| In 2006, Main Street Art Center in Lake Zurich, IL, was a successful business. Local artists honed their skills, children and other budding talents learned the basics, and professional artists continued to grow. The center framed paintings and sold supplies, which appealed to artists of all levels.
Then Frankie Johnson’s business partner decided to end the partnership. More importantly, the partner wanted cash and Frankie was at a loss about what to do.
“I felt good about being the sole owner of the business,” she says. “I’m a professional artist who’s been teaching for 25 years and I know the art market. But buyouts were a complete mystery. I was a member of the Lake Zurich Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the local office of SCORE, so I went to SCORE.”
Before her meeting at SCORE, Frankie assumed that she would have to secure a business loan to execute the buyout. “I didn’t know the best way to handle it,” Johnson says. |
