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Small business successes are
what we’re all about
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At ACCION Texas-Louisiana, we’re proud of the fact that we have more than
15 years of successful micro-lending behind us. We’re also proud that we’re
the largest microlending organization in the United States. None of this
would be possible without our customers, the hard-working and dedicated
small business owners who had an idea and grew it into a business, creating
jobs and opportunity.
Creating a family business in custom metalwork
In 1994, when ACCION Texas founder Janie Barrera visited a group of contractors preparing to bid for a job during a pre-construction meeting, her message was simple: ACCION Texas was there to lend money to help them grow their businesses, even if they had credit problems and even if banks had told them no. One person at the meeting was Othon Garces, owner of Garces Metal Specialties. Fifteen years later, Garces remembers the difference Barrera’s message made in his life.
“I had never heard of microlending,” he said, “but times were hard, and I had a few red marks on my credit.”
He learned he could rebuild his credit rating by borrowing small amounts of money and repaying them, then gradually borrowing more. Garces said he borrowed $100 from ACCION, repaid it, borrowed $200, and gradually built up the loan amounts. He does custom metal work for fine homes and public projects, and uses a $200,000 piece of high-tech equipment he purchased a few years ago. A computer image guides a jet water and sand mechanism for cutting metal. For restoration projects, he sometimes resorts to the classic forge and anvil, as he did at Southwest School of Art & Craft in downtown San Antonio.
He credits ACCION Texas with helping to save his business and make it grow during a critical period.
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Tracy Constant
Kids Love 2 Cook
Fort Worth
Client since 2008
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Making memories with kids cooking classes
Ideas come from everywhere. Tracy Constant’s idea for a new business came from her daughter, who was about to turn 4 years old and wanted a “cooking party,” for her birthday. She remembered how much she had loved to cook with her mother and grandmother when she was a child. She thought, “Why not?” The birthday party with a menu the youngsters could prepare, chef’s hats, personalized aprons, led to requests for other parties and took Tracy, an accountant by profession, on her “amazing journey.”
She acquired a location in Lake Worth, north of Fort Worth, painted the building in bright colors and made the perfect place for “making memories.”
With fast foods and busy schedules, Constant thinks children are missing out, but now they can learn to cook at birthday parties and workshops at Constant’s business called Kids Love 2 Cook, and finds she is able to make on big impact on youngsters with special needs and has them for field trips to learn to cook.
One opportunity has led to the next. Now Constant speaks to women’s groups, has had a children’s cooking show on a local television station and is writing a cookbook for kids. But it wasn’t always easy – when she was getting started, a bank she approached for a small loan told her the loan wasn’t large enough loan for them to work with her. A friend suggested she go to ACCION Texas. “It went from there,” she said. Though it’s tougher in today’s economic climate, she continues – making memories for youngsters in the Fort Worth area.
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Leticia Plummer
Maxwello Dental Spa
and Wellness
Houston
Client since 2004
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Boosting confidence, one smile at a time
Leticia Plummer’s career followed in the footsteps of her father, a Houston dentist,
and she added a sense of community service and a creative view of the world that
has taken her in new directions. ACCION Texas helped turn her ideas into reality.
After dental school in Dallas, she returned to Houston to practice with her father.
ACCION Texas entered the picture in 2004 when she wanted to open her own
practice only to find she was new “on paper” and didn’t have the requisite history,
such as tax returns, a line of credit, and a credit score, to justify a bank loan.
“ACCION kind of saved me,” she said. She borrowed $50,000 to have money in
the bank and not to have to worry about her cash flow, she said. Today, she has
2,800 active patients at her location in Pearland. But that’s only part of her life. As
an advisory board member for the Texas School of Business, she learned that many
out-of-work people, especially welfare-to-work moms, had lost teeth or had poor teeth
because they had never had dental care – and they were often turned down for jobs.
So Plummer gives workshops through her nonprofit, Career Smiles, emphasizing the
importance of first impressions and of dental hygiene and aesthetics and has been
providing cosmetic dentistry to men and women in vocational training. Focusing on
the front teeth that show when the person smiles, she has done 65 cases providing
veneers, crowns and removing distracting gold work. She’s using her gifts to help
create new careers, one smile at a time.
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Ted Terrazas
TerraHealth, Inc.,
San Antonio
Client since 2001
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TerraHealth uses solid experience in procurement success
Ted Terrazas knows very well what it is to evolve. In the US Air Force, he saw how the
military provided medical services in the most efficient and effective way possible and
later how this was compromised due to budget cuts. After retiring, his idea was to
provide medical staffing, consulting, and IT support to customers, but he needed
financing to get going. ACCION Texas stepped in.
In 2001, with a $10,000 loan from ACCION Texas, he started TerraHealth and secured
his first contract with the San Antonio Housing Authority, taking care to build a reputation
for excellence for his company and focusing on developing a quality management
team. Using his years of experience in the military, he capitalized on his knowledge of
Department of Defense procurement systems to gain a competitive edge.
Over the course of nearly a decade in business, TerraHealth has listened to its customers,
grown and evolved, adding components to its business to offer new services. By 2006,
Ted Terrazas’ company was reporting sales of more than $15 million, a growth rate of
more than 8,000 percent. This remarkable achievement also gained the attention of the
media – TerraHealth was ranked #1 in Hispanic Business magazine’s 2006 listing of the
country’s “100 Fastest-Growing Companies” led by Hispanic entrepreneurs. Later,
Terrazas announced TerraHealth’s participation as one of five teams in a $1.9 billion,
10-year contract to provide medical staffing to the Air Force.
Such a success story didn’t go unnoticed on his home turf either, and he showed his
willingness to give back to his community when he joined the ACCION Texas Board of
Directors, helping guide other entrepreneurs and helping other small business owners
develop and achieve their business dreams.
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Catherine Duross
The Motorcycle School
San Antonio
Client since 2006
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Perseverance makes motorcycling dream come true
There’s a poster hanging on Cathy Duross’ wall that says, “There are no shortcuts
to any place worth going.” The road to success was long and rocky for her, as she
struggled in her dream to open a motorcycling school. Bank after bank had no
interest in helping her with financing until she came to ACCION Texas in 2006. A year
later, The Motorcycle School was in business, and growing.
“Before I came to ACCION, I had enough to pay the rent and open the doors but no
money to buy anything else.” she remembered. With the funds from her ACCION
Texas loan, she was able to double the number of motorcycles in her inventory.
“That made my business grow a whole lot faster,” she said. She credits her
company’s success and popularity to ACCION Texas, and referrals from motorcycle
dealers and her former students, and remembers with a smile the 20,000 business
cards she handed out in those early days after she got her loan.
Today, positive word of mouth keeps the phone and the course schedule at The
Motorcycle School busy – a dream that came true because of sheer perseverance.
She reiterates her wonder that ACCION Texas opened the door to her, an opportunity
that enabled her to triple her business in the following 16 months. Looking forward,
she’s revved up about the future.
“I get paid to teach people to ride motorcycles. How cool is that?” she laughed. “Kids
tell me I have a cool job, and I always just tell them I had to go through many hoops
before I got it. It takes a lot of courage and hard work to open up a new business.”
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Dottie Rios
DMR Medical Billing
San Antonio
Client since 2002
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Using experience and a loan to start a billing business
Dottie Rios started out as a unit secretary in a hospital, hoping that she would one day be a nurse. Over the years, however, she found herself drawn into the billing department. With only hands-on experience and the will to succeed, she was soon elevated to senior billing positions. But she was restless and wanted to be her own boss. The result: a decision to open her own billing business.
She started from home, working part-time managing the billing for two doctors and taking care of her second full-time job – her husband and three children. She had her hands full, but was completely determined to show everyone, especially her new clients, that she was the best person to handle their billing.
With her first loan from ACCION Texas, she bought software and computers, and DMR Medical Billing came into being. Many of her early clients are still with her, loyal and more-than impressed with her ability to maneuver the claims game.
Like many successful entrepreneurs, Dottie Rios is confident in her ability to succeed and make a difference, and others see it, too. After five years of intense effort, she was recognized with the Rising Star Award for Entrepreneurial Spirit from the San Antonio Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners.
Today, she is a constant advocate for ACCION Texas, saying, “They were there when everyone else shut me out.” She also credits ACCION Texas providing financial and business training. For future small business owners, Dottie shared simple words of wisdom: “Don’t let anything stop you.”
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Alejandro Perez
San Antonio Cab
San Antonio
Client since 1999
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A loan from ACCION Texas helps start a cab company
Alejandro Perez and six of his cab driver friends started San Antonio Cab, a co-op, in
1999 by securing a $500 loan from ACCION Texas. The company is now a successful,
well-established business and the original seven founders are still working together.
They are like many of ACCION Texas’ clients who love what they do.
“I like my freedom. I am everywhere,” said Perez. “Today I had breakfast in Kerrville,
last week in San Marcos. I am like the wind. San Antonio has so much to offer, I get to
share this with people from all over the world. I am so fortunate.” Pointing to his cab, he
said, “I put 180,000 miles on that cab in three years.” The shiny, champagne-colored
van is spotless.
A robust, sincere man who speaks earnestly of his work, Perez was born in Los
Angeles and moved to San Antonio in 1991. He started out driving a cab, and in 1999,
decided to start his own business. He secured a loan from ACCION Texas and invested
his first $500 in the amount required to compete for the permits to be an independent
driver. He has worked hard to make the business a success.
“ACCION Texas has been a big part of my business,” he added. “They got me on my
feet and helped get me through the rough times.” Recently, he secured another loan
from ACCION Texas, and is already planning his next expansion – with another cab.
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Jesus Cantu
Border Metal Works
Rio Grande Valley
Client since 2002
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Entrepreneur returns to the Valley to start his
own company
At his previous job in Houston, Jesus Cantu was doing pretty well – he supervised 13
people, had great benefits, and was paid well. But he wanted the satisfaction of being
his own boss. He decided to take a different route with his life and use the expertise
he had in welding to form his own company, and opened his doors as a small business
owner of Border Metal Works.
Moving back to the Valley, he ran an ad in the local newspaper. A local contractor soon
called him, offering work on a roof addition. He hasn’t looked back. As projects became
more frequent, he saw that he would need to purchase new equipment to make the
most of the many opportunities he had in front of him. However, it wasn’t going to be
easy. Searching for financial assistance, the roadblocks he ran into with traditional
financial institutions showed him that small businesses weren’t exactly ideal bank
clients. After running up several blind alleys, he and his wife, who believed just as
strongly in his dream, discovered ACCION Texas.
Four years later, Border Metal Works has an array of new equipment and Cantu is well
into paying off his third and fourth ACCION Texas loan.
“It could not have been better,” he said about that first loan, which came at a critical
time, allowing him to buy equipment and expand. Today, Border Metal Works employs
a crew of people and his wife continues to help him on the administrative side. He
spends much of his time these days seeking out new jobs with the goal of expanding
Border Metal Works to machine shop jobs, in addition to building. He is excited.
“Everything is going well,” he said. “It just takes time to grow.”
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Norma and Marly Payan
Marly’s Fashions
El Paso
Client since 2003
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Fashion dreams in El Paso become a reality
Norma and Marly Payan, a mother-daughter team from El Paso, have been designing
and making custom dresses for women along the west Texas border from their
downtown store – Marly’s Fashions – for many years now.
Norma Payan alone has been sewing, designing, and selling her outfits for more than
30 years. In the early days, when she operated out of her home and while her daughter
was away at college, Norma Payan worked to build the business in preparation for the
day when Marly would join her. When she needed money to expand her line, a client
referred Norma to ACCION Texas. When the much-needed financial assistance came
through, and Marly returned from college with a level of enthusiasm that was hard to
match, the two decided to bite the bullet and become business partners, opening a
store in downtown El Paso, where the higher activity level and increased number of
drop-ins would ensure a broader list of clients. With the new locale, improved
bookkeeping, returning clients, and a growing list of new customers, their business
went from good to much better.
Designing and making dresses is Norma’s forte, but today Marly’s Fashion has taken
on even more. The store will even arrange everything for a wedding, from the dress
and decorations to invitations and handmade bouquets.
With the help of ACCION Texas, Norma Payan was able to fulfill her dream of creating
a successful business with her daughter. Talking about her business and her dreams
for the future, her face radiates pride and satisfaction. “When you put love into your
work,” she says, “everything comes out beautiful."
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Anthony Smith
Healing Air, Inc.
Houston
Client since 2002
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A ‘chance to succeed’ loan was essential for Healing Air
Anthony Smith of Houston gives all the credit to ACCION Texas for helping him to
grow his business – Healing Air, Inc. – a medical supply company that sells and rents
beds and other medical equipment to individuals, hospitals and nursing homes on a
contractual basis.
Anthony had a great idea and incredible sales skills. But the downside was his poor
credit. He had little cash when he came to ACCION for a loan, referred by a bank that
was unable to work with him. Since 2002, Anthony has used loans from ACCION Texas
to grow his business.
“I think ACCION Texas is a prerequisite for small business owners, and I just don’t see
how you can get started without their help,” he said. He describes a recent ACCION
Texas loan of $35,000 as a vital stepping stone to transform Healing Air into the million-
dollar corporation it is today.
Healing Air now employs six people, some of whom needed a second chance
themselves – and Smith was happy to give it. One of Healing Air’s employees had
recently been released from prison when he started working for the company. After
three years of hard work, this worker was taken off probation, having proved his
employer’s belief in second chances, the same chance to succeed that ACCION Texas
had provided for Anthony Smith.
These days, Smith is definitely “bankable” and doing business with the bank that
initially referred him to ACCION Texas. But he still keeps ACCION Texas loan officer
Shirley Brooks updated about his business.
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Elisha Scott
Educator Expo
Dallas
Client since 2005
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Educator Expo realizes a retail dream
As a child, Elisha Scott dreamed of working a cash register – probably a clear indicator
of her future career as a retail business owner. Today, Elisha Scott is the owner of
Educator Expo, a Dallas-based teaching supplies store. It was in the years after
earning her business degree, when she taught for five years at the elementary school
level, that she found her opportunity. Working as a teacher, Scott observed that the
Dallas area was in need of a store that would provide quality instructional materials to
educators.
She started out as a purely web-based venture, and through her connections easily
tapped into the local educational community. As time went on, she began to see that
a store front would add significantly to her offerings and strengthen her relationships
with her growing clientele. As she searched for additional financing to make her ideas
reality, she heard about ACCION Texas.
“My loan with ACCION Texas allowed me to move forward,” she said, and in October
2005, she opened Educator Expo, stocking and selling education materials and offering
unique lessons to educators. As the name suggests, the store is an expo – offering
everything from arts and crafts sessions to storytelling hour for children.
Elisha Scott attributes her success to having great patience and to her faith. She also
has a broad support team behind her in her husband, family, church members, and
community. She is a firm believer in “going beyond what people expect” as the basis
for excellent customer service. With drive, motivation and support – and a little financial
assistance – Elisha has achieved her lifelong dream.
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Guadalupe Perez
Navajo Cafe
El Paso
Client since 2004
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Owning her own restaurant is a dream for El Pasoan
Several years ago, Guadalupe Perez’s longtime dream became reality – she and her
business partner opened the Navajo Café.
Walking into the cozy El Paso restaurant, customers are greeted with images of
Native American art and the savory smell of homemade Mexican food. From the
front, customers have a full view of the kitchen. On a typical night, Guadalupe bustles
around, cooking and giving each dish she prepares her personal attention. It’s easy to
see why she often says, “I feel so proud, happy, and satisfied” with the success of
her business.
But it wasn’t always this way. Two years after their grand opening, her business partner
began to feel stressed and overworked with the long hours and the ceaseless demands
that go along with owning a business, particularly one in the hospitality industry.
Guadalupe Perez was faced with the prospect of either trying to sell the business or
finding a way to buy out her partner.
Her customers had become her friends, and business was prospering. So given the
chance to become sole proprietor, she wanted to take it. She began her search for
financing and ultimately came in contact with ACCION Texas and was thrilled to work
with Elvira Valles, the El Paso loan officer for ACCION Texas.
“Everything was like a dream,” she recalled. “I guess that’s how everyone starts a
business.” She believes that opening a business is worth it every step of the way.
“There’s a lot of sacrifice, a lot of demand on your time, but once it bears fruit, you
know it was worth every second,” adding, “¡Si se hizo, si se logró!” – We did it!
We made it!
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