Former Business Plan Winner Had WriteIdea
9/11/2008
by Shelly Weaver, E-Magnify Staff

Amy Veltri is an entrepreneur in all senses of the word.  Veltri had the right idea to start a new business with growth potential and used the WriteIdea business plan completion presented by E-Magnify as a springboard.  Bitten by the proverbial entrepreneurial bug following a lack of advancement opportunity, Veltri has the unique perspective of being a woman-owned business owner in a highly dominated male field.

Veltri’s previous professional experience included being responsible for managing a staff of several junior technical personnel and securing and managing over $1 million annually in project work.  As a successful business owner she has grown her company’s gross revenues to $2.7 million in 2007. 

Veltri is President of Novel Geo-Environmental, LLC,(NGE)a Moon Township, Pa. based civil environmental and geotechnical engineering firm.  NGE has been in business since September 2002 and provides environmental engineering and consulting services and geotechnical engineering services.  Veltri knew she wanted to be an entrepreneur and relied on research to find a niche in engineering consulting. She discovered that not many geotechnical engineering firms have Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) certification. In starting her own firm, Veltri now has qualified her business for DBE certification, allowing the firm to procure government highway work more easily.

Veltri attributes her success to the early foundation that WriteIdea , a business plan competition, afforded her.  After recently starting her business  she learned of WriteIdea presented by Seton Hill University’s E-Magnify women’s business center and realized she had a business plan ‘in her head’ but the simple fact of sitting down to write the WriteIdea  business plan with all of its facets,  made Veltri realize her vision wasn’t a reality until she completed the plan. 

“If you’re thinking about starting a business, even with a loose idea, putting a business plan together makes it reality,” Veltri said.  WriteIdea opened up opportunities for her that she didn’t know were possible.  “The financial reward was an innovator and a great source of capital in the initial stages of my business,” said Veltri. 

Veltri now carries out her business plan daily and refers to it often. 

“Being an 8(a) certified company by the SBA requires us to revisit and rewrite our business plan on an annual basis.”

Veltri does point out that starting the business wasn't without its challenges.

"Anyone can start their own company," Veltri said, "But after you've done that, it's not easy.

“Most new businesses close their doors in the first year, and even fewer succeed,” Veltri added. “Some simply don’t make it past the five year marker.” 

Some of the most helpful advice Veltri ever received came from the annual "Building a World-Class Business" conference presented by Seton Hill University's E-Magnify. One of the speakers advised business owners to "hire slowly, fire quickly." She has learned to trust her gut on whether an employee is wonderful or not worth it.

Veltri’s dream was to grow her business and to provide a satisfying and focused career for her employees.   While she'd like to see the steady growth of her business, she wants to keep the small-business feel that she loves.

NGE now employs 23 people and is still growing.  Her best advice for those starting a business is to "make sure it's something that you're passionate about, that you enjoy and are willing to commit a lot of time to."

“You may think that a business plan is a waste of time but you need to think of it as the foundation of your business or you will find it’s a big mistake," Veltri said.

Now six years old, NGE focuses on its goal in developing an engineering and consulting firm that was able to serve a wide range of clients, without losing site of the following:

• Every client is the most important,
 
• No job is too big or too small, and
 
• Everything must be done to the highest standards.

The result is a full service organization that has expanded to include environmental construction and remediation work.  NGE seeks to grow throughout the region and within the United States by providing top quality services and focusing on government work.

With over 17 years of experience as an environmental and civil engineer in consulting and industry, Veltri is one of only a handful of women nationwide to own a successful geotechnical and environmental engineering firm. Still predominately considered a “man’s industry”, The Society of Women Engineers estimates that less than 11 percent of all employed engineers are female.  

The WriteIdea business plan competition applications deadline is almost here! Call 724.830.4625 for more details or click here for your application now.

Looking for the “WriteIdea”
Calling all entrepreneurs. WriteIdea is looking for the best of the best in the world of business plans. WriteIdea is designed to encourage entrepreneurial thinkers in our community to produce a business plan that is ready to implement. The competition will bring together regional plans in the provided categories exploring the development of young companies. A handful of entrepreneurs will receive cash prizes of $5,000 each, totaling $25,000 to help with start-up costs or the capital to help bring their business to the next level.

The process is simple. Log onto e-magnify.com/writeidea and submit your application. Deadline for applications is Oct. 31. Applicants need to provide a brief executive summary of their business plan idea and some pertinent business information. You can then begin developing your plan and be eligible for the prizes that will allow you to grow your future.

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