Microfinance Week in Review- Week ending June 18
Some of the week’s news in the microfinance, green business initiatives and the small business sector:
- Microfinance Tied to Economy, Study Finds – Michigan State University News
- The Reality of a Sweet American Dream- Queens Courier
- Groupon Coupons: The Small Biz Challenge- Bloomberg Newsweek
- No Profits, No Loans: How to Survive- CNN Money
- Underbanked Strategies- The New Faces- American Banker
- Domestic Microfinance Steps into Credit Breach- Bloomberg Newsweek
Tags: accion usa georgia, client story, CNN, microfinance, small business, success story, U.S. microfinance
Who Is Lucy Valena and Why Does She Rock Our Socks Off?
It seems like everybody’s talking about Lucy Valena these days.
And I’m no exception.
Lucy Valena started making a splash right away when we met her in September 2008. From the start, each AUSAer she spoke with felt her (caffeinated?) energy/excitement and recognized her determination, especially as she moved quickly through the loan process. Our $4,000 loan allowed her to purchase the equipment to launch her mobile espresso catering business, Voltage Coffee, an idea brewed from her barista days in Seattle and lifelong love of espresso.
Right after her business opened and the foam started flowing, the notes in our internal communication system show something different than your daily roast variety of comment strings. In December, Sherri, one of our illustrious loan officers, called to congratulate Lucy on the article about Voltage Coffee in the Boston Globe. Most recently the Boston lending team gathered around a computer screen to watch Lucy in a nationally televised CNN clip.
One Small Business Loan Disbursed, 27.2 Million to Go
Risa Sherman, a consultant for Samuel Adams/ the Boston Beer Co., our delicious corporate partner for Brewing the American Dream, hit the bull’s eye in her post about Lucy’s success:
Lucy is an example of the amazing spirit of small business heroes who put it all on the line every day in dedication to their craft. She is representative of the many independent, small business owners who are the faces of Main Street America. Her business and her life are so inextricably intertwined – the success of one is synonymous with the stability of the other. ~ Risa Sherman on Causenation.com
This is evident from Lucy’s own words, given in a speech just last year:
This summer, the time I wasn’t working my day job or sleeping was mostly divided between writing my business plan and research and development. I crunched numbers, wrote and rewrote until my ideas made sense, and conducted experiments with espresso and an assortment of random ingredients in hopes of finding tasty combinations. When my business plan was finally finished, I went to the SBA and met with a representative from SCORE to discuss what I should do next. I needed a loan, but because of my age I am not exactly the first person an average bank would hand cash to, even back in August. The business councilor at the SBA literally read my entire business plan cover to cover (while I squirmed in my seat), and afterwards suggested ACCION as a good place to start. (Read the full speech on Risa’s blog)
Lucy’s struggles and successes stand as one story that gets repeated every day through out the US since 27.2 million people run their own small business (SCORE) If you know somebody running a business or looking to start one, let them know about us! You never know if your favorite coffee shop’s bank just increased their minimum credit score by 50 points.
p.s. This is just cool: The Latte Zoo (Thanks Boston Food Monkey!)
Tags: CNN, coffee, entrepreneur, Sam Adams, small business
We’re on CNN and Univision!
In the last 24 hours, segments featuring ACCION USA clients ran on two major television outlets, CNN and Univision. Our phone lines and website stand ready to take inquiries from underserved microentrepreneurs who are hearing about ACCION USA for the first time, thanks to this great national coverage!
Here are links to the online videos:
- Univision’s “Primer Impacto” covered Oscar and Elizabeth Amador, who used an ACCION USA microloan to build their Miami-based small business, On-time Delivery Service, Inc.
- CNN’s “American Morning” profiled ACCION USA client Lucy Valena, owner of Boston’s Voltage Coffee. Lucy is one of the first recipients of a loan through our program with the Boston Beer Co., Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream.
Between today’s coverage, last month’s widespread reporting on ACCION USA’s new partnership with Kiva.org, and scores of newspaper stories about microentrepreneurs, we are clearly breaking new ground in the mainstream media’s awareness of U.S. microfinance. That can only be good news for microentrepreneurs across the country in need of a loan.