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.
