This video explains how to apply for an SBA loan, which is a program designed to help small businesses secure financing for growth or during times of crisis. It covers the application process and the benefits of leveraging SBA loans.
What this video covers
The SBA is obviously synonymous with support for small businesses. In today’s video, we’re definitely going to be covering how to do the application, how to make it happen, and how to secure those funds that would help your business grow. So without further ado, let’s get into it.
What is the SBA? The U.S. Small Business Administration started almost 70 years ago, back in 1953, in order to help small businesses either on starting out or on helping them during times of crisis. And we saw that, for example, how the SBA Loans kicked in when we had the pandemic, the Coronavirus.
Again, it’s the entity that the government is using in order to foster innovation, in order to foster the new jobs that are being created, and a great source for small businesses to obtain access to financing.
In terms of the cons and criticisms on the SBA, up until recently, there weren’t a lot of entrepreneurs taking advantage of these programs because of the nature of them. Typically, there was a lot of red tape. It was very difficult to gain access to that money. The applications were a bit of a burden, and entrepreneurs actually preferred going to the more traditional sources and investors that wouldn’t put those hurdles that come with taking money from the government.
That was up until recently when the Coronavirus hit when you saw the Paycheck Protection Program, the PPP Loans that really helped entrepreneurs and also the owners of small businesses in order to maintain their business during those difficult times. This has opened the mindset and also the way that people are now perceiving the SBA Loans as a potential good method in order to get those companies up and running.
Obviously, what is considered a small business could vary per industry. One thing that is critical that the SBA is going to require is that your business is in a position or has a corporate structure that is paying those taxes to the IRS. Some of those things are going to be critical, and without that, it’s going to be impossible for you to apply to those programs that they have for loans.
There’s also mentorship, especially when we’re talking about those contracts that the SBA is going to connect you with, and that is with the score program where there are mentors that are helping some of those small business owners in order to understand what is the best path forward and how they should be executing in order to build their business.
Then you have the SBA Microloans. Those are the typical ones that are fantastic for startup companies. They’re much easier to actually apply for and much easier to get. So if you’re starting your business, maybe a hyper-growth company, a company from scratch, and you don’t know how to start or perhaps some money that you need to start the operation, to pay for the website, the servers, or even the graphic design, or perhaps even the incorporation of certain parts of the business or documentation with your lawyers. This is a great program that you could use.
Then you have the Economic Disaster Loans. Those are some of the ones that you saw during the pandemic, during the Coronavirus, and they can go up to million.
Then you have the SBA Investment Capital. Now, this is less known.
Additionally, you also have business grants, competitions from universities, accelerators, and incubator programs that can help. That could be a great alternative if you’re starting up.
