2007 Small Business Network Academy Class:
Company Profiles

Karen Maria Alston

Alston Marketing Group

Alston Marketing Group is a boutique full service marketing and advertising agency. We provide services to a myriad of business, however, specialize in marketing to cities, counties, states and quasi government agencies as our core clients. Our core capabilities include: Design, Creative Consulting, Advertising, Media Plan/Buy, Project Management, Community Outreach, Urban Outreach, and Management Consulting.

Taren Coleman

Coleman Financial Group, LLC

Coleman Financial Group is an independent registered investment advisor. Our menu of services includes fee based comprehensive financial plans, investments and insurances. We use a five step system to help clients financially prepare for retirement, with the ultimate goal of making sure our clients are financially secure for life and don’t run out of money in retirement.

Karin Edgett

Edge Advertising, Inc.

Edge Advertising, Inc. provides full-service, in-house design and strategic services to deliver comprehensive and well-integrated branding solutions. We specialize in brand development and management throughout all communication materials including advertising, collateral material, marketing strategies, public relations positioning and website strategies. Edge Advertising has experience working with a client roster of over 100 local, national and international businesses that spans nearly two decades. Our strength is in providing communications and design strategies for business development, community development, and non-profit and environmental agencies.

Tonya Fitzpatrick, Esq.

Bronze World Travel

Bronze World Travel, is a full-service travel management firm offering customized travel planning and the best travel values. Bronze World Travel is a technology-forward agency for all of your travel needs, both domestically and internationally.

Carol Godwin

Carol Godwin Communications, LLC

Carol Godwin Communications, LLC provides public relations consulting, media outreach, business writing, special event planning and execution, and public speaking services. CGC, LLC specializes in the hospitality and tourism industries working with such clients as Bedford Springs Resort, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, Lafayette Convention & Tourism Commission, Marriott International, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest.

Jared Goralnick

SET Consulting, LLC

SET Consulting makes Microsoft Office work for professional service firms. SET’s trainers teach the advanced features of Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Excel. SET’s developers and designers create custom Office tools, such as proposal generators and firm-wide PowerPoint templates. SET’s consultants help IT and HR departments to navigate through the idiosyncrasies of Office migrations. Technology alone does not make a firm productive, but SET Consulting can help people to save time in the applications that they use for hours every day.

Dan Haverkos

401kCo.

401kCo. is an independent corporate retirement plan advisory firm based in Bethesda, MD. We help companies with at least 25, and no more than 1,000 employees manage a more effective qualified retirement plan. These unique services include tax deferral maximization for highly compensated employees, reduction of fiduciary liability for plan trustees and one-on-one employee education to help each and every employee save and invest for retirement. Our target market included companies with qualified 401k, 403b and Defined Benefit plans that have at least $1 million up to $20 million in plan assets.

 

Kathleen Hickey

Clear Ink Media

Clear Ink Media helps clients gain market exposure and win clients. She works with clients to help them develop and manage their brand to the media and to customers. She devises, oversees and executes comprehensive press and marketing strategies, develops and writes corollary material for publication and promotion, and promotes clients to the media and to their customers. Kathleen provides public relations, marketing, and editorial services for a diverse roster of customers—among them, small businesses, human services and educational institutions, and multi-million and billion dollar conglomerates.

Nick Irons

Get Results! Personal Training

Get Results! Personal Training offers personal training and fitness programs in Washington DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia. Under the direction of Nick Irons, one of the most accomplished endurance athletes in the country, Get Results! Personal Training designs customized strength and conditioning programs for current athletes, former athletes and athletes at heart. Our clients are 35-65 year old men and women who want to get in shape, look and feel better, and make health and fitness part of their everyday routine.

Margarita Rozenfeld

Incite International

Incite International helps clients identify their big picture vision, strategy and a road map to success. In addition to executive coaching, of Essence leads experiential learning programs and retreats for corporate, non-profit and government clients such as NASA, the Foreign Service Institute, Oracle, Wells Fargo and SOME. of Essence CEO, Rozenfeld is also the Founder of YES!Circle, a leading networking, advisory and educational organization for entrepreneurs in the D.C. region.

Daniel Simon

Apartment Keepers

Apartment Keepers is an ancillary services provider to apartments and condo communities throughout the DC-metro area. 70% of our business is concentrated in housekeeping and common area/commercial cleaning. The remainder provides other services direct to resident services.

Hennrietta Smith

Vital Business Solutions, Inc.

Vital Business Solutions, Inc. is a human resource and organizational development services firm for small businesses and non-profit organizations. Established in 2000, we are a team of professionals with a minimum of 7 years industry experience per team member. We are known for our ability to communicate to customers from a non-technical perspective.

Penelope Taylor

Stress Solutions

Stress Solutions is a company focused on educating individuals and groups on various aspects of physical, mental and emotional well-being. Stress Solutions offers introductory programs in a short format (1 & ½ hours), half-day , full day, or in-depth programs over several sessions and in retreat settings. Stress Solutions offers services to schools, healthcare facilities, government agencies, corporations and special interest groups.

Chris Upham

Upham Development, Inc.

Upham Development, Inc. is a full service real estate firm committed to smart urban revitalization. Utilizing technologies that put our clients in the driver’s seat and building trust within a no-pressure environment, we deliver complete customer satisfaction with free home improvements, personalized help on moving day and a complimentary housewarming party for friends and family after settlement. We aim to be positioned to deliver creative solutions for DC Metro region priorities including smart growth, affordable housing and traffic decongestion with distinctive residential, retail and commercial projects.

Michael Whitecar

The Chief Information Group, Inc.

The Chief Information Group, Inc. is a business management and technology solutions company primarily in the public and private healthcare sector. We are a team of seasoned Chief Information Officers with over 50 years of healthcare experience within the Military Health System (MHS) and commercial organizations. We are devoted to ensuring our customer’s technology investments are properly aligned and able to deliver what is needed to drive their evolving business strategies.