How a RI Entrepreneur Grew Her Business With a Monthly $25 Funding Source
Monday, May 02, 2022
Shirley Moore started her business in 2017 and it was just beginning to grow when she was faced with lots of turbulence but also opportunity.
Her company -- Be Moore Interpreting -- provides educational services and translating services. She was one of those early-stage companies that were beginning to get their footing when the globe flipped upside down in 2020.
Moore says, "The bulk of our clients are educational settings, so everything from school departments to adult education centers and universities and we also have medical offices, attorneys, so we're kind of everywhere."
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST
Simple Start
Moore says she had limited resources to begin her business -- no venture capital funding for her company.
"I bootstrapped the business with $25 a month," said Moore of getting her business off the ground.
But she soon found she needed more help to make the company successful.
Learning and Expanding
Moore credits the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program housed at CCRI as a key to her growth.
"I would say it's getting an MBA for your business in 15 weeks -- I think that's the best way to put it," said Moore. "MBAs are typically two to three-year programs -- you've got 15 weeks to master this. It's a phenomenal experience, one that every entrepreneur should probably go through and definitely, folks that come from minority groups should definitely go through it."
"There are challenges to entrepreneurship that we don't know are coming and the program prepares you for those things -- things from creating an emergency response plan to thinking through your exit strategy," said Moore about the program.
Growth and Equity
Since she graduated from the program last August, Moore says the impacts have been tremendous. She has a wider network, a group of classmates from the program that are tremendous resources, and a mentor via the SCORE program.
"Our sales have grown about 30 percent, there were changes made to the structure of the business, and we have processes that are documented," said Moore. "Everything lived in my head but now we have documented processes and manuals and if anything ever happens to me, the business is able to continue to flow."
She has added staff too. And maybe most importantly, she has transformed the compensation structure of her interpreters.
"We've also created a real niche for ourselves by focusing on equity. We have international interpreters and translators that work with us and we've made a commitment to pay them at US-based rates paying for the skill versus their location, [essentially] helping folks who were living in poverty," said Moore.
Moore said there are no limits to her company's growth.
LEARN MORE ABOUT BE MOORE INTERPRETING
LEARN MORE ABOUT 10,000 SMALL BUSINESSES PROGRAM
This content is part of a sponsored content partnership between 10,000 Small Businesses and GoLocalProv.
