When Government gets it right: Public Programs that helped one Inner city company expand

The 661 unique Inner City 100 winners have been illustrations of the grit and tenacity necessary to make it in today’s extremely volatile business climate.  With worries of economic uncertainty at home and financial uncertainty abroad in Europe and elsewhere, our Inner City 100 winners have had to find opportunity wherever and whenever it comes knocking.  They have had to find the right segments to serve within the private, public and non-profit sectors.

Team Henry Enterprises found its growth potential through public sector financing programs and then public sector contracts. This 2-time Inner City 100 winner (#59 in 2011) is based in Newport News, Virginia with CEO Devon Henry at the helm.

The company is an SBA certified 8a participant, a registered Disadvantaged Business Enterprise, is located in a HubZone – all of which open funding opportunities for the growing business. They can use these certifications to leverage government contracts, grow networks to fund the scaling of their operations, and even find other small businesses within the area with which to conduct their business.

But how did Team Henry get to this point?

Devon Henry had always had an entrepreneurial spirit. After completing General Electric’s Corporate Leadership program, he felt comfortable enough with business operations to start his own enterprise. With this executive education in hand, he purchased The Silty Lady, an environmental contracting company in business since 1986. He – not surprisingly – used a public program, this time the SBA 7J loan, to make the purchase possible. He then renamed the business Team Henry Enterprises to convey the new look and feel of the company. Using home equity and SBA loans, Team Henry was born.

The company’s growth strategy has since been based on four pillars: 

• Use existing strengths to identify new business areas they could enter. This required an evaluation of their core competencies for both human capital and equipment. The goal was to expand without significant new expenditures.
• Provide a low-bid environment with high-quality service and work. To do so, Team Henry needed to develop a keen understanding of their customers and the business environment in which they operate.
• Strengthen relationships with the SBA and Virginia Department of Transportation in order to leverage technical assistance and resources around the development of their operations needed in order to grow.
• Build strategic partnerships with older and larger firms to learn the most effective ways of scaling a firm and running it efficiently.  

For advice and strategic planning, Team Henry was a part of a two-year program at the Virginia Department of Transportation’s BOW Center that assigns consultants to companies to help them develop growth plans.   Much of Team Henry’s work is contracted by the government at the federal, state and local levels. 

The company has made a concerted effort to subcontract parts of projects to other small and minority business owners.  As a native Newport News inner city resident, Devon understands the value in supporting other small and disadvantaged businesses through their projects. After all, that’s how he rose to become an Inner City 100 company.  Just recently, Team Henry created a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise consortium—a collection of 30 different small disadvantaged businesses—to collaborate on a large FAA contract.

As a member of organizations like the Association of General Contractors, the Virginia Transportation Construction Alliance and VA Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, Team Henry has found ways to network and pool project costs. They have also been sure to take part in any training programs that these organizations offer. This external training, combined with internal professional development of team members has helped the company grow rapidly from within.

Devon finds numerous advantages to Team Henry’s inner city location from which both he and the company hail. The workforce is quite strong due to the presence of the Newport News Shipbuilding company. Team Henry also receives HubZone incentives and is near public transportation.  As an additional bonus, Newport News has also created a 3-year plan to rebuild the corridor in which Team Henry is located.

What has your company done to expand relationships with public sector entities? What governmental benefits are most useful during this turbulent economic climate? What networks does your company use to establish or expand relationships? Share your stories with us below. 

BY Alex Rodriguez on December 8th, 2011

TAGS: ic100 | small business | sba | entrepreneur | partnerships | mwbes