"Micro" Enterprise Development: Building Businesses from the Bottom Up

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Debby Deter did not set out to be an entrepreneur. It just happened that way. Debby was struggling to make ends meet, working several jobs in the food industry. One of them was with her friend Mari, who had started a catering business. "When she catered special occasions, she wanted to rent nice tablecloths, but the companies doing that were very unreliable. So I said, 'Well, shoot, I can do that!'" Thus began Serviette Service. Starting the business in her home, Debby found several interested customers. But she did not have the cash to buy new tablecloths. Banks would not help her because the loan amounts she needed were too small to "justify the paperwork." She also needed help with marketing and accounting, but could not afford to hire professionals. It was a struggle to get the business off the ground. Three years later, Debby was still struggling when she got a call from Mari. "Mari said, 'Deb, I think I've finally found the answer to our problems,'" Debby recalls. She had just learned about a new program that "promised help with the exact problems we had." Debby and Mari joined Good Work, a program which offered them access to loan capital, business training, technical assistance, and ongoing peer support. "There was this exchange of energy right off the bat. None of us had money, but we could share the same concerns. We started learning and kept learning all the time."

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2019-04-23

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