Jared Dekker and his twin brother, Jordan, have been best friends since day one. It wasn’t until they got their first job at a greenhouse at age 13; however, that they began to realize that their bond would grow in ways they never expected. It was at that greenhouse where their passion for farming/growing and their desire to start a business together began to form. After attending Michigan State together and building their experience, the brothers decided to purchase their first 25-acre parcel of land and begin their new roles as business owners and partners at Dekker Bros Farms in 2008. The rest is history.
In order to start and grow their business, Jared and Jordan purchased a greenhouse and began leasing and renting property. Over the next few years, they worked with Greenstone Farm Credit Services to secure several loans that allowed them to expand into 7 different greenhouse and farming locations throughout the state. By 2020, Dekker Bros Farms was booming. They just had one problem: their widespread greenhouses were creating several inefficiencies.
The Dekker brothers knew exactly what they needed to do. They needed to purchase a new facility where they could consolidate several aspects of their business, but this next step came with a big financial ask. In order to provide a financing solution for Jared and Jordan, Greenstone partnered with Economic Development Foundation and the SBA 504 program – a loan program that offers fixed, below market interest rates, up to 25-year terms, and a minimum 10% down payment. The 504 was just what the brothers needed to make this next step possible.
“The SBA 504 loan program gave us the opportunity that we’ve been waiting for and helped propel us into this next chapter of our lives. Beforehand, we had struggled thinking that attaining the capital we needed to grow would not be possible, but EDF and the SBA were able to provide that for us with terms and rates we hadn’t seen anywhere else.”
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