ROSS Grant
Sharlene Evans and Lynette Spang
Sharlene Evans and Lynette Spang were recipients for Fiscal Year 2010. Both Sharlene and Lynette attended the Indianpreneurship Class in June of 2009, which was sponsored by the ROSS Program at NCTHA. Both students decided to expand their business plans to include financial projections, which is only one requirement of five criteria of the proposal.
In fiscal year 2010, the Montana Department of Commerce, as recommended by the State Tribal Economic Development Commission, provided two grants of $7,000 each to the seven federally recognized Indian Reservations in Montana. There is a serious lack of owner’s equity available for Native American business owners on reservations and among the Indian population of Montana. The Equity Fund is a grant to assist a current Native American business or a new Native American business owner. Unlike non-native small business owners traditional forms of equity from home ownership, family and friends are often not available to the Indian business owner due to widespread poverty. This money can be used for a variety of activities such as the purchase of new equipment or the development of a new product line. These funds are available only to enrolled members of Montana’s federally recognized tribes in Montana and to enrolled members of the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe. The next round of funding for this grant begins in August 2010, and the deadline is usually in November, 2010. It is not too early to begin writing your business plan.
Komenha “Pure Woman” Jewelry
Sharlene Evans is an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, and runs a home based business on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Her business name is Komenha “Pure Woman” Jewelry. Sharlene named her business after her great grandmother Komenha to signify her legacy of surviving the Ft. Robinson Breakout, she is the daughter of Chief Dull Knife. Sharlene designs pieces that are significant to Native American spirituality and culture. Special designs will be labeled to include, “Wear my creative designs to honor the legacy of my grandmother Komenha”. Her jewelry pieces include a variety of valuable components including beads, Swarovski crystals, freshwater pearls, stones and semi-precious gems like turquoise, coral, garnet, amethyst, jade, etc. The precious metals include gold, sterling silver, and pewter.
When asked what her most challenging experience was in preparing her application for the Equity Fund, Sharlene explains, “ not only was I challenged with the commitment of writing a business plan and finding the time to do it, but needing to expand on the financial projections, and cost analysis. I also had to look at who my target market was, and where I made most of my sales.
Sharlene states, “The most enlightening experience was when I realized I could develop a legitimate business at making jewelry, and it would no longer be just a hobby. Making and selling jewelry is my livelihood, it supplemented my income to help me make ends meet”. Sharlene says her Mother was an inspiration to her while developing her business plan because she also was an entrepreneur. She made star quilts to supplement her income too.
Sharlene says her next step is to begin spending the Equity Fund of course, and to get out of her comfort zone and start changing habits to include her business as a top priority and merge it into her current lifestyle. Although, she knows it involves more risk, she wants to eventually transition into the business full time. Her goal is to produce enough pieces of jewelry within the next year, so she can expand her market to include various art shows, flea markets, conferences in and around Montana.
It appears that most small business owners are faced with the same gap that Sharlene is, and that is leaving the security of a full-time job, and having the capital to start up their business. “Since I’ve been working with individuals that are interested in starting a small business, two of the most challenging issues they seem to be faced with are that they do not have a location to operate their business, other than their homes; and when they complete their business plans and want to transition into their business, they do not have startup capital”.
“Callsfirst Contracting Services”
Lynette saw an opportunity to establish a small business to help others. Lynette states, “What inspired me the most to start this process was seeing all the vacant houses that were not being cleaned, and how maintenance was short of help. I saw the possibility to help out Housing”. Lynette’s business mission statement reads; “Callsfirst Contracting Service’s mission is to show our Northern Cheyenne Tribal Members that starting a small business can be done and that tribal members can start their own businesses with a lot of help and support from their families, co-workers, instructors, etc. Anything is possible when you think positive and put your mind to it”.
The owner of “Callsfirst Contracting Services” is Lynette Spang. The name comes from her grandmother’s maiden name, and she states, “I like that name”. Lynette says she had some experience with small business at the age of 10, when she would go to visit her grandfather, Willie Ostercamp in Oregon in the summer, and work in his gas station. She says, “My grandfather had several businesses, and at one time he owned a gas station here in Lame Deer”. Perhaps, Lynette’s motivation comes from her grandfather’s legacy, and entrepreneurial spirit. Lynette also likes the idea of being her own boss one day, and wants to learn the tools and skills to be successful.
When asked about the challenges she faced while preparing her business plan, she replies “the whole thing was a challenge, and I have five kids, so just juggling their activities, work, and class, it was hard”. Lynette also remembers learning all the financial business terms like pricing strategy, and cashflow statement, but now knows what they mean. When asked what she thinks would make ROSS a better program, she says “the whole process is challenging anyway, but the technical assistance and one-on-one sessions we got from Roberta Harris was very helpful”. Roberta Harris is the Instructor for the Indianpreneurship Course.
Lynette states, “My most enlightening experience is when I got the call that I received the Equity Fund Grant. It was on April Fool’s Day and I had to ask myself “Is this true?” I said “Wow, for reals” and I wanted to tell all my family, but everyone I called wasn’t home.” It was also rewarding when I completed my business plan for the Equity Grant by the deadline”.
Lynette’s next steps are to start purchasing the equipment for her cleaning business, and start bidding on contracts to see how the process works. She would like to get a good amount of contracts. My goal is to serve NCTHA, but as I get more experience I want to expand into cleaning individual homes, and businesses.