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Seeing our clients achieve key milestones is what drives our work at BCL of Texas. From startups that have expanded to multi-employee businesses to families buying their first homes, our success all comes down to you.
Military veteran Dave Demorrow started All Era Militaria with just two duffel bags of military gear after he left the Army. As a disabled veteran, he knew he couldn’t work a traditional job, so he decided to start his own business using his expertise in military equipment and training.
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When Marqueta Grant retired after 22 years of military service, she knew she didn’t want to go back to a desk job. “My mother was a hairstylist and seamstress, and she worked for herself, so I know a lot about hair and clothing. When we were on deployment, all of the girls would ask me to get them the best products,” she said.
Las Ofrendas is a social enterprise that features handmade multicultural accessories, stationery, and home goods designed or curated by owner tk tunchez. As a steadfast advocate and supporter of the LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and Latinx communities, tunchez is proud that Las Ofrendas creates beautiful pieces for everybody and every gender that allows everyone to express themselves unapologetically and authentically. Each piece is infused with love and positive energy and intended to support each person on their journey.
Brandon Ward’s story is one of passion, perseverance, and a willingness to take risks. After a successful career as a schoolteacher and school principal, Ward decided to pursue his dream of becoming a construction entrepreneur.
Ruth and Arnold Guerra were born and raised in Gonzales, Texas, where they have opened hotels, restaurants, and built homes to meet their community’s needs. “We started with nothing,” Ruth said. Now, they have built over 100 homes in their community of 7,000 people.
I visited the Guerras and we drove around the town, as Ruth pointed out both homes she and her husband had worked on, as well as other neighborhoods of older homes in states of disrepair. Gonzales has not had new home construction in a long time. “Big builders are not going to come into this town,” Ruth said. In a previous subdivision, a builder constructed about 5 homes and then left town, the work unfinished. We drove past a 17-home affordable subdivision of 3-bedroom homes the Guerras built in 2009.
Now, they are building Angel Oaks, a 6-home development for median income families, featuring 3-bedroom ranch-style homes with yards. A longtime customer of BCL, having worked with us in the past for an SBA 504 loan, the Guerra family is now working with BCL’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Texas Community Builders for our new pre-development loan product.
The demand for median-priced new housing in Gonzales is apparent, as five of the Angel Oaks homes have already been purchased, just as groundbreaking has barely begun. Most of the buyers are people of color, and all are first-time homeowners. “People are getting out of renting and into their first homes,” Ruth said.
And as with their hotels, their construction business is a family venture. They’ve taught their two daughters skills in construction, management, and project administration. “In the big city, you get a job and you learn one thing,” Ruth said. She said her daughters are now prepared with a wide range of skills to take on all kinds of jobs.
“I’m really glad that Texas Community Builders is investing in small developers,” Ruth said. “I appreciate that they saw that we have projects that will benefit individuals that probably never would have been able to buy a home. Without Texas Community Builders, we would not have been able to do this project.”
Being a social entrepreneur is a little like running a business and a non-profit at the same time, in that you’re focused on both the bottom line and your social mission. It’s a big vision, and requires a lot of work. Yet, if there’s any entrepreneur in Austin equipped for the job, it’s Fuerte Fitness owner Romy Parzick.
Glenda Colmenero has always worked for herself. “I like to be responsible for my own success,” she said.
And after years of working in real estate in the 5,000-population town of Giddings, Texas, she was becoming frustrated with the difficulty for sending documents and receiving packages, which would often be left by the side of the road or under a tree hundreds of feet from the front door. So instead of complaining, Glenda decided to solve the problem. This June, she will be opening her own Business Depot, Giddings’ first-ever business supply and mail center.
COVID-19 impacted many businesses, forcing most to permanently close their doors. Despite the economic and social crises of the pandemic, Rodney Burchfield, Managing Partner of Burchfield & Partners persevered through the challenges his company faced to successfully break ground on their largest project in 2022. Thanks, in part, to the financial assistance and support provided by BCL of Texas.
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