Denice Swanson, owner of the thriving consignment shop The Drawer in Holdrege, Nebraska, was one my first clients. It was early 2007, and I had just started as a Business Specialist in the Rural Enterprise Assistance Project (REAP) at the Center for Rural Affairs. When I called her to let her know I was new in town, she was just kicking around the idea of expanding the business she started in 2003.

This month, Denice Swanson is profiled in a piece in Nebraska Rural Living. She talks at length about her decision to start her own business: The idea to open a consignment shop took hold after Swanson visited Christine’s Closet, a consignment store in Wichita, Kan., with her niece in 2003. “I couldn’t get that out of my head,” she said. “I was obsessed with that consignment shop.”

Then, 30 days later, the Holdrege factory where Swanson had worked for 23 years announced it was closing its doors. “It was like somebody was telling me something, to look in another direction,” she said.  “I just decided to go ahead with this plan because then I could give it 100 percent of my time.”

The Holdrege native rolled up her sleeves and went to work. She submitted a business plan and sought help from REAP and received a loan. Denice was successful enough that in 2007 she was able to expand with the help of some financing by REAP.

Less than four years after opening her business, she was moving to a location that roughly doubled her display space. “I outgrew that building so fast,” she said. “I had more consignors and items than I knew what to do with.”

During tough economic times, often the small, innovative businesses in rural communities are able to weather the storm. While losing a job is always a hardship, it can also be an opportunity to pursue the dream of owning your own business.

Read the full version of this and other blog posts at the Blog for Rural America.

For more information, contact Dena Beck, denab@cfra.org or 308.528.0060.