Title: Chief Executive Officer
Company: DCA Virtual Business Support
Location: Petersburg, Virginia, United States
Denise Cagan, chief executive officer of DCA Virtual Business Support, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Executives for dedication, achievements, and leadership in business support services.
Though she has faced notable hardships along the way, Ms. Cagan has successfully built a professional life across more than 30 years. Despite becoming a single mother at a young age, she worked hard to juggle multiple jobs and attend school while raising her daughter. Ms. Cagan’s primary career started in 1992 when she joined The Coca-Cola Company, first as a lab technician and later as a lab manager. In this position, she oversaw every aspect of the company’s production facility lab, including developing training programs and procedures and carrying out microbiological testing to check the effectiveness of sanitation protocols.
Before leaving Coca-Cola in 2002, Ms. Cagan launched her first company, DiCi Services. For this venture, she utilized all of the lessons she had learned during her time at Coca-Cola, particularly regarding management and quality assurance. Ms. Cagan created DiCi Services to help families and businesses by performing the final clean-up of properties or rental spaces after a move. After building this organization from the ground up and serving as its president for 10 years, she sold it for six figures.
During her experiences with DiCi Services, Ms. Cagan quickly came to understand many of the challenges that small businesses and startups must endure. That became the motivation for her next entrepreneurial endeavor, which she began in 2011: DCA Virtual Business Support. Still in the position of chief executive officer for that company today, Ms. Cagan manages day-to-day operations, including hiring process, business development, new technology solutions and more. DCA Virtual Business Support pairs companies with expert administrative and creative assistants who can take care of a wide range of smaller tasks, leaving the business owners to stay focused on high-level growth. Ms. Cagan notes that she works with a variety of groups, including small businesses, nonprofits and professional associations, many of which are owned or operated by women. DCA Virtual Business Support finds the majority of its business through referrals, demonstrating how well-regarded it is among its clients.
Concurrently with her work at DCA, Ms. Cagan is in the process of starting a stand-alone consulting company. Through this, she aspires to assist companies with her expertise in operations. Additionally, Ms. Cagan is the host of “Nurture Small Business,” a podcast where she shares her philosophy on small business growth and survival strategies. She also provides a platform for other women entrepreneurs to appear and tell their stories.
Ms. Cagan’s performance in the field has been backed up by her academic journey. She earned a Bachelor of Science in quality systems development from James Madison University. Inspired by her daughter, Ms. Cagan set out to complete her college degree at the same time as her daughter completed high school. She ended up graduating with honors just before her daughter’s senior year of high school.
Outside of her career, Ms. Cagan emphasizes the importance of family, having grown up with 11 siblings and now being a loving mother to one and grandmother to one. She also volunteers with a local senior dog rescue and is currently housing two elderly dogs. Planning for her future, Ms. Cagan intends to continue leading and growing DCA Virtual Business while working on a strategy for the company to go on following her eventual retirement. In retirement, she plans to remain active in the business world as a consultant.
For more information, please visit:
Nurture Small Business Podcast
Contact Ms. Cagan: