Marie Louise Fine Garment Cleaners Uses SBA Support to Grow a Trusted Hawaii Dry Cleaning Business
The Honolulu-based small business has grown from a seven-person shop into a 21-employee operation with support from SBA lending and training programs.
Marie Louise Fine Garment Cleaners, founded by owner Wendy Kia in 2006, is a Honolulu-based small business that provides full-service garment care for consumer and corporate clients across Hawaiʻi. With support from SBA, the company has used SBA lending and training programs to relocate, invest in equipment and green cleaning technology, and grow into a 21-employee operation serving local families, hotels, and film productions.
Start with a mission
Marie Louise Fine Garment Cleaners was founded to help people in Hawaiʻi maintain their wardrobes for work through personalized, high-quality service. From the beginning, the shop has focused on greeting customers by name, understanding their needs, and delivering consistent results.
Owner Wendy Kia brought more than two decades of dry-cleaning experience to the business when she opened the plant in 2006. She worked at the front counter from open to close, using that time to set the tone for how she wanted customers to be treated and how garments should be handled.
“I’m proud of the fact that when customers come in, they wave, say hello, and tell me how much they love our staff and our service. That relationship means the world to me, and we strive every day to make people happy,” - Wendy Kia
Over time, the mission has stayed the same even as the business has grown. Kia has built a team that shares her commitment to service, including employees who have been with her since day one and others who have stayed for decades. Their longevity and dedication help make the shop a trusted part of the neighborhood.
Access to SBA capital
From the start, Kia knew that having the right financial partners would be essential to growing a small business in Hawaiʻi. A former boss encouraged her to build a relationship with a business banker, who later joined the SBA in Hawaiʻi and introduced her to SBA programs and resources.
In 2006, Kia used an SBA 7(a) loan to help purchase and establish Marie Louise Fine Garment Cleaners. The financing allowed her to acquire the business and invest in equipment. Years later, she again turned to SBA-backed lending to relocate due to Honolulu’s rail construction, purchase a delivery van, and upgrade equipment for the new facility.
“When we moved to the new plant, the SBA-backed loans helped us add a driver, buy more vans, upgrade our equipment, and expand our capacity to do more work.” - Wendy Kia
In 2017, Kia participated in the SBA Emerging Leaders Program. The training helped her practice elevator pitches, prepare business snapshots, and present her story to other entrepreneurs. She later used those skills when she went before bank loan committees to request financing.
“The Emerging Leaders Program made a big difference. Practicing my elevator pitch and business snapshot prepared me for going to the bank and asking for a loan. It reminded me of giving that pitch in class, and it gave me the confidence to do it.” - Wendy Kia
Results of SBA support
With SBA support, Marie Louise Fine Garment Cleaners turned major changes into opportunities to grow. Relocating due to rail construction could have disrupted operations or reduced capacity. Instead, Kia and her team planned carefully, moved equipment over a single weekend, and reopened in the new 4,000-square-foot facility without sending customers elsewhere.
The larger space allowed her to add services for Hawaiʻi residents and small businesses. She brought alterations in-house, installed pressing equipment for flat items such as tablecloths and sheets, and expanded delivery routes across Honolulu. These investments helped the business serve small hotel and restaurant accounts while continuing to focus on professionals and condo owners.
“The SBA loans helped us get the equipment we needed so we could do more work and do it better. That’s what allowed us to add services and still take care of the customers we already had.” - Wendy Kia
At the same time, Kia invested in green technology. In the new facility, she converted the plant to a GreenEarth cleaning system, using a silicone-based solvent designed to be safer for employees and customers.
The business has also taken on a unique role supporting Hawaiʻi’s film and television industry. Marie Louise Fine Garment Cleaners has provided garment care for television shows such as “Lost” and “Hawaii Five-0,” as well as films including “Battleship” and “Jurassic Park.” Meeting production schedules that often require same-day or next-day turnaround has helped Kia grow her staff and add capacity, while giving employees the satisfaction of seeing their work on screen.
Final thoughts
Today, the business employs 21 people, more than double the staff Kia had when she started. When other dry cleaners in Hawaiʻi have closed, her reputation and relationships have helped her bring experienced workers into her team. SBA-backed lending made it possible to invest in equipment and facilities that support those jobs and keep the business strong.
Looking ahead, Kia is working with an SBA lender on additional expansion to bring in new equipment and tools that will help her staff do their best work.
Kia encourages other entrepreneurs in Hawaiʻi to know their market and focus on the customers they can serve best. For her, that has meant helping people who need to maintain their wardrobes for work, delivering quality and personal service, and using SBA support to keep a neighborhood business strong for the long term.