Isaiah Teah - Creative Joinery

Name: Isaiah K. Teah

Business name: Creative Joinery Furniture & Block Factory

Isaiah Teah joined LEAD in 2007 and used his first loan to purchase a cement block making machine because he noticed that there was a strong demand for machine made blocks in the Robertsfield highway area. He reinvested in the business and in 2009 was awarded a contract to make the blocks needed for the Central Investment Company’s project to produce low income housing for the Liberian government. He purchased two more machines and moved them to the job site off Marshall Highway in lower Margibi County.

Teah prides himself in being able to provide quality blocks at competitive prices. He is now maintains an inventory of up to 15,000 blocks. He applied for LEAD’s mentoring program, and began biweekly phone calls with his business mentor from Wyoming, Michigan in September of 2009.

Business location: Thinker’s Village, past Kendeja on Robertsfield Highway

Number of employees: 29 (mix of full time and contractual)

Established: 2005 as a furniture manufacturer, 2007 expanded to include a block factory

Startup capital: $3500 LD

Opportunity for growth: A truck to pick up materials and make deliveries. Construction has begun on a larger factory.

How has being mentored affected your business? “I have learned a lot of things when it comes to managing the business. I learned how to actually take care of the workers, how to manage the contracts, and how to talk to customers.”

Contact: +231 (0) 6561101

isaiahkteah@yahoo.com