Friday, November 21, 2014

The SUP Shack Guam is Open for Business

By: Denise Mendiola-Hertslet
Senior Business Advisor/WIB Program Coordinator
(Guam SBDC)

  
 

High school sweethearts Jonte and Lad De Leon are the proud owners of The SUP Shack Guam. They have been married for 9 and half years and are raising two beautiful daughters, Gabrielle and Mylee and have three fur babies: Biggie Smalls, Ruca and Mochi.  After stepping foot on her first paddle board, Jonte said it was “Love at first paddle!” Her addiction of paddle boarding started out mild with paddling by herself to paddling with her dog then her family and now with the community. For two years, the idea of owning a stand-up paddle (SUP) retail/service business has been running in the back of her mind. Jonte thought that since she enjoyed it so much why not make a career doing something she loved doing. Her passion for paddle boarding coupled with her 14 years in the retail, business management, and customer service industry, motivated her to pursue her dream. She spent countless hours researching and educating herself about stand-up paddle boarding and also went out in the water and constantly learned from trial and error. Jonte felt that that she needed to take that next step but where to begin?

A friend had referred her to the Guam Small Business Development Center (SBDC) which she heard of but was not familiar with the services they provided. So, she went onto the website and went through the request for counseling process. She had set her appointment to meet with Denise Mendiola-Hertslet to start preparing her business plan. Jonte did not realize how much work was needed in writing a business plan and creating the financial projections. She states, “I was amazed at how much work it was to open a business. I think to some degree, everyone knows it takes work, but until you go through the planning process, you never realize how much work is required.” She found herself questioning whether this decision to start was the right thing to do and ultimately it was. She explains that the Guam SBDC program helped her write her business plan and come up with a financial projection sheet that helped her visualize how her business would grow over the years. She continues saying that what the business plan did for her was dissect the business into different sections and strategies. This enabled her to focus on certain areas where there was room for improvement. After weeks of modifying the business plan and what seemed like a ton of hours dedicated to research, Jonte saw things coming together and could see her end result. She was motivated more than ever, because now she had a structure and a measurable goal to reach. 

Her next step was to seek additional funding. Jonte adds, “Helpful hint: I went to my bank, Bank of Guam, with my business plan, financial projection, resume, and tax returns for the past three years. Having almost all those documents helped speed up the business loan process.” At the Bank of Guam, Jonte worked with Esther Reyes, a loan officer, who assessed her business plan package and her personal financial status. Esther was very professional, friendly, and expeditious. With Esther’s assistance, Jonte was able to get a loan from the Bank of Guam.

Opening up a business is a stressful task and Jonte faced some challenges along the way.  Research and time difference between Guam and the U.S. were the top two obstacles in opening up her business. She states, “The research is the hardest part of the process, because it takes a lot of time and a whole lot of patience. Since all my inventory needed to be ordered from off-island, I had to deal with questions not always being answered in a timely manner. “ She goes on to say, “That was very frustrating because on my end, I am trying to go 100% full steam ahead, but was at the mercy of the companies to get answers. Being that I am new to all this, sometimes I would have to modify my questions about inventory and wait again for an answer. The worst would be when the weekend hit and I’d have to wait until Tuesday Guam time because we are a day ahead.”

Opening up a business is not all about the challenges, there are victories that every business owner encounters whether it be completing a daunting task or serving a certain number of customers. With an optimistic mind-set, Jonte says that every step is a triumph because every step meant that she was all the more closer to her dream. She recalls on the moment that she completed her business plan and financial projections with the Guam SBDC and getting her loan approved from Bank of Guam as victories. “I was in heaven because all the hard work of researching, modifying, prioritizing, and most of all patience had paid off,” Jonte describes. She goes on to say,” I am quickly learning that no matter what stage I am in with my business, I will always feel a sense of triumph because the hard work put into it resulted in another day of being in business.”

The SUP Shack Guam has marketing as their priority. They are humbly starting their business in a 40 foot container out of their home and want the community to know that they are open for business. They take pride in knowing that they are building their dream literally from the ground up. In the long run, the De Leons hope to one day be busy enough to have to open an actual store location. In addition, Jonte has been lining up ducks to start distribution out of Guam sometime in the near future.

For everyone planning to open up their business, Jonte advises how important it is to have a business and financial projection plan. She states, “The plan, to me, is the foundation of my business. It’s provided me with guidance to stay on track with building my business from the ground up as well as increased my chances with a business loan. I find myself constantly referring to it because not only does a business plan help you breakdown start-up costs, but it also breaks down who you are and what you and your business is all about.”

To inquiry about The SUP Shack Guam, contact Jonte or Lad at 929-0436 or 929-8428. You can also visit their website at www.thesupshackguam.com or find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/thesupshackguam/.

For more information on how the Guam Small Business Development Center can assist you, contact their office at 735-2590 or contact Denise Mendiola-Hertslet, Women in Business Program Coordinator and Senior Business Advisor at 735-2594. Visit their website at www.pacificsbdc.com.