MetroAction has teamed up with local chambers and area nonprofits to offer informative roundtable discussions on small business financing opportunities in northeastern Pennsylvania. These free, one-hour seminars will be held on the following dates and locations: (more…)
This article is provided by the Greater Scranton Area SCORE Chapter.
Finding the right type of financing, or finding ANY financing for that matter, is often one of the most difficult parts of starting and building a solid small business. You may have a terrific plan and be a talented workaholic, but finding funding is another matter. (more…)
Kathleen Pajor, owner of Beads of Faith in Luzerne, PA, shows off her custom designed rosaries and jewelry.
After overcoming a rough start with her rosary and bead business, Beads of Faith owner, Kathleen Pajor, is now seeing a very bright future with the help of a $5,000 loan from MetroAction’s MicroLoan program. Motivated by her love of the art of bead making and her faith in her ability to succeed, Ms. Pajor admits there were many challenges to her business becoming a reality such as organizational struggles and lack of funding.
“When you start up and don’t have the resources to pull from, it is very difficult. I am happy to have been able to obtain financing from MetroAction to help make my business successful,” states Ms. Pajor.
What once began as a hobby for Ms. Pajor has now taken on a life of its own and expanded into a growing business in Luzerne County. At Beads of Faith, customers can order one of a kind custom designed rosaries and beaded jewelry. Ms. Pajor takes pride in fitting her pieces to the personality of the customer. Now working as a nurse, being a mom and operating her own business, Ms. Pajor knows that her hard work is worth every effort when she sees the smile on a satisfied customer’s face.
SBA
If your small business is stressed meeting expenses during these economic times, the U.S. Small Business Administration has a new loan program designed just for you. (more…)
A new small business loan program is available for military service members and veterans! Eligible individuals can apply for up to $50,000 in small business financing to start or grow a business in Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne or Wyoming counties. Funding can be used for start-up capital, to purchase equipment or machinery, make building improvements or for working capital.
To be eligible, at least 51% of the business must be owned by a member of the military community, including veterans, service-disabled veterans, active-duty service members eligible for the military’s Transition Assistance Program, reservists and National Guard members. Spouses of service members and widows of service members or veterans who died during service or of a service-connected disability are also eligible to apply under this program.
If you are interested in applying for this program, you can submit your pre-qualification application online or download a paper copy.
MetroAction has just received notification that strict lending limits have been imposed on the SBA’s CommunityExpress loan program. Unlike its other loan programs, MetroAction partners with a bank out of California to offer the CommunityExpress loan program to northeastern Pennsylvania businesses. All applications for the CommunityExpress program must be submitted through a Technical Assistance Provider, such as MetroAction. Over the past 5 years, MetroAction has helped more than 85 businesses obtain nearly $1 million in financing through this unique small business financing program.
Typically, most applicants with good credit had a fairly good chance of being funded through this SBA pilot loan program. However, now with the new lending limits, our partnering bank can only approve 5 new loans each month. This cap is huge obstacle for our clients, since our partnering bank, accepts CommunityExpress applications from Technical Assistance Providers across the county.
Congress passed a law in 1996 that limits any SBA pilot program to 10% of the loan volume of all 7(a) lending. The SBA’s 7(a) program is the largest and most popular of the SBA guaranteed loans. In order to avoid reaching the 10% threshold by the end of the fiscal year, CommunityExpress lenders must adhere to strict lending caps over the next six months.
We are very aware of how these caps are going to affect our small business community. In response, we will carefully review every loan pre-qualification application that is submitted to us to see if the applicant will qualify for any of our other small business loan programs. For more information on our pre-qualification process visit our website, www.metroaction.org/finance.html or call our staff at (570) 342-7711.
