Latoya’s story: securing finance for a successful salon

Latoya Rigby is the owner of Inspired Beauty Salon in Georgetown, Guyana. Her business helps people look and feel their best. With support from our Road to Finance programme, she accessed funding to grow her business.

“My name is Latoya Rigby and I am the owner of Inspired Beauty Salon.

Growing up, I was always passionate about independence. I always knew I wanted to work for myself and be financially equipped.  

My journey started shortly after leaving school, where I studied cosmetology. I worked in a salon for five years and then I opened my own shop, which was my main goal.

The main challenge that I face as a woman entrepreneur is having access to financial resources. That is one of the main challenges for myself and for many women in Guyana.

Road to Finance helped me to manage my financials, do bookkeeping, and learn how to do my taxes. It also taught me how to approach financial institutions in Guyana to get a loan for my business, because without finance, my business cannot grow.  

My favourite part was learning how to “know my numbers”. When you know your numbers and understand your finances, then you are able to tell if you are actually making a profit or just doing business. In business, you need to know these things otherwise you’re just working for working’s sake. I enjoyed that part of the course.

The last thing I took away with from the Road to Finance course was being able to help others. You may wonder how that played a part in the course. Look at it this way: I have a lot of young women like myself in my network and I can now share my learnings with them. I feel great about that. 

Part of our coursework was giving a presentation in front of real financial institutions. I am talking about funds that could end up investing in your business. Through that presentation, I was able to gain access to finance for my business. I was shocked by this, but it boosted my confidence in my ability to approach financial institutions in the future.

With the finance I gained, I was able to buy equipment that was needed for my business, to buy products to resell, and also to market my business on different platforms.

The impact of my business success for myself, my family and my community is not just that I am financially free. It also gives a lot of young persons the confidence that this is possible, and if I can do it, they can do it. I want to give back as much as I can to my community with my business, in order to build something out of what I gained from this course. 
 
Women can do anything and if we are in a financial position where we can help others, whether it’s our families, our partners, our kids, our siblings, it’s a guarantee that we will make the best use of it. 
 
To anyone that wants to start a business and have an impact, don’t let anyone tell you that you cannot to it. If you believe, you can go for it. If you need guidance, seek it. If you want to become a business owner like myself, then know that there is a programme for you. All you need to do is be passionate and go for it.”