Sugar Land resident Suzanne Whatley, the owner of screen printing shop Branding Matters!, is a risk-taker. As often as she can, Whatley races her souped-up Ford Mustang at speeds of up to 151 mph on tracks throughout the East Texas racing circuit, she said.
“When I bought my first Mustang I realized I wanted to go even faster,” Whatley said. “One time on the track, and I was hooked.”
Whatley said she made a very risky move when she expanded her business three years ago. After 12 years growing her screen printing business, Whatley decided to buy a building in Sugar Land. While she was able to secure a business loan for part of the money, she was well short of what she needed for the down payment and renovation costs on the shuttered gas station at Hwy. 90 and Brooks Street that she envisioned as a printing shop.
She approached investors for the difference, but when she had no luck raising the money, she said she liquidated her retirement fund.
