Ponce Conaway has long dreamed of becoming a successful entrepreneur. He began his career with a house cleaning business, having come from a family who cleaned homes for generations. When he started his own family a few years later, he decided to shift into a more stable work environment and began driving trucks with the goal of putting his two children through school. Throughout his career, Ponce never lost sight of his dream to become a successful entrepreneur. In 2006, his dream became reality when he established a new courier service business, PL Logistics, in New Britain, CT.

Ponce was inspired to start PL Logistics after noticing a lack of courier services in his area. He felt his background working in the service and trucking industries gave him the experience necessary to fill the need. Since that time, his business has grown steadily, acquiring six delivery trucks and hiring 10 part-time employees over the past nine years. PL Logistics is expected to see its strongest business growth yet in 2015.

In addition to running a successful business, Ponce takes pride in caring for his employees. He recently was able to buy back a property that had been in foreclosure and rent it to one of his employees who was looking for immediate housing for himself and his young daughter.

Despite his success, Ponce still faces many challenges as he seeks to grow his business, including increasing PL Logistics online presence in order to attract new customers. He sought out a loan to help him cover the cost of identifying and implementing an effective solution to the issue. He met with a commercial bank to discuss loan options, but was denied credit because his growing business was still showing losses. Thanks to a partnership between Ascendus and The Hartford, Ponce received a $5,000 loan to begin marketing online as well as utilizing an online payroll system to streamline employee pay.

The Hartford supports small business owners like Ponce who make a positive impact in their community. Through PL Logistics, Ponce makes an important contribution to the New Britain community, employing 10 people and providing local delivery services for critical personal items that include medical records and legal documents.

Ponce feels a strong connection to the New Britain community, living there since he was 12 years old and graduating from New Britain High School. His wife now works for New Britain public schools where their children also attended. By being part of the school system and the community, you get to know and really feel a part of that community and want to make a difference, Ponce said. Today, he is most proud of his ability to serve people and fill a need through PL Logistics. Ponce loves the independence that running his own business provides and as an entrepreneur, and he feels there is no limit to what he can achieve.