Woman-Owned Pet Supply Store Opens in Southeast Alaska with Help of Native CDFI
Client: Julia Bovee, owner of Kanga Bay
Client Location: Sitka, AK
CDFI: Spruce Root
CDFI Service Area: Southeast Alaska
Technical assistance and small business financing with support from the Finance Justice Fund
Kanga Bay is a new pet supply store in Sitka, Alaska, that features high-quality treats and toys for cats and dogs. For owner Julia Bovee, starting a business in her hometown didn’t seem possible at first. But through training and coaching from Spruce Root, a community development financial institution (CDFI) based in Southeast Alaska, pet owners now have a new place to buy treats for their pets.
First leaving Sitka to attend college in Washington state and later to work in higher education and tech recruiting in Seattle, Julia eventually returned home with an idea to start her own business. After learning about Spruce Root from other local small business owners and entrepreneurs, she participated in the CDFI’s Path to Prosperity Business Basics workshop in 2021.
The workshop helped her think about not only what she wanted to do, but also what might be successful and marketable in Sitka. Ultimately, she realized she wanted to open a pet supply store, modeled after one of her favorite stores in Seattle. She decided to focus on local customers year-round and carry things they would want, but she also didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to capture tourist or visitor sales by carrying items like Alaskan-made salmon treats or bandanas.
Today Kanga Bay is going strong with Spruce Root’s help. Julia is now considering adding store hours to accommodate cruise ship passengers and a buy local initiative. Kanga Bay also supports other local and-Alaska-based small businesses by purchasing locally made products, and they support local nonprofits by donating merchandise for fundraisers.
Julia credits Spruce Root with helping her succeed: “I wasn’t going to be eligible for any sort of traditional bank loan, so just being able to access funding through Spruce Root along with that coaching piece – I don’t think I’d be here without it,” she said. “I am super thankful for all the help Spruce Root gave me along the way and I think this model of the business coaching and the help with the business plan up front all the way through ideation and financing and all that, worked super well for me.”
Spruce Root’s small business lending and technical assistance services are also available to citizens of Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska and Sealaska Corporation shareholders throughout the United States.
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