Former State employee launches office and medical supply business For more than 20 years, Memphis-based business owner Lonzell “Lonnie” Yates has operated X-Cel Business Products LLC to provide customers with “quality products and services that enhance customers’ productivity and profitability.” But he wasn’t always an entrepreneur. After a long career working in minority business development
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Success Story: Intrinsic Balance Chiropractic & Health Services
Alabama woman makes adjustment from franchise manager to chiropractic practice owner Dr. Morgan Fountain first named her business “Intrinsic Balance” as part of a project during her final year of chiropractic school. “Opening your own practice and being an entrepreneur is the end goal for most chiropractic students, but for me it was this amorphous
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Where will I get the money to start or grow my business?
4 sources of business funding for entrepreneurs Picture this! You’ve been working night and day on an amazing business idea. You have all the details worked out from the products and services to the marketing and pricing strategy, you even have customers who are ready to buy. There’s just one last item to check off
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This Summer: Free workshops for Pathway Lending clients
Summer classes for entrepreneurs at Pathway Lending Education is a critical part of our mission, so we’re offering free and reduced workshop rates for Pathway Lending loan clients this summer. Here are just a few of the workshops we’re offering this summer: QuickBooks Online: Bootcamp for Business A crash-course on how to manage your
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Success Story: iDropped Cell Phone Repair
Skilled tradesman commits to dream of entrepreneurship Growing up in Jamaica, Tiekel Finnikin spent countless hours helping his grandmother while she sold toys, fruit, jewelry and everything in between. They’d even spend Christmas morning selling on street corners. “I learned early that before you ever try to sell your product or service, you have to
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Epicenter Partners with Pathway Lending and Three Financial Institutions to Launch Small Business Loan Fund in Memphis
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (June 11, 2018) – Epicenter, the nonprofit entrepreneurship hub in Memphis, and Pathway Lending, a regional nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), have partnered to launch the Memphis Small Business Opportunity Loan Fund, a $15 million fund intended to improve access to capital, particularly for minority- and women-owned businesses. Initial capitalization of the
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Success Story: Urban Story Ventures
Developers use energy efficiency loan program to upgrade historic buildings in Chattanooga’s Innovation District “The best way to explain what we’re doing with these old buildings is that we’re taking a horse and carriage and turning it into a Tesla,” says Jimmy White, President of Urban Story Ventures in Chattanooga. “Looking at the numbers, these
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Success Story: MedCode Professional Career Academy
Mother of 3 launches affordable medical coding academy to give others opportunity for higher paying career Jasmine Hall’s first job in her teens was in medical collections, a role where she found a natural talent for understanding the terminology and explaining bills to patients. Later, as a young mother, Jasmine was looking for a higher
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Success Story: Crescent Sock Company
4th generation tenacity powers oldest continuously operating sock mill in America Crescent Sock Company is a 116-year-old sock mill in rural Niota, Tennessee. Opened to create jobs in this small community, it is currently managed by the fourth generation of the founder. Cathy Allen has taken on the role of CEO and is assisted by
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Wall Street Journal video examines small business growth in America
WSJ reports on CDFI industry’s responsible funding to entrepreneurs Episode 5 of The Wall Street Journal’s “Financial Inclusion in America” video series hit a familiar note for our staff. The episode shares the stories of two entrepreneurs – one needing expansion capital to scale her business, and the other needing a quick loan for equipment
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