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

Nspiregreen Testimony to DSLBD - Committee on Small and Local Business Development

My name is Veronica O. Davis. I’m a resident of Hillcrest in Ward 7 and co-owner of Nspiregreen LLC. My testimony today will be on behalf of Nspiregreen LLC.

Nspiregreen LLC is an environmental consulting firm established to shape approaches and attitudes for sustainability and community development through public involvement and outreach. With our engineering and urban planning backgrounds, we specialize in public involvement and outreach for environmental planning and compliance; environmental justice, facility planning and facility environmental program management; civil infrastructure (transportation, wastewater treatment); and master planning. We are 100% women, and minority-owned small business.

Our office is located at the HIVE (Home of Innovators Visionaries and Entrepreneurs), a business incubator, located in the business district of Historic Anacostia in Ward 8. We are located in DC because of our dedication and commitment to being part of the DC economy.

I could easily use my time to express our frustrations with being a small business in DC. However, we are here today to offer 5 recommendations to bring DC closer to being small business friendly.

Recommendation 1 – Schedule a second Roundtable Discussion with all relevant agencies

As a consulting business owner there are three main agencies that we have regular interaction, Department of Local Small Business Development (DLSBD), Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), and Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR). Each agency plays a role in the frustration of doing business in DC. We recommend that the Council committees that have oversight hold a joint roundtable to address how these three agencies can work together to reduce headaches and frustrations of small business owners.

Recommendation 2 - Create a Robust Business System

Currently businesses register in separate online systems for several agencies. For example, as a consulting business we are registered in DCRA, OTR, DDOT (DBE), OCP, and DSLBD. As a business it would be great if on the user side there was one system to log into to be able to access all the agencies that we communicate with. The system could allow uploading of documents and a messaging system to directly communicate with a specialist about a specific issues.

On the agency side, they would be allowed to edit, delete or modify information applicable to their agency’s functions only. For example, only DCRA could make changes in the business license section. However, they would be allowed to see applicable information from other agencies. For example, DCRA could see that a business has clean hands with OTR.

By housing everything in one place, it eliminates opportunities for fraud, streamlines information, and reduces the paper exercise for businesses.

Recommendation 3 – Restore the Procurement and Technical Assistance Center

As a small consulting firm we do not have the luxury of a marketing department. The PTAC was extremely helpful with providing marketing expertise that we would not have been able to afford from a private company. They assisted us with enhancing our company capability statement, developing a strategy to market to our target Federal and local agencies, and brokering relationships with Federal and local small business offices. Of all the services provided to small businesses, this was by far the most helpful in growing our company.

Recommendation 4 – Combine the CBE and DDOT DBE process

Currently businesses have to go through an arduous application process for both certifications. The CBE program administered by the Department of Small & Local Business Development is only applicable for contracting with DC government. The District Department of Transportation DBE program is a Federally recognized program administered by the District Department of Transportation. The DDOT DBE allows a company to receive reciprocity with State DOTs and serves as the DBE designation for contracting with the Federal government.

Both applications processes require an online submission with submission of a half a ream of paper worth of supporting documentation. Ideally, both processes could be housed in the same department similar to Virginia and Maryland. Therefore, eligible businesses could receive both certifications simultaneously.

Recommendation 5 – Re-establish the Small and Local Business Development Opportunity Commission

There are currently 7 vacant seats on the 9 person commission. It should be a priority to fill those seats with small business to provide guidance to DSLBD and the Council on small business issue

Thank you again for the opportunity to provide comment on this very important issue.