Recently in Entepreneur Stories Category

LAN Solutions

LAN Solutions is a Managed Services Provider (MSP) located in Cincinnati, Ohio.  They specialize in providing professional network support services to small and medium sized companies with 5-1500 workstations.  LAN Solutions' services included management of IT and other business technologies, installation and improvement projects, break / fix repair, and consultative services.  Their current clients include many school districts, municipalities, and industrial and manufacturing companies.

Why have you chosen to give through Kiva?

LAN's co-owners Tim Rettig and Megan Heil are entrepreneurs who want to encourage that spirit through many aspects of their business including their philanthropic programs.  Both Rettig and Heil became interested in KIVA  due to the easy and direct way LAN could make a difference to entrepreneurs throughout the world.  

Jama Software

Did you know that every year over $30 billion is wasted on failed product development projects. That's where Jama Software comes in. Their mission is to eliminate that failure by enabling companies to take a more collaborative, team-based approach to product development.  Jama has created a powerful Web-based application called Contour that helps companies build great products by cutting planning cycles in half, reducing errors and ensuring high quality product releases.

 Jama supports Kiva because of their shared priciples.

• The entrepreneurial spirit lives in everyone
• Thousands of micro-actions can make a significant macro-impact
• The collaborative nature of the Web can be leveraged to solve a problem
• An open, global community of people working together can positively impact the greater good

Become

Become International is a luxury skin care line currently operating in both the United States and Australia. They are dedicated to helping women achieve their financial goals while having a flexible schedule for their family.

Phyllis Hyde, Field Business Director, filled us in on why philanthropy is important to Become and why they support Kiva.

How long has philanthropic giving been part of your business?

Become has been giving back to the community since its inception a year ago.  The founder and president recognizes the importance for giving back and makes it part of the company's corporate culture.
 
Why have you chosen Kiva?

Become chose Kiva for a number of reasons... the direct partnership with the entrepreneurs borrowing the money, the accessibility and ease of giving on Kiva.org and the overwhelming evidence that micro financing is effective and makes a difference.  Become feels a natural connection between its goals and the goals of Kiva.
 

What other charities do you support?

Become supports breast cancer charities as well as education foundations for young girls.

 

If you'd like your business to be profiled on our site (and you've made a grant to Kiva), send an e-mail to feature@kivab4b.org
 

Hillary Rubin - I Am Not A Mess™

Meet Hillary Rubin and I Am Not A Mess™.  Her vision for I Am Not A Mess™ is to provide holistic tools for the roughly 500,000 women diagnosed with MS, the 7 million women currently living with auto-immune disorders and all people who seek positive transformation by embracing the challenges in their lives. She hopes to inspire us all to transform our lives by drawing from the well of our own innate truth and aligning that truth with positive, life-affirming practices.

Keep reading to learn why Hillary has incorporated philanthropy into her business and why she gives to Kiva.

Why have you chosen Kiva?
Each one of us can make a difference by helping others and for me I see mico-lending as a way to make a difference and be part of the solution. Without help from those in my life, I would not be where I am today but it did take my being humble to and seek those who wanted to give. Kiva empowers both the giver and the receiver.  To be able to track your giving and see the results offers me great joy to be front and center in the process of helping my fellow entrepreneurs find personal freedom as they follow their hearts.  It feels wonderful to help others who strive for their personal freedom in business.

Stephanie Riseley - Los Angeles, CA

Meet Stephanie Riseley, a writer, lecturer and hypnotherapist.  At her private Hypnotherapy practice in Los Angeles she helps people improve their lives by helping them stop smoking, lose weight and control their stress.  

Check out her book "Love From Both Sides - A True Story of Soul Survival and Sacred Sexuality." (Findhorn Press, June 2008). 

Keep reading to learn why Stephanie believes that philanthropy and helping others is important to her business.   

Why did you choose Kiva? 
I saw a documentary a few years ago about Nobel Prize Winner in Economics who won for micro-loans and they had a segment on the couple who started Kiva.  I fell in love with them, and thought if I ever get ahead, I'd join.  Well, I never got ahead; I never seem to have any extra cash, ah, such is life, yes?   But then I met Jennifer, a Kiva representative, and she convinced me that there was no time like the present to begin.  And so even though, I'm still struggling financially myself, I think it's important to help others.  And I'm glad I did, because we are all connected. 

How long have you related your giving to your business?
A very long time...  Even though I don't have a lot of money, I think it's important to give.  I think giving creates abundance... no matter how pinched we may feel.

What other charities and/or causes do you support?
• The House of The Children
• BKS Iyengar Institute of Los Angeles, CA
• Immaculate Heart Center For Spiritual Renewal, Santa Barbara, CA
• MoveOn.org

Projectline Services, Inc. - Seattle, WA and Beyond

Meet Mike Kichline, David Jones and Anika Lehde, the owners of Projectline, a small marketing consulting firm based in Washington State with about 90 employees, offices in Seattle and Bellevue, and employees living and working in Spain, New York, and other remote locations. They primarily serve large technology companies with services such as customer testimonial-based marketing programs, technology adoption programs, business intelligence analyses, creative services, new media programs and more.

Keep reading to learn why Projectline has incorporated philanthropy into their business and why they give through Kiva.

 

 

Why have you chosen Kiva?

Part of the Projectline mission is to have a positive impact on our community, which we consider to be our local community, the global community, and our industry community. We love to give our time, energy, and resources. Kiva gives us an opportunity to positively impact the global community, using our resources, even though we are not able to travel.

 

Salvagist.com - Phoenix, AZ

Say hello to Yvonne J. English and Salvagist.com, an online retailer that brings its customers a variety of products that are made from socially and environmentally responsible materials. These include recycled materials like tires, yacht sails, billboards, fire hoses, and steel as well as organic and eco-friendly textiles.

Their mission at Salvagist is to deliver unique products and extraordinary services that respect the planet and its inhabitants.  They are committed to positively changing the world and to giving back in ways that transform people's lives.

 

Why have you chosen Kiva?

I believe that entrepreneurship can solve most of the world's problems.  By lending to fellow entrepreneurs in the developing world through Kiva, we are empowering individuals to build their own businesses to provide for their families and to contribute to their local economy.  

 

Continue reading Salvagist.com - Phoenix, AZ.

Creative Multimedia Solutions - Pipersville, PA

Welcome to the first installment of our featured business.  Every week, we hope to feature another business that is doing good by helping entrepreneurs on Kiva.  If you'd like to be featured, please fill out a profile and send your responses to these questions to feature@kivab4b.org.

Meet Ben LeDonni, member of Advanta's Innovation Team and owner of Creative Multimedia Solutions, a web design and development company in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.



Why have you chosen Kiva?
As an entrepreneur at heart, I understand the mindset and challenges that someone faces when they embark on a new business. There is no better way to help change the world than to empower those that are willing to work for that change. Kiva gives me the ability to empower  entrepreneurs with a relatively small contribution.

The Next Lehman?

It's easy to bash Lehman Brothers for the events of today, but a look back to its beginnings provides a more inspirational story.

On my drive home from work yesterday, I heard a story on NPR about the early days of Lehman. It went like this - two immigrant brothers set up a general store in Montgomery, Alabama. Flash forward - it is one of the Big Five investment banks. Do you think they ever imagined? Where did they get their idea and first dollar? When they were selling soap, do you think they knew about derivatives?

The point is, as I look around the B4B community, I realize that every business has the potential to become something spectacular. It could be the restaurant owners, accountants, plumbers and goat herders. It could be the U.S.-based small business that is helping an entrepreneur get started abroad, or the Kiva entrepreneur that is scraping up money to start a business. We don't know what they will be one day or the impact that they will have on society. That's pretty powerful!

Connecting Paraguay and Newport Beach

Tonight, something very special is happening at the Newport Beach Breakers tennis match. Ramon Delgado, a member of the team, will meet Bryan McDonald, a local small business owner, to celebrate the impact that Kiva has on the lives of entrepreneurs in Paraguay. Ramon is from Paraguay and Bryan has sponsored entrepreneurs in Paraguay through kiva.org. We applaud Bryan's commitment to help entrepreneurs in the developing world.