Nspiregreen Supports DC Small Businesses

 On Friday September 28th, the DC Council Committee on Small Business held a small business summit. It was an opportunity to for small businesses to meet with DC agencies, such as the Department of Small and Local Business Development. During the session with the Office of Contracting and Procurement, Nspiregreen co-owner, Veronica O. Davis, P.E. asked a question that was quoted in this morning’s Washington Examiner.

Excerpt:

Small business owners in D.C. say they are being yanked around by a city that's taking months -- and in some cases years -- to pay for contracted work.

The complaint came as news to the head of the D.C. Office of Contracting and Procurement James Staton, now in his second year after coming to the District from North Carolina.

"We call it the 'okey doke,' where you could perform work in November and you don't actually get a check until July the next year," Veronica Davis, owner of environmental consulting firm Nspiregreen, told Staton at a small business roundtable Friday. 

We believe it is important to put some context around Veronica’s statement to Director Staton. At the end of the panel discussion with the Office of Contracting and Procurement, Veronica asked if there were vehicles in the contracting process to ensure that businesses, especially small businesses, are paid in a timely manner per the contract terms. Specifically, she cited the term “30 days from an approved invoice” as a common term in DC government contracts. She explained that invoices are often rejected for minor reasons, which resets the 30 days clock. We have had invoices rejected over a penny.

Other small businesses in the room shook their head in agreement, and cited personal examples of waiting 120 days and even years to be paid for services rendered. The sentiment in the room was if DC wants to be a world-class business friendly city, we all need to work together to improve the contracting, invoicing, and payment processes.

 Nspiregreen felt that it was important to address the comment, as we were not complaining via a statement; we were asking a question regarding a solution. This is am important distinction for us as the word “complain” is not in our corporate vocabulary. We strive to be a solutions-oriented company. We have testified at several hearings related to small business, such as the Committee on Tax and Revenue and the Committee on Small and Local Business. In all of our testimony we have provided recommendations and solutions to streamline processes that make it easier for businesses to operate in DC, contract with DC government, and employ DC residents.

As a company built on the foundation of advocacy for community improvement, we will continue to be vocal on the challenges facing small businesses in DC. As with many other business, we have rooted ourselves in DC and are committed to helping DC achieve the goal of being the most business friendly city in the country.

Happy Birthday to us!!!!

Happy birthday to us. 
Happy birthday to us.
Happy birthday to Nspiregreeeeeen.
Happy birthday to us!!! 

It's our birthday!!!  Look we even have a "birth" certificate from the District of Columbia!

The seed for Nspiregreen was planted in 2002, when we first met at a leadership conference for the National Society of Black Engineers.  Literally in the first 20 minutes of us meeting we said "we should start a business".  Who knew the idea of two starry-eyed, enthusiastic graduate students would lead to the creation of Nspiregreen.

Some say we are brave to start our own company, while others say we are crazy.  We say we are both. It takes a certain amount of insanity to leave good paying jobs with benefits to enter a world where everyday has its own uncertainty. Three years ago we took the leap and we haven't looked back. 

It's HOT. Stay hydrated

At Nspiregreen we drink bottled water. *gasp*.  That's right. We drink bottled water.  We fill our reusable water bottles with tap water.  Bottled water. Ta-da!

Not only does bottling tap water make economic sense, but it's also better for the environment.  Stay hydrated everyone!


Presented by Online Education

Help Nspiregreen win a $250,000 grant!

Nspiregreen is entering the Chase and Living Social Mission: Small Business Competition for a chance to win a $250,000 grant. To qualify for the competition, we need a minimum of 250 votes. That’s where we need your support. So Pray and vote! Nspiregreen would use this funding for job creation and to bring new technologies to market in the realm of smart phone applications, sustainable energy sources and advanced transportation solutions.

Follow these steps to help us WIN

• Go to: www.missionsmallbusiness.com click log in and support. (You must have a Facebook account  to vote.
• Scroll to the bottom of page and enter Nspiregreen in the field that says business name and then click the "Search" button.
• Click the "Vote" button
•  Click "Share Vote" on your Facebook and/or Twitter pages for others to vote for Nspiregreen. 

As always we appreciate your support and we look forward to transforming the planet – one community at a time.

Sincerely,

Chancee` and Veronica

Thoughtful Thursday

Our company vision is to facilitate the empowerment and transformation of every community on the planet. Our passion for engineering and social justice is why Nspiregreen exists.

Npsiregreen Capability Statement

Nspiregreen Capability Statement

She survived!!!

At Nspiregreen LLC, we not only talk the talk, but we strive to walk the walk. Veronica was always a user of public transportation, but when the cost of filling her Camry skyrocketed to $62 she quickly became a user of any form of transportation that was affordable. She usually arrives to our office via a Capital Bikeshare bike. If she isn't biking around the city she's on the bus.

Chancee is currently in Atlanta trying building our presence in the Southeast U.S. In her world people favor driving over public transportation; however, when she's in DC she is a fan of the WMATA metrorail. Every time she comes to town, Veronica is always trying to get her to use the bus. Chancee has stated several times that she didn't believe in using the bus. She would often say, it's just not "her thing."

The most recent visit to DC changed all of that. Chancee was in DC for several meetings with clients and potential clients. Many of them were in not accessible via metrorail, which means she had to get on the bus. During her entire visit she moved around by bus venturing into unknown territory. Despite getting a little lost once, she survived. It was an opportunity to see DC from a perspective the metrorail could not provide.

Legislative/Regulatory Support Services

Hot off the press (well scribd) is our new company information sheet. Hire Nspiregreen LLC to assist you with technical aspects of legislation and regulations. From development to compliance, we are the right people for the job.
Nspiregreen_LegislativeSupportServices

New Company Policy: No Talking Tuesdays

One of our core values is to "Operate as an unconventional company in a conventional world by cultivating and creating a unique learning and working environment". Thanks to a fellow small business, Sisarina, we are implementing a new company policy called "No Talking Tuesdays". We used their policy as a guide and add our own flavor.

Nspiregreen wants to provide our staff the opportunity to be productive and creative without interruptions. Starting on January 10, 2012, every Tuesday will be "No Talking Tuesdays".

• Effective times: Tuesdays, 9am - 5pm EST with a 30 min break from 12:30-1pm
  
• During this time please turn off anything that rings, dings, bings, zings, flashes, and pops-up. This includes (but no limited to) phones, text messages, alerts, social media, email, and instant messenger.
• To the extend possible, avoid scheduling any meetings, conference calls, or video chats on Tuesdays.
• Please put up an email away message and change your voicemail to let people know you are unavailable.

We are excited to implement this new policy.

New year same focus to transform the world

Have you ever read a business plan? They about as exciting as watching paint dry. While it is recommended that businesses have a business plan, the reality is your business plan won't inspire you to get out of bed every morning. We have one... somewhere.

What keeps us focused is a prosperity plan we wrote back in December 2009. It set the vision for what we want to be as a company in 2020. It's very lofty and idealistic, but it's what keeps us going during the tough times. This year in addition to this prosperity plan, we'll be creating a visioning board to hang in our office to help us visualize our future.


Nspiregreen Prosperity Plan 12909