Woman Owned and Certified Electrical Contracting Firm

In March 2003, a recent college graduate started an electrical contracting business. The company was organized as an LLC and 51% woman owned. The owner intended to provide electrical contracting work, primarily for VDOT projects and wanted to qualify as a WBE for preferential bidding on state contracts. The client needed assistance in obtaining a contractor’s license and applying for certification to bid on VDOT contracts. After seeing a presentation about the SBDC, the client came to their local center in May 2003.

The counselor assisted the client in deciding which contractor license to apply for and how to build assets in the business to qualify for a Class A license in the future. The counselor also led the client from a manual system of bookkeeping to computerizing and also advised on the types of tax requirements that the business would need to meet.

The client obtained the Class B license, was certified and successfully bid on 5 contracts. In 2003, according to the accountant-prepared financial statements, the client grossed $336,000 in earned revenue and $124,000 in profits. The firm, which started with 2 employees, had 4 employees at year-end.