By Kathy Bazan, BRC Consultant
https://www.pexels.com/photo/pile-of-gold-round-coins-106152/
Helping Washington County (Oregon) business owners gain access to capital is my primary focus as the Business Recovery Center Consultant.
Capital takes many forms—it can be money invested by the business owner, by their family members or friends, from a grant, or from a loan.
Here are a few local lenders:
Loans Available Now:
EIDL: https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options/economic-injury-disaster-loans
From the Small Business Administration, this loan was originally established to help business owners who had been through a local natural disaster such as Hurricane Katrina, the 2007 San Diego Wildfires, or the Joplin tornado. This program of low interest loans (3.25%) was extended to any business owner affected by the pandemic. The application is online and can be completed in 30 minutes if you have your financial statements with you.
MESO loans (up to $5,000): https://www.mesopdx.org/loan-inquiry-form/
Many people only need seed money to start a business and this size loan is often perfect!
Craft 3 Washington County $25,000 Loans at 5% to businesses with no more than 25 employees last February: https://www.craft3.org/resilience-fund/waco-loan?utm_source=Craft3&utm_campaign=ad2adc35a1-mc_ca_2020_06_18_brl_wash_county_update&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e55f9c45c6-ad2adc35a1-86872073&mc_cid=ad2adc35a1&mc_eid=92a640b1f4
Business Impact NW: loans $5,000-$350,000 https://businessimpactnw.org/loan/about-our-loans/
Like Craft 3, Business Impact NW focuses on businesses which are not ready for any of the SBA loans (which have a lower interest rate than Craft 3 of BINW). The goal for each borrower is to make consistent payments to their lender for 2-3 years and then apply for the lower interest SBA loan, pay off Craft 3 or BINW, and go merrily on their way to success!
Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs (OAME) loans of $500-$50,000 or a loan on accounts receivable: if you have clients with whom you have contracts, but you haven’t been paid yet for your work, you may be able to get a loan from OAME to tide you over until the client pays you. https://oame.org/programs-services/access-to-capital/
Accion: https://us.accion.org/offer/sba-community-advantage-loan/
Accion started out as a nano-lender (under $5,000 loans) working in the minority communities and being very flexible on the collateral Accion accepted. A woman in Yuma, Arizona, used her grandmother’s hand sewn lace wedding dress as collateral for a $5,000 loan for the woman to open a tailoring business. Accion accepted a one-eyed horse as collateral for a client who opened a landscaping business. Accion is now funding loans from nano-loan to business loans in the millions. If your credit score is above 525 and you can pay back the loan, this might be an option.
*** For FREE help on grants or loans, contact Kathy Bazan, Small Business Consultant at brcconsultant@tualatinchamber.com or (503) 692-0780.