By: Emily S. O’Steen
Certified Small Business Adviser
Kosrae SBDC
Certified Small Business Adviser
Kosrae SBDC
With a need to solve the
problem of not having enough convenient stores to serve the harbor breeze
residents, Wanida A. Kinere opened a convenient store in the Harbor view site
of Lelu Municipality to help the residents with their daily necessities as well
as to help herself and her family. I had a brief conversation with the owner
about her startup process and he plans for the future.
Her 5 years’ experience
with assisting her sister’s convenient store is something that she can use when
managing her own small business. The market for retail has grown significantly
within the past few years and now appears to be still accelerating at a
favorable rate because a lot of new retail stores have opened recently, and
consumers prefer shopping at a near and convenient location suitable to their
needs.
When ask how the small
business development center have helped her during the process of starting up
her business. She said that “SBDC deserves to be credited for all the paperwork
and business plan proposal, and for positively pushing me through to reach my
goals.
The startup process has
hard because of funding. But with the help of SBDC in preparing my marketing
plan, Wanida was able to get funding from the FSM Development Bank and with a
minimal amount coming from her own savings.
For Wanida, the biggest
challenge that she experienced in the start-up process was seeking lending from
the financial institutions and compiling a workable business plan. However,
when she was approved for the loan with the FSM Development Bank was one of her
most memorable experience. Especially, since getting approved means she can
start her dream business and turn it into a reality.
Wanida’s long term goal
is to extend the line of business into other areas such as selling local
produce. And one advice she would give to anyone who want to start a business
is that “starting a business can be challenging but help is just a phone call
way. Call SBDC staff!!”
