VGA Launch!

Hot on the heels of the popular Vision. Goals. Action! Scholarship is a new program to help would-be entrepreneurs start their new businesses. In fall 2017, the Launch! Speaker Series and Business Competition brought six high-powered leaders together to offer insight, key information, guidance and encouragement to Atlanta Habitat homeowners looking to thrive.

“The things we know, have experienced, and learned need to be passed on,” says Charlotte King, president and creative director at Snowden and King Marketing Communications. She joined other speakers, sharing their experiences and encouraging entrepreneurs.

“Make a contract with yourself to do your best even when no one is looking!” Gail Evans, bestselling author of “Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman,” agrees wholeheartedly and adds, “Women and people of color in the workplace need to work together and we need to be there to support each other to ensure that all of us get ahead.”

Sponsored by the Atlanta Women’s Foundation as part of the VGA initiative, the Launch! Business Competition featured five Atlanta Habitat homeowners who pitched their business start-up ideas to a panel of judges. Two had winning ideas: First Place winner Jameka H. for NailCloud, a mobile nail service, and coming in second place was Dollethea C., who for her business idea, Humble Beginnings, a home-based childcare and learning center.

Antoinetta McKay, Atlanta Habitat’s education manager, explained that the VGA program will continue to expand. “Our education program helps build competence, self-confidence, independence, and community in our homeowners.”

McKay cites classes like Resume Writing, Personal Finance, Leadership and the Entrepreneurship Speaker Series that prepare Atlanta Habitat homeowners to maximize their earning potential.

“We are helping families grow beyond the build,” says Lisa Gordon, Atlanta Habitat president and CEO. “Once you’ve gained the stability of living in a safe home in a thriving neighborhood, the next step is to dream big. Atlanta Habitat is here to help those dreams come true!”