As I was unpacking the boxes in my new Gulf Coast Small Business Lending office and hanging my daughter’s paintings on the wall, I had a chance to reflect on the last ten years. In early 2014 I packed up the family and dog and relocated to Dallas as I joined a fledgling SBA lending team. In April of that year, the team officially left our temporary office (aka the Corner Bakery in Las Colinas) and moved into a small “real” office in Park Cities. Over the next few years our office expanded and expanded until it was packed full.
So, it’s been ten years. During that decade, Gulf Coast Small Business Lending has funded thousands of SBA loans supporting thousands of entrepreneurs nationwide. In the process, those thousands of SBA loans have translated into hundreds of thousands of jobs. Also, during the last 10 years I’ve had the honor of sharing office space (and Zoom calls) with some of the best people I will ever work alongside. We’ve added sales offices all across the country. And we’ve also become part of a (great) bank, Gulf Coast Bank & Trust Co. One of the most astounding metrics (at least to me) is that we’ve grown from three employees to four to six to now over sixty team members. It boggles my mind when I really think about it all.
But one thing hasn’t changed in the last 10 years: our collective dedication and sense of duty to support small businesses with SBA loans. Everyone, every day, without fail.
Earlier this month, we moved again. Our new offices are just ten minutes away from the old office and ten minutes away from the airport. If you’re in town (that town being Dallas), please stop by to see the new place and lose to me in a game of ping pong. I’d love to reminisce about the past and strategize for the future. At Gulf Coast Small Business Lending, we’re all in on SBA lending and we welcome you, one and all, to be a part of this growing and ever evolving story. We promise to have a bit of fun in the process of supporting thousands more entrepreneurs nationwide with the SBA loans they need to start, grow, and succeed.