Darcy Densmore had been doing carpentry since she was a child, helping her father and brother around their shop. After working primarily in fast food restaurants, she decided to return to her roots. She attended the local vocational college, earned her carpentry certificate in 2000, and began working for a construction company that fall, building anything from cabinets to houses.

But Darcy had a bigger dream. Married, with two children, she wanted to work from home so she could spend more time with family. In 2002, Darcy opened her custom-cabinetry business, Triple D Cabinets. She began from the ground up, literally, with a work crew of family and friends who helped raise a workshop next to her house. Sales grew in the first six months, but Darcy couldn't handle enough projects to turn a profit. She needed an additional dust-free workspace to produce in volume the custom cabinets customers wanted.

Darcy approached the Arkansas Women's Business Development Center (ARWBDC), a partner in Asset Builders, an AFI project managed by the Southern Good Faith Fund, which serves low-income individuals in the Arkansas and Mississippi Delta. Asset Builders was ideal for Darcy, who enrolled in 2003. Her goal was to save enough to buy materials to add a painting and finishing room to her workshop, without taking out a loan. While she was saving in her IDA account, she also took the program's six-part economic skills training, which includes financial education and asset-specific training.

The Densmore family did not have problems with poor credit and had been using a budget to manage their financial matters since they married. Regardless, Darcy found the economic skills class helpful. "I learned ways to get more value for your money," she says. "After taking the class, I watched our family spending more carefully. It also helped me to shop wisely when buying materials and supplies for my business."

Darcy saved $120 per month with no problem. "I added the $120 into our family budget, and the money designated for the IDA was treated like any other bill," she says.

Like many independent trades people, Darcy was skilled in her craft but knew little about the financial aspects of running a business. Through a subcontractor, alt.Consulting, Asset Builders also connected her with technical assistance to implement a financial management system. Darcy describes the support she got from alt.Consulting, as "fantastic!" She says, "I learned about computer programs that are available and how to use them. Andrea made sure I knew how to do the book work and helped me make changes to the business to ensure that I was making a profit. I also learned a lot about how to do advertising for the business."

In January 2004, Darcy used her IDA savings and match funds to purchase materials and—turning again to family and friends—added a painting and finishing room to her workshop. It took about two weeks of evening and weekend work. Darcy says, "Before I had the additional space, I could not start on the next job until the last one was done. Now I can complete jobs faster, and I'm not at the mercy of the weather. Without the support of the IDA, it would have taken about twice as long to save the money for the additional workspace."

Darcy's business continues to thrive, going from a net loss in 2002 to a net profit of $12,807 in 2003, allowing Darcy to hire two part-time subcontractors. Darcy projected comparable profits for 2004.

Darcy is very thankful for the support she received from Good Faith Fund's Asset Builder program. She says, "They are wonderful people to work with. They will help you in any way they possibly can." She also loves her life as a business owner. "Anytime you can start your own business and do well at it, it's better for you and your family. I can't be more satisfied with my progress. I love being able to stop working when I need to and attend a program at the children's school."

Will there be another generation of successful carpenters? Darcy says, "It's nice to have a business that my kids could choose to take over when I retire."

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