The Virginia SBDC Network is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, George Mason University-Mason Enterprise, and local host institutions. Full disclosures regarding federal funding are available at https://www.virginiasbdc.org/funding-sources/. The Virginia SBDC is nationally accredited by America’s SBDC. All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA. | | Quarterly Newsletter - Summer, 2025 | |
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Hello Mason
This summer, changes continue to affect the way we do business and live. With the end of the school year, contract changes, and federal worker transitions, there are more people seeking partnerships and opportunities. As a small business employer, you could make a difference. Did you know that there are incentives for small business employers like you? Local bodies across the region provide programs that assist with workforce development, upskilling, and hiring. See some of the programs below:
If you are seeking new roles, or transitioning from the federal space, please see the latest set of resources below:
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Shared this Issue:
- Client Highlight
- Center Highlights
- Summer Events
- Upcoming Trainings & Client Testimonial
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PAMCO CARE receives Virginia SBDC's Veteran Business of the Year Award
Pamela Lucas, Founder of PAMCO CARE received Virginia SBDC's, 2024 Veteran Small Business of the Year Award at the 2nd Annual Calibrate Conference. The ceremony took place last month at George Mason University's SciTech Campus.
PAMCO CARE, a Mason SBDC client since 2022, provides critical housing and support services to intellectually disabled members of our community. After 2 decades of service to the country, Pamela began her second career in Real Estate where she found her calling to assist the most vulnerable in our communities by providing them with housing, care, and dignity. As the service began to grow, Pamela Lucas contacted the Prince William Chamber of Commerce, who referred her to the Mason SBDC.
She was connected with Director Timm Johnson, who has been her mentor and guide since. He has counselled her on financing strategy, expansion plans, book keeping and more. They continue to engage and work regularly on various aspects of PAMCO CARE's development, operations and growth.
Read more about PAMCO CARE & Mason SBDC here - https://masonsbdc.org/pamco-care/
Congratulations to Ms. Pamela Lucas and the entire team at PAMCO CARE!
See more about the company which is making a difference in our area- https://pamcocare.com/
Learn more about Virginia SBDC's Veteran's Award Program - https://www.virginiasbdc.org/programs/veterans/
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2025 Summer Events - Northern Virginia
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Summer is here with plenty of events to keep the family entertained. Check out the links below to see upcoming events in our area. These events are a great way to support local businesses and vendors.
Happy Summer!
| | SBDC Team-Member Graduations | | |
Mason SBDC's Swathi Varma and Loudoun SBDC's Sahithi Punyasamudram celebrate educational milestones this year. Earlier this spring, Swathi and Sahithi graduated from George Mason University, earning their Master's Degree in Bioinformatics and Information Systems respectively.
Congratulations Graduates on your hard work and achievements!
We are confident that you will go on to make impactful contributions in your respective fields.
| | Spring Accelerate Breakfast Series Pitch Event | | |
The Accelerate Breakfast Series held its Spring Pitch Event on April 11, 2025 in McLean. 5 companies, coached by the Mason SBDC team, pitched their capabilities to an audience of investors and business leaders at the sold out event.
Mason SBDC Coaches - Director, Timm Johnson, Senior Counselors Subodh Nayar and George Siragusa attended the event along with series partners, business leaders and investors.
The Accelerate program was launched in March 2024 to bolster the start-up ecosystem across the DMV region. The series has been successfully bringing together local business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, and the business community to encourage and discover high potential ventures and to drive investment opportunities to local companies.
The next Breakfast Series Event takes place on July 10, 2025. Learn more about previous presenters, eligibility, and other details here - https://acceleratedeals.org/accelerate-breakfast-series/
| | | 4-Week Entrepreneurial Roadmap Series (City of Manassas) | |
Mason SBDC's regional workshop series kicked off on May 1st at Centerfuse for the City of Manassas. This year's workshops focused on a giving participants a roadmap view of the entrepreneurial journey.
The 4-week, in-person program took a comprehensive look at business topics and strategies such as value proposition, financing resources, competitive analysis, risk strategies, digital marketing, cybersecurity, customer/market discovery, purchase and sale of businesses and more. Over 20 participants attended the classes led by Director, Timm Johnson and Senior Business Counselors, George Siragusa and Subodh Nayar. The trainings took place on Thursdays from May 1, 2025 - May 22nd, 2025. The workshops were offered at no cost to participants, thanks to the generous support of the City of Manassas Economic Development Authority. Many thanks to our downtown Manassas hosts, Centerfuse and to Whitlock Wealth Management who graciously sponsored delicious hot breakfast for all, on all four days of the series.
| | Mason SBDC and the 2nd Annual Calibrate Conference | | |
Prince William County's 2nd Annual Calibrate Conference took place on May 7, 2025 at George Mason University's SciTech Campus in Manassas, VA. The half-day event brought together county representatives, business leaders, and business owners for a day of learning and networking. The programming agenda consisted of panel discussions, expert-presentations, networking breaks and an award ceremony.
The keynote address for the conference themed, 'Effortless Efficiency and Smarter Solutions' was given by Grow with Google, DMV Coach, Sterling McKinley. Mason SBDC's Director for Regional partnerships, Vijay Vaswani and SME-Digital Marketing, Hussain Shah presented a session on how to leverage AI for small business marketing.
| Counselors George Siragusa and Subodh Nayar from the Mason SBDC also attended the event which was co-hosted by Mason SBDC and the Prince William Chamber of Commerce. | | | |
Virginia SBDC's annual Veteran Business of the Year award ceremony was held at the Calibrate Conference. Virginia SBDC Asst. State Director, Tracy Nayar presented the award to Ms. Pamela Lucas, founder of PAMCO CARE, recognizing the exemplary service and contribution by a veteran business to the community.
See images from the the Conference here (Meta link) -https://lnkd.in/eBrMB5KY
| | Upcoming Trainings (No cost to attend; Registration Required) | | |
June 2025
SEO & Social Selling
Jun 18, 2025; 10 AM - Sign up
July 2025
Preparing your Pitch
Jul 10, 2025; 10 AM - Sign up
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July 2025 (Cont.)
Government Contracting 101
Jul 16, 2025; 10 AM - Sign up
Start a Business
(Legal & Administrative Steps)
Jul 23, 2025; 10 AM - Sign up
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August 2025
Financing Your Small Business
Aug 6, 2025; 10 AM - Sign up
Marketing 101
Aug 13, 2025; 10 AM - Sign up
Building Your Value Proposition Design (VPD)
Aug 21; 2025; 10 AM - Sign up
more workshops
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"Combined with the webinars and 1-on-1 mentoring, this is a fantastic service. Thank you very much. It has saved me a lot of time in terms of focusing in the main areas."
Umair Shaikh,
CEO, My Career Shop, Inc.
https://mycareershop.com/
| | Mason SBDC is grateful to the support provided by our local sponsors and partners below. | | | | |
