For the first time in its 63-year history, the U.S. Small Business Administration has selected lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) business owners as the Small Business Persons of the Year for California with the honors made to two women from Marin County.
San Rafael-based Equator Coffees and Teas (equatorcoffees.com) is owned by Helen Russell and Brooke McDonnell, who began roasting coffee 20 years ago in their Marin garage.
The company has also been named the SBA San Francisco District Office’s Small Business of the Year for 2016.
“This celebrated recognition of Helen and Brooke’s outstanding work not only exemplifies what we know of women in business leadership, it also illuminates an answer to the challenge of our time, demonstrating that businesses can be both successful and sustainable,” said Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Capital Access Group, based in San Francisco, provided SBA 504 financing in 2003 for Equator to purchase its own, 5,500-square-foot roasting plant. Russell calls that “one of the best decisions that we’ve ever made.”
