Representative Projects

Strategic Planning, Business Planning, and Business Coaching for Small Business

Breakthru Solutions has provided ongoing business planning, strategic planning, and business coaching services for a range of small businesses. Through these services business owners have been able to position their companies for growth, get access to resources - funding, strategic alliances, staffing, and build a network of business and community support. Breakthru Solutions has worked with economic development corporations and technical assistance providers to provide consulting and training services for small businesses. Partial client list includes product and service companies: Moss Adams LLP; Marian Farms; little twig; El Burrito; MichRx Consulting; Women's Leadership Exchange; Los Angeles Urban League; Harbor Business Assistance Center, Long Beach Community College District, Union Bank of California, Southern California Edison, to name a few.

WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON SMALL BUSINESS, Washington, D.C.
Ms. Shimoyama served as an elected delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business. The White House Conference on Small Business forums were held at the local, state, regional, and national level to bring small business leaders together to make recommendations for the U.S. Congress and President of the United States on issues important to and impacting small business owners. Ms. Shimoyama, made recommendations in the areas of contracting/procurement programs for women and minority owned businesses; financial literacy

CALIFORNIA SMALL BUSINESS ASSOCIATION, CALIFORNIA SMALL BUSINESS EDUCATION FOUNDATION

Breakthru Solutions provided management consulting and project management services for the California Small Business Association and California Small Business Education Foundation. These services included: small business advocacy; assisted with the launch of health care insurance outreach programs for small business owners; facilitated small business roundtable meetings with California state legislators and small business owners for the California Small Business Association and California Small Business Roundtable; facilitated strategic planning with Board of Directors

STATE OF CALIFORNIA SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS (SBDC)

Ms. Shimoyama served as a SBDC board member for the State of California which has one of the largest established SBDC systems in the country with over 25 centers throughout the state reaching from the San Francisco and Sacramento District to the San Diego District.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN BUSINESS OWNERS

Breakthru Solutions has provided ongoing advisory services and designed strategic planning initiatives for the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), and the Enterprise Institute of the National Association of Women Business Owners (EI of NAWBO-LA. Breakthru Solutions developed strategies and implemented programs for NAWBO-LA the 501 (c )6, the trade and professional organization. The strategic planning and consensus building efforts resulted in building of infrastructure, growth in membership, increased involvement in public policy at the local, state, and federal level, and formation of an education and research foundation. Made recommendations and established a 501 (c ) 3 education and research foundation to increase educational resources and opportunities for women owned businesses. NAWBO represents the voice for over 10.1 million women business owners and over 100 chapters across the United States.


SPRINGBOARD ENTERPRISES

Breakthru Solutions provided management consulting and community outreach services for Springboard Enterprises a national non-profit based in Washington, D.C. that raised over $1 billion in venture capital funding over a three year period. Springboard Enterprises established an educational forum in Los Angeles to assist small business owners in getting access to resources and education in the area of access to capital -- debt and equity. The partnership was developed with the UCLA Anderson School, community based organizations, trade and professional organizations, economic development corporations, corporations, government agencies, and small business owners.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS FUND SERVICES DIVISION

Breakthru Solutions provided strategic planning services and conducted a reorganization study for the Employee Benefit Fund Services Division of a major money center bank. Breakthru Solutions conducted analysis, conceptual design and implementation of a customer focused workstation concept. As a result, the division established human resource and management information system controls, and improved services quality to their customers. The division has over 300 employees servicing 360 clients with portfolio funds valued at $160 billion.


TRANSPORTATION AND TRAVEL INDUSTRY

Lead corporate initiatives to define and document business processes and streamline operations, developed business specifications and tested functionality for business process automation and new technologies.

Planned and controlled an operating budget of over $100 million; over 2,000 employees with 21 airport operations in a region from California to Texas. Implemented employee dependability programs for cost savings on sick time and long term illness.


PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES

Breakthru Solutions consultants are skilled at business process re-engineering and analysis techniques. Designed and implemented automated systems: Inventory Management System to allocate national pricing strategy; Research and Development database to profile customer preferences; Corporate system for flexible spending health care benefits


CUSTOMER FOCUS AND TOTAL QUALITY PROGRAMS

Partnered with the Forum Corporation (Firm specializing in Quality and Customer Focus Programs - Special Reports with Fortune Magazine) to provide cascaded training for a Total Quality Management program for a major aerospace and defense corporation. "Continuous Measured Improvement" and customer satisfaction programs were communicated from senior management to management.

10 DOWNING STREET ECONOMIC SUMMIT, U.K. GOVERNMENT

Vivian Shimoyama, president of Breakthru Solutions was invited to be a member of a 20 person delegation to the landmark 10 Downing Street Economic Summit headed by Exchequer Gordon Brown and the UK Government. Ms. Shimoyama facilitated discussions around economic development and entrepreneurship initiatives and reported findings to summit leaders.


WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

Vivian Shimoyama, president of Breakthru Solutions was a facilitator for the 1997 White House Economic Leadership Summit. Ms. Shimoyama was invited by the White House Office on Women's Initiatives and Center for Policy Alternatives to facilitate development of agenda on entrepreneurship. 100 leaders from around the country were selected to develop America's Economic Agenda from Women's Voices. President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton met with these leaders from state and federal government, elected office, grassroots organizations, non-profits, labor, academia, media, and business.


INTERNATIONAL WORLD CONGRESS OF LES FEMMES CHEFS D'ENTREPRISE MONDIALES

Vivian Shimoyama, president of Breakthru Solutions, chaired the International World Congress of Les Femmes Chefs d'Entreprise Mondiales (FCEM) which was held in the United States for world opinion leaders and the top women business owners from around the world. The 44th annual conference provided a forum for women business owners, corporate executives, financiers, exporters, importers, and public officials to set the economic agenda for women business owners in over 35 countries. Ms. Shimoyama directed planning efforts between leaders from both international and national organizations. Breakthru Solutions developed and directed the activities for fundraising efforts, proposal writing, program development, budget development and management, management of a team of contracted services and volunteers, community outreach, international relations, public relations, communications, marketing, sales, translation and interpretation services, promotion of Los Angeles as a travel destination, and formed of an international plaza. Within an eight (8) month period, Breakthru Solutions managed a national team effort to raise $450k in cash and in-kind donations, provided a week long international forum, that was profitable for the client organization.