Fast-growing franchisor's entree came from SBA-backed loan.

Stephanie Allen and Tina Kuna are the kind of friends who finish each other's sentences, the kind of business partners who complement each other's skills and the kind of success story that lands entrepreneurs on magazine covers.

Allen and Kuna are co-founders of Dream Dinners Inc., a rapidly growing chain of meal-preparation stores that in four years has rocketed from a single rented kitchen into a national brand with more than 170 franchises in 30 states.

When will Dream Dinners stop growing? "When everyone eats at home three nights a week," Allen and Kuna reply in chorus.

Utopian? Maybe, but Allen and Kuna believe wholeheartedly in the benefits of families eating home-cooked meals together more often.

"We have a philosophy that if kids are well fed and they get to connect with their family around the dinner table at least three nights a week, well be able to change a generation (and) they'll be healthier, happier kids who grow up to be healthier, happier adults," says Kuna.

That vision inspired Allen and Kuna to launch Dream Dinners. Never mind that Dream Dinners Inc. is an $8 million a year--and growing--company and that its franchisees are ringing up a combined $1.2 million to $1.5 million in sales per month.

The two Snohomish, Wash., morns say they care more about honoring their vision than making a fortune. With a little help from the Small Business Administration, they have found the recipe for both.

While Dream Dinners has only been in business since 2002, the story starts in 1986. That's when Allen began perfecting the art of preparing tasty and nutritious fix-and-freeze meals for her family. Her secret? Freezing the meals while the ingredients are still raw. The result? Better tasting meals and mounting requests from friends and neighbors to share her techniques and recipes.

The requests led to meal-assembly parties where small groups of women gathered to sip wine, listen to music and get busy in the kitchen with Allen. Over time, the parties become more and more popular--too popular to continue as informal affairs. Allen, a caterer, could deal with the culinary challenges of increased demand but not the operational ones. So she called Kuna, a longtime friend with business-management experience, to help organize large-scale food preparation classes in a rented commercial kitchen.

The concept was much the same then as it is now. Dream Dinners sets the menu, preps the fresh ingredients and creates a party vibe as customers rotate from station to station assembling various entrees--everything from herb-crusted flank steak to citrus ginger salmon--in baking pans and freezer bags. Two hours later, customers head home with various four-to-six-serving entrees--and no dirty dishes. The cost for a dozen entrees averages $200.

As soon as they held their first round of classes--180 people attended the first month--Allen and Kuna knew a delicious opportunity had landed on their plate. Three months later, they opened a store in Everett, Wash. Six months later, they added two more in the Seattle area.

By the following year, people were bombarding them with pleas for franchises after the company was featured in numerous publications--including a cover story in Working Mother magazine.

To finance their first store, Allen cashed in a $5,000 investment and Kuna and her husband secured a $15,000 line of credit. In no time, they were turning a profit. However, when they decided to franchise, the upfront costs overwhelmed them.

"We anticipated investing maybe $50,000 in the franchise process, and by the time we were done, it was way over $100,000," says Kuna.

Needing a sizable loan, Allen and Kuna turned to the SBA. In 2003, they were able to borrow $120,000--since repaid--at 6.5 percent interest plus prime from Wells Fargo through the SBA's 7(a) loan program. The program helps small businesses with good credit and collateral obtain loans from commercial lenders by guarantying a portion of the loan.

"If it hadn't have been for the SBA, I don't know if the bank would have taken the time to go through our business plan and take an interest in our vision," says Kuna. "The SBA is more willing to look at creative businesses and take a chance."

Pamela O'Dell, the Wells Fargo banker who worked with the duo, was immediately impressed. "Tina and Stephanie had a clear vision of what they wanted to build (and) had already proven they had the potential to be successful, "says O'Dell. "They had done their homework and had a clear understanding of the cost, time and dedication needed to make this happen."

Until a few months ago, the Dream Dinners corporate team was crammed into a remodeled barn behind Allen's home. Now they occupy an office building in downtown Snohomish and Allen's former home is a bed and breakfast where new franchise owners stay while being trained. And Dream Dinners is now an SBA-approved franchisor, which makes it easier for franchisees to obtain SBA-backed loans.

Dream Dinners has relied on grassroots marketing and free PR to build its brand. Recent coups include an appearance on the Food Channel

Allen and Kuna expect the number of franchises to grow to 300 by year end and to twice that by 2007. The company could grow even faster if it weren't so picky. An average of 150 people a day download franchise applications, but only those who share Allen's and Kuna's vision stand any chance of passing muster.

DREAM DINNERS INC.

P.O. Box 889, Snohomish, WA. 98291

[phone]

www.dreamdinners.com

Founded: 2002 * Employees: 35

2005 revenue: $8 million