Create - The DIY Mercantile

When I decided that Create – The DIY Mercantile was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, I decided I needed financial backing for security. One of the deals I made with my husband was if I could get CEED to agree to my business plan, then it wasn’t just me wanting something, it was somebody else seeing the value in it. And so that’s why I went with CEED program, because I wanted somebody else to see the value in it.

I promised my husband I wouldn’t open a retail outlet without the Impact loan because I just couldn’t put our family finances in danger like that. So the loan provided a safety net. Now I have money in the bank, I don’t have to worry about where the rent is coming from if we have an off month, and it’ll get us through at least the first year so that I don’t have to negatively impact my family.

The experience of working with Impact was incredible. They were so supportive and so excited. I didn’t feel like I was doing it alone. I felt like every step of the way I had an extra set of eyes on what I was doing so that I could see how to do it better or improve what I was working towards. And they always thought of things I didn’t think of, which was perfect because I needed to think of everything before I got started.