It’s products may be tiny, but the opening of “Happy Little Hippo Children’s Resale Boutique” is a big deal for its co-owner Nicole Schultz.
To turn her vision into a reality, Schultz, along with a friend, began working with the “Women’s Economic Ventures, a non-profit organization that provides training and
loans for people looking to start up thier own small business.
“The income has definitely been helpful, um, and I definitely think it was the right time because of the ecomony, because its helpful to the community to have this type of a place available in this economy,” says Schultz.
“People often assume that because the economy is bad that nobody in their right mind would start a small business, when actually the opposite is true; most small businesses get started in the economic downturn,” adds Marsha Bailey, president of Women’s Economic Ventures, a non-profit organization focused on getting small businesses up and running.
While they are hopeful of the President’s mission to boost economic growth through the small business owner, there’s concern about how his proposal to set aside 30 billion dollars for community based banks will affect organizations like theirs.
“The question that is still hanging out there is, is he talking about conventional banks? The devil is in the details, it’s really important that that money gets out to community organizations like W.E.V.,” says Bailey.
Because W.E.V.’s educational services are partially funded by the U.S. Small Business Association, they are also concerned about the President’s call to freeze spending on domestic programs, and how tax breaks will actually impact the people trying to run a small business.
“The reality is those are after the fact remedies, for any small business to be able to hire a new employee or raise wages for an existing employee, of course, you’ve got to have the cash up front,” says Bailey.
Schultz adds, “I’m just so happy to have a president who backs the small businesses in the community. Just knowing that the support is there, as needed, I’m really happy about that.”
Women’s Economic Ventures will be holding its next training course next month. While it is geared toward women, anyone is welcome to take part in W.E.V.’S services.