Читать книгу Business Plans For Dummies - Paul Tiffany - Страница 47

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has a mandate from Congress to help small businesses with their financial needs. So if you’re a small company, the SBA may be an important source of funding. The SBA does its good deeds through several specific programs:

 The 7(a) program: Providing financing for a variety of general purposes, this is the most flexible and popular loan program the government offers to small businesses. You can use the money to acquire a business, to start a business, or to meet special financing needs such as a specific contractual obligation or mandatory export financing requirements.

 The CDC/504 program: Also known as the Certified Development Company, this program has been established to help finance the purchase of big-ticket asset items by small businesses, such as equipment or real estate, by using fixed interest loans in combination with additional outside financing and equity.

 The MicroLoan Program: This is where you go to get very small loans, with the average running about $13,000. The SBA provides funds to an outside micro lender, who makes the actual loan to a small business.

 Disaster Loan Programs: The SBA offers a number of programs to assist business firms to recover from disasters, such as floods, viral pandemics, and the like. These are usually transitory in nature and are established for a specific incident, with given time deadlines for both application and payback.

 The Small Business Investment Company (SBIC): The SBIC program supports the creation of independent investment companies that provide both equity capital to invest in small businesses and long-term loan financing when required.

Finally, the agency also has a program to guarantee payment of surety bonds issued to small business firms from surety firm lenders. To find out more about any of the Small Business Administration programs, check out the agency’s website at www.sba.gov/funding-programs.