Justin Bond and Deven7 Studios

Justin Bond has owned Deven7 Studios, a custom framing shop in Louisville, KY, for nearly 20 years. A staple in the Louisville art community, his business has grown organically through word-of-mouth means over the years. His work speaks for itself and his customers are loyal. He has invested in many ways to support artists in town and this community appreciates him. In 2015 he purchased a building for his business and moved across the street from where he was renting. At the time, this commercial mortgage was fixed for 5 years and amortized for 20 years. When 2020 came along, his sales dropped 30-35% due to the government shutdown of non-essential business and contracted consumer spending.

In September, he had experienced several tough months of sales decrease and was facing an October deadline to refinance his building. In this moment, he reached out to the Louisville Small Business Development Center for guidance. With the assistance of Business Coach, Anne Shadle, he navigated a comparison between two banks of refinancing options, the application process of a city COVID relief grant and accompanying documentation upon approval, a debt refinancing strategy, and a 2021 budget/projection process. In addition to these financial processes, Justin has said that he sees Anne as an anchor for his business decisions.