Have you been turned down for a business loan from the bank? Too scared to even ask for a loan from the bank? Looking for funding outside of the bank? You’re in luck; MERIT, a program of the SBDC, has recently published and distributed the free “Mid-Willamette Valley Guide to Small Business Financial Resources.” The guide is a comprehensive look at the funding opportunities for small business owners in Marion, Polk, and Yamhill counties. Here’s a glance:
Loans: Municipalities, the Oregon Business Development Department, and the Mid-Willamette Valley Council of Governments provide a range of business loans. Some of the loans are specific to certain industries or geographic areas.
Microloans: Microloans are loans that lend up to a certain amount. Smaller loans are not as profitable for banks so microloans fit the need of business owners who do not need a lot of funding.
Grants: We get asked about business grants at the SBDC all the time. The fact is they don’t really exist — at least not how people want them to exist. Some municipalities offer façade grant programs. These grants typically work on a match basis.
Individual Development Accounts: IDAs are a matched savings program. Typically, the match is 3 to 1. It can be used for a start-up business or business expansion. You must income qualify to be eligible for an IDA.
Tax Incentives: Oregon offers some tax incentives for eco-friendly businesses or businesses in particular geographic locations.
Venture Capital: Venture capitalists invest in high-potential companies and in return take an equity position in the company. The guide lists several Oregon-based venture capitalist firms and networks to join.
Alternate Funding: Crowdfunding is an alternate way to raise funds for a business venture by creating a campaign online and soliciting funds from friends, family, neighbors, and strangers around the world.
Credit Building Products: Your credit score is a vital component to any loan application. If you have no credit or bad credit, contact your bank or credit union to learn about the different products they have that can help build your credit score.
Loan Guarantee Programs: Loan guarantee programs get a lot of press, mainly the SBA loans. However, loan guarantee programs do not work directly with the borrower. Instead the programs work with the lender by insuring their position so they can take on riskier loans.
The USDA and the Department of the Interior: Indian Affairs also have loan guarantee programs that are not widely known.
Most of the resources listed in the “Mid-Willamette Valley Guide to Small Business Financial Resources” are underutilized. Stop by the SBDC to pick up your copy of this guide today.
Kristin Mozian is a resource development coordinator working with the MERIT Microenterprise Program at the Chemeketa Small Business Development Center. www.sbdc.chemeketa.edu.