Elizabeth Demas is the owner of a top-producing AVON retail store located in Overland Park. The business survived a slow start in 2004, when she had to change locations after seven months. Now she gets calls from coast to coast about how to do it right. She agrees that luck and timing play a part in success, but she also knows that success is the result of “preparation meeting opportunity.”

Demas sold Avon products before she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. An information technology professional, she was laid off from Sprint during the recession of 2002-2003. An optimist by nature, she saw this as an opportunity. She took business workshops, researched some ideas, discarded some and acted upon others, and eventually opened an Avon training facility in Olathe. Business was weak, however, and she feared she may have misjudged both the opportunity and location.

Demas knew she needed help; “I just didn’t know how anyone could help me,” she said. A turning point came when she recalled information from a Dun & Bradstreet study that “90 percent of small business failures are due to the owner’s lack of skills and knowledge and that 90 percent of small businesses were still in business after five years when they sought help from an SBDC or other business expert.” She typed this word for word and keeps the quote on her cork board.

Demas contacted JCCC’s Kansas Small Business Development Center to “see what, if anything, could be done to help me.”

“Right away, the SBDC helped acquire a business loan and set me up with a retail merchandising consultant to help me with my store layout,” Demas said. “Bob Kolich has been a steady support over the years. I know if I need anything, I can go to him and his department for help anytime.” Later the KSBDC helped her secure a second loan to expand merchandising capability, décor and layout.

Revenues have grown 400 percent since Demas’ first year and continue to rise. She and her store participate in several charity events during the year including the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Safe Home and “Back in the Swing” breast cancer awareness. It’s no wonder Avon stores around the country seek her out.

“Set your goals and develop your plan to achieve them,” Demas said. “Then accept the fact that there’s nothing wrong with changing the plan as you go, as long as you keep the goal in mind.”

For more information about JCCC’s Kansas Small Business Development Center or to make an appointment, contact ksbdc@jccc.edu or call 913-469-3878.