A devastating fire changed everything for Nancy Fath. While she was on vacation in Maui in the late 1990s, her home burned down, forcing her to start over. “We had to come back from vacation and rebuild our lives,” she recalls. That hard-earned experience taught her firsthand the complexities of insurance claims and home restoration, ultimately inspiring her to help others navigate similar challenges. In 2008, she earned her contractor’s license, laying the foundation for what would become a thriving career in construction and interior design.
The real estate crash of 2010, however, led Nancy to take another bold step. Facing a stalled market, she and daughter Shanesa Fath pivoted, anchoring themselves to a boutique that was equal parts a lifestyle and design store. The result was Chandeliers + Tulips, a local crafts and home décor boutique in Agoura Hills, CA – co-founded by the mother-daughter duo to pay homage to the surrounding community and its vibrant local arts scene.
“Art is part of the culture here,” Nancy explains. “We wanted to show people the best way to live with it.”
In time, Chandeliers + Tulips expanded even further to include Studio CT, a full-service design and furniture showroom that has attracted a celebrity clientele. Yet recent wildfires in California have impacted the market and their retail space – and in response, Nancy and Shanesa made the difficult decision to shift their focus entirely to Studio CT. Their commitment to craft and community, and their ability to roll with the punches, remains unwavering, inviting customers to join them in this next chapter of the business.
A trusted colleague is backing your business
Through multiple challenges and expansion, American Express has proven a trusted business resource, supplying Nancy and Shanesa with the flexibility and backing to manage daily expenses, support growth, and weather unexpected setbacks. Leveraging a robust arsenal of Amex business products, the Faths have made strategic use of three Business and Corporate products1, a American Express® Business Line of Credit2, American Express Business BlueprintTM3, and American Express One AP®4. They say these Amex products have helped Studio CT thrive over the years as they’ve worked to keep things moving forward.
“American Express has always been our silent partner,” says Nancy. “It gives us the flexibility we need to take care of our people first.”
Making the most of Business Cards
For Nancy and Shanesa, American Express Business Cards are more than just payment methods: they’re essential tools for managing cash flow and organizing expenses. “We make every single purchase on our Amex Cards,” concedes Shanesa. “If they don’t take American Express, we probably won’t buy it.” By leveraging a trio of different Amex Business Cards, they’ve created a system that maximizes rewards and simplifies accounting across multiple ventures.
The Business Platinum Card® is their go-to for large business purchases while the American Express® Business Gold Card helps them tailor spending to their needs.
“When you’re a small business, it’s a hamster wheel,” Shanesa says. With these three cards, the Faths have maintained an efficient and rewarding system that has helped them stay on top of their businesses.
Managing employee expenses with Corporate Cards
As their business grew, Nancy and Shanesa needed a way to empower employees to make purchases while maintaining financial oversight. The American Express® Corporate Card Program offered the solutions they needed.
“It’s really nice because at the end of the month, when I go to look at all the expenses, our initials are next to every single transaction,” says Shanesa. “I can see what my mom’s purchasing, what I’m purchasing, and what our store manager is purchasing – so everything stays in line with what it should be.”
With digital products like American Express @ Work®, they have increased spending visibility, more hours for other tasks, and greater peace of mind while continuing to earn points on eligible business purchases.
Useful backup with the Business Line of Credit
Beyond credit cards, the American Express® Business Line of Credit has provided the Faths with additional working capital to support both growth and unforeseen expenses.
“It’s very important we run our business with integrity and honesty,” says Shanesa. “Clients sometimes take a long time to pay, but we want to make sure we’re honoring the people we work with. Our line of credit is used to pay vendors or cover payroll while we wait for client payments.”
“It’s also been essential to our business through good times and bad times,” adds Nancy. “Especially now, instead of bringing in another business partner to help handle expenses, the line of credit partners with us so we can project our own future.”
Streamlining finances: tools and tricks
To help simplify financial management, the two have also built out their toolkit to include automated services like American Express One AP®, automating payments for major expenses, vendor invoices, and utilities, helping track payments with the added security of virtual cards by setting spending limits and creating one-time or multi-use Card numbers.
“Using autopay through Amex gives us that extra line of protection until we can get to our expenses,” says Nancy. “And if something looks off, we can flag it before it becomes an issue.”
After freezing their accounts post-wildfire to reassess spending, they discovered unnoticed subscription charges that had accumulated over time. “One company had taken out $500 without our knowledge,” recalls Nancy. “Because we ran it through Amex, we had a record of each charge and could dispute it.”
Initially managing their accounts separately, Shanesa recently discovered the perks of American Express Business Blueprint™, a centralized platform that helps them view their select Amex products and eligible linked external business checking and card accounts. “Now that things are together, I’m going to start using it,” she says. “As a business owner you have so much on your plate – this helps keep cash flow manageable.”
Built for growth
For Nancy and Shanesa, American Express has become an important engine, supporting them through various stages of their story. From helping provide some financial flexibility in difficult times to rewarding eligible business spending, the Faths have remained resilient at every turn.
As they transition fully to Studio CT, they say their approach has stayed largely the same: invest wisely, care for their people, and build a business that can take flight in any climate.
“In business you never know what’s coming next,” says Nancy. Her daughter chuckles knowingly. “But Amex has always worked with us.”
Story Footnotes
¹Individual Card application and approval required.
2American Express® Business Line of Credit offers access to a commercial line of credit ranging from $2,000 to $250,000; however, you may be eligible for a larger line of credit based on our evaluation of your business. Each draw on the line of credit will result in either a separate installment loan or a single repayment loan. All loans are subject to credit approval and are secured by business assets. Every loan requires a personal guarantee. For single repayment loans, we charge a total loan fee that ranges from 0.95%-1.80% of the amount you borrow for 1- month loans, 1.90%-3.75% for 2-month loans, and 2.85%-6.05% for 3- month loans. Single repayment loans incur a loan fee at origination and the principal and total loan fee are due and payable at loan maturity. There are no required monthly repayments for a single repayment loan. Repaying a single repayment loan early will not reduce the loan fee we charge you. For installment loans, we charge a total loan fee that ranges from 3-9% of the amount you borrow for 6-month loans, 6-18% for 12-month loans, 9-27% for 18-month loans, and 12-18% for 24- month loans. Installment loans incur a portion of the total loan fee for each month you have an outstanding balance. If you repay the total of the principal of an installment loan early, you will not be required to pay loan fees that have not posted for subsequent months. For each loan that you take, you will see the applicable loan fee before you take the loan. Once you take the loan, the loan fees that apply to that loan do not change. We reserve the right to change the loan fees that we offer you for new loans at any time. American Express reserves the right to offer promotions to reduce or waive loan fees from time to time. Not all customers will be eligible for the lowest loan fee. Not all loan term lengths are available to all customers. Eligibility is based on creditworthiness and other factors. Not all industries are eligible for American Express® Business Line of Credit. Pricing and line of credit decisions are based on the overall financial profile of you and your business, including history with American Express and other financial institutions, credit history, and other factors. Lines of credit are subject to periodic review and may change or be suspended, accompanied with or without an account closure. Late fees may be assessed. Loans are issued by American Express National Bank.
Single repayment loans may become available to eligible new and existing Business Line of Credit customers at different times.
3American Express Business Blueprint is the small business digital experience that allows a customer to view on one digital dashboard summary account information for the following American Express small business products: American Express® Business Cards, American Express® Business Line of Credit, and American Express® Business Checking. The customer can also choose to link their third-party issued business bank accounts and business credit cards to Business Blueprint. Not all third party accounts or cards can be connected to Business Blueprint. Business Blueprint allows the customer to view data insights and track their business cash flow and expenses by viewing reports that American Express prepares using the customer’s linked account information. Business Blueprint provides a 30-day bank account balance projection, using the daily balances from the customer’s linked bank accounts from the last 90 days. To be used in the account balance projection, the customer’s bank account must have at least 90 days of data available. While the cash flow management service from Business Blueprint is currently free, each of the business products from American Express that are visible in Business Blueprint has its own fees, eligibility criteria, application process and approval requirements. The Business Blueprint service (including any data insights provided to the customer) does not constitute legal, tax, financial or accounting advice, and is not a substitute for obtaining competent personalized advice from a licensed professional. You should seek professional advice before making any decision that could affect the financial health of your business. American Express makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of the reports, projections, data or account information that are available to the customer from Business Blueprint.
4Enrollment required and fees may apply. Suppliers must be enrolled and located in the United States. Please contact your American Express representative to learn more.