For years, Marcy Vieau-Goetz and her mother, Pam, poured everything into running their family-owned chocolate shop in the Chicago suburbs. But growing Happy by Chocolate often took a back seat to day-to-day tasks: managing shipments, fixing tech issues, generating publicity and addressing other administrative needs. Building for the future had to wait.

That changed when Marcy discovered Capital One's SAGE program.

Delivered in partnership with the Women's Business Enterprise Council, the program gave Marcy the tools to shift the family's focus from daily operations to long-term planning. Marcy brought lessons and ideas from SAGE back to Pam, and together they built a roadmap focused on growth priorities, such as scaling toward a national brand and doubling corporate sales.

Since participating in the program this past summer, Happy by Chocolate is already seeing early wins. Marcy said they secured two new year-round corporate gifting clients and hosted a tasting event with new artisan bars and pumpkin spice marshmallows that drove sales 300% higher than a typically slow September Saturday.

"Before SAGE I was stuck on the hamster wheel, doing the same thing over and over," she said. "After SAGE, I walked out with a completely new perspective, goals and a confidence to say, 'Okay, let's get off of that wheel. Let's try something new. Let's be bold.'"

Marcy's experience highlights what can happen when entrepreneurs gain access to business mentorship, tools and resources. For a decade, Capital One's Enterprise Supplier Management (ESM) programs-SAGE, Catapult and Supplier Mentoring-have helped hundreds of small business owners at different stages of their entrepreneurial journey.

While SAGE helps small businesses across select cities grow, Capital One's other ESM programs target different operational needs. Catapult leverages Capital One's innovation and digital expertise to help entrepreneurs across the country expand through product launches and facility expansions, while Supplier Mentoring turns direct guidance and structured goal-setting into increased revenue for business owners in Northern Virginia. Across the board, ESM program alumni report that the combination of coursework and one-to-one mentorship consistently drives job creation and long-term business resilience.

As part of its historic $265 billion Community Benefits Plan (CBP), Capital One is expanding the reach of these supplier development programs, including launching SAGE and Catapult cohorts out of Chicago. The three programs combined are on track to support 100 businesses annually-increasing what they served prior to the CBP.

"The Community Benefits Plan didn't just fund these programs-it challenged us to reach further into the communities we serve," said Reuben Essandoh, director of Enterprise Supplier Development at Capital One. "But for us, it's never been about the numbers. It's about impact, one business at a time."