Homeless Mom Turns Entrepreneur
May 29, 2009 by Allison Davis
Filed under Blog
Linda Russell, owner of Mugshots School Photography, is an inspiration to entrepreneurs everywhere. Russell received a $300,000 loan from Oakland’s One California Bank to market her company, expand its online presence, and potentially franchise it in other parts of the country. Russell, who was homeless with two young children 20 years ago and living in a women’s shelter, started Mugshots Photography in 1993. Her first job involved photographing 200 students for one school in Marin County. Today, she contracts with several photographers and shoots over 17,000 students a year in public and private schools throughout the Bay Area.
