Research and prepare.<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cFor younger businesses, the most difficult issue is access to capital and financing,\u201d said Mike Myhre, state direct of the Florida SBDC Network. \u201cOur capital access specialists assess if a business needs capital, help identify resources and with document preparation as well as presentations for lenders, investors or clients.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the discussion, attendee Fadwah Halaby recalled the challenges she faced when seeking working capital to keep Midwife360, a home birth practice she launched in 2014, in business.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re working in shark-infested waters,\u201d said Halaby, a certified nurse midwife. \u201cPeople are offering loan terms that aren\u2019t good for businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n
In early 2016 she contacted a loan broker and got a short term, high interest loan that required daily payments. The transaction put Halaby\u2019s name on a loan brokerage list and she received daily calls offering to lend her money. That fall, she found a better deal from another broker \u2013 lower interest rates and no daily payment.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Halaby soon learned, with guidance from SBDC counselors, that there are safer and better financing options for small businesses. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t until I started doing research on the SBA that I learned I can probably get a better loan, with lower interest rates, to obtain working capital,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Florida SBDC at FIU\u2019s team of business consultants provides no-cost business consulting to entrepreneurs and small-business owners on issues including access to capital, financial management, international business, marketing, and government contracting.<\/p>\n
One of its key missions is to share knowledge, expertise and tools that will facilitate more lending to small businesses. Since it began in 2014, the College of Business\u2019 Florida SBDC at FIU has helped launch 55 businesses in South Florida and assisted local entrepreneurs and small-business owners access more than $29.9 million in capital.<\/p>\n
Florida SBDC at FIU consultant Marjorie Weber pointed out that lenders today are more receptive to loan or financing requests from small businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a process to follow,\u201d Weber told attendees at the Business Lenders Forum. \u201cAnd if you do, there\u2019s cash out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Did You Know?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nSince its launch in 2014, the College of Business\u2019 Florida SBDC at FIU has made significant impacts on small businesses in South Florida:<\/p>\n
\n- $604.9+ million in additional sales generated by Miami-Dade small businesses<\/li>\n
- $29.9+ million in capital accessed by local entrepreneurs and small-business owners<\/li>\n
- 55+ new businesses launched<\/li>\n
- 1,088+ entrepreneurs and business owners assisted one-on-one by SBDC at FIU consultants<\/li>\n
- 4,003+ jobs created, retained or saved in Miami-Dade County<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n