Microloans help cabinet shop

Two common impediments to successful woodworking shops is finding enough business and having the resources to make the most of the business they find. The latter is often the most problematic, especially in today's highly competitive and higher technology market. There was a time that somebody could just throw a cheap table saw into their garage and call themselves a cabinetmaker. Low overhead would be the most valuable competitive asset, and you would compete on price to undercut established shops and steal their business. Some shops may still try to start that way, but the demand for higher quality (and quantity) likely means cheap machines won't be up to the task. But acquiring the funds to buy expensive machines like CNC routers and edgebanders and the like doesn't come easy. Banks seem to be loathe to lend to young (read inexperienced or small) businesses. And I haven't heard too much success from woodworking organizations trying to wrestle funds from established government supported programs like the Small Business Administration. Then I ran across this story about a microlending program in California and a cabinet shop that took advantage of it.

Microlending has gotten its biggest boost in lending small amounts to small entrepreneurs in third world countries, often women trying to start home-based businesses where even a few hundred dollars might make a huge difference. But the concept has become so successful for both entrepreneurs and investors that it has come back to the U.S. with programs like the one in California. It's definitely worth checking out if you need a little something to help grow your business, and your conventional sources of funding don't seem to want to cooperate.