In Business / October 2006
Contract Connections
West Virginia entrepreneurs can receive free business financial counseling and the opportunity to apply for an SBA guaranteed unsecured business loan October 11 at the annual Contract Connections Conference held at the Charleston Civic Center in Charleston.
Representatives from area and national lenders, the Region 1 Workforce Woman’s Business Center, and the SBA will meet with existing and potential entrepreneurs on Wednesday, October 11 from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon and 1:30 to 3:30 pm. Commercial loan officers and small business counselors will provide expert financial and small business guidance on issues including contract lines of credit; commercial loan products; small business financing; utilizing contracts as collateral; and much more.
Information on SBA’s 7(a) Loan Guaranty and 504 Certified Development Company loan programs will be provided. The 7(a) loan program provides loan guarantees through lending institutions for business related purposes of up to $2 million. The 504 loan program provides affordable long-term, fixed-asset financing to help healthy, expanding small businesses grow. The maximum SBA guaranty amounts range from $2 million to $4 million. Also featured is SBA’s CommunityExpress loan program which provides financial, technical and management assistance to for-profit businesses with a maximum SBA guaranty up to $250,000. One feature of the program provides unsecured business working capital loans of up to $50,000.
All small business entrepreneurs interested in learning more about business financing, expansion and want to receive personalized one-on-one assistance are invited to attend these sessions. Reserve a time by contacting Barbara Carder (email: barbara.carder@sba.gov) at the SBA’s West Virginia District Office at 1-800-767-8052 option 8 then extension 222, or Emma Wilson (email: emma.wilson@sba.gov) at the SBA’s Charleston Branch Office at (304) 347-5220.
The unsecured segment of the CommunityExpress loan requires no tax returns and no business plan. Qualified small business owners can apply for loans of $5,000 to $50,000 with a 7-year term. Interest rates are based on Prime plus 4.75 percent. CommunityExpress lenders require an application fee which is refundable if the loan is not approved. Loan proceeds are to be used for any business related purpose, such as the purchase of machinery/equipment; working capital; business expansion; inventory; or hiring of personnel.
Applicants interested in applying for the CommunityExpress loan program will need to provide a valid driver’s license (or state ID), a business check and a federal tax ID number if an LLC, corporation or partnership OR social security number if for a sole proprietorship.
To be considered for an SBA-guaranteed loan, eligible applicants must have good credit and must not have defaulted on a prior government loan, be delinquent on child support or have an IRS tax lien filed against them or the business.
The Contract Connections Conference is an opportunity to learn from experts and possible clients about the various types of financial and small business assistance available to help small business start or expand.
Since its founding more than a half-century ago, the U.S. Small Business Administration has delivered about 20 million loans, loan guarantees, contracts, counseling sessions and other forms of assistance to small businesses.
For more information about the SBA online, go to www.sba.gov.
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