Cleola Seward
Business Development Center Participant

Cleola Seward heard about Southern Good Faith Fund’s Business Development Center (BDC) from a DHS Licensing Specialist in Forrest City, Arkansas, who mentioned that the BDC was conducting the “Business Side of Childcare” (BSCC) training in West Memphis. Cleola attended and graduated from the BSCC in June 2006, obtaining the basics required to start and grow a licensed child care business.

In November, 2006, Cleola found herself unemployed due to a plant shut-down, so she proceeded with starting her dream of a family home daycare. With very limited funds, she started God Bless Daycare in Forrest City in January 2007.

Cleola continued to receive one-on-one counseling from BDC staff and made a decision to really get it right. She needed the necessary equipment, training, counseling, and funds to grow the business. She enrolled in Southern Good Faith Fund’s Individual Development Accounts (IDA) program to save money to purchase a computer and fax machine for her business. She also enrolled in BDC’s technical assistance program to learn the QuickBooks program, with which she will manage her business financials. Not wanting to wait until completing the IDA program to purchase a computer, she applied for a Trickle Up grant and decided to use her IDA money later to “fix-up” the house where the business is located.

She was recently awarded a $500 Trickle Up grant and plans to purchase a computer to get started with QuickBooks. Cleola states that people always comment on the name of her business which is “God Bless Daycare”, and she says she named it that because she was “Blessed by the Best.”