When Quinn Childress was 15 years old, he became homeless after being kicked out of his home on Willow Street in Fayetteville. A family took him in, gave him a place to live and later also gave him a lawn mower.
With the lawn mower, Childress paid his way through college at the University of Arkansas and started growing a solid clientele. After college, he decided to start growing his lawn care business, Willow St. Lawns, into something bigger.
However, he ran into a roadblock when COVID hit, and his credit took a hit, meaning he could not get the business loan he needed to continue to grow.
Enter Communities Unlimited — a nonprofit headquartered in Fayetteville that works to connect “rural Americans to solutions that sustain healthy businesses, healthy communities and healthy lives,” according to its website.
One way the organization does this is by being a more accessible lending source to small businesses.
Area Director of Marketing Debra Leach has been working with Communities Unlimited for about five years, and said businesses in Childress’ situation are exactly who the organization’s team sets out to help.
“We work with a small business, like Quinn’s, that cannot walk into a bank and get a loan,” she said.
She said some banks expect 20% down or two years of business history showing profit, which can be difficult for many small businesses.
Debra Leach
“They took a chance with me,” Childress said. “We collaborated. They gave me a loan, and I grew the business with that loan despite the credit, and we just keep growing.”
Now, the company has expanded to more than 20 states, and Childress isn’t stopping there. His goal is to have Willow St. Lawns in all 50 states and even other countries.
Leach said it’s important to get support for small businesses because small businesses are the main employers in many states. Also, in rural areas, small businesses feel the needs that would otherwise not be met if they weren’t there.
Childress has a large team employed at Willow St. Lawns, and is doing even more good with his initiative, “Planting Seeds of Hope.”
The company plants these seeds by hiring homeless people or people in underserved communities, Childress said.
“It became the mission and the vision because that’s what happened to me,” he said. “Whether the family knew it or not, they planted seeds of hope in me. I took advantage of that opportunity by taking the first mower, walking around the neighborhood, knocking on doors, and the community took a chance on me.”
“I saw that when someone gives you that opportunity, or you take that opportunity, you can overcome any challenges that you’re going through,” he said.
Even beyond providing him with the loan, Communities Unlimited has supported Childress.
“They help with finances, cash-flow, check-ins,” he said. “They have a lot of resources that we take advantage of free of cost.”
Quinn Childress
One piece of advice he offers to other small business owners is to take advantage of Communities Unlimited or similar organizations.
“Do not give up on your path, because there is a solution out there,” he said.
Leach suggests entrepreneurs give Communities Unlimited a call or go to the website and complete a loan application form.
“Let’s see what we can do to help you,” she said. “If we can’t do it for you today, we don’t ever tell anybody just ‘no.’”
Even if they cannot give a loan to a company at the time they first apply, the Communities Unlimited team helps the entrepreneur make a plan to be more ready in the coming months or years.
“We don’t just get the loan application and approve or decline it and send you on your merry way,” she said. “We really try to support our small businesses in our lending team.”
One thing that sets Communities Unlimited apart from similar organizations, in Leach’s opinion, is that the people working for the organization work and live in the rural communities they help serve.
“We see the outcome of the struggles every day,” she said. “Those are our communities. That’s what makes us very different from most CDFIs.”
Childress was supported by Communities Unlimited and has made a commitment to support people from underserved communities. He said other business owners should try to do the same.
“Giving back to the community is the ultimate thing that will help the overall community thrive,” he said.
Photos provided
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