When Melody Shields, owner of MJS Virtual Assistance, LLC, applied for the South Dallas Fair Park (SDFP) Business Growth Series, she wasn’t just looking for basic business advice. Melody’s company already offers a complex suite of services, from virtual assistance to tax preparation and business brokerage. Her primary motivation for joining the cohort was to strategically streamline these diverse offerings and accelerate her expansion efforts.

“My biggest thing is my tax clients,” Melody explained to us, “and my tax clients, they kind of roll over to business development.” Her goal was to use her brokerage services as the central platform to consolidate her expanding array of business services. She came to BCL of Texas seeking resources, networking, and “some help and ideas with the expansion efforts and make for sure that what I was trying to streamline under my virtual assistant services is going to work for me.”

While the intensive workshops covered essential topics like marketing and business planning, Melody found the personalized, one-on-one coaching to be the most impactful element for MJS Virtual Assistance. “I feel like that was more productive for me,” she noted. “It gave me greater ideas. It gave me… that thinking outside of the box mechanism.” This individualized mentorship immediately led to a focused marketing strategy. Knowing her client retention was strong, she pivoted to concentrating on client acquisition, which involved developing a new product for remote field work and planning an educational podcast.

Beyond the tailored advice for her own business, Melody recognizes the profound value of the program’s community focus. For an entrepreneur who also advises other business owners, having gone through the series provides invaluable credibility. “I’ll be able to tell them, hey, I’ve gone through this program. I know it can work for you,” she shared. This testimony is a powerful way to enhance her ability to counsel her own clients.

The networking within the SDFP cohort proved instantly beneficial, both personally and professionally. “I met a dress designer,” Melody recalled, noting she immediately hired her services. This spirit of mutual support has led the cohort’s women entrepreneurs to form the South Dallas Fair Park Women’s Economic Group, in partnership with BCL of Texas. This new platform will serve as a resource and mentorship program for future entrepreneurs, showcasing that BCL’s program works.

Operating within South Dallas, Melody acknowledges the area’s “untapped market” and the “economic struggle” many business owners face. The BCL of Texas program provides a crucial organizational backing that was previously missing. “The partnership with the BCL of Texas provides us the opportunity to let the neighborhood and the community know that we are doing it as a business owner, but we also have an organization behind us that is helping us to expand our efforts out.”

When asked to define the ultimate return on investment of her time, Melody didn’t hesitate: “Reciprocity is the single greatest benefit that I take out of this.” She sees her efforts, and the efforts of her cohort, coming back into the community through the support of organizations like BCL of Texas. Her message to other South Dallas Fair Park entrepreneurs considering the program is simple: “Do it. The only failure is when you don’t try.” We are proud to support entrepreneurs like Melody, who are not only building their own legacy but actively fostering the growth and advancement of the entire South Dallas community.