“I don’t think this would have been possible” without the help from the SBDC at CCC, Green-Vance said of her success.
Regardless, Jen Green-Vance, president and CEO of Strides 2 Thrive and Elevated Shredding, met with the folks of the Coconino Small Business Development Center at Coconino Community College to come up with a plan.
Not only was the plan successful, it was also award-winning.
Green-Vance was honored during the May 18 meeting of the CCC District Governing Board with an award from the Arizona SBDC for her efforts to bring services to people with disabilities in Northern Arizona.
“I am so honored to have been chosen for the Arizona Small Business Development Center 2022 Success Award,” Green-Vance said. “It really validates the success and growth of my businesses directly attributed to hard work, vision and collaboration with the Coconino SBDC.”
Green-Vance added that she continues to use the resources provided by the SBDC at CCC and still works closely with the SBDC business counselors.
“Jen’s success is a direct correlation to the passion she has for providing services for her members,” said Gina Couillard, former program director for the Coconino SBDC and current associate state director for the Arizona Small Business Development Center. “Many times, people have heart or they have skill. Jen has both. I have never met someone as talented or passionate in their work.”
Green-Vance and her husband, Joe Vance, through their businesses, offer opportunity to people with a range of disabilities – from assisted living and day services to job training and skills acquisition. They recently completed construction of facilities on Empire Ave. in East Flagstaff. Strides 2 Thrive operates group homes, a day treatment program for adults and employment services. Elevated Shredding provides the avenue for on-the-job training and paid employment by offering professional document destruction services for businesses throughout Northern Arizona.
“I don’t think this would have been possible” without the help from the SBDC at CCC, Green-Vance said of her success.
Cindy Scott, the new center director for the Coconino SBDC at CCC, said, the SBDC is a no-cost, confidential resource for people interested in starting small businesses in Coconino County.
“Every business is unique, so the services offered are tailored to the specific business needs,” Scott said. “The pandemic has been a challenging time for many businesses, but during that time, the SBDC was there to assist small businesses with the pandemic assistance that was available. The SBDC is continuing to assist businesses to regain their footing in this challenging time.”
The Coconino SBDC provides advising, training, online courses and resources for businesses throughout the Northern Arizona region. Among the services are business plan assistance, market feasibility and research, cash flow analysis, financial projections and pricing, marketing strategy, identification of potential capital sources, start-up guidance and more. Additionally, the Coconino SBDC partners with local, state and national organizations to provide business support in the county.
According to data compiled by the Coconino SBDC, in 2021, the fledgling agency served nearly 800 clients, assisted with 26 new business starts, supported nearly 1,000 jobs, created another 78 jobs and supported more than $91 million in annual sales in the county.
As for the future, Green-Vance said the expansion of the buildings has allowed her businesses to increase the capacity of their day treatment and work programs at Strides 2 Thrive, which positively impacts the lives of the people who receive the service as well as the local workforce.
“At Elevated Shredding, we have been able to expand our paper bailing operations, which means we are recycling more, and we are in the process of adding shred trucks to our fleet due to our growth,” Green-Vance said. “We are also actively looking at an opportunity for another building project.” FBN
By Larry Hendricks
For more information about the Coconino SBDC at CCC, or to make an appointment for assistance, visit https://www.coconino.edu/SBDC. For more information about Elevated Shredding and Strides 2 Thrive, visit http://elevatedshredding.com.
Larry Hendricks is the director of public relations and marketing at CCC.