From Kitchen Table to Corporate World: Manassas Welcomes New Small Business

Corliss Udoema said she went from a makeshift office in her kitchen to landing multi-million dollar contracts with the federal government, all by using a simple method. “One word: prayer,” Udoema said on Thursday from Contract Solutions Inc.’s brand new office space just outside of Manassas in Prince William County.

“(I prayed) for wisdom. I started with the computer and the telephone I had at home and with the brains the good lord gave me,” said Udoema who is the president and CEO of CSI.

A crowd of local business leaders welcomed Udoema and CSI to its new home on Thursday during an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The company is an employment agency of sorts, but its scope is far broader than that, she said.

CSI employs about 100 people and specializes in training, IT services and mail facilities. The company was awarded an internal, secured mail contract with the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID).

The business grew over the course of four years from her Bristow home to where it is today by not only employing Biblical principles such as honesty, but by listening and learning from others who had experience doing similar work, she said. 

“I don’t do average. I only do excellent,” said Udoema, a former federal employee.  “Our company has grown not through its Website, not by a sales team—but by word of mouth. We take something small and do it in an excellent way.”

CSI was assisted in its growth by its 100 employees and by the George Mason University Enterprise Center in Manassas, an incubator for small businesses, she said. 

CSI already had a charted growth pattern, but the enterprise center assisted with the transition from home based to office based by being supportive and by serving as a business hub, Udoema said.

CSI employees strive to give back to the community by supporting Prince William County shelters through its, "Hope in a Bag" program, volunteering and bestowing awards upon young entrepreneurs through the quarterly CSI Young Entrepreneur Award.

Udoema recalls receiving an application for the award from a 15-year-old boy.

The boy wrote that he started a lawn care/snow removal service with his cousin.

He did the manual labor while she booked the appointments, Udoema said, reading from the email letter he wrote to her.

“This is the way I was at that age. It touched my heart,” Udoema said.

Applications are being accepted for the award until May 31 said Carole Keily, a public relations specialist for CSI. Applicants must be between the ages of 9 and 17 and residents of Manassas, Prince William County or Manassas Park.

Recipients’ businesses will receive a $200 investment from CSI. The investment will be paid over the course of four quarters.

Request an application by sending an email to ckeily@contractsolutions-inc.com or by calling 703-686-4846.