Working janitor jobs in San Diego and staying poor is not a career plan that can earn the local the credit they can get with the financial help given out by Accion. The non-profit makes a difference in the local business market by offering small loans to workers that can commit to taking the opportunity to succeed in business.
A low income and a low credit score that cost the local the opportunity to get a traditional loan from a bank does not mean that all their chances are thrown drown the drain. Accion can take a person in at their Euclid Avenue office that had to go through a bankruptcy more than a year in the past.
The question is does the San Diegan have the character to succeed? Not just anyone can make their mark in their neighborhood, or in the big town. Carpenters and hairdressers have to grow their business accounts and their reputation among customers. Proof of a locan applicant's commitment to their business they hold the idea on and will run is the first judgment the staff at Accion makes. Someone to stand behind them is the second. A supervisor or a customer that was a regular at their shop counter counts for a lot.
Once funded with a $500 loan, anyone can prove they are worth giving credit in local business. Accion's clients have to give in return for the money they take. When they walk in the doorway after all payments have been made on the 12 percent to 18 percent interest rate first loan, they have to have convinced the staff their fiannces are secure by paying all the payments within 5 days of the due date. A second, and if needed, larger loan, will come with a lower interest rate for the client that earned a little credit.
The non-profit just needs a little help of their own. Private donations give Accion a financial foundation to stand on.
Staff turn around and give the money to guarantee a self-employed San Diegan's job does not to come to an end and one more story of a successful business makes the local economy a leading example, even in a neighborhood the tpyical incomes are low.
Well laid business plans wll not always work, however, without another service the non-profit offers. Business counseling.
Full participation in San Diego business in 2011 and in 2012, Accion knows, takes a careful attention to business performance in the recovery economy and taxes. Tips can make December work on tax preparation and a six month business plan shorter.
The line continues next week.
To read earlier articles in Citizen Agenda Action Line on Tuesdays, read
Given an opportunity to become an American on the other side of the bridge
Artists show customs in Spanish Village
The give and take deal
Tipping the San Diego wage scale
One at a time the events open at Qualcomm Hall
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