For Army veteran Michelle McCollum, great food can evoke nostalgia, create new memories and connect communities. While she was stationed in Arizona, she discovered a small food truck serving incredible Nutella and banana crepes.
“That’s where I fell in love with crepes. They were delicious and cleverly served, and something about the presentation stuck with me,” said Michelle, who began making her own crepes and dreamed of opening a food business. “I knew I wanted to be different, I didn’t want to be like everyone else.”
Years later, when she relocated with her family to Corpus Christi, Michelle decided to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams.
“I was very driven and motivated to [open the business] but I didn’t know where to go or who could help me,” she said.
Her friend, a fellow veteran businesswoman, referred her to LiftFund and its Women Veterans Entrepreneurship Training (WVET) program. WVET is a nine-week digital accelerator that provides women veteran business owners with the financial workshops, seminars and training they need to succeed.
“I [worked] with LiftFund and they helped me every step of the way,” Michelle said. Through her LiftFund loan, Michelle was able to launch LaLa’s Crepes, LLC in time for a local food truck event and celebrated their grand opening in June. The crepes were a hit, and immediately garnered loyal “LaLa lover” fans. LaLa’s Crepes were even featured on a KZTV “Food Truck Friday” segment.
“I had a great experience and would recommend working with [LiftFund],” Michelle said. She looks forward to expanding the business to include catering events and more operating hours in 2018.
LiftFund is proud to offer so many opportunities to entrepreneurs and business owners alike. Our goal is to provide the business resources, the business tools, and business loans to make as big of an impact as possible. Sometimes businesses just need a lift, and that is why we exist.
