By Ellen Jensen Owner/President: Donna Sanders Company: Leatherwood Enterprises Address: 1601 E. 18th St, Ste 211 Kansas City, MO 64108 Phone: (816) 842-7546 E-Mail: Web site:www.leatherwoods.biz Type of Business: Training Company No. of Employees: 7 full-time, 3 part-time
Leatherwood Enterprises has a rich heritage of service dating back five generations. As early as 1897, the company’s namesake, Mattie Leatherwood, was a cornerstone of her community in Greenville, S.C. She provided love and support for displaced families and children, and she taught people how to get along.
“She had a big house and a warm heart, so those in need tended to gravitate toward her,” said Donna Sanders of her great great great grandmother. Now, more than 100 years later, Leatherwood again is teaching people how to get along.
Sanders and her brother Michael opened Leatherwood Home for Children in 1998, going back to their roots and caring for young boys and their families who need a hand.
“I like a challenge,” Sanders said. “Plus, I wanted to work directly with children.”
In the next year or so, Sanders plans to expand operations to offer support for young girls, as well.
Through helping families with an immediate need, Sanders found there was even a bigger need for proactive training. Leatherwood continues to expand its services to meet the needs of a changing society through training on work-life issues and management and organizational enhancement. Courses include combat re-adjustment training, anger management, alcoholism, domestic violence, parenting support, workplace violence, stress management, cultural diversity and leadership training.
As a certified International Association of Continuing Education and Training provider, Leatherwood is capable of offering continuing education units on varied topics, on any continent.
Sanders comes from a healthcare and training background. She earned bachelor’s degrees in political science and communication from Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Fla., and a master’s degree in health services administration at Central Michigan University.
Before co-founding Leatherwood Enterprises, Sanders was a healthcare representative for Pfizer Inc., a territory manager for Johnson and Johnson Medical Inc., and a training and education officer in the United States Marine Corps, where she was responsible for training the largest squadron in the Corps.
Sanders is certified through the city of Kansas City, Mo., and the state of Missouri as a Minority Business Enterprise/Women Business Enterprise (MBE/WBE). She is certified through the National Minority Supplier Development Council and the federal government’s 8(a) and HUBZone programs. She also is certified as veteran-owned and a small disadvantaged business. Sanders said the company has found its best opportunities in Missouri, but they are looking forward to leveraging their federal certifications to do some federal contracting.
Sanders said the amount of paperwork and the information required proved to be a challenge. It also was frustrating when the agencies needed new information down the line that they hadn’t requested at the outset.
She suggested that others applying for certification spend a lot of time getting organized.
“Be prepared to be frustrated—it’s part of the process,” Sanders said. “Certification won’t happen fast.”
She said there are numerous questions, and small business owners might just have to give “best-guess” answers on some. She added that certifying agencies usually are understaffed, and entrepreneurs seeking certification may sometimes feel like they’re navigating reef-strewn waters.
“You can’t see all of the information up front, so additional snags and questions will pop up,” Sanders said. “You have to be careful you don’t run aground.”
Along with the community work Sanders offers through her business, she also is involved in many local and national organizations, such as the American Society of Training and Developers, National Association of Government Contractors, the Central Exchange and HUBZone National Conference.
As she was setting up her business, Sanders had help along the way from several sources, including Ray Williams, Rhonda Hardin and Kathy DeVoe at the Small Business Administration; Donna Leonard at the Procurement Technical Assistance Center; the Kansas Women’s Business Center and the Kauffman FastTrac program.
Sanders said the main challenge now is getting all of the systems in place and making sure everybody is trained on them. “We need to have a standardized way of doing what we do everyday, even things as simple as keeping track of sending thank you notes, so everybody is on the same page.”
Ellen Jensen is the managing editor of Kansas City Small Business Monthly magazine.
