In 2021, Paula Anderson secured a small business loan from the Lending Team at Communities Unlimited (CU) to strengthen her coaching and consulting business in Memphis, Tennessee. At the time, Paula was offering only virtual courses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but she had ambitions to expand her brand and services.

The loan was designed to help her enhance communication and build brand awareness, which she successfully used to increase her visibility.

Over the next two years, Paula focused on building her brand and developing courses tailored to medical coders, medical billers, licensed massage therapists, and reflexologists.

By 2024, Paula transitioned from working in a business incubator to sharing a physical office space in Memphis with a partner. This move allowed her to expand her offerings to include more in-person workshops, a change she had eagerly anticipated as businesses returned to normal operations post-COVID.

“Now, I’m able to offer more in-person training workshops, which is great,” she shared.

Paula’s journey began in 2019 when she founded her LLC and developed an online training platform. When the pandemic hit, her platform became invaluable to professionals needing continuing education units (CEUs) but unable to meet in person.

“I had a platform ready for individuals who needed CEUs (Continuing Education Units) since the local chapters couldn’t meet in person,” Paula said. What started as a necessity during the pandemic has since grown into a multi-faceted business, offering both in-person and virtual training options.

In 2022, Paula took another leap by creating a coaching program designed to train professional development facilitators. This move further scaled her business, as she now contracts facilitators in cities like Macon, Georgia, and Murfreesboro, Tennessee, with plans to expand into Mississippi. She also works with facilitators in Nashville and Memphis, training them in coaching, leadership, and marketing, allowing her business to serve a wider geographic area without needing to personally oversee every course.

Reflecting on the past few years, Paula acknowledges the challenges she’s faced. “It’s been challenging, not just from a business standpoint but personally as well,” she said. To sustain her business during slow periods, she even took on a full-time job for part of last year.

Now, Paula is focused on growth and collaboration. She has partnered with another company to help facilitate more courses and is actively building strategic partnerships to expand her offerings even further. Despite the ups and downs, she remains optimistic.