Peggy’s smile lights up the room when she says she has always wanted to own a restaurant. As a young girl, she even asked her (now late) father to help her start one.   “My daddy said it wouldn’t be a good investment because I would just give all the food away,” said Peggy. Well, her father was half-right on his initial assessment. She is now the proud owner of She Shed Bistro and is growing her business. Their tagline is “Little place with a big taste.”   Peggy’s journey to being a small business owner is a bit unconventional, … Continue reading →

Ken and Kim Isaac are no strangers to being small business owners.   They take pride in caring for their customers and meeting their needs, as well as being part of what drives Oklahoma’s economy. However, in the 20th year of operating their IT business, they realized with all the changes in the industry with the addition of iPads, tablets, smartphones, and the like, they needed to identify a new business venture.   Then it happened. While attending a pre-surgery orientation in 2016, Ken had an epiphany. He noticed that many of the other attendees had branded drink tumblers. Being … Continue reading →

Denise shared she has always been a dreamer and she jokes that for her 30th birthday, she gave herself a business.   A third-generation florist, the love of the industry is deeply engrained in her. Her mother, grandmother and great uncle worked in either the retail or wholesale floral business. Her grandmother specialized in plants, while her mother and great uncle focused on flowers and arrangements. As early as she can remember, if she was out of school, she was at work with her mother amongst the flowers and plants.   In January 2021, with the support and encouragement of … Continue reading →

REI Oklahoma Receives Grant to Support Single Mother and Single Women Business Owners REI Oklahoma and its Women’s Business Center receives a $10,000 grant to launch a scholarship and microgrant initiative to help elevate single mother and single women businesses owners in Oklahoma.   (OKLAHOMA CITY, Dec. 27, 2022) – REI Oklahoma, an economic development nonprofit, was recently awarded a $10,000 grant from the Women’s Foundation of Oklahoma. The purpose of this grant is to help propel the launch or growth of small businesses that are majority-owned by single mother or single women households through their Women’s Business Center. REI … Continue reading →

October 28, 2022 (DURANT) – REI Oklahoma, a nonprofit economic development organization, announces that its wholly owned subsidiary, REI Development Corp., has secured $55 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocations. The tax credits are provided by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund and provide a 39 percent federal income tax credit for investments into qualifying businesses in low-income communities.   REI Oklahoma is one of 107 community development organizations in the U.S. to receive a combined $5 billion in NMTC allocation, which is designated to create economic development in distressed communities.  The New Markets Tax … Continue reading →