The Quiet Season Problem

Kelly owns Touch of Charm Weddings and Events in Mansfield. She's been in wedding styling for 15 years and has run the flower shop for four. When she expanded the business, she needed a way to keep cash flow healthy, especially through January and February when weddings slow right down.

Kelly first came across Alex when she switched her card machine to Dojo. The old terminal had been slow, the support non-existent, and she'd been overpaying on rates for years. Alex set her up, sorted the rates, and checked in regularly to make sure everything was running smoothly.

"He wasn't just trying to sell me something and disappear. He actually followed up. When the machine had a wobble one weekend, he had a replacement sent out the next morning. That's when I thought, 'Right, this one's different.'"

When Kelly needed funding to support the expansion, Alex was the first person she called. He explained how a merchant cash advance worked: a lump sum upfront, repaid as a small percentage of her daily card sales. The process was straightforward. A few questions, the initial paperwork, and the money was in her bank within 24 hours.

"I pay it back on a daily basis and I kind of feel like I don't miss it," Kelly says. "The funding allowed me to buy lots of stock that I could show clients for the next 12 to 18 months, and it gave me a better cash flow in January and February when weddings are a little bit slower."

Kelly uses the funding portal to check what she's paid, what she owes, and that she's on track with her repayments. The whole experience, she says, has been personal and fitted around her needs.