Page A I2 ___________________ Minority & Small Business Week_________ September 23, 2009 Micro Loan Helps Entrepreneur Succeed the loan back at a relatively steep 12 percent interest rate over two to five years. Over 94 percent o f the loans have been paid b a c k , sa id S tra c h a n . A fte r M artinez saved up a thousand dollars, Mercy Corp matched the amount three to one, giving him a $3,000 loan to get his business up and running. An outside com pany takes care of the m anufac turing of his salsa. He focuses on the m arketing and distribu tion. Credit contributes to economic base J ake T homas T he P ortland O bserver by After having helped out in his fam ily’s M exican food restau rant since he was old enough to sit on a b ar sto o l and scru b d ish e s, you co u ld say D avid M artinez has salsa in his veins. He also has the flavorful sauce in his southeast Portland home- lots o f it. M artinez is the proprietor of D a v id A lfre d M a rtin e z (D.A.M.) Salsa, which he is hop ing w ill becom e a household name and money maker. But in order to get started, M artinez req u ired som e goading from friends, and a micro loan from Mercy Corp - a Portland-based hum anitarian organization that has seen an increase in people interested in getting some cash to start small businesses. Micro credit is the idea that if people, who might normally have trouble getting big loans from big banks, have access to small loans, they will use it to create entrepre neurship and contribute to eco nomic growth. Although micro loans are often given to poor and d isa d v a n ta g e d p e o p le , E rica S trachan, a M ercy C orp loan and reentry support officer, said that w ith credit tight and the econom y soggy, she's seen all sorts o f people inquire about getting a small loan, including established business people. Last year, Mercy Corp made 38 new small business loans, up from 23 in 2007. ”We don't re ally have a typical applicant," Strachan said. However, to get a micro loan from Mercy Corp, you m ust be at 80 percent or under of the median family in come for the Portland metropoli tan area. You also need to take some business classes, and pay They absolutely helped me out to no end. - David Martinez’s “They absolutely helped me out to no end,” said M artinez of M ercy C orp, which also con nected him with law and busi ness students from local colleges to help him secure the rights to his recipe and develop a business plan. A fax machine that slowly consumes advertisements for the salsa hums in his office. On the desk next to it is a laptop, both of which were purchased with the micro loan. Martinez learned the art of salsa making from fam ily rec ip es he learn ed w hile w orking in the kitchen at his family's restaurant, La Casa de Rios. After the eatery folded in 1984, M artinez did landscaping and dem olition work. As he got older, he wanted something less physically straining. M artinez , 55, always liked to cook M exi can dishes, often for friends. A particularly picky friend always enjoyed his hom em ade salsa, and suggested he try selling it, continued Salsa runs thick through businessman David Martinez's life as is evidenced with his truck, which bears the license plate "Salsa-1." on page A14 _____________THE_____________ M oon S tar SPINAlCOLUMN 7410 N.E. MLK An ongoing scries of questions and answers about Americas natural healing profession 503-285-1230 Dr. Billy R. Flowers Part 3. ALLERGIES: Why Chiropractic often works more effectively than O Nothing else • has ever really helped m y aller* gies. W hat can C hiropractic possibly do? Q A e First, ta k e a lo o k a t th e • w ord itself. “A llergy "isa shnrtenrdfom inf altered energy.” tinttlyontraliyivous.syilnnaMltnik rrk just thesymptrrms. Chiropractic th e body’s flow o f energy. W e also can often providecomplete, lasting know that w hen the spinal oilu m n is relief. 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