Success Stories

Kairy-tate Barkley is the owner of French Cuff Boutique, an innovative and highly popular women’s apparel and accessories boutique.  Located in accessible neighborhoods with an intimate setting focused on expert wardrobe consultation and a custom selection of designer labels sets her apart from competitors.

Kairy-tate is a native Houstonian who loves fashion and always dreamed of owning her own boutique.  She attended the University of Houston and received a dual Bachelor of Business degree in Marketing and Management.  While working as a Human Resource professional at a Houston-based Fortune 500 company, she began selling women’s clothing and accessories at home shows in the evenings and weekends, which rekindled her passion for fashion.  She realized that she enjoyed this and was good at selling clothes.  “This re-ignited my true passion and gave me the confidence to take the next step,” said Kairy-tate.

In 2007, she left her successful HR career to pursue her dream... Read More

Young entrepreneur Masroor Fatany started Sears Garage Solutions of Houston in 2009 at the age of 22.  Sears Garage Solutions is a Sears franchise that provides repair and installation services and offers a full line of garage doors, accessories, and entry doors.    

Masroor’s exposure to entrepreneurship came at the early age of 10 when he frequently accompanied his father on service calls in his air conditioning business.  He later worked in another family   business in retail packaging and shipping.  While attending college he and his father launched Unlimited Calling, Inc. selling pre-paid   Cricket wireless products.  They expanded the business and now have 6 locations.

After graduating from Texas A&M with a bachelor’s in accounting and a Master’s in Finance, Masroor worked as an Assurance and Advisory Associate at Ernst and Young.  In less than a year, he realized he wanted to be a full time entrepreneur and began his search for a business idea.  His search... Read More

Home-Based Business Expands in Katy, Texas

Texas Swim Academy, owned by Bruce and Kathleen McMordie, is an aquatic safety academy located in Katy, Texas.  Texas Swim Academy started as a home-based business in 2004 and has expanded to a new 7,800 square foot facility with the help of the SBA and its resource partners.

The business idea came when Kathleen was looking for an infant aquatics survival program for her daughter.  Having worked at a hospital as a registered nurse with near drowning patients, Kathleen wanted her children to learn water survival skills.   Three of her older children were successful with a similar program when they lived in Austin, but after moving to Houston, finding an instructor in the area who taught this program proved unsuccessful.  When she couldn’t find an instructor in town, she expanded her search and found an instructor from Dallas who was willing to travel to the Houston area to give lessons.  To make the instructor’s trip to Houston worthwhile, Kathleen invited other children to... Read More

Dandy Candy, A Chocolate Lover's Dream Business

 

 

Dandy Candy, LLC was started in 2006 by friends and co-owners Goya Qualls and Gina Williams.  Dandy Candy is a retail business specializing in printing full color images, photographs, logos and messages onto chocolate products.   

The unique business started after Goya Qualls was laid off from the insurance industry where she worked for 24 years.  With the ambition of starting her own business, she was reminded of her mother’s saying, “You should do what you love.”  Jokingly, she answered herself, “I love chocolate.”  What started off as a joke turned into a real business.

After much research, Qualls discovered the idea of selling personalized chocolates and pitched the idea to her friend Gina Williams, a retired disabled veteran who had recently moved from Louisiana to Houston after Hurricane Katrina.  Gina was immediately on board.  Leaving the chocolate making process to the experts, Qualls and Williams focused on creating graphics and designs to... Read More

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