A few weeks back, Saturday morning around 10am, I am roaming the muddy fields in search of some elusive bird, when the ever-present phone chirps (or whatever they do). It’s an email from one of our BDOs: “Nimi, mind looking at this opportunity? Kind of urgent.” “Of course.” I pack up, head back to my place, fire up the laptop and go to work. A couple back-and-forth emails, and two hours later an LOI goes out.
“Thanks for doing this and I am sorry to bother you over the weekend.” “You’re welcome, and no problem. I really love working on deals.”
Fast forward a couple of weeks, I am having lunch with my daughter. “Dad, what do you like the most?” Without hesitation: “Working on deals.”
I was thinking about that on my flight back to Dallas and reflecting on how the business I co-founded and continue to lead is very much a reflection of “the thing I like the most.”
We are not a product-focused lender, and I like to think that we have an arsenal of products and services geared towards small businesses. Let me explain: We are in business to facilitate transactions undertaken by owner-operators – business acquisitions; startups; partner buyouts; leasehold improvements; working capital; real estate purchases, and more. To do that, we deploy primarily five types of loans:
- SBA 7(a) – the product that got us started 14 years ago and is still the workhorse around here. Transactions range up to $5 million and can be pretty much anything, including those with little tangible collateral. This loan is most suited for deals that can’t be accomplished using conventional bank loans: long amortization; high advance rate (LTV); little to no collateral; and affordable rates. We are among the largest SBA lenders in the country and have both the experience and the track record closing the most complicated deals.
- SBA 504 – an important program for commercial real estate development and acquisition, most suitable for loans that are bigger than the SBA 7(a) loans can accommodate. These are a little more complicated than the 7(a) because of how these are structured, but our process is still very streamlined, and we work with many CDCs across the country to get these loans done.
- Line of Credit – a newer program for us and offered as an option companion loan to an SBA 7(a). It is unsecured, so easier to obtain and certainly administer once it closes. Very simple terms: two-year, interest-only revolving loan which turns into a five-year fully amortizing term loan on the second anniversary.
- USDA B&I: our newer product, which is similar to the SBA 7(a) in many ways except it can go up to $25 million and must be in an area the USDA defines as “rural.” The loan proceeds can be used to develop or acquire hard assets but despite its name and source, does not have to do anything with agriculture.
- Franchise finance: Not a type of a loan, but rather an industry we love and in which we consider ourselves experts, to the point where we launched a company dedicated specifically to franchise loans, Gulf Coast Franchise Finance. To support franchisees as they grow, we utilize the four loans listed above, as well as traditional (or “conventional”) bank financing.
I wouldn’t tell my daughter that I love deals as much as I do, and I probably would have continued to look for that elusive bird (which by the way I did not see) if I didn’t have access to all of these ways, we can support America’s small business owners.
If you have a question about any of these, or if you want to run a deal by us, drop me a message or reach out to one of our BDOs. You can find a listing of them, along with their contact information here: https://gulfcoastsba.com/our-people/.
We like to say that at Gulf Coast Small Business Lending we are finding a way to say YES. We take this very seriously and we make every effort to accomplish the YES on a wide range of deals all across the United States. We look forward to talking with you about your financing needs.