Nam Ly is a second-year participant with AnewAmerica Community Corporation. Having moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1990, Nam gained work experience and vocational training in the construction industry and established his own company, General Building and Construction, in 1998. Although he had operated his business for three years prior to joining AnewAmerica, Nam indicated that he had not taken steps to plan for the future of his business and create new opportunities for its growth. Since joining AnewAmerica's Assets 2000 business incubator program in 2001, Nam has formalized his business plan and developed marketing and investment strategies to expand his business. With help from program staff and technical assistants, Nam has created professional marketing materials for his business and accessed resources to improve his credit rating and increase his eligibility to access microloan funds. Nam reports an increase in customer acquisition to date and credits the Assets 2000 program with helping him realize the importance of business planning and developing strategies to sustain his business in the long term.