Helen Mangum - Microloan Borrower

Seven years ago in New York, Helen Mangum stepped onto a Greyhound bus bound for her home state of North Carolina. She carried only $100 in her pocket and was four months pregnant with her first child. Today, having paid back half of her two-year, $3,000 microloan from Self-Help, Helen works for herself as a hairstylist and has increased her client base ten-fold. Her journey has been marked by hard work, perseverance, and entrepreneurial spirit.

    After staying almost a year and a half at various homeless shelters and transitional homes in Durham, Helen moved into a rental home with her two children, Estelle and Daniel.  She worked in a variety of local hair salons, where her talents earned her a small base of loyal clients that follow her wherever she sets up shop. Client Tiffany Whiteside has gone to Helen since “the kitchen sink era” and says she trusts her more than anyone. “With Helen, it’s a lot more personal,” Whiteside says. “It’s just like therapy, we just share.”

    Helen realized she didn’t have to settle for the nonflexible hours and low pay she received working at someone else’s salon. “I needed money and to be self-sufficient,” Mangum says. “That’s when I stepped out on faith and found a place where I could work for myself.”

    In February 2006, she ventured out on her own and rented a booth at MetroSport Health Club & Spa in Durham. For the first time, Helen was her own boss. She found peace in being able to control her environment. “I love hair,” Helen says. “For me, it’s like taking time to paint or anything else creative. It’s very therapeutic.”

    But along with the newfound freedom of self-employment came the insecurity of living without a regular paycheck. Starting in a booth with only a handful of regular customers, Helen collected $300 a month, which barely covered the rent and left her with no money to grow the business.

    Helen needed access to working capital. One of her longtime clients was a Self-Help employee who reminded her of the opportunities available through the nonprofit credit union. “I was exhausting every resource I could find,” Helen says. “One day I said a prayer and then just walked into Self-Help. Jennifer (Sherwin) happened to be there. And I told her I needed help.”

    Helen explained her situation to Jennifer, a commercial loan officer, and asked for a microloan of $3,000 to buy supplies and to pay rent on the booth a few months in advance.

     “You could tell she had hit some bad times but was very smart,” Jennifer says. Helen had some formidable obstacles in her way: bad credit, a negative net worth of $17,000, and a lack of a car or other property to serve as collateral.

    “It became clear that someone else would have to put up collateral for her,” Jennifer says. Finding a client that trusted Helen enough to invest in her proved an easy task, as many were familiar with her story.

    “If you’ve been out in the street, you’re going to be open – you can’t help it,” Helen says. “My clients know me well and always support me and my kids.”

    Helen talked to a client about the loan opportunity and her friend wasted no time. Her client went to the Self-Help office the following day to open a money market account for $3,000 that would be used to secure the loan and that could only be accessed by the client after Helen paid back the loan in full.

 “(My client) was in the midst of buying her own home, and her husband and her still jumped right on it,” Helen says.

    Now with one year of her two-year loan already paid off, Helen says that business is booming. She’s gone from three regular customers to 30, and must turn potential clients away.

    “I couldn’t have done it without the loan – it gave me time to focus,” Helen says. “After that, that was it. I took off. When Jennifer calls to check in, I’m like ‘Girl, this thing is flying!’”

Helen’s monthly payment of $137 is never late, Jennifer says. “She has very good payment history – she even paid ahead this month.”

    Helen says she is grateful to everyone who helped her along the way. “It was an extremely humbling experience,” Helen says. “But I feel great about it – when your spirit changes, all of a sudden, you’re free.”

    Helen, ever ambitious, continues to think up even bigger plans for expansion. She says she’ll probably need to hire an assistant soon, and could use more dryers and sinks. She still works part-time at a local salon for supplemental income, but hopes that soon she will be able to focus solely on her business and live completely “off the system.” Her ultimate dream is to open her own salon one day, and she says she’s already searching for the right spot.

    “You can’t wake up and not have a plan,” Helen says. “Always think in terms of moving forward. And never give up.”