The Small Business Administration Recognizes Successful Small Businesses in May

 

The U.S. Small Business Administration provides a wide range of support for small businesses and entrepreneurs.  It also gives recognition to successful small businesses throughout the nation.

Martin Short has more.  He is the Lead Economic Development Specialist and Public Information Officer for the Virginia Richmond District office of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

“Every year across the country and the U.S. Territories, the U.S. Small Business Administration has National Small Business Week the first week of May,” says Short. “We solicit for nominations and we have a broad array of categories.  Our primary category here in Virginia is Small Business Person of the Year.  Our winner is Tyrone Logan of Obsidian Solutions Group.  We are so happy to have him as our SBA  2023 Small Business Person of the Year winner for the Virginia Richmond District Office.”

Obsidian Solutions Group is a defense contracting company.   It’s based in Fredericksburg and it does training and exercises for the Department of Defense.    Tyrone Logan is the CEO and also the co-founder.

“Obsidian Solutions Group focuses on really three areas, three pillars:  information technology, data analysis data analytics, and then we have a very robust training, like a warfighter training, division and department,” says Logan.

Logan and his business partner are veterans.  Logan spent fourteen years in the military.  Obsidian Solutions Group has been in business for almost thirteen years and has over 200 employees.

“I think anyone that has gotten anywhere, they haven’t gotten there by themselves,” says Logan.  “My advice to anyone would be to really seek mentorship and really seek out the resources.  The SBA has been a phenomenal resource for us.  We’ve worked with the Small Business Development Centers, at the University of Mary Washington campus.  Susan Ball there has helped us really get started, which is writing our business plan and thinking through aspects like cash flow, banking, capital and addressing some of the risk elements to actually starting and beginning a small business.  I would want to encourage other potential entrepreneurs to really just take that step.  Move forward.  There are a lot of resources that are out here through the SBA and other organizations.”

Through his business, Logan has always focused on giving back to the community and his employees.  When the company first started, it employed 72 paid interns from area high schools and churches.  The company has been recognized for providing adoption assistance to its employees, by paying up to $20,000 for adoption costs.  The company also contributes to scholarships, giving up to $50,000 annually.

“The biggest challenge for us was really fear,” says Logan. “I spent and probably focused more time on what I didn’t know, instead of focusing on what my strengths were.  Now obviously, you have to spend some time on what you don’t know, because you can’t go out and get educated on absolutely everything that you don’t know.  That’s where you have to team and you have to partner.”

“We are very thankful for our resource partners and as Tyrone mentioned he got mentoring and counseling through one of our resource partners, the Small Business Development Center in Fredericksburg, University of Mary Washington, so that’s a big thanks to them,” says Short.  “We really rely on them heavily to provide technical assistance and they are the ones who actually do the legwork, the heavy lifting, interacting and working with clients.  We couldn’t do this without them.”

For more information about Small Business Administration programs, visit www.sba.gov

Story By

Bonnie Ralston

Bonnie Ralston is the Assistant Station Coordinator at WVLS and a Highland County news reporter. She began volunteering at Allegheny Mountain Radio in the fall of 2005. In 2006 she became an AMR employee and worked in Bath County for eight years as the WCHG Station Coordinator and then as the news reporter there. She began working in radio while in college and has stayed connected to radio, in one way or another, for more than thirty years. She grew up in Staunton, Virginia, while spending a lot of time on her family’s farm in Deerfield, Virginia. She enjoys spending time outside, watching old TV shows and movies and tending to her chickens.

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