A 15-year-old New Hanover County boy who is battling leukemia hasn't had a real
bedroom to call his own for some time, but thanks to the Welcome Home Angel
organization, Zach came home from a fishing trip to a brand new bedroom.
“It's just so much. I’m just so happy, to actually have my own workspace for
homework and everything. It's going to be a lot of fun just having my own room,”
Zach Parks said.
Welcome Home Angel is a non-profit organization that remodels chronically ill
children's rooms.
"I can have friends over without being bothered by everybody and just to hang out,
have my own little spot, my own privacy,” Zach said.
Despite tough economic times, twelve businesses donated their much of their
services for free. "It’s a great feeling and we were just happy to be able to do
something like this,” said architect Mark Loudermilk.
For Zach's parents, Clyde and Heather, seeing their son's face light up is
priceless. “There’s no amount of money that you can put on that look when we
pulled up, it's amazing. And these were amazing people that did this,” Clyde said.
In a space that's truly his own now, Zach is looking forward to enjoying his brand
new bedroom. "I’m really grateful that it can happen to me and I hope it can happen
to other kids who need it, too."
Along with room makeovers, Welcome Home Angel also provides emotional
support to the sick children and their families.
Zach is in his last phase of treatment for his leukemia. He and his family are
looking forward to good days ahead.
bedroom to call his own for some time, but thanks to the Welcome Home Angel
organization, Zach came home from a fishing trip to a brand new bedroom.
“It's just so much. I’m just so happy, to actually have my own workspace for
homework and everything. It's going to be a lot of fun just having my own room,”
Zach Parks said.
Welcome Home Angel is a non-profit organization that remodels chronically ill
children's rooms.
"I can have friends over without being bothered by everybody and just to hang out,
have my own little spot, my own privacy,” Zach said.
Despite tough economic times, twelve businesses donated their much of their
services for free. "It’s a great feeling and we were just happy to be able to do
something like this,” said architect Mark Loudermilk.
For Zach's parents, Clyde and Heather, seeing their son's face light up is
priceless. “There’s no amount of money that you can put on that look when we
pulled up, it's amazing. And these were amazing people that did this,” Clyde said.
In a space that's truly his own now, Zach is looking forward to enjoying his brand
new bedroom. "I’m really grateful that it can happen to me and I hope it can happen
to other kids who need it, too."
Along with room makeovers, Welcome Home Angel also provides emotional
support to the sick children and their families.
Zach is in his last phase of treatment for his leukemia. He and his family are
looking forward to good days ahead.
Room makeover is extreme for local boy
April 24, 2009
from WWAY TV3
WATCH THE WWAY TV3 VIDEO
April 24, 2009
from WWAY TV3
WATCH THE WWAY TV3 VIDEO
Green Work Jump-Starts New Firm
Greater Wilmington Business Journal www.wilmingtonbiz.com
Volume 10, May 29, 2009
Article by Katelyn Litalien
Greater Wilmington Business Journal www.wilmingtonbiz.com
Volume 10, May 29, 2009
Article by Katelyn Litalien
Mark Loudermilk, owner of proVision architecture, and his wife used to joke about
the dream of moving to Wilmington while living in Atlanta, though they had never
visited the area. So when Loudermilk was recruited to work in the Wilmington
branch of Cline Design, an architecture firm based in Raleigh, he and his family
jumped at the chance to relocate.
Their love for Wilmington grew after four years in the area, so when Loudermilk
was laid off in January, he was reluctant to move his family in order to find work.
During his time with Cline, Loudermilk worked as a designer on a number of
office buildings in the area, including the new Bank of America building downtown.
“It was still a bit of a shock when [the layoff] happened but it’s not like I couldn’t
see the handwriting on the wall,” he said.
With his family in mind, Loudermilk began looking for other employment in the
area, but soon found firms were not currently hiring.
However, within weeks of being let go, Loudermilk was approached about three
potential projects and began formulating a plan to open his own company,
proVision architecture. “Those three projects kicked me into start-up mode,” he
said.
His first steps focused on advertising and marketing, including putting together a
Web site, ordering promotional materials and setting up an email newsletter.
As a result of his time with Cline Design, Loudermilk was LEED accredited, which
helped set up a consulting side of his business. “[Accreditation] was something I
did a couple years ago because it seemed the market was heading in that
direction,” he said. Now Loudermilk is solicited to offer advice and consulting on
green buildings.
But Loudermilk also faced challenges associated with his employment by Cline
Design. A non-compete agreement he signed restricted him from soliciting
business from former clients during his first year of business.
Instead, Loudermilk started networking and asking former clients and other
members of the community for advice about his start-up company.
A few months after his start-up was off the ground Loudermilk became
disheartened. With a slow-growing project list, he started to question his decision
to form his own firm. “I thought, ‘Where is all this work I thought I was going to
get?’” Loudermilk said.
But with the support of his family and friends, he decided to persevere. Now with a
few projects in the pipeline, and work with nonprofit organizations, Loudermilk
said business is starting to pick up. “I say I’ve pulled up the landing gear and
taken off the runway, now it’s time to defeat gravity,” he said.
Over the next year, Loudermilk hopes to continue to bring in more business and
hire additional staff members to help with drafting. He hopes the next five years
will allow him to hire about five full-time employees and open an office downtown.
“You’ve got to remain positive. Even though you’ve lost something, you’re going to
gain a bunch more things. You’re going to gain new experiences,” Loudermilk
said.
the dream of moving to Wilmington while living in Atlanta, though they had never
visited the area. So when Loudermilk was recruited to work in the Wilmington
branch of Cline Design, an architecture firm based in Raleigh, he and his family
jumped at the chance to relocate.
Their love for Wilmington grew after four years in the area, so when Loudermilk
was laid off in January, he was reluctant to move his family in order to find work.
During his time with Cline, Loudermilk worked as a designer on a number of
office buildings in the area, including the new Bank of America building downtown.
“It was still a bit of a shock when [the layoff] happened but it’s not like I couldn’t
see the handwriting on the wall,” he said.
With his family in mind, Loudermilk began looking for other employment in the
area, but soon found firms were not currently hiring.
However, within weeks of being let go, Loudermilk was approached about three
potential projects and began formulating a plan to open his own company,
proVision architecture. “Those three projects kicked me into start-up mode,” he
said.
His first steps focused on advertising and marketing, including putting together a
Web site, ordering promotional materials and setting up an email newsletter.
As a result of his time with Cline Design, Loudermilk was LEED accredited, which
helped set up a consulting side of his business. “[Accreditation] was something I
did a couple years ago because it seemed the market was heading in that
direction,” he said. Now Loudermilk is solicited to offer advice and consulting on
green buildings.
But Loudermilk also faced challenges associated with his employment by Cline
Design. A non-compete agreement he signed restricted him from soliciting
business from former clients during his first year of business.
Instead, Loudermilk started networking and asking former clients and other
members of the community for advice about his start-up company.
A few months after his start-up was off the ground Loudermilk became
disheartened. With a slow-growing project list, he started to question his decision
to form his own firm. “I thought, ‘Where is all this work I thought I was going to
get?’” Loudermilk said.
But with the support of his family and friends, he decided to persevere. Now with a
few projects in the pipeline, and work with nonprofit organizations, Loudermilk
said business is starting to pick up. “I say I’ve pulled up the landing gear and
taken off the runway, now it’s time to defeat gravity,” he said.
Over the next year, Loudermilk hopes to continue to bring in more business and
hire additional staff members to help with drafting. He hopes the next five years
will allow him to hire about five full-time employees and open an office downtown.
“You’ve got to remain positive. Even though you’ve lost something, you’re going to
gain a bunch more things. You’re going to gain new experiences,” Loudermilk
said.
© 2010 proVision architecture, pllc
 |
| press |
Confessions of a DIY-er: Invaluable Tools for
Starting a Business
Published on www.biznik.com
January 1, 2010
Article by Mark Loudermilk
Starting a Business
Published on www.biznik.com
January 1, 2010
Article by Mark Loudermilk
Being an architect has its benefits. Its creative, fun, demanding and rewarding.
But there is a downside: the reality that you are immersed in the depths of the
volatile construction industry. Here's a simple, true equation: recession =
unemployed architects.
And that's just what happened to me last January. So, with no chance of finding
employment in the near future, and having several potential clients request my
services for design, I took the leap that I never expected to take: I started my
own practice. It has been quite a year. I have learned many things, met lots of
new folks and have actually completed a few projects.
I wanted to share just a few of the tools I discovered along the way, in hopes
they might help others who are starting a business, especially those who wish
to keep their overhead low by doing as much as possible via the do-it-yourself
route (a.k.a. DIY-ers). This list is in no way exhaustive. But they do make my list
of tools that I found invaluable in learning the ins and outs of running a small
business, a subject I knew very little about that fateful day last January.
Guy Kawasaki's book The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-
Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything – A must-read for anyone
starting a business. Pay attention to the first chapter, especially the part about
“Making Mantra.” Now that I've almost been in business for an entire year, I
want to re-read this book and see how what I've learned will inform that
exercise. You can find the book here at amazon.com.
Yahoo! Small Business Web Hosting Service – this service was given PC
Magazine's “Editor's Choice” award. There are, of course, innumerable ways to
launch a web site, but as a newcomer, I found Yahoo's tools to be simple, yet
very effective. Along with your domain name and email accounts, you receive
software with which to build your site and once you're finished, easily publish
with the click of a button. I have zero training in HTML, however many folks have
said that my web site looks terrific. Even my former employer said, “I didn't
realize you knew how to design a web page.” My expense for this service is
approximately $125 per year, and it is worth every penny. smallbusiness.yahoo.
com/webhosting/
Small business Podcasts – these short, daily (some are weekly) business
news reports are put together in an extremely professional format and are
easy to understand, even for a new entrepreneur like myself. Some of the tools
I reference in this article I discovered while listening to these reports. I have
gotten into the habit of trying to catch them every day. If nothing else, they have
given me things to talk about when meeting with clients and consultants. My
three favorites are:
Outright - a free, easy-to-use bookkeeping site that helps you track income &
expenses, estimate your tax payments, and generate simple financial reports
with the click of a button. There's a nice tool for adding in deductible mileage
that links to Google Maps. You can also grant permission to your accountant to
view your files. outright.com
Constant Contact – a simple tool for creating email newsletters with (to quote
one of those 1960's Batman episodes) POW!!! In a matter of minutes, you can
import your contact list from your email address book and then begin creating
a newsletter using powerful graphic tools. I have used this service to send out
a quarterly newsletter to all of my contacts. People like to hear good news, and
if your company is associated with good news, its a winning situation.
constantcontact.com
And finally, there's Biznik. But you've already discovered that tool. I've just
recently discovered the site myself (yes, on one of the podcasts listed above)
and have been surprised at how much valuable information has been
submitted by other business owners. I'm excited to be able to give something
back to the community. I invite others to share tools that they've found helpful
as well. With that in mind, I will close by sharing one of my all-time favorite
quotes from George “Rocky” Evans, a Grand Canyon hiker: “If I'm not learning,
check my pulse.”
But there is a downside: the reality that you are immersed in the depths of the
volatile construction industry. Here's a simple, true equation: recession =
unemployed architects.
And that's just what happened to me last January. So, with no chance of finding
employment in the near future, and having several potential clients request my
services for design, I took the leap that I never expected to take: I started my
own practice. It has been quite a year. I have learned many things, met lots of
new folks and have actually completed a few projects.
I wanted to share just a few of the tools I discovered along the way, in hopes
they might help others who are starting a business, especially those who wish
to keep their overhead low by doing as much as possible via the do-it-yourself
route (a.k.a. DIY-ers). This list is in no way exhaustive. But they do make my list
of tools that I found invaluable in learning the ins and outs of running a small
business, a subject I knew very little about that fateful day last January.
Guy Kawasaki's book The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-
Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything – A must-read for anyone
starting a business. Pay attention to the first chapter, especially the part about
“Making Mantra.” Now that I've almost been in business for an entire year, I
want to re-read this book and see how what I've learned will inform that
exercise. You can find the book here at amazon.com.
Yahoo! Small Business Web Hosting Service – this service was given PC
Magazine's “Editor's Choice” award. There are, of course, innumerable ways to
launch a web site, but as a newcomer, I found Yahoo's tools to be simple, yet
very effective. Along with your domain name and email accounts, you receive
software with which to build your site and once you're finished, easily publish
with the click of a button. I have zero training in HTML, however many folks have
said that my web site looks terrific. Even my former employer said, “I didn't
realize you knew how to design a web page.” My expense for this service is
approximately $125 per year, and it is worth every penny. smallbusiness.yahoo.
com/webhosting/
Small business Podcasts – these short, daily (some are weekly) business
news reports are put together in an extremely professional format and are
easy to understand, even for a new entrepreneur like myself. Some of the tools
I reference in this article I discovered while listening to these reports. I have
gotten into the habit of trying to catch them every day. If nothing else, they have
given me things to talk about when meeting with clients and consultants. My
three favorites are:
- Marketplace marketplace.publicradio.org/
Wall Street Journal This Morning online.wsj.com/public/page/podcast.
html
Wall Street Journal on Small Business (found at the same page listed
above)
Outright - a free, easy-to-use bookkeeping site that helps you track income &
expenses, estimate your tax payments, and generate simple financial reports
with the click of a button. There's a nice tool for adding in deductible mileage
that links to Google Maps. You can also grant permission to your accountant to
view your files. outright.com
Constant Contact – a simple tool for creating email newsletters with (to quote
one of those 1960's Batman episodes) POW!!! In a matter of minutes, you can
import your contact list from your email address book and then begin creating
a newsletter using powerful graphic tools. I have used this service to send out
a quarterly newsletter to all of my contacts. People like to hear good news, and
if your company is associated with good news, its a winning situation.
constantcontact.com
And finally, there's Biznik. But you've already discovered that tool. I've just
recently discovered the site myself (yes, on one of the podcasts listed above)
and have been surprised at how much valuable information has been
submitted by other business owners. I'm excited to be able to give something
back to the community. I invite others to share tools that they've found helpful
as well. With that in mind, I will close by sharing one of my all-time favorite
quotes from George “Rocky” Evans, a Grand Canyon hiker: “If I'm not learning,
check my pulse.”
 |
