New Business Financing
A reader recently called my attention to a small business loan program offered through Sam’s Club. Sam’s Club is not a lender, but they are working through Superior Financial Group, the largest Small Business Administration (SBA) lender in the U.S. (number of loans).
Superior Financial Group makes small business loans that are guaranteed through the SBA. They loan amounts from $5,000 to $25,000, with interest rates as low as 4.25% over the Wall Street Journal published prime rate. The current interest rate starts at 7.50% and increases slightly with smaller loan amounts.
To qualify for this lending program, you need to meet the following criteria:
- Your business can be either a startup or already operating, but it must have a business checking account and a good credit standing. A nice feature of these programs is that no collateral is required.
- You also must have a good personal credit standing.
- You must be a member of Sam’s Club (to receive the low interest rate and loan fee discount).
- You must need a minimum of $5,000, and a maximum of $25,000 for operating capital for your business.
- You must be a “for profit” business.
To investigate this loan program further, go to the Sam’s Club web site and click on “Services”, then on SBA Small Business Loans. Follow the instructions and apply online, or by phone. The lender will process your request quickly and you will hear back within a day or two. Good luck!
The SBA guarantees these small loans through the Patriot Express and Community Express (“Community Reinvestment Act”) programs. You can learn more about these, and other, SBA loan programs through this special report.
In the event an SBA loan does not work out for you, there are other small business financing options—check out this report on Creative Business Financing. There are many ways to finance a business…it just takes creativity and perseverance.
In fact, if you have enough passion and perseverance, you could even Bootstrap your business. Be aware however, that this method only works for the highly determined person who can discipline themselves through the process. Here is a report on a typical scenario for Bootstrapping.
I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has obtained a business loan other than through a bank.
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Stop and Smell the Roses—Part II
This is part 2 of my Stop and Smell the Roses article which I posted a few days ago. In today’s post, I present a little different view of the life of a small business owner.
There certainly are times when we would rather be immersed in our business than anywhere else…at that moment. The satisfaction of accomplishment…the move toward fulfillment of our dreams—these are things that “civilians” cannot relate to. But, there is another side to the life of an entrepreneur, and a recent article at Please Feed the Animals pretty well expresses some typical feelings of most small business owners from time to time.
Again, because this article is so on point, I am including it below, in its entirety:
The Yin And Yang Of It – By Kathryn Proulx
I just read an article in the Boston Globe Magazine by Kara Baskin about how nauseatingly happy everyone on Facebook is, or pretending to be. It’s one big “Look at how cute my puppy is! See how awesomely psyched we are!” The truth is, no one wants to put up the bad stuff. Who wants to put up a photo of yourself in the jeans that you can’t zip, a screaming child in a grocery cart, or a depressed face staring at the television?
Well, I’ll have a go. Yin and Yang or, in this case, Yang and Yin.
Yang: There is some amazing stuff happening for Erik and me. We are so close to something we can almost touch it. The blog is doing great, the movie is truly amazing, and the job site is coming together…The payoff for this will be a business that has been completely developed through self-financing, the generous time and work of friends, and the parents helping out twice. And I will never lose sight of those blessings.
Yin: This has been no all-day party in a bouncy castle. Erik is busting his ass. He works all day and night. The freelance to finance us means no breaks. None. But, did I mention no breaks? Weekends, holidays, 5 am, 2 am. And, if Erik has no breaks, then I have no breaks. I enjoy being a stay at home mom, but I am no Mother Teresa or Mary Poppins. I am neither a saint nor a work of fiction. I am real, I have bad days, I get upset.
Yang: We are lucky to have health insurance coverage.
Yin: Our health insurance cost is tragicomedy ridiculous. We get so little for what we pay. I filled an Rx the other day and the co-pay was $50.00, AND we already pay over a grand for our monthly premium. I almost cried at the pharmacy. I looked up at the check-out person and said “Really?” and he replied with a wince, “Yup.” And I mean really, If our society can’t figure out this healthcare thing…we are truly pathetic.
Yang: We are bootstrapping a business. There is a great deal of pride in knowing that we are actually doing this. When we look back, we will never have to say, “I wonder what would have happened if…”
Yin: There is the stress of no financial routine. I am a creature of habit and I love predictability. These days, it’s all sweating by the seat of our pants. No regular paycheck means the days tick off like a gruesome metronome until M-Day. Mortgage. Erik and I have this lip biting look we give each other – It’s a cross between I know we can do this, and holy shit.
Yang: There are actually humans out there who provide services and possess a soul. I believe Lenny our mechanic is the leading example. When we went to pay for our car brakes with plastic he said, “I don’t believe in credit cards, have run my business 30 years without ‘em. You can post date me a check if you need to.” And God Bless Lenny.
Yin: Credit Card companies suck. I had 3 credit cards that I had paid off years ago. They had a combined excellent available credit that I was saving for a rainy day. Well, when the clouds started rumbling – they yanked the cards with no notice. I stood in the kitchen with the letters just shaking my head. Like a slow motion movie scene, I dropped the letters to the table…I couldn’t believe it. All of those years of responsible payment, good credit standing, and when I really needed it…poof. Then we watched as the credit card company ghouls jacked the rates on our remaining cards to criminal levels.
I could keep going – But, I think that’s enough for now. Yin and Yang. Shadow and Light. We must have both – Neither can exist without the other. And, shadows and light are what truly make the picture interesting.
Well, there we have it. Yes, we can certainly be IN our businesses smelling our metaphorical roses while the “civilians” are playing…but there certainly is a darker side to entrepreneurship as well. Would we have it any other way? Not likely!
Good “smelling” to you all.
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