Carmitha the Businesswoman
What used to be an empty storefront has become a beacon of hope for one of our families. Last year, the Admes established a small boutique on the main street in Menelas with their savings. Carmitha manages the inventory and sales, while Marc Noel makes the inventory runs when stock is low.
The family started with charcoal and rice but soon realized they were losing customers because they didn’t have a diverse product base. “If someone wants to buy rice, charcoal, and sugar and they can’t do that here, they’ll go to another store that sells all three products,” shared Carmitha. This led Carmitha to join our small business program.
Carmitha wanted to learn how to project sales and diversify her product offerings. During class, she learned to budget and to properly allocate her revenue to reinvest in her business. She built her projections according to a goal that would allow her to take care of her family. She learned to market her business and to present it, including at our business pitch where she earned her first investment.
It’s been a few months since Carmitha won the pitch. She meets with her business coach weekly and has quadrupled her inventory while investing in infrastructure to continue to expand her product offerings. Carmitha’s customers can now buy everything from rice, charcoal, and sugar, to corn flakes, hot sauce, detergent, oil, salt, and so much more. She has the ability to hires other Work family members to work at the shop when she’s needed elsewhere. Together, we’re working on further improvements and investing in new business ideas to grow a more vibrant main street.
This project has been supported by our 1:1 Campaign, our store partnership with Rodan + Fields through consultant Kristen Mauclair, and from donor Carrie O’Kelley.