SBA Spotlight: Amy Owen
Thank you to Amy Owen of Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties for answering a few of our questions.
Congratulations on being named a finalist for Loudoun’s 2018 Exceptional Entrepreneur!
The 24th Annual Loudoun Small Business Awards will be on November 1, 2018 – Tickets/More Info Here
1. Tell us your story of how your company got to where it is today?
Kickstarting a nonprofit can be a real challenge. To do it right, it takes a team and yet often nonprofit resources are lean, make dedicated professionally staffed teams hard to come by. Often, the team that backs an executive director is a volunteer board of directors.
I followed the path that almost every entrepreneur follows: overtime galore; walking the balance beam between networking with must-do desk projects; establishing best practices and finding practical solutions for the next most overdue issue at hand; and, wooing and cultivating the team of supporters and investors willing to volunteer and own the vision. Then, there is that exercise of renaming, rebranding, relocating. All that and more.
2. What would it mean to you and your company to win Loudoun’s 2018 Exceptional Entrepreneur?
The Loudoun Chamber is a nexus, a thought leader, and a spotlight leader. To be included in its line up for good works has helped to increase our credibility and community awareness of our work.
3. If you weren’t running your own business/working at this business, what would you be doing?
My heart has always been dedicated to nonprofit work.
4. What book are you reading right now? / What is your favorite book?
I’ve been deeply influenced by a series created by one of our colleagues in the philanthropy arena called Putting Racism on the Table. I’m reading a book now “White Fragility: Why its so hard for white people to talk about Racism.”
Fav book? Oh, that’s hard. First that came to mind was Time Travelor’s Wife
5. If you have 24-hours off, and your family was out of town, what would you do?
Garden, read a book, binge watch a show or two
6. What is the smallest thing that has made the largest impact on your business?
AHT Insurance donated a big color copier/printer to us. It added so much value to our workday.
7. What did you want to be when you grew up as a child? / What was a childhood dream that you had?
At an early age I thought I wanted to be a Vet. But, later in college I began to get the nonprofit bug.
8. Who is the one person that has influenced you the most in your career?
For a brief stint I sold radio advertising; it was tough selling air to folks. Still I had some of the best training and support from my boss Larry Bauer. It helped to set me up for work in nonprofit fundraising and management.
9. What is your favorite thing about running a business in Loudoun County?
I love how focused and capable its resident are. I love the sense of community among so many of the leaders. I love the direct proximity to DC, but living in the beautiful countryside in western Loudoun.
10. If you’re not in the office where can we find you?
At a meeting.
11. What is your favorite weekend activity in Loudoun County?
Garden show!