services. Throughout its history, NVFS has been recognized as an innovator of efficient and comprehensive service methods, while effectively creating sustained financial and social independence for its clients.