Small businesses rarely grow alone. Behind every new product launch, customer shipment, printed proposal, branded T-shirt, or notarized document is often another entrepreneur helping make that next move possible.
For Leslie Nunez Leonardelli, founder of NJ Pack Ship Print, being that resource has become the foundation of her business. Her company serves as a neighborhood hub where individuals and entrepreneurs can ship and receive packages, print business and marketing materials, create custom apparel, develop menus and designs, and access notary services—all under one roof.
That commitment to serving her customers while building a sustainable business is why we are proud to name Leslie Nunez Leonardelli our July HerRise MicroGrant winner.
Building a Business Around What the Community Needs
Entrepreneurship often begins by identifying a problem and finding a practical way to solve it. NJ Pack Ship Print addresses several.
For a small business owner preparing for an important meeting, having access to professional printing can mean walking into the room with a polished business plan. For a new restaurant, it can mean getting menus printed before opening day. For another entrepreneur, it may mean producing branded apparel, marketing materials, or shipping products to customers.
NJ Pack Ship Print brings these essential services together in one accessible location.
That versatility makes the company more than a traditional shipping or printing store. It has become part of the infrastructure that helps other people conduct business, complete important personal transactions, and move their own ideas forward.
But providing that level of service requires infrastructure of its own.
When Equipment Is Essential to Growth
For many small businesses, a piece of equipment isn’t simply an operational expense. It can directly determine how much work the company can accept, how quickly customers can be served, and ultimately how much revenue the business can generate.
Leslie understands that reality firsthand.
One of the machines NJ Pack Ship Print depends on needs repair, and Leslie and her team have been working to address the problem themselves. At the same time, she must continue managing payroll, maintaining the equipment throughout the store, purchasing materials, and producing custom clothing for customers.
These are the less visible realities of entrepreneurship. Growth isn’t always about making one large expansion. Sometimes it means repairing the machine that allows you to fulfill tomorrow’s order, purchasing the materials needed for the next customer, or making sure the employees helping you build the company are paid.
The HerRise MicroGrant will help Leslie do exactly that.
She plans to invest the funding into employee payroll, equipment and machine expenses—including the repair of the broken machine—and materials needed to create custom apparel for customers.
Each investment supports the same goal: strengthening the operational foundation of NJ Pack Ship Print so the company can continue serving and growing.
Why Small Amounts of Capital Matter
Leslie’s story also demonstrates why access to capital at every stage of entrepreneurship matters.
Small business owners often encounter expenses that cannot wait for the “perfect” funding opportunity. Equipment breaks. Inventory needs replenishing. Employees need to be paid. A promising new customer may require materials before the business receives payment.
Access to timely capital can give an entrepreneur the ability to respond to those moments instead of allowing them to become barriers to growth.
That is at the heart of the HerRise MicroGrant.
We created the program to put non-dilutive capital directly into the hands of entrepreneurs who know exactly what their businesses need next. A microgrant may not cover every expense a founder faces, but it can help repair a critical piece of equipment, purchase inventory, fund marketing, invest in technology, or provide the working capital that keeps a business moving.
For Leslie, that investment will help strengthen a company that, in turn, helps other businesses move forward.
Celebrating Our July HerRise MicroGrant Winner
Entrepreneurship is often celebrated through the big milestones—the grand opening, the major contract, the expansion, or the record-breaking revenue year. But businesses reach those moments because founders consistently manage the decisions and investments that happen long before anyone sees the headline.
Leslie Nunez Leonardelli is doing that work every day.
Through NJ Pack Ship Print, she is building a business, supporting her employees, serving her customers, and providing practical resources that help other entrepreneurs and community members accomplish what they need to do.
We are proud to invest in that journey.
Congratulations to Leslie Nunez Leonardelli, founder of NJ Pack Ship Print, our July HerRise MicroGrant winner. We look forward to seeing what she prints, ships, creates—and builds—next.
