In addition to International Women’s Day, March is a time to shine a spotlight on the dynamic Prince William County women-owned businesses we’ve highlighted over the last year.
Carleigh Berryman
Viva Vita
Viva Vita is headquartered in Brickyard Cowork in Woodbridge and hopes to become a hub of everything virtual reality for you and your family, across all devices and platforms. But it started when Berryman learned more about late-life depression and anxiety, and she noticed that our systems of care don’t pay enough attention and respect to our seniors.
“Cognitive stimulation is crucial to keeping the mind, body and spirit healthy. COVID-19 has certainly created that experience [of being trapped] for many people, not just seniors. We are also thinking about places like dialysis centers and cancer clinics, not just retirement communities.”
Tuyet Bui
Sassy Nails & Spa
After living for more than 30 years in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bui relocated to Prince William County in the winter of 2017. She settled her family, including her two teenage kids, in Manassas and purchased the already successful Sassy Nails & Spa location along Sudley Manor Drive in 2018.
“I like to serve the community, and I like to make people happy. I would not do anything else; I like being in business, but you must have passion and guts to lead a business right now.”
Niecia and AJ Bullock
Rooted Yoga
The wife-husband team Niecia and AJ Bullock have grown Rooted Yoga into a vibrant yoga studio in Belmont Bay. They celebrate diversity, community, and practical self-care.
“I like to say that we are an anti-yoga studio. We are here for the groups who feel marginalized and left out of the yoga experience and conversation. That was my experience as an African-American woman when I began practicing. I wanted Rooted Yoga to reflect the diversity of our world—bodies of color, fluffier bodies, older bodies."
Crystal Carfagno
Showcase Dance Studio
Small businesses that serve people, especially children, are the bedrock of community. Located on Sudley Manor Drive in Manassas, Showcase Dance Studio emphasizes academics and self-esteem, and Carfagno knew the COVID-19 pandemic was an opportunity to show resilience for her students.
“I teach my students that they will fail. The important part is learning how to get back up and try again. Trying to get our studios online for group classes, just for that first month, was one the hardest things I have ever tried to do.”
Barbara C. Matthews
PolicyScope, a product of BCMstrategy, Inc.
With career in global finance, risk management, and geopolitics, Barbara C. Matthews, has used her unique perspective to create a product that automatically measures and analyzes public policy risks. Headquartered in Brickyard Cowork in Woodbridge, her patented technology helps identify public policy shifts faster to make better data-driven decisions about risk exposures.
"I was surprised to learn how hard it is for female founders to secure funding, particularly in the information technology field. [Our] company has found committed, forward-leaning strategic partners, our angel investors, and government entities like Virginia’s Innovation and Commercialization Assistance Program (ICAP) and Prince William County, who know that accelerating growth requires exploring the innovation frontier.”
Denise and David Ormsby
The Spot(s) on Mill Street / Belmont Bay
For wife-and-husband team Denise and David Ormsby, creating a neighborhood hangout was a dream they both shared. When they became the owners and proprietors of award-winning The Spot on Mill Street in Occoquan, their dream came true. Now they are expanding by opening a second location in Belmont Bay.
"Our dream was always to create a community hangout. We did that here in Occoquan, and it’s amazing how fast that came together. Now we can’t wait to create another spot in Belmont Bay.”
Jenny Osborn
SC Companies
Jenny Osborn knows about helping customers who are annoyed or scared. Located at 7044 Colchester Park Drive in Manassas, SC Companies has been in the remediation business for over a decade, where she, her family, and her employees regularly confront hazardous materials and chemical cleanups.
“In our business, we are used to being that unexpected bill, not part of the budget. Our customers are never happy with the problem, but we want them to be happy with our results. We really emphasize positivity, and we have a motto: ‘be helpful not helpless.’”
Michelle and Chris Viggiano
AIM Human Performance
Wife-and-husband team Michelle and Chris Viggiano created AIM Human Performance, a private personal training facility in the Woodbridge area of Tackett’s Mill, with their commonsense approach focused on individuals' goals and customized workouts.
"Teaching [during the pandemic] involved a lot of creativity. We had to MacGyver our way through many personal training sessions, whether it involved talking clients through how to set up their cameras, finding a household object of the correct weight, or helping clients become comfortable with the technology.”
