When Rachael and Joseph Culbertson started Culbertson Contracting in 2021, the couple knew they had the work ethic to succeed; they just needed the right roadmap. Now, thanks to a transformative partnership with Old Dominion University through its Women’s Business Center, the Suffolk-based company has been named Virginia’s Blue-Collar Small Business of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
The award, presented during a ceremony last month at the company’s headquarters, recognizes outstanding small businesses in skilled trades and construction industries that demonstrate business success, innovation, resilience and community impact. While the SBA has been recognizing small businesses in the Virginia District since 1963, this is the first time the organization has created an award specifically for blue-collar businesses in the district.
Culbertson Contracting, which has about 10 employees, specializes in site preparation and site development, including grading, excavation, underground utilities, stormwater management, and erosion and sediment control. The company also has a hauling division.
Culbertson launched the business with just a few pieces of equipment: a skid steer, a trailer, a service truck and a dump truck. Although the company lost money during its first year, she said revenue and profit have doubled each year since. Even with that momentum, Culbertson says she has plenty to learn.
“People sometimes see growth and assume you’ve arrived, but the reality is this business is still very young,” said Rachael Culbertson. “Our company is basically still a toddler — growing fast, occasionally running into walls, requiring constant attention, keeping us up at night and somehow surviving largely on prayer and snacks.”
As the company grew, Culbertson thought about how to continue that success. In November 2024, she turned to the Women’s Business Center, part of Old Dominion University’s Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE), for obtaining certifications and accessing resources that could help secure an SBA loan.
With assistance from the Women’s Business Center, Culbertson earned certifications recognizing the company as a Woman-Owned Small Business, a Women’s Business Enterprise and a Small, Women-owned and Minority-owned business (SWaM).
Those certifications positioned the company well for subcontracting opportunities and building industry relationships.
“The Women’s Business Center is an amazing place to go and get resources,” Culbertson said. “I went in confused, not knowing what the resources were, or what to expect, and it was like sitting down with family as they were just so willing to help and pull whatever resources they could.”
Erika Small-Sisco, program director for the Women’s Business Center, worked with Culbertson to help her access tools and resources for the business.
Small-Sisco said she was impressed by how much Culbertson had already accomplished before connecting with the center. Working together, they identified opportunities to strengthen the business and support its continued growth.
“I was able to see how somebody took the tools and resources we were able to provide and implement them — and it made a difference for their business,” Small-Sisco said. “Her success is a powerful example of what can happen when leadership, preparation, hard work and the right support come together. Rachael’s actions are a reminder to business owners of the rewards that can come when quitting is not an option.”
At the SBA award ceremony, Paul Olsen, Ph.D. (Ph.D. ’26), executive director of IIE, said what the institute loves to do is accelerate entrepreneurs like the Culbertsons.
“Few things are more inspiring than seeing small heavy-equipment businesses flourish,” said Dr. Olsen, who is a retired Army engineer colonel. "These are the men and women who maintain our military installations, build resilient infrastructure and quietly strengthen America’s national security every day through skilled labor, entrepreneurship and service.”
Sarah Jane Kirkland, the University’s senior associate vice president for corporate partnerships, emphasized the role partnerships play in growing the regional economy.
“Entrepreneurship and small-to-medium-sized businesses are what spur our economy here in Hampton Roads. We can’t really do it without you,” Kirkland said.“This achievement today is just the very first steppingstone into the next phase, and we, at Old Dominion University, would love to be part of that with you.”
Suffolk Mayor Mike Duman and Suffolk Economic Development Director Janet Days (B.S. ’99 ’24) also recognized Culbertson’s contributions to the community with special acknowledgement of her work and impact.
Culbertson said being the inaugural recipient of the award carried special meaning, because it recognized the value of blue-collar work and entrepreneurship.
“Blue-collar workers built this country. Entrepreneurs built this country. People willing to work, serve, create, risk and persevere built this country,” she said. “I think it is incredibly meaningful that the SBA created an award specifically recognizing blue-collar small businesses, because there is dignity in this work.”
For Culbertson, the recognition is about more than business growth. What started as a way to support her family has become an example of what persistence, opportunity and community support can build, she said.
“I believe the American Dream is still very much alive,” Culbertson said. “Sometimes it looks like dirty boots, long days and hard hats. Sometimes it looks like starting with almost nothing, except sacrifice, and the willingness to keep going when quitting would be easier.”
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