Carpet One of Redding
“I would . . . like to thank you, Joe, for always being there to answer my questions. Even after being in business for a while now, you make me feel . . . safe and comfortable coming to you with my plethora of questions!”
Not only did she continue the legacy of her parents in the ownership of the company but she was also able to utilize some of the original employees.
Challenge
Carpert One is part of a cooperative that joins over 1,000 independently-owned stores to allow small flooring companies the benefits of economies of scale. This extremely successful company has been serving the Redding area for years.
Amy Dapkewicz’s parents had owned Carpet One of Redding for years. When Amy wanted to purchase the store from her parents she wanted to purchase Carpet One of Redding from her parents she came to the SBDC for help. She was obviously familiar with this company that sells and installs flooring and accessories such as carpet, tile, hardwood, area rugs, and window treatments. In fact, she had been working for Carpet One for several years. But even with her connections and expertise about the business, she knew that she would need help to obtain the large amount of capital she needed to make the purchase.
Gameplan
Amy met with the Shasta-Cascade SBDC’s loan specialist Joe Rodola at the end of 2017 to get help on her loan process for purchasing the existing business. Joe helped her create a two year financial forecast for the loan application and assisted her with her business plan. Then, he helped her with the long and complex exercise to get her loans approved. By April, Amy had all her paperwork ready for the initial application. After working on all the conditions for loan approval, she received the approval for the final piece of the financing in August of 2018.
Result
These loans were a combined $1.2M from Tri-Counties Bank and the SBA to cover the costs of purchasing the business. Not only did Amy continue the legacy of her parents in the ownership of the company but she was also able to utilize some of the original employees for a total of 4 full-time and 6 part-time employees. That’s excellent news for Amy and the Redding economy.