Helping a dream take root: Johelly Chalas’s financing journey with Nectar
Nectar Community Investments small business client New England Counseling and Wellness PLLC recently closed on its second financing with us, which helped owner Johelly Chalas hire two new therapists and one administrator for her growing business. The first loan supported Johelly as she launched this much-needed bilingual mental health care facility for the Lawrence community. We chatted with Johelly and Small Business Loan Officer Saul Peña about Nectar’s approach to the loan process and its benefits for Johelly and her team. Saul, can you walk us through Nectar’s loan process? Saul Peña: After Johelly applied, we had an initial consultation to get a feel for her business and what her current needs were. That’s how we start all our loans. We also do a quick assessment and review documents, such as a balance sheet and a personal financial statement, so we can let the potential client know within a week whether we’re moving forward with the application. If we don’t, we’ll refer the business owner to an ecosystem partner for technical assistance. If we do move forward with the loan, I like to dig into the details with our client, understand their plans for the financing and how it will help their business. …
