Meet three entrepreneurs of color who have made meaningful and dream-fulfilling strides on their small business journeys, thanks in part to the SBA's Community Navigator Pilot Program which LISC is helping implement. Each business person has connected with a BDO or business development organization that has connected them with invaluable know-how and access to flexible growth capital - the support system that no small enterprise can go without.
Day Dream Design Firm – Sherwood, AR
Maya Gray launched her brand development company with a dream: to help entrepreneurs eager to grow their footprint and provide a foundation for her son. Since 2018, Gray has been building Day Dream Design Firm and her client base while continuing to work at her full-time job. Day Dream Design helps small businesses build their brands, enhance their social media presence and develop websites and provides coaching.
Ready to take her business to the next level, Gray worked with Startup Junkie, a LISC partner in the SBA Community Navigator program, to get ready to expand. “The most important benefit I have gained is a reliable support system,” Gray explained. “They've provided an elite team of successful business experts that essentially are a free board of directors who are helping me reach my goals.”
With her personal team of Startup Junkie experts, Gray was able to obtain a $9,000 zero percent interest Kiva loan using LISC’s one-to-one match fund. This injection of capital will allow Day Dream to boost digital advertising and client recruitment, purchase business software, and prepare the company for its next phase.
Said Gray, “One of our primary goals is to expand in Arkansas to be able to provide more job opportunities for minorities in the marketing industry.”
Maya Gray, Founder of Day Dream Design
Studio 32Nine – Toledo, OH
Doug Keetion recently celebrated the grand opening of a new space in Toledo for his salon, Studio 32Nine, and his wife Curtina’s clothing shop, K’Janee Boutique. A large property in a high traffic location that will accommodate their growing businesses for many years to come, the couple’s new business home is the realization of a long-held goal.
After renting a commercial space for more than a decade, Keetion, a master stylist with decades of experience, longed to purchase a property to house the family’s businesses, but he wasn’t sure how to go about it. That’s where Assets Toledo, a LISC partner in the SBA Community Navigator program, came in. Assets Toledo walked Keetion through the process of acquiring a commercial space, from start to finish. They helped him refine his business plan, get preapproved for financing, find a building, and negotiate a good price. They also helped the couple get a loan for energy efficiency upgrades that will keep the building’s utility costs in check.
“Thank you to everyone that has been a part of helping us on this 19-month journey,” Keetion shared on Instagram, as he said goodbye to his lease and prepared to move into a building of his own.
Curtina and Doug Keetion, owners of Toledo's Studio 32Nine and K'Janee Boutique
Sad Girl Creamery – Los Angeles, CA
Sue Ellen Mancini is the owner of Sad Girl Creamery, a small batch creamery in Los Angeles whose ice cream flavors – such as strawberry tres leches and guava jam cheesecake – are inspired by her Latin roots. Mancini chose the business name to raise awareness of mental health struggles in Latin communities, including her own journey with bipolar disorder.
Last year Mancini came to Inclusive Action for the City, a LISC partner in the SBA Community Navigator program, looking for guidance and capital to grow her small business, which she runs with one employee: her mother. The group helped Mancini access a $15,000 loan to purchase inventory and equipment. Sad Girl Creamery now produces six times more ice cream than before the loan!
“2022 was such an amazing year of growth for us,” Mancini shared on Instagram in January. “We got our small business loan for our ice cream machine and moved into an official kitchen. We finally took the leap into wholesale and we’re in 7 stores now! We got to cater our ice cream to huge company parties. Truly feel proud of myself and all the work we’ve done to achieve the dream.”
Sue Ellen Mancini, founder and owner of Sad Girl Creamery in Los Angeles