Micro Corp. no small asset.

• Author: Taylor, Mike
• Position: Money matters - Micro Business Development Corp.

"NO ENTREPRENEUR LEFT BEHIND" would be an apt slogan for Micro Business Development Corp., a Denver nonprofit agency that provides loans and technical assistance to people with ample ideas but not always so ample credit scores, experience or resources.

True to its "micro" label, the agency makes loans for as little as $500, enough sometimes to keep a tiny business going or to get one started, believe it or not. On the other end of the spectrum, MBD's loans can go all the way up to $50,000. The agency also offers what it calls a Micro Business Assessment, a low-cost but professional and thorough analysis of a business' strengths and weaknesses that has helped at least five companies, including Boulder Beverage Co., secure venture-capital or angel funding.

One of MBD's stated objectives is to support underserved populations, and indeed, 72 percent of the clients are low-income, 65 percent are minorities and 60 percent are women. But no one is turned away--you don't need to have been turned down for a conventional bank loan or be devoid of personal assets before MBD will listen to your plan.

Take Mike McCrea. For 21 years the Denver man drove a hazardous-waste truck. The driving must have given him time to think about what he really wanted to do, which was to bottle his own barbecue sauce and sell it to the masses. Courageously, he finally made a go of it, selling the sauce out of his car and using his 401(k) savings to push the enterprise along.

But the 401(k) ran out before Big Mike's sauce could gain widespread acceptance, so he turned to MBD. There, he secured not only a $30,000 loan but also business training and access to the Denver Enterprise Center's high-end commercial kitchen. That's where today he makes Big Mike's BBQ Sauce, which you can now find at King Soopers, various meat markets, and at Invesco Field.

In its first year, 2001, Big Mike's BBQ sauce did about $30,000 in sales. A year later, sales more than tripled, pushing past $100,000. Late in 2003 he reported to MBD that he projected another 150 percent increase in sales for the year. He now mentors and employs young entrepreneurs in MBD's Youth Works program and at The Spot, an urban youth center in Denver. In the winter months, McCrea employs only one to two, but during summer, business booms, and he employs 65 to 75 part- and full-timers.

While loans like the one secured by McCrea and others are fairly conventional, carrying an average interest rate of 9.8 percent, MBD's...