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Home My WebLink AboutV.D - Opent To Business 3rd Quarter Report Natalie Mouilso, nmouilso@mccdmn.org, 952-451-6390 1/31/2025 – 9/30/2025 Clients Served YTD Client Inquiry 2 Existing - Challenged 24 Existing - Opportunity 41 Pre-start planning 44 Start-up 36 Total 147 Business Owner Demographics YTD # of Clients Low-Income Owned 75 BIPOC or Immigrant Owned 85 Woman Owned 88 Financing & Access to Capital YTD Loans & Grants Approved includes CBLs (YRLY Total) $432,414.00 Equity (YRLY Total) $183,829.00 Facilitated (YRLY Total) $148,967.00 Total Investment $765,210.00 Program Hours TA Program HRS 1st QTR 367 237 2nd QTR 477 185 3rd QTR 369 210 Total 1,213 632 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 Industry Segment YTD Construction / Real Estate 5 Food 26 Health/Fitness 12 Manufacturing 4 Consulting 8 Retail 35 Service 26 Wholesale / Distribution 3 Other 28 Total 147 Referral Source YTD Bank Referral 15 Entrepreneur 7 Friends and Family 19 Municipality 21 MCCD Partner/staff 19 Other 25 Web 36 Total 147 City YTD Business Resident Apple Valley 20 14 Burnsville 25 15 Eagan 15 14 Farmington 12 15 Hastings 5 5 Inver Grove Heights 9 11 Lakeville 14 21 Mendota Heights 4 4 Rosemount 9 14 South St. Paul 9 8 West St. Paul 6 4 Other Dakota Co. 2 3 Other/ No Data 17 19 “We are part of MCCD's Open to Business Program, and the whole process has been a great learning experience. Our loan application would've been difficult to accomplish without their help! Would recommend this to any entrepreneur.” – Rosemount Loan Client Open to Business Report 3 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 Owner Equity: $7,000 Facilitated financing/ funding: $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 Open to Business Report 4 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 Facilitated financing/ funding: $35,217.30 & $11,250 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. Business Type: Gift Shop Business City: Apple Valley Residence City: Lakeville Referred by: CDA website Facilitated financing/ funding: $50,000 Owner Equity: $70,000 Overview: This first-time entrepreneur came to MCCD seeking technical assistance and access to capital to help her in the final stretch of opening a new gift shop in Apple Valley. Advising was provided on topics including lease negotiation, insurance, build-out, networking, and business banking. Connection to a local credit union provided the client with much-needed working capital and a line of credit for her store. The store is slated to open mid-late October Open to Business Report 5 Business Type: Amazon Retailer Business City: Hastings Residence City: Hastings Referred by: Municipality MCCD Financing: $20,000 Owner Equity: $2,000 Overview: This woman-owner business reached out to MCCD seeking working capital for new inventory. The business owner is a nurse full time and started this Amazon-based retail business in late 2024 for supplementary income. The business experienced a few strong months and then stagnated when inventory ran out in early 2025. The client needed additional working capital to ramp up once more and the MCCD loan provided an important cushion so that inventory will be continually stocked and the business can focus on growth. Business Type: Home Healthcare / PCA Business City: Eagan Residence City: Farmington Referred by: Other Entrepreneur MCCD Financing: $75,000 – includes $50,000 in forgivable capital Owner Equity: $3,750 Overview: MCCD began working with this business owner in 2023 when he initially reached out seeking financing to grow his home health care business based in Eagan. He decided to table his request at that time and reached back out in spring, 2025. Working closely with his loan officer for more than 100 hours, the application for working capital was finalized in September. At the same time, MCCD kicked off it’s participation in the Groundbreak loan program* and the client ultimately became MCCD’s first recipient of a Groundbreak loan structure which includes a $25,000 loan that is immediately forgiven, a $25,000 loan at 1% interest only and eligible for forgiveness after five years, and a $25,0000 loan with typical repayment terms. *MCCD is one of four local nonprofits selected to participate in the Groundbreak project. Rather than advertise the program, we are matching eligible clients internally and then giving them the news after the loan is approved. The Groundbreak Coalition is a group of over 40 corporate, civic, and philanthropic leaders committed to demonstrating that with enough resources, a racially equitable future is possible first in Minnesota and then across the country. The goal of the small business loans is to provide early stage, growth capital to low-wealth entrepreneurs, including, but not limited to Black entrepreneurs, who historically have faced barriers to accessing such capital from traditional sources. 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 Open to Business Report 6 Highlights, Networking, & Outreach Programming, Partnerships, & Trainings • July 30 – MCCD hosted a webinar titled Understanding Immigration Policy and Impacts on Small Businesses with panelists including Kwame Osafo-Addo, Attorney and Owner at TruLegalBiz; Brenda Pfahnl, Attorney and Owner at Colibri Legal PLLC; and Lisa Zamora and Diana Salas from the MN Department of Labor and Industry. The discussion included current updates and practical information for businesses regarding Immigration Policy changes. • September 19 & 20 – MCCD Senior Business Advisor & Loan Officer Luis Mendoza spoke with small business owners and entrepreneurs at LatinoLead's annual leadership conference, LíderCon. Luis’ session on Financial Foundations for Business Success was one of the many educational workshops offered at the event attended by hundreds of Latine leaders and allies. • November 5 – In partnership with UMN Law School MCCD will host a virtual Q&A session on small business law. This free virtual event is held twice annually and 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. Stay tuned for more RSVP information. • November 6 – Mark your calendar for MCCD’s Annual Celebration. This year the event will be held at the B Suite in Minneapolis. All partners are welcome. RSVP and additional information here. Advertising & Outreach • July 11 & October 3 – Field Trip Friday is back! In July we visited businesses in Ramsey County and in October we visited businesses in Anoka County. Field trips are a fun way to engage local partners, highlight our clients, promote small businesses throughout our service area. More field trips to come in 2026 once the weather warms back up. • August 26 – MCCD engaged our lending partners and networks through a new E blast update on our loan program, loan products, and lending team. The E blast focused specifically on MCCD’s commercial real estate lending capabilities. • September 30 – Year to date outcomes and results were presented to Dakota County CDA and Cities at Eagan City Hall. • In the last quarter, banker and lender outreach occurred specifically with the BankOn Coalition, Frandsen Bank, F&M Bank, Lakeview Bank, Royal Credit Union Twin Cities Metro CDC, and US Bank as well as our Lender E blast which went out to 100+ lender partners and contacts. • In addition to lending outreach, written or in-person presentations were made and/or networking efforts were made including ongoing partnership discussions with UMN Law School, ACER, Dakota County Library System, City of Rosemount Port Authority presentation, Dakota County CDA presentation, Dakota County Regional Chamber, and City of Farmington monthly check-ins. Open to Business Report 7 Quarterly Highlight Loan closing for Pokwo, Inc. MCCD’s first GroundBreak loan client. “This loan will help build my business. It is very difficult to operate a business without enough working capital. Thank you very much for your efforts. This will help me to grow the business to the next level now.“ - Apee Ochudo, owner of Pokwo, Inc. of Eagan