BUSINESS
LOANS
AND RESOURCES
a public service of:
Cal Feminist Federal Credit Union ~
PO Box 16587 - San Diego, CA 92176 ~
Tel. (619) 298-SAVE (7283)
~ www.feministcu.org ~ info@feministcu.org
1. Your usual source for a business loan is a commercial bank:
banks have the staff and expertise necessary to evaluate the chances
of success for a particular business. They have as well the ability to
afford the risk involved.
When you apply, they will expect you to have a written business plan
that includes enough money to live on while your business is building up.
The bank may be concerned if you ask for too little money!
Lenders consider business loans to be highly risky. Their lending rates
reflect this. You’ll qualify for a lower rate if you can offer collateral or
security for the loan, such as a trust deed on your home, if you own one,
or the title to a motor vehicle.
We hope that the information listed here will help you find an alternative
lender and/or the resources to help you prepare a solid business plan.
With such a plan, you’ll have a better chance of approval when you do
apply for a business loan.
2. Resources for education (not necessarily loans):
a. Small business Administration (SBA): look for their local
number in the white pages of your phone book under "United States
Government". The SBA provides counseling, workshops, publications,
and recorded info on various aspects of running a business. They
also back loans for lenders that participate in their program.
When you call the SBA, request a "List of Participating Lenders".
But don’t overlook an opportunity to learn as much as you can.
Ask them, for instance, how to package a presentation when you
apply for a business loan from a bank. Learn, too, about their
"Office of Women’s Business Ownership".
· In San Diego: Recorded Info, 24/7 Tel. (619) 557-7250
· Outside San Diego:
SBA Answer Desk: (800) 827-5722 or www.sba.gov
b. Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE): see white
pages of phone book under "United States Government". Developed
by the SBA as a means of utilizing the expertise of retired business
executives, managers and professionals. They provide free
management and counseling. In San Diego: (619) 557-7272.
www.score-sandiego.org Outside of San Diego, see 2, a, above.
c. Small Business & Microbusiness Certification (State of
California): Once your business is certified, the State of
California may contract directly with your business for goods,
services, or information technology valued from $5,001 to $99,999
or for public works projects contracts up to $147,000. In addition,
"Certified small businesses increase their visibility and expand
their business networking opportunities by being automatically
listed online as a 'Certified Firm'":
www.pd.dgs.ca.gov/smbus/sbcert.htm
d. Small Business Development & International Trade Center
(SBDITC) in San Diego: they provide one-on-one business
counseling and training to San Diego entrepreneurs and businesses.
They also provide a business resource center, import/export assistance,
seminars, training, e-counseling, on-line training y información en
Español.
Tel. (619) 482-6391
e. Disabled Business Persons Association: in San Diego:
e-mail: info@disabledbusiness.com Tel. (619) 594-8805.
f. Acción: according to their brochure:
They "provide loans to business owners who don't fit traditional
molds--for example, people with brief histories operating business,
lack of collateral, incomplete financial records, language barriers,
or even those with imperfect credit records."
Acción San Diego:
Tel. (619) 685-1380
Fax. (619) 685-1470
e-mail: info@accionsandiego.org
In other areas: www.accionusa.org
f. Count-Me-In for Women’s Economic Independence:
from their Web site on 2/24/09, "Our mission is to promote
economic independence and the growth of women owned
businesses...[we are] the leading national not-for-profit provider
of resources, business education and community support for
women entrepreneurs seeking to grow micro businesses to
million dollar enterprises.":
Count Me In, Inc.
240 Central Park South, Ste. 7H
New York NY 10019
Web site: www.count-me-in.org
e-mail: info@count-me-in.org
Tel. (212) 245-1245
Fax (212) 245-1236
g. Credit unions: some of the larger credit unions have started
to make small business loans. But they are more likely to make
loans to individuals--who remain responsible for the debt even if
the business does not endure--than to businesses.
Most credit unions already makes loans to business owners
and/or self-employed individuals for the purchase of such things
as a home, car, or appliance for their personal use. to find out
which credit unions in your area do make business loans, contact
the California & Nevada Credit Union League’s Credit Union
Match UP Program:
Tel. 800) 472-1702
h. Share what you learn: as you lookup Web sites and make
calls, please let us know of:
· new contact info on organizations listed here
· other non-profit, not-for-profit or government-funded
organizations we might want to list the next time we
revise this section on our Web site
3. What can Cal Feminist do for you? If you join--or already
belong to--our credit union:
while we do not ordinarily make business loans,a. Loan:
there is one exception to the rule: if you have an existing
business—or you have a good business plan—but you:
· don’t qualify for loans from other lenders or
· you don’t have enough collateral or
· you haven’t the time to want to wade through all of the
paperwork
this unusual loan might work for you:.
Perhaps you know someone who would consider investing in
your business, but they don’t want to:
· make you a personal loan
· have to compute the amount of interest to deduct from
each payment you make
· provide you with a record of all the interest you pay at the
end of each year
· keep track of when your payments are due
· remind you to pay if you forget
Instead of lending money to you, your investor can open a savings
account at Cal Feminist. They use their Cal Feminist savings account
balance as the collateral or security for your loan. You do not need to:
· submit your business plan to us
· have your credit checked
· verify your current income
For more info, see below. For rates, click on Loans and scroll down
to "Savings-Secured" Type II.
b. establish/re-establish credit help: if you decide to join
our credit union, you may make use of our extensive, free
education and one-on-one counseling. Free booklets and
worksheets available to our members include, "How to Establish
Credit" and "Planning Your Purchases: When to buy on Credit—
and When Not to".
If a business lender denies your loan because of a poor
credit history, you may apply for three different kinds of Cal
Feminist loans to help you prove that you can make payments
on-time, consistently, for at least 12--but preferably 24-- months.
What's unusual about these loans? You need not verify your
income; we won't check your credit. In most cases, these loans
are approved automatically. Ask for additional details about:
Savings-Secured Type I: you use your Cal Feminist
savings account as collateral for the loan. For every
$100 you owe on the loan, you keep at least $106 in
your account. while you pay interest on the loan, your
savings continue to earn dividends.
Savings-Secured Type II: someone you know who
lives in DC or one of the 50 states use their Cal Feminist
savings account as collateral for your loan. They do not co-
sign. The loan will appear on your credit reports only, not
on theirs. They can withdraw from their savings as you
reduce the balance owing on the loan, so long as they
leave in their account $106 for every $100 you still owe.
Their savings earn dividends while you pay on the loan.
Credit-Builder: like putting a savings account on
lay-away. You take out a loan but you don't receive a
check. Instead, we add the money your borrow to your
Cal Feminist savings. You have to leave the amount
you borrow in your savings until you pay the loan in full.
Example: you begin with $50 in Savings. You borrow
$1,000. We add $1,000 to your savings. Now you have
$1,050 in savings and you owe $1,000 on the loan.
After having paid 12 monthly payments of approximately
$87 per month, you'll owe $0 on your loan and have
approximately $1,070 in your savings. You may either
withdraw the money from your savings or leave them in
and take out a Savings-Secured Type I loan.
4. Other resources for credit problems:
a. Why is it risky for you to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy?
(1) More and more prospective employers will check your credit
history. A bankruptcy could make them afraid to hire you.
(2) When you are shopping for business loans, lenders will be
afraid to lend to you.
(3) What "debt relief" bankruptcy mills don't tell you is this:
after a bankruptcy, lenders that charge the lowest rates will be
afraid to lend to you. Your only option will normally be to pay
much higher rates for car loans, home loans, and business loans.
Your extra cost of borrowing may exceed the amount of the debts
you discharge in bankruptcy.
b. If lenders are hounding you about past-due payments:
contact the not-for-profit Money Management International (MMI).
They do not lend money. They do offer budget counseling, with a
plan to help you free yourself of debt.
They can help you stop the harassing phone calls from creditors
without the problems or fees of bankruptcy.
Nationwide: Tel. 866-889-9347
c. if you are using credit compulsively, you may want to
contact Debtors Anonymous:
In San Diego County: San Diego D.A. Intergroup
PO Box 22261
San Diego CA 92192
(619) 525-3065
E-mail: info@DASanDiego.org
Outside of San Diego County:
-
They recommend a book, available in the library:
How to Stay Out of Debt and Live Prosperously
- Nationwide: www.Debtors Anonymous.org