SBA's Alpha Entrepreneur Program

The Small Business Administration's
Alpha Entrepreneur Program

The focus of this Internet TV Channel is to exemplify the business practices and principles engaged in by successful entrepreneurs with disabilities. The case studies found here were developed to allow the Small Business Administration (SBA), executives of Small Business Development Centers, and other business support entities the opportunity to learn more and better understand the challenges faced by these individuals.

The successful entrepreneurs selected for this program are highlighted here with the hope of motivating others through their examples of courage, persistence, self-confidence, innovation, determination, creativity, compassion, and discipline. It is intended as a guidance tool and research resource for the individuals with disabilities who desire to strike out on their own and achieve their dreams of doing the work they love.

To complement this Channel, these case studies are available in an interactive, web-based format. In the case studies the viewer will find discussions with successful entrepreneurs, each at a different stage of the corporate maturation cycle, who demonstrate success with accomplishments resulting from confronting the unique business challenges they faced. The topics of discussion span such areas of business plans, board members, technology, financing, hiring, marketing, and things they wish they had done differently when first starting and growing their businesses.

Throughout this program, the production team has focused on a theme, one of hope and its relationship to success. We, as a team, consist of entrepreneurs -- men, women, minorities, disabled, abled, small business, federal agencies, and assisting canines. We have each gained insight into current business issues faced by the disabled and have been inspired by their resolve to conquer any barriers that stood between them and their success. We hope you will as well.

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Alpha Entrepreneur curriculum - "Train the Trainer" manual available

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Alpha Entrepreneur Program Case Study Entrepreneurs

	Bob Douglas, Executive Director of the National Center for Therapeutic Riding, started his career with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) where, as a virologist, he was instrumental in discovering a new test for rubella. After being struck with multiple sclerosis in 1971 and subsequently forced to retire from the NIH, Mr. Douglas realized the opportunity for future success was in his hands. Although confined to a wheelchair and left partially blind by MS, he was determined to move forward in business notwithstanding any disability. Since 1972, Mr. Douglas has affected many children and adults, disabled and disadvantaged as well as those without physical handicap.
	Fred Cherry, President and CEO of Cherry Engineering Support Services, Inc. (CESSI), and a retired Colonel of the United States Air Force, started CESSI, an 8(a) small, disadvantaged, minority-owned business in 1992. A highly decorated veteran of both the Korean and Vietnam wars, Mr. Cherry spent 7½ years as a P.O.W. in Vietnam after ejecting from his aircraft and sustaining multiple injuries to the left side of his body. Upon retiring from the military, Mr. Cherry pursued employment with three different 8(a) firms before launching his own business. Through a valuable friendship obtained during his imprisoned years in Vietnam, Mr. Cherry was able to receive assistance, leading him to the successful creation of CESSI.
	Ann Morris Bliss, President of Ann Morris Enterprises, Inc., developed this mail order catalogue company in 1985 to sell innovative products dedicated to people with vision loss. The business is located in Stormville, New York and has two employees, in addition to Ms. Morris. The company generates over $.5 million of revenue and has employed a wide variety of employees from different ethnic backgrounds, ages, and disabilities. Although Ms. Morris is now completely blind from a process that began from complications at birth, she had limited vision until age 19
	Jim Wilder, President, Company's Coming Catering and Wild Orchid Café, developed and manages these two successful companies in Annapolis, Maryland. After becoming disabled in June of 1972 and working in several restaurants that were not willing to accommodate any facility modifications to allow for his accessibility in a wheelchair, Mr. Wilder decided to start his own business. The catering business, Company's Coming, has been in business for 15 years and operates out of two locations along the Maryland coastal region. The restaurant, Wild Orchid Café spun off from the catering business approximately 5 years ago and, along with the catering company, employs a diverse workforce of 20 employees.
	Danny Delcambre, Owner of Delcambre's Ragin Cajun Restaurant, has lived with double disabilities all of his life. He grew up in a family in Louisiana with four children, two of whom are deaf and blind and two who are hearing and sighted. Mr. Delcambre's blindness is caused by Usher's Syndrome, which is characterized by vision deterioration that progresses over time. The affected person's periphery of vision is narrowed, causing difficulty of vision in dim light and subsequently, poor balance. There is no known cure for Usher's Syndrome and lens correction does not improve the condition. Growing up in a family faced with the challenges of several disabilities, Mr. Delcambre learned many skills that would aid him in his entrepreneurial role as an adult.
	Jenni Gold, CEO of Gold Pictures, was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy, specifically SMA, when she was six months old. Through her participation and association with the Jerry Lewis Telethon, she became interested in the film production industry. After going to film school for formal training and subsequently creating two award winning short films, she started Gold Pictures at Universal Studios in California. Gold Pictures includes an entertainment attorney, a co-producer, and a creative executive who along with Ms. Gold encompass a diversity of capabilities in the organization. Ms. Gold is the first woman with a disability to be inducted into the Director's Guild of America.