J-Style at Home, Inc., Brisbane

 
02/28/2020

BACKGROUND
Janina and Cristian Cabrera co-founded J Style at Home Inc. in 2006. The company is located in Brisbane, California and provides interior designing, full custom cabinets manufacturing, re-facing and installation of cabinets. They are renowned for creating the kitchens and baths of their clients’ dreams.

CHALLENGES
Back in 2011, Cristian was looking for funding to expand his business and he contacted Working Solutions to apply for amicroloan. At that time, Cristian was asked to present a marketing plan as part of his loan application and he was referred to the SBDC. Cristian thought that he would only receive help in marketing, but he was greatly surprised to learn that the SBDC had a comprehensive advising program for small businesses in growth mode.

ACTIONS
After an initial business assessment, the SBDC realized that J Style was not in the position to take a new loan and instead they started working on credit and financial management. The SBDC offered Cristian training in bookkeeping and financial analysis to better track business income and expenses and understand profitability. Next, Cristian received advising on business planning including market research with the SBDC, which Cristian started implementing with such a determination that his sales increased in 30% compared to 2010.

RESULTS
In 2012, Cristian continued implementing measurable marketing strategies and as a result, his client base expanded as well as his needs for working capital. A loan application was presented and approved at Working Solutions. Cristian obtained a business loan for $45,000, funds he needed to expand his business.

SOURCE: https://www.svsbdc.org/story/536



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