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When Grand Junction’s only quilting store closed it’s doors in the Fall of 2013, the local quilting community was devastated. With the closest quilting venue hundreds of miles away, avid quilter, Bea Root, and long time quilting buddy, Tracy Miller, decided that something needed to be done. The idea began forming late last year, and Bea, after being referred to the Small Business Development Center by a close friend, signed up for the Pumping up the Dream: Starting a Business in Western Colorado class. After taking all of the follow up classes, Bea decided it was time to move forward with her goal of opening the store. It was truly a leap of faith for both women, who are both successful in their current careers. But their passion for quilting is undeniable.

The two spent months researching, looking at buildings, and planning. Once they found the perfect building, they decided to pull the trigger and Busy Bea Quilters opened their doors on September 13, 2014. In the three short months that they have been open, they have already established an amazing client base of 1,300 fellow quilters, sewers, and crafters. They created a 22 person classroom, one of the largest in the state, and host classes, events, workshops, and open sewing. They are also the only Authorized Brother Sewing Machine Dealer on the Western Slope

In addition to the Starting a Business class and follow up sessions, Bea continues to meet with SBDC staff for Quickbooks training. Although Tracy runs a successful practice as an eye doctor, retail business was new to her. Bea, on the other hand, owned a successful catering and baking business in Denver 20 years ago. The entrepreneurial spirit is in her blood, but as she pointed out, laws change tremendously in that amount of time, and the SBDC was integral in making sure that nothing was forgotten. The SBDC “gave me the steps to take, and because of that, nothing has fallen through the cracks”. Bea also added that anyone who has the desire to turn their passion into a business should “take all the classes offered through the SBDC and use them as a resource. If you are unsure or have more questions, keep asking!”

Early in Patty’s nursing career, she knew she wanted to become a midwife. After years as a RN and completing her BSN, she decided it was time to pursue her dream and enrolled at Frontier Nursing University. Little did she know, her education at Frontier Nursing University would not only prepare her to become a midwife but also potentially a future entrepreneur; one of the final capstone projects she had to do was write a business plan for a midwife/birth center business. Armed with Patty’s nursing and midwifery education along with Dick’s Masters of Hospital Administration, they made the decision to move to Grand Junction to be closer to their daughter.

Upon settling into Grand Junction, they found their way to The Business Incubator Center where they took the “Starting a Business in Western Colorado” and “Leading Edge” classes. During this time, they were also in the beginning stages of starting Bloomin’ Babies. Upon completing the classes, the Kandiko’s were confronted with challenge after challenge.

First, they had to find a suitable location close to emergency medical treatment should it become necessary. They signed the lease on their location in February 2013 and were confronted with the next challenge, finding a doctor with hospital privileges that would be willing to take their referral patients. Third, they had to work with local and state fire officials to determine which fire safety rules their birthing center needed to be built to. Finally, they needed to receive their state licensing in order to operate. Some of these challenges were easier to overcome than others but the Kandiko’s persevered and were verbally granted their license on September 17, 2013. They credit their success in part to the resources that the SBDC and staff coaches have provided along the way. Patty & Dick both say, “The coaches and staff were there to help without being too pampering. They are a great support system.”

The Kandiko’s are excited to be able to offer a birthing option for women who want the expertise of medical professionals with a home-like environment with a personal touch. In addition to birthing services, they will also be offering services for all women from pre-conception (annual visits, contraception, etc.) through menopause.

Teri Thomas, owner of Angels in the Making, LLC, has always had a passion for working with animals. She trained her first dog at the age of 8. As a child she spent her summers at her grandparent’s ranch in New Mexico, there she raised and trained chickens to do a variety of tasks much to everyone’s surprise. Born and raised in Colorado she attended CSU in Fort Collins for 1 year and Mesa College in Grand Junction for 2 years. After switching majors 5 times she decided to jump into the work -a -day world to discover what she wanted to be when she grew up. She entered the veterinary profession and has never looked back. With two years of experience as a veterinary receptionist and technician, Teri moved to Florida with her husband in 1 985 and continued her trade in Orlando. An opportunity to work as an apprentice for an obedience instructor arose at the animal hospital where she was working. Teri seized the moment and apprenticed for 2 years. Eventually this trainer wanted to leave the business and handed it over to Teri. She gained much of her knowledge with dogs from hands on experience learning from every dog and every owner she worked with. She attended many workshops and seminars in Orlando by Ian Dunbar, Karen Overall and many others.

Teri started training dogs in 1987 in a bank parking lot in Orlando, Florida on Saturday mornings. September 11, 2001 made Teri and her husband Lon realize how far away from family they were and they decided to head back home in 2002. Teri took 2 years off from training, spending time getting reacquainted with family and the Colorado Mountains. She also took this time to continue studying animal behavior and to work on getting her Certification in Canine Behavior through the American College of Applied Science and her Certification as a Professional Dog Trainer. It wasn’t long before the desire to work with dogs, cats (and chickens!) and their humans returned. Teri joined the Association of Pet Dog Trainers in January of 2006 and decided to start her own business. Teri is also a member of the Association of Animal Behavior Professionals. Angels in the Making, LLC was born.

Angels in the Making, LLC is a training academy for dogs and cats. Angels in the Making provides a wide variety of training classes to work on puppy socialization skills, basic obedience, intermediate obedience, separation anxiety, digging, barking, aggression, fears, jumping, and litter box problems. Teri Thomas has over 25 years of experience training dogs and cats. Teri started her business at the Orchard Mesa Vet Hospital and then moved down to the Business Incubator Center in Grand Junction; she currently operates the only Grand Junction indoor-outdoor training facility for dogs and cats. Teri also provides private lessons and group lessons.

Teri’s goal has been, and always will be, to help bridge the gap in communication between animals and their humans. In doing this she hopes her efforts will keep pets in their homes rather than being relinquished to animal shelters or to that final step of euthanasia.