Fizz and Co. Opens in Agana Shopping Center

An Interview with LeAnn Crisostomo, Co-Owner

Please tell us about yourself and your family. 

Grew up in Ipan Talofofo, Married to Robbi Crisostomo, 5 daughters, 4 grandsons and 1 granddaughter & this is our first business venture as a family.  

Why did you decide to start your own business? 

Fulfillment! Freedom! Legacy! I wish I started sooner.  I finally faced my fears and made up my mind to push forward no matter what.

What experience do you have in this type of business? 

Aside from being a waitress at 17 and almost 3 years with the first location in Hagatna (across Bank of Guam), I did not have much experience in this industry.

How did the Small Business Development Center and other resources help you? 

SBDC gave me the list of requirements to start a business. Having SBDC was comforting, because they provided guidance every step of the way.  What also helped us through was networking with other entrepreneurs and sharing experiences and support.  It’s amazing!

What were some of the factors in deciding to open a second location and how did you decide with Agana Shopping Center? 

With the success of the current location we wanted to expand our menu and a good friend recommended the Agana Shopping Center. 

What were some of the biggest challenges you experienced in opening a second location? 

We upgraded by purchasing a hood which allows us to offer more options to add to our menu.   Learning the in-depth requirements and systems was a challenge with those improvements in our new location.

What are your short-term and long-term plans for your business? 

Short term is to develop an efficient system to streamline our internal operations so we can always provide quality customer service and care while our long term is to open a third location.

Please list some of your products/services and popular items. Burgers, fries, Hotdogs, Panini, shakes, floats & handcrafted sodas.

What advice would you give to others who want to start a business at this time? 

If your heart is taking you in that direction, get over the fear and do it!  Don’t be afraid. Lots of amazing support out there. Surround yourself with positive people. 

"Don't fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things.  The saddest summary of life contains three descriptions: could have, would have and should have" 

~Unknown

 

Business Name: Fizz&Co

Owner(s): LeAnn&Robbi Crisostomo

Type of Business: Restaurant

Location: Rt 4 Hagatna & Agana Shopping Center

Hours of Operation: 11-3 at the Rt4 location & 10-8pm at the Agana Shopping Center

Contact information: 477-3499 Rt4, 922-3499 ASC

Instagram and Facebook: fizzsodashop

Miliani’s Expands Product Offerings

By: Ltelatk Fritz

Director/Business Advisor

(Palau SBDC)

Vameline Singeo and her mom, Laverne Merep, came up with an idea to upgrade the fashion options in Palau. In August of 2013, Miliani’s was opened on main street Koror to provide name brand apparel and accessories focused primarily for women.  For the past three years, Miliani’s has been doing really well with clothing and accessories retail, especially on special seasons and occasions.

In 2015, the mother & daughter entrepreneurs realized an emerging niche created by the boom in Palau’s tourism industry. The lodging and accommodations grew exponentially with the influx of tourists visiting Palau.  They wanted to introduce a new line of products to its portfolio—hotel amenities.  For this new business venture, Miliani’s turned to Palau SBDC to help with its expansion in projecting revenue streams for their new product line and its refinancing loan package.

Over a period of six months, Palau SBDC worked with Ms. Merep providing financial training in building Miliani’s historical financial statements for its current line of products, as well as projections for its new line of hotel amenities.  QuickBooks was used in the financial training for the client and used in reproducing the historical financial statements, because the client had used QuickBooks during their start-up year.

Miliani’s was able to get the loan from National Development Bank of Palau to expand its product mix to include hotel amenities, with the assistance provided by Palau SBDC.  The products are now available for purchase at Miliani’s retail shop located along Koror’s main road in Idid hamlet.  Tourists and locals can purchase the products in-store or make arrangements for delivery of bulk purchases.  Miliani’s are open daily from 10 am to 10 pm.

For more information on how the Palau SBDC can assist you, call 680-587-6004 or visit www.pacificsbdc.com. 

Discover Guam through Local Ambassadors

By: Jane Ray
Business Advisor
Guam SBDC

Martha Hara was born in National City, California and had lived abroad-wherever her father was stationed-throughout her childhood. She moved to Guam, her father’s birthplace, in 2007 to start a new journey. Through those travels and experiences with different cultures and communities, it gave her a more profound appreciation for what she is doing today.   

Hara has been the Managing Director for LIMA Corporation dba Discover Guam since October 2009. In her tenure, she managed the airport and tour operations, managed contracts for various clients, and oversaw the general management of operations. Hara has over 35 years of business operations and project management experience, over 15 years in sales, advertising, marketing, media and public relations, and eight years in the Tourism and Hospitality industry. So when the founder decided to sell the company, it only made sense to Hara to purchase the business but she just did not know how. She has always worked hard for other people, but this was her first opportunity to own a business and grow with it. 

Hara had several business associates that she approached regarding investment, but each asked if she had a business plan and financial projections. As she had never been in this position before, Hara sought assistance from the Guam Small Business Development Center (Guam SBDC). Hara met with business advisor, Jane Ray, who guided Hara with preparing the business plan and financials required to submit for an SBA commercial loan. Her biggest challenge was that she did not own any assets or have a strong credit background since her move back to Guam. Since she could not qualify for an SBA loan, Hara had to go through applying for commercial loan with a business partner who could offer his assets as collateral. 

Hara looks forward to expanding Discover Guam’s tour markets in the short term. As for Hara’s long term goal for Discover Guam, she plans to involve her children in the business so they can continue to represent Discover Guam with the Hafa Adai spirit. Hara stated, “Being Guamanian, Japanese ethnicity I enjoy the environment of both Chamorro and Japanese cultures here on Guam. As a certified tour guide, I take pride in sharing our island’s history, culture, and beauty with our visitors.” 

Discover Guam is 27 years old, debt free, and has earned an award winning reputation in the tourism industry. They offer an Airport Ambassador Program and are available for private and custom tours. For more information, visit www.discoverguamtours.com or contact their office at 671-649-TOUR (8687). 

To inquire on the SBDC services, contact their main office at 671-735-2590 or visit www.pacificsbdc.com.