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Financing

Get Financing

You will use your business plan to get the financing you need to start your business. Once you understand your financial needs and your financial situation, you can access a variety of sources for capital. Nowadays, there are many different resources available to you to help you get the capital you need to get going. Understanding each of these options will arm you for success.

Banking Partners

At the San Pablo EDC, we have established working relationship with many local banks. Many of these are traditional lending and banking institutions who are actively engaged in the communities they serve. Depending on where you are in the process of starting your business, we can help connect you to professional bankers for financial advice.

 

Small Business Administration Financing

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is a federal agency dedicated to helping entrepreneurs improve their small businesses, take advantage of contracting opportunities, and get better access to small business loans. In most cases, the SBA doesn’t directly lend money to businesses. Instead, you get SBA loans from a bank that participates in SBA financing. The SBA uses federal money to guarantee a percentage of those loans to the banks, so financial institutions have more incentive to lend money to small businesses.

 

Local Community Development Financial Institutions

Outside of traditional lenders, there are also Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI). These organizations are certified by the US Treasury to lend capital and provide funding to businesses in the communities that they service. These CDFI's can be for-profit or non-profit. In the California alone, there are 86 of these institutions who help small businesses everyday.

 

Non-Traditional Lending

With emerging technologies and increasing connectivity, there is now a range of non-tranditional lending options for business owners and entrepreneurs. While these options often involve for effort from business owners, the rewards can be worthwhile.