Last month I headed to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where I grew up. I ran into the son of an old friend of my dad, Frank, and over a cup of coffee reminisced about how my dad became a business owner.
My dad, a chicken-expert of sorts, immigrated to the US and settled in Salisbury, Maryland where he worked for Purdue Farms. But his dream was to become a restaurant owner, and while working at Purdue he saved enough for a future downpayment. An opportunity came knocking when the local Bonanza franchisee (remember Bonanza?) looked to sell one of his locations.
We couldn’t remember the amounts, but it was a sizable deal for my dad; he couldn’t buy it with his life savings. Enter Frank. Frank was the manager of the Salisbury branch of Peninsula Bank and he and my dad became friends at the local tennis club. First over steak dinner (at Bonanza!), then the next day at his office, and over the weekend at his home, at Mister Donut, and between sets at the park, Frank (very) patiently explained the process of securing an SBA loan. He also introduced my dad to an accountant and a lawyer and went on to underwrite a loan.
Fast forward 8 weeks, my dad became the owner of the Salisbury Bonanza. Four years later he was a multi-unit owner/operator with locations in Ocean City, Cambridge, and Dover, Delaware.
Old-school banking.
As our shop embraces more and more technology, as most if not all communication is carried out by emails, texts, and the occasional (VOIP) call, I keep reminding my teammates the importance of a personal connection. There are tens of thousands of entrepreneurs like my dad, who have never borrowed and have not experienced the complexity and intricacies of an SBA loan. We, on the other hand, are doing it day-in-day-out. It is our duty to bridge the knowledge gap. We’re the 2024 version of Frank.
So don’t hesitate to pick up the phone or arrange to meet us in person (we are in over 20 cities around the country). Let’s talk. Contact information for our Business Development Officers can be found here: https://gulfcoastsba.com/our-people/