Villa Business Consulting
Women-Owned / Minority-Owned / Veteran-Owned Business
50+ years of experience
Villa Business Consulting (VBC) is fortunate to be in Honolulu, the capital of the beautiful Hawaiians
Islands. The principals — Mari and José Villa – are both former journalists. As such, we enjoy writing,
researching, and telling validated stories. Initially, these skills made us ideal in-house non-profit grant writers.
However, dating back to 2005, we had been doing other writing projects – business plans, RFPs, SBA 8(a) applications – as “side jobs.” We started VBC as a part-time enterprise in 2016, but in February of 2019 we went “all in” and brought all our “side jobs” under one roof.
Since that time, the company has had substantial, market-driven growth. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach with us. We have a deep understanding of the issues and opportunities facing many industries — and we partner with clients to apply this knowledge and deliver the results they need.
Our approach is intrinsically tied to their goals.
Mission Statement
Our mission is to help clients achieve their business objectives by providing personalized ‘you-can-do-it’ consulting.
Vision
Core Values
Our Core Values serve as VBC’s governing foundation. They are important
philosophies we use to guide us in making decisions.
Mutually-Beneficial Relationships
- Enrich / enhance / deepen
- Listen, respect, and value diversity
- Build long-term relationships of trust
Commitment & Accountability
- Fulfill responsibilities
- Achieve profitable growth
- Celebrate our successes
- Do the right thing, every time
Learning & Development
- Constant development of our
- capabilities and talents
- Deliver innovative solutions
- Participate in professional
- organizations
Mari Villa, CEO
Mari has 20+ years of successful grant writing, fundraising, grant-compliance, and business development experience.
She has a master’s certificate in Journalism from Michigan State University; bachelor’s in Mass Communication from the State University of New York Oswego; and two associate degrees in Journalism and Business Management from the University of Hawaii Leeward.
She has been a radio, television, print, web, and social media journalist and news producer. As an adjunct professor and college instructor, she taught: communication; writing; editing; photography; journalism; and reporting classes. She also served as the faculty media adviser at St. John Fisher College (Rochester, NY), and Hawaii Pacific University (Honolulu, HI) for over seven years.
Mari is bilingual in Spanish and English and has worked as a Spanish language reporter for Univision Communications – the premier Spanish-language television network.
In the non-profit arena, she has been a grant manager for several non-profits where she handled the writing, administering, and managing post-award compliance reporting.
Awards & Recognitions
2021 'Blacks In Non-Profits’ Annual Conference Guest Speaker
2015 Fellowship from the International Center for Journalists
2010 Hawaii Hispanic Champion Award Winner, Latin Business Hawaii Chamber of Commerce
2009 SBA Honolulu “Minority Small Business Champion of the Year”
Community Executive of the Year Nominee from Aloha United Way
Business Scholarship Recipient, United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Award Winner of the Hawaii Delta Sigma Theta Sorority “Elegant, Educated, and Empowered Women That Impact Their Communities”
Jose (Papi) Villa, COO
Papi has 30+ years as a non-profit and small business consultant. He has a bachelor’s in Marketing and double masters’ in Political Science and Human Relations.
He has served in various non-profit capacities, including: Executive Director; Deputy Director; Director of Marketing; Communications Director; and Senior Grant Writer. He has chaired, or served on, city, state, and federal grant evaluation committees. These experiences have given him a comprehensive understanding of the inner workings of non-profit enterprises. He is also the co-author of “Blacks In Non-Profits’ Grant Writers’ Edition.” (available on Amazon.com).
Thanks to being a long-time member of Toastmasters’ International, Papi is an accomplished professional speaker and former Hawaii state speech competition champion. He served 23 years in the U.S. Air Force and completed his service as a Major. In addition to English, his alternate languages are Spanish (native speaker), and Mandarin Chinese (fairly fluent).
Awards & Recognitions
2021 'Blacks In Non-Profits’ Annual Conference Guest Speaker
2013 SBA State of Hawaii "Minority Small Business Champion of the Year"
2013 SBA Region IX’s (Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, and Nevada) "Minority Small Business Champion of the Year"
2013 State of Hawaii Toastmasters' “2013 Communication & Leadership Award”
1999 Kuhina ("Ambassador") Award by the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau;
1995 SBA’s 1995 State Of Hawaii “Small Business Advocate of the Year”
1987 District 49 (State of Hawaii) International Speech Competition State Winner
