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Success Stories

If there is one thing Brooke Lacey can teach the world, it is to not underestimate the technical capacities of women.  Brooke is the founder and lead technician at the only female owned computer repair company in Boise, Idaho.  Brooke has a bold and beautiful perspective of female presence in the technical industry and looks forward to the day when technology is not considered a male dominated field.

Brooke moved to Boise, Idaho ten years ago from Chicago, Illinois.  She lives with her husband and son who are very supportive of her career.  Brooke was successful in the corporate realm but realized her job was draining the joy out of her life.  She took a leap of faith and quit her job to open a small business--Tech Savvy, LLC.

In July of 2013, Brooke reached out to the Idaho Women’s Business Center (WBC) for business guidance.  The WBC helped Brooke build a powerful business plan to push her business to success.  Brook insists, “I am in business today, thanks to the... Read More

Janitzio Family Mexican Restaurant opened in 2007 by J. Mercedes and Gloria Guzman.  It is located in beautiful Twin Falls, Idaho and offers a fantastic variety of authentic recipe’s from the state of Michoacán in Mexico.  The restaurant is accentuated with attractive Hispanic cultural décor that brings a vibrant and authentic atmosphere which, combined with the delicious menu options, offer a unique dining experience that welcomes all patrons, including families with young children.

Mercedes and Gloria combine for over thirty years of restaurant ownership and management experience.  With this powerful background, they effectively led their restaurant to impressive success and quickly found themselves in need of a larger building.  Gloria visited her local SBA resource partner the Idaho Small Business Development Center in Twin Falls.  She met with Sherry Bass and immediately began working on a business plan.  The SBDC introduced Mercedes and Gloria to the loan officers at... Read More

Cheesemaking has been a tradition in Blake Manwaring’s family for over 100 years.  Blake took his family tradition to new heights by reopening Manwaring Cheese in Rigby, Idaho in year 2010.  Manwaring cheese is made by hand—offering patrons a taste of old country perfection.

The Manwaring family migrated from England to Ashton, Idaho and with them, came an unrivaled talent for open vat cheesemaking.  It was quite a move for the family of fourteen!  Blake’s father, Basil Manwaring, opened the original family cheese factory in 1955 and it was not long before the Manwarings’ were sharing an appreciation for fine cheese with their small town Idaho neighbors.  Harsh weather eventually drove the Manwaring family out of Ashton, landing them, and the factory, in Rigby, Idaho.  The factory provided for the family, Manwaring Cheese disappeared momentarily but resurfaced in 2010 by Blake Manwaring.

Resurrecting the family craft, Blake Manwaring solved his unexpected,... Read More

After 15 years of working in customer service in the high tech industry for such giants as Apple and Hewlett Packard, Donovan Johns was burned out.  He enjoyed the innovative gadgetry, but the corporate lifestyle left him in search of a change.  So in 2009, when his former in-laws asked if he'd be interested in buying into their successful convenience store business, Johns gave the proposition serious consideration.

"I knew nothing about running a business and although I was intrigued, I was scared to death to make the investment," recalls Johns.

Analytical by nature, Johns started doing his research.  It didn't take long for him to discover SCORE mentors at the Boise District Office of the Small Business Administration.  After five intense sessions and an all-day "Business Fundamentals" class taught by SCORE members, Johns was able to confidently resign from his secure job at HP and commit himself full-time to his new venture.

"The mentoring I received from... Read More

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