Courage, honor, conquer.

This is the motto at Valley Forge Military Academy & College. Those three words are what Frank Vitale, founder of Forge Businesses Solutions, runs his business by. 

Forge Business Solutions was designed to provide empowerment to West Virginia businesses find success, growth and partnerships.

Forge Business Solutions provides exceptional management and leadership planning services for businesses. Forge Business Solutions specializes in healthcare, educations and government services while also having experience in big pharma, dental practices, banking, financial services and human resources.

Vitale, a guest of The Positively West Virginia Podcast, has served as a banking executive, a financial officer for the West Virginia Board of Education and the chief human resource officer at KeyLogic Systems. During his podcast interview with Jim Matuga, Vitale shared some of his advice from his years of experience and how his company gives empowerment to West Virginia businesses.

empowerment to West virginia businesses

Frank Vitale, Founder of Forge Business Solutions

What was your worst business experience?

“I call it ‘all eggs in one basket.’ I learned very early that it’s important to not put all of your eggs in one basket when it comes to business or in life. It’s important to diversify,” Vitale said. “One of my worst moments is when I got very excited about a new client, and I allowed myself to put all of my resources and efforts into that client. I ended up not marketing and engaging and looking for other business. Consequently, when that relationship began to draw down, I had not prepared for the next opportunity.”

 

“It’s a life lesson,” Vitale said. “Never center your business around one client.”

 

If you do that, what ends up happening is you become beholden by that client for your future. You put your future in their hands. While I think relationships with your clients is important to establish, and you should treat them like they are the only client, at the end of the day, as a business leader, you need to get 5,000 feet above that and recognize you need to be looking out over the horizon for the next opportunity,” Vitale advised.

What’s the best thing about being in business in West Virginia?

“West Virginia has certainly had its challenges, and we still do have our challenges,” Vitale said. “We’re about 1.7 million in population, so we’re relatively a small state, and we have somewhat of a challenging economy. But, what I think is the best thing is that I believe we’re turning the corner. I believe that the culture is truly changing  West Virginia. We’re realizing from past mistakes, where we became centered around commodities like coal and everything else, was a secondary resource. I believe we have a governor who believes we have to diversify. I believe that people are becoming empowered in West Virginia to bring new business here and are also developing the spirit of collaboration with outside businesses.

 

As we do that here, I believe it’s going to yield more opportunities for businesses like myself and other businesses in West Virginia who may not have had that opportunity.”

Vitale was a guest on The Positively West Virginia Podcast. Listen to his full podcast here.

PWV QUICK BITS | EMPOWERMENT TO WEST VIRGINIA BUSINESSES

  • RECOMMENDED BOOK: Turn the Ship Around by former Navy Captain David Marquette.
  • PIECE OF ADVICE: “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.”
  • PERSON VITALE WOULD LIKE TO MEET: Catherine Johnson a mathematician who worked with NASA