Michigan CDFI Finances Family-Owned Automotive Recycling Business
Client: Flowers Automotive Recycling
Client Location: Kalamazoo, MI
CDFI: Northern Initiatives
CDFI Service Area: Michigan
Small business loans and coaching
Ronald Flowers is building both a family legacy and a sustainable future through his business, Flowers Automotive Recycling. He specializes in an end-to-end, recycling-everything process for scrapped cars, committed to reducing waste and expanding his operations.
Flowers Automotive Recycling started out with capacity to recycle 5-6 parts per car, but now that number has grown to 30+ parts per car. Ronald estimates they now recycle 100-200 cars each month. The business also employs seven full-time staff, including Ronald’s 20-year-old son Anthony.
Anthony plays a pivotal role in the operations of the business by managing the finances and mastering QuickBooks. He listens eagerly for advice and guidance whenever and wherever he can. “You’re not my shadow, you’re my partner,” Ronald proudly tells his son.
Despite his now-flourishing business, Ronald’s journey was not without financial challenges.
OFN Member Northern Initiatives Provides Essential Funding
When Ronald first tried to start his business, he encountered barriers accessing credit. Looking for an alternative to mainstream financial institutions, he became familiar with the opportunities and support provided by community development financial institutions (CDFIs) after a referral to Northern Initiatives for financing.
“I didn’t know about credit until I was 32, 35 years old,” said Ronald, now 44 and four years into owning his own business. “I never paid attention. Northern Initiatives found things in my credit I didn’t even know about!”
Through the Wells Fargo Open for Business Fund and OFN’s Finance Justice Fund, Northern Initiatives provided loans that allowed Ronald to consolidate debt and grow his business. Additionally, Northern Initiatives paired Ronald with business coach Cailin Kelly. She has presented Ronald’s case for grants, connected him with a financial advisor, and even helped curtail unnecessary expenses through the use of weekly tracking. She is currently working with Ronald to prepare for a pitch competition.
With support from Northern Initiatives, Flowers Automotive Recycling continues to pave the way in automotive recycling and environmental sustainability.
CDFIs Invest in and Grow Small Businesses
Small businesses are the backbone of our nation’s economy, but securing financing can be a major roadblock to success for entrepreneurs, particularly for entrepreneurs of color. Many are denied by traditional banks who claim they don’t meet the experience, cash flow, credit, or equity required. These entrepreneurs are left vulnerable to predatory lenders and costly financing, like Ronald Flowers would have been if he had not been introduced to a CDFI like Northern Initiatives.
Additionally, environmentally sustainable solutions and recycling facilities such as Flowers Automotive Recycling are often elusive for low-income communities and communities of color, due in part to their high expense. And yet, these are the communities most often affected by climate change and left behind by mainstream lenders and other financial institutions.
CDFIs address both the financial and environmental aspects of this reality. They provide safe, responsible financial options and coaching for borrowers who traditional banks do not reach. In 2021, certified CDFIs had more than $25 billion small business and microloans in their portfolios.
CDFIs also invest in and help communities transition to renewable and sustainable energy, offering training to build new job skills in the clean energy industry. 55% of OFN’s member CDFIs offer green lending products to support clean energy production and energy efficiency projects.
To learn more about how OFN and our network of CDFIs prioritize small businesses, visit our small business page.
To read other stories about thriving small businesses funded by CDFIs, visit our impact stories page.
Are you an OFN member CDFI with a great borrower story to share?
Your client success stories illustrate what it means to deliver opportunity for all. They help OFN demonstrate how CDFIs work to help create good family-wage jobs, decent affordable homes, healthy foods, greener neighborhoods, and so much more.
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