Revealing the Big Picture
Morita Neitz, an eager entrepreneur, had a passion that she wanted to follow in her life. It was a passion of saving memories by scrap booking and photography with a hint of creativity. She wanted to be able to do all the things she loved as her job. Thoughts now turned to pursuing the goal of starting her own scrap booking business in order to follow her dream. She contacted the Small Business Development Center to help her accomplish her goal.
Morita came to the SBDC for some start-up assistance and advice. She attended the First Step Workshop in order to learn how to run and start a business. She then attended many other seminars to acquire business knowledge.
From the training that she received, it became evident that a business plan would be a valuable tool to assess the business viability. With her first draft in hand she scheduled a meeting with SBDC consultants and requested a review of her business plan. Another request was for assistance with developing pro forma financial statements. The numbers would show the viability of her ideas. The SBDC consultants offered suggestions to improve the plan and helped her develop financial projections. They also gave her critical advice to help jumpstart her business. The business plan was presented to the lender and funding was secured. All the consulting meetings and work paid since she was now able to put the pieces of the puzzle together and prepare for the “Scrapbook Lady” business.
Morita was fully prepared with her inventory, advertising, marketing, store layout and financials to start her business at full speed. She was the major scrap booking service in the area due to her strategic location. She used what she learned and followed the plan to help excel her business. She started the business and has store hours from 10 to 8 on Tuesday through Friday and 10 to 4 on Saturday. She has turned her passion into a profitable, successful business. Morita Neitz, with the help of SBDC consultants, was able to take her little idea and reveal the big picture to the business world.
