Irene Clancy is the definition of an entrepreneur. Never one to shrink from a challenge, she has accomplished many things: designing shoes, freelancing as a makeup artist and eventually falling in love with fitness.
Her journey to becoming a pilates instructor began unexpectedly when she attended a free pilates class at a local studio. A love of the art form was birthed and pilates quickly moved from interest to a hobby to a passion.
As her personal practice flourished so did a desire to share the benefits of the movement with her community. Clancy sought professional training, obtaining industry certifications in Pilates, Barre, and TRX. The dream of owning her own studio was born and in 2020, during the pandemic, she opened a small studio in her home. The following year she and her husband decided to forgo purchasing a new home in order to open a commercial pilates studio instead. All that was needed was funding.
Unfortunately, Clancy ran into many obstacles in obtaining a business loan for her studio. Although she had over 10 years of instructing experience and had taught over 3,000 verifiable classes, the traditional lenders still considered her business a start-up.
When she came to Access Plus Capital, she was in urgent need of financing. The lease for her new “brick and mortar” studio was signed and there was a tight manufacturing deadline looming for a piece of equipment pivotal to the success of Clancy’s unique business model. She needed cash quickly but was lacking key documents.
Clancy outlined a pricing plan for pre-sale membership packages and the Access Plus Capital team assisted her with creating a personal financial statement. Together Clancy and APC worked diligently to create a business plan and operating budget which included equipment, tenant improvements, marketing, and start-up costs.
Access Plus Capital was able to help Clancy “fill in the gap” between what she had and what was needed by funding her start-up business loan and ultimately providing over 30 hours of pre-loan assistance, document preparation, and post-loan guidance.