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Home My WebLink AboutV.C - Open To Business Q1 Report Natalie Mouilso, nmouilso@mccdmn.org, 952-451-6390 First Quarter – 3/31/2025 Clients Served YTD Client Inquiry 1 Existing - Challenged 13 Existing -Opportunity 24 Pre-start planning 16 Start-up 13 Total 67 Business Owner Demographics YTD # of Clients Low-Income Owned 37 BIPOC or Immigrant Owned 35 Woman Owned 42 Financing & Access to Capital YTD Loans & Grants Approved (YRLY Total) $337,414.00 Equity (YRLY Total) $108,079.00 Facilitated (YRLY Total) $ 98,967.00 Total Investment $544,460.00 Program Hours TA Program HRS 1st QTR 359 237 Total 359 237 TA: Client Meetings, Providing Resources, Client Calls, Client Deliverables, Loan Packaging Program HRS: City Initiatives, Program Outreach, Public Events, City Meetings, Research, Data/Admin, General Inquiries Open to Business Report 2 “Launching my business has been life-changing. It allowed me to share my passion for wellness and natural skin care with others while creating a path toward financial independence. Furthermore, my son gets to see what it looks like to build something meaningful from the ground up and having a purpose to help others as a humanitarian. I am deeply grateful for this opportunity, and excited for what’s ahead. The microgrant gave me hope and confidence to believe that my business will grow and have a future.” – MicroGrant Recipient, Burnsville Business Owner Industry Segment YTD Construction / Real Estate 2 Food 12 Health/Fitness 4 Manufacturing 1 Consulting 6 Retail 19 Service 14 Other 9 Total 67 Referral Source YTD Bank Referral 9 Entrepreneur 1 Friends and Family 10 Municipality 10 MCCD Partner/staff 10 Other 12 Web 15 Total 67 City YTD Business Resident Apple Valley 6 4 Burnsville 9 8 Eagan 6 3 Farmington 8 9 Hastings 3 1 Inver Grove Heights 6 8 Lakeville 7 11 Mendota Heights 1 1 Rosemount 5 1 South St. Paul 4 4 West St. Paul 4 2 Other Dakota Co. 0 1 Other/ No Data 5 11 Open to Business Report 3 “We really appreciated working with Natalie at MCCD. Unlike many corporate financial institutions, Natalie was thorough, wanted to make sure that our business would be successful, and that we did not get over our heads. Although this process may have taken a little longer than going through a traditional bank, we feel that Natalie really had our best interest at heart and helped us to be set up for success. Thank you, Natalie!” – MCCD Loan Client, Burnsville Resident Direct Financing & Access to Capital Business Type: Bubble Tea & Café Business City: Eagan Residence City: Savage & Farmington Referred by: Website MCCD Financing: $175,000* Owner Equity: $65,443 Overview: This startup bubble tea shop was seeking funds for start up expenses, tenant improvements, equipment, inventory, and working capital. The two business partners put their heads together on opening this business and were approved for a $175,000 direct loan from MCCD in January 2025, contingent on an 80% loan guaranty from MN DEED through the DEED Small Business Credit Initiative. *As the DEED guaranty application was in progress the business owners received news of some unexpected project costs from their contractor and decided to withdraw their application and tabled the business plan for now. Business Type: Natural Beauty & Wellness Products Business City: Burnsville Residence City: Burnsville Referred by: TikTok Influencer Microgrant Facilitated: $2,500 Owner Equity: $2,500 Overview: This early-stage home-based business was established in 2023 and sells handmade beauty and wellness products to friends and family. After a referral from a TikTok influencer who provides entrepreneurship advice, the Burnsville resident reached out to MCCD seeking funding to expand her business and launch her website. The business owner is a low-income single mother and qualified for a microgrant which MCCD facilitated, and the client received in January. The funding allowed the business owner to increase operational efficiency, buy inventory and supplies, and launch a new product line. The entrepreneur is currently working on rebuilding her credit so that she can apply for an MCCD loan for the remaining funding to build and launch her website. Business Type: Food Truck and Cookie Dough Wholesaler Business City: Eagan (Home Based & mobile throughout Twin Cities region) Residence City: Eagan Referred by: LEDC MCCD Financing: $50,000 Open to Business Report 4 Owner Equity: $7,000 Other Financing: $50,000 Overview: MCCD collaborated with nonprofit partner on this $107,000 project to support a growing BIPOC and woman owned cookie dough business. The business was established in 2021 as a response to the lack of organic cookie dough available in the market. Their dough offers all organic, non-GMO, fair trade ingredients with no preservatives and comes in three flavors. There are two branches to their business: the business-to- business, where they sell wholesale through a distributor to co-ops and grocery stores and a direct to customer retail - selling both the dough and fresh-baked cookies at farmers markets and festivals. They had been selling via a pop-up tent and recently came across the opportunity to purchase a food trailer to streamline their operations. The borrowers needed funding food trailer improvements, equipment, inventory, and working capital to help them take advantage of the upcoming selling season. Business Type: Fashion Optical Boutique Business City: Savage Residence City: Burnsville Referred by: Municipality MCCD Financing: $82,173.70 Owner Equity: $30,636 Other Financing/ funding: $35,217.30* & $11,250 *Pending approval from MN DEED Overview: This entrepreneur is a licensed optician operating in the optical industry for more than 20 years. He has always dreamed of opening his own optical store near his home in Burnsville to start to build wealth for himself. He found an ideal storefront in Savage and reached out to MCCD for assistance with the project funding for inventory, equipment, startup expenses, and ~ 3 months of working capital for operations. Total project costs are $159,227 including the equity investment of $30,636 and a $11,250 tenant improvement budget from the landlord. The loan request was approved by MCCD’s loan committee on April 24th contingent on 30% participation from MN DEED through the Small Business Credit Initiative, application is currently pending, and approval is expected in early May. Business Type: RV Tank Cleaning Business City: Rosemount Residence City: Rosemount Referred by: Community Partner MCCD Financing: $30,000 Owner Equity: $2,500 Overview: This husband-and-wife team have a combined professional background in customer service, custodial cleaning, and mechanicals. They also love camping and the outdoors and have been avid RV'ers for years. As they grow older and become empty nesters, they saw an opportunity to make a side business out of their passion and have something that they could continue into retirement. Through their time spent at campgrounds in the Midwest they became aware of the opportunity to become a licensed dealer for an RV Tank cleaning franchise. The business owners see this as a promising opportunity to generate additional income now and into retirement while doing something that they truly love. Open to Business Report 5 Credit Builder Loans In collaboration with nonprofit partners who provide credit building & financial awareness counseling, MCCD provides $240 Credit Builder Loans (CBLs) to qualified applicants seeking to improve their personal credit. Credit Builder applicants complete financial training through MCCD’s partners and are then referred to MCCD for a CBL. MCCD generates and services the CBLs in-house. Credit Builder Loans YTD Resident City Loan Amount West Saint Paul $240 TOTAL $240 Highlights, Networking, & Outreach Staffing Updates • February – MCCD welcomes NaSee Lor, our new Anoka County Business Advisor & Loan Officer. NaSee has a strong background in small business ownership and graduated from the University of St. Thomas with a BA in Entrepreneurship. NaSee has completed her onboarding and is actively taking new clients and loan requests. Programming, Partnerships, & Trainings • February – MCCD rolled out a new event series in Q1! Join one of our hybrid lending information sessions every other Tuesday at noon via zoom and in person at the MCCD office. The sessions are designed to give potential loan applicants a solid understanding of our loan application process. Attendance has been strong at these sessions, and we are connecting with new prospective borrowers and reconnecting with former clients. • March – MCCD hosted a hybrid training session on Business Succession and Transition Planning. Attendees heard from Michael Darger, an Extension Specialist in Community Economics at the University of Minnesota and received an introduction to his online course designed to walk you through the process including why succession planning matters, transition options, and key resources for exit planning. • April – In partnership with UMN Law School MCCD hosted a virtual Q&A session on small business law. We host this free virtual event twice annually and it is designed for business owners at any stage. Law student panelists work with their supervising attorney to answer questions and provide legal resources and guidance to help navigate law questions and concerns. 25 attendees joined and the event was a huge success. Advertising & Outreach • April – MCCD launched its Lending E blast, a semiannual update on our loan program, loan products, and lending team. The e blast went out to all lenders and financing partners in our network. • April – Check out our recently refreshed loan products brochure which outlines our lending options and capabilities. Open to Business Report 6 • Are you subscribed to our Business Resource Newsletter? We send monthly emails with a summary of business resources, funding opportunities, and training initiatives offered by MCCD and our partners. Subscribe to get connected. • In the last quarter, banker and lender outreach occurred specifically with Choice Bank, Lakeview Bank, Minnwest Bank, Prime Security Bank, Royal Credit Union, Stearns Bank, and US Bank. • In addition to lending outreach, written or in-person presentations were made and/or networking efforts were made including the El Rincon Grand Opening on January 27, the City of Lakeville presentation on January 28, the Farmington Business Summit on February 4, Burnsville EDC presentation on March 12, Dakota County Library on March 14, Farmington EDA presentation on April 21, and ongoing partnership discussions / referrals from Lakeville Chamber of Commerce, the UMN Law School, as well as regular check ins with City of Farmington and Dakota County CDA. Quarterly Highlight Grand Opening of El Rincon Mexicano at their new location 6500 Cahill Ave, Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076 https://rinconmx-restaurant.square.site/s/order#9 MCCD approved financing for this business expansion in Inver Grove Heights in July 2023. This full-service, family-owned Mexican restaurant has been a community staple in IGH since 2015 with a solid local following. The business embarked on an expansion to a larger location in 2021 but due to unforeseen costs and logistics, the project had been stalled for quite a while. The owners were stuck paying rent at both locations with a partially completed renovation. The business connected with MCCD in summer of 2022 at a community event and MCCD worked tirelessly to find a path forward for this family business. MCCD brought in a non-profit partner and together the organizations collaborated on the final funding package. In Spring 2025, the new location finally opened it’s doors with a large grand opening celebration. El Rincon’s story was recently highlighted by the Dakota County CDA on their website: https://www.dakotacda.org/el- rincon-mexicano-cda-economic-development-story/ Tyler Hilsabeck (MCCD), Natalie Mouilso (MCCD) Lisa Alfson (CDA), Luis Mendoza (MCCD), business owner Mireya Sanchez and her husband, Commissioner Atkins (Dakota County)