Shoes Are the Keys to Success

In September 2003, Jennifer Marfino of ShoeFly approached Nalin Jain at the Arlington SBDC, looking for business assistance and guidance before she signed a lease to start ShoeFly - a fun, funky store selling men's and women's shoes and accessories in Clarendon-a growing area in Arlington, Virginia. Her Business was operational a few months later in November and she has already begun to see repeat business and received rave reviews from the community. Since opening, ShoeFly has been mentioned regionally and nationally in Washingtonpost.com, Cosmopolitan (Girl) Magazine, Where Magazine, and Lucky Magazine for their unique styles and eclectic stock.

Nalin Jain, Director of Arlington Small Business Development Center at GMU counseled Ms. Marfino, explained issues related to start up businesses. In addition, Nalin discussed about certain terms and conditions of the lease documents. He also assisted Jennifer in developing an understanding about the financial projections and how such information can help her in projecting into the future. "I really made a good use of a valuable spreadsheet provided by the Arlington SBDC. It allowed me to forecast profit and loss throughout the year increased my confidence in my idea that opening this business would a beneficial move for both for me and the consumers in this community."

"Nalin encouraged me to use that spread sheet to figure out both the lowest and highest projected revenue for the year. He advised me about other related financial matters. We also discussed issues related to marketing. I would like to thank the staff at Arlington SBDC for providing this free service to the business community in Arlington. The benefits of the services provided by Arlington SBDC are immeasurable-especially to a start up entrepreneur".

According to Jennifer the future looks bright. "Currently, I am working with Nalin to discuss expansion of my business in the metro area and working with him on exploring the possibilities of franchising my business." This is another example of how tax dollars through Arlington SBDC are being effectively invested back in to the growing and diverse community of the Arlington County.