SitemapA few years ago, Anthony Young of Youngstown realized he was pretty good at detailing cars.
So good, in fact, that he was able start his own business.
But there was one problem.
“The driveway got too small,” Young said.
Young found space inside his friend’s tire shop on Mahoning Avenue, but he eventually had to find a new space of his own at 1707 Mahoning Ave. for the DNA Detailing business.
The next step he took his business was last fall when he applied to receive an equipment loan from the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.
“I really didn’t think I had a chance at getting a loan,” he said.
But he did.
The $5,000 loan helped to enhance his business.
Not only has he moved up from the driveway, he now has the equipment needed to cut the time in half on cleaning and detailing the inside and outside of cars.
“I was scrubbing carpets by hand with a brush,” he said. “[The YNDC loan] helped me get a steam cleaner, more vacuums and a buffer.”
Young isn’t alone. Three other businesses also have benefited from the loans so far.
Last year, the YNDC started to offer $1,000 to $10,000 loans to micro-businesses with five or fewer full-time employees. The organization also offered business-plan classes.
“Starting a small business isn’t easy, and seeing people get to the point to see it pay off is really awesome,” said Liberty Merrill, land-reuse director for the organization.
The YNDC already has a list of businesses interested in taking the business classes that start in March. A high amount of loan applicants also are anticipated this year. The goal is to help three to five businesses.
These loans — they are funded through a grant from the Ohio Community Development Corp. Association — come with lower criteria than bank loans, and are based partially on the character of the business owner. To be eligible for the loan, the applicants have to go through credit counseling.
“We want to get people ready to get loans from traditional banks,” Merrill said. “That would really be our goal.”
Keyonna Trevathan and her business partner, Shalise White, both of Youngstown, are another set of business owners who benefited from the program after they received a $3,800 YNDC loan.
Trevathan was in search of something different for her daughter’s birthday party when her business idea blossomed.
That was two years ago. Today, KBC Kidz has a full stock of party options for children’s parties and parties for the elderly.
“We do everything from the decorating to the entertaining,” she said.
With the loan, KBC Kidz was able to purchase Disney’s “Frozen”-theme supplies, two additional laptop computers, a helium tank and other supplies.
“I actually didn’t think we were going to get it,” she said. “I think it is great they help small businesses.”
Barbecue-sauce developer Charles Penny of Youngstown hopes to receive a loan this year to cover the cost of bottling and labeling his signature condiment.
Penny went through the business classes the YNDC offered last year after he realized he had a chance at selling his apple juice-based sauce.
“I have been barbecuing for years, and I just started developing my own sauce and some people wanted to buy it,” he said.
The classes helped guide him to what steps to take next in the business, and the speakers were honest about the positives and negatives of running a business.
But they also gave him encouragement. Penny hopes to have his sauce on the market just in time for barbecue season this year.
“[I] definitely needed it because it gives you direction,” he said of the instruction he received from the classes. “And it makes you realize what you need to get through.”
To read the full story at Vindy.com, click here.