For small business owners, personal credit is often the key to unlocking business funding. In most cases, major financial institutions need applicants to have a strong credit profile.
When Sharon set out to win healthcare and government contracts for her consulting firm, Crenshaw Business & Resources, LLC, she realized an unfair mark on her personal credit report was holding her back. While Sharon’s credit score sat at a respectable 687, a lingering credit error created a seemingly intractable problem that had kept her stuck for years.
During the economic disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, she and her husband had been forced to stop making payments on a shared timeshare. Though the property was eventually foreclosed on, the creditor continued reporting her as 120 days late on payments, which dragged down her credit score.
“I was battling them for years,” she recalled. “I was battling the timeshare company; I was battling the credit bureau. So, it was like a revolving cycle that was never going to go away.”
Exhausted by the constant pushback, she even considered hiring an expensive attorney to untangle the mess. Instead, she found the ultimate ally in Operation HOPE Financial Wellbeing Coach, Stephany Salazar.
Stephany combined a never-give-up attitude with a deep understanding of complex credit issues. She didn’t back down when direct negotiations with the creditor stalled and the credit bureaus repeatedly denied dispute letters. Resolving this type of credit error required looking outside the box.
Stephany came up with a creative strategy that Sharon had never even considered: to contact the Register of Deeds Office in her county directly to pull the official property transfer records.
“Stephany is the one that told me to contact the Register of Deeds,” Sharon said. “I never even thought about it.”
Sharon followed Stephany’s step-by-step guidance, paid a nominal $5 fee to access the county database, and uncovered a stunning piece of evidence: the timeshare company had legally closed and resold the property an entire year prior, yet they were still actively reporting late monthly payments to the bureaus. Sharon quickly shared this development with the timeshare company.
A few weeks later, the results were nothing short of life changing. The foreclosure and every trace of the negative reporting vanished entirely from her profile. In addition to clearing the erroneous debt, Sharon boosted her profile by becoming an authorized user on her husband’s credit card. Together, these moves sent her credit score skyrocketing 136 points to an exemplary 823.
“My credit score is over 800 at each credit bureau now, and it was an incredibly empowering moment,” she shared.
Today, she views the grueling ordeal as a masterclass in research, negotiation and resilience. Instead of letting that obstacle defeat her, Operation HOPE helped her channel it into fuel for personal growth. She is now moving forward with absolute confidence, preparing to enter Operation HOPE’s Small Business Development Program to secure business financing and scale Crenshaw Business & Resources, LLC to supply hospitals and government agencies.
For this proud business owner, the journey has taught her a universal truth that she hopes will inspire others striving for financial freedom: “Where you start does not determine where you finish. The journey requires patience and intentionality, but it is absolutely achievable. Small, consistent steps create transformational results.”
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