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Victoria Reina worked as a beautician back in her native Paraguay, and sought to open her own beauty salon when she moved to New York. After securing her beautician license and with her family’s support, Victoria found the ideal location in Sunnyside Queens. The family invested their savings to cover a portion of the start-up costs, but still needed a small business loan to help cover space renovations, inventory, furniture, equipment and working capital.
To help launch her business, Victoria worked with Pace University Small Business Development Center (SBDC) business advisors Sandra Cely and Anish Thakkar. Sandra worked with her to develop start-up cost estimates and build three-year financial projections including cash flows; and Anish helped Victoria’s grown children build and launch a website for the business and advised them on creating an online presence for the hair salon’s services.
With the Pace SBDC’s assistance, our client was able to secure a $36,000 loan from LES People’s Federal Credit Union to supplement her own investment, helping her open Lady Bella Beauty Salon and create five new jobs.
