Loan Boosts New Entrepreneurs

By COLlive staff

Chana felt excited about her idea. She knew women in her community, especially the younger generation, would welcome her new venture. However, like most people taking a risk, Chana was nervous.

An optimistic woman by nature, Chana took the leap, and started her own cubic zirconium business. Run out of her small apartment in Crown Heights, she sells high- and lower-end cubic zirconium items, and fine 14k gold and silver jewelry for children.

At only 23, Chana is a self-described entrepreneur, an independently driven business creator. She is young, ambitious, and willing to take calculated risks to achieve her goals. However, she didn’t start off as a savvy businesswoman.

In fact, Chana began her career as a pre-school teacher. Recently married and with one child to care for, Chana knew she had to try something different to improve her family’s financial situation. When she first mentioned her business idea to her family, some of her relatives were ecstatic about her venture, waiting anxiously to buy her products, while others felt that the idea was not popular enough to generate huge revenues.

With belief in her business idea and in herself, Chana made the plunge into the business world. Chana commented, “I was excited about the challenge of creating something from nothing.”

Yoel embarked on a different path. His plan was to import high quality children’s clothing from various sources overseas and to sell them from his store in Williamsburg.

When asked why he chose children’s clothing as a business, Yoel replied: “So many people in Williamsburg are traveling to Manhattan to purchase reasonably priced high quality children’s clothing. My goal was to keep the people in Williamsburg and offer high quality children’s items for a low cost so people can support the community.”

In 2010 when Yoel opened his retail location on Lee Avenue in Williamsburg, his friends reminded him that going into business would be challenging. Business has its good days and bad days. This was especially true for Yoel, who was doing something different.

What both of these young entrepreneurs have in common is the path that helped them launch their business. Both discovered a relatively new program, called Pusoach. This program is managed by a partnership between the Hebrew Free Loan Society (HFLS) and the UJO of Williamsburg.

The goal of the HFLS (www.hfls.org) is to help people become and stay economically self-sufficient. This is done mainly through interest-free loans. The Pusoach program is an outgrowth of the HFLS’s Micro Loan Program which provides qualified new or expanding businesses in New York City with interest-free loans up to $25,000.

The HFLS also offers business courses (a separate one for men and women), which provide prospective entrepreneurs with the basic knowledge required to deal with the sales, marketing, legal, and financial issues they will face while operating a business. The HFLS offers these business courses because money is not enough to position aspiring entrepreneurs for success. They also need basic business training.

When asked why Yoel signed-up for the Pusoach course, he replied: “It is better to learn business with someone else teaching you than to have to learn it by yourself through a lot of trial and error. I was able to avoid a lot of business mistakes by taking the Pusoach course.”

Yoel also mentioned that the Pusoach course gave him tools to better market and sell his products. The $25,000 loan enabled him to secure better pricing from his suppliers.

Chana attended the Pusoach course for women and applied for and received a $15,000 interest-free loan to purchase inventory. Both Yoel and Chana’s loans were payable over a 60 month period with equal monthly installments over the term of the loan.

Life has changed a lot since 2010. Thinking about the last 2 1/2 years, Yoel smiles and says that his family is more excited than ever about his original idea. Recently, one of his female customers said that she never shopped for her children’s clothing in Williamsburg until now.

She said that his store offers a wide selection of reasonably priced high quality items that allows her to stay in Williamsburg to shop for her children’s clothing. Of course to Yoel, this is why he started his business, fulfilling his vision of keeping people in the community to support local businesses.

What is Yoel’s advice for men wanting to start their own business? He recommends Pusoach, saying: “Absolutely, it helped me get to where I am.”

Chana feels the same way, commenting: “They were wonderful to work with and made everything easier.”

When asked what business advice Chana could offer to other women starting out, she responds: “Starting your own business is hard, but it pays off because you are your own boss.” Chana continues, “One should never give up. You have to give your business a healthy period of trial and error. I recommend three to five years before you decide the fate of your business.”

Chana concludes by advising: “And do not forget to smile – customers like a happy place to spend their money.”

To find out more about the Pusoach business courses or interest-free loans, please call 212-687-0188 ext. 213 or click here.