The Pace University Small Business Development Center (SBDC) hosted a Small Business Lenders Forum And Networking session to provide practical strategies for financing a business venture. The session attracted thirteen lenders and over 100 small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs.The highlights included two panels moderated by Pace SBDC Director Andrew Flamm, where lenders discussed their loan programs and provided insight into what they look for when evaluating a loan application. Entrepreneurs also had an opportunity to meet one-on-one with the lenders to assess the source of capital that was best suited for their respective businesses.
Downtown Yarns is an East Village yarn store that offers a wide range of yarns and related classes. The store’s long-standing employee sought to purchase the business, and the Pace SBDC helped her gain a better understanding of business accounting concepts and to review the business’ cash flow to develop financial projections for their loan repayment calculation. With this guidance and immense community support, our client raised over $30,000 through a GofundMe campaign, as well as additional private loans, enabling her to buy the business and save five existing jobs.
National SBDC Day will unite the nearly 1,000 SBDC centers across the country and the hundreds of thousands of clients they serve by sharing, in real time, the success stories and notable impact SBDCs collectively have on the small business community. This special day will be highlighted by #SBDCDay social media campaigns, small business events, and more. To celebrate the day, on March 20 the Pace University SBDC will host a free Intellectual Property Rights for Entrepreneurs workshop from 6:00pm-8:00pm.
Working capital is crucial for small businesses to ensure they have sufficient cash flow to address seasonal fluctuations as well as take advantage of key business opportunities. Check out a post on American Express.com, which includes advice from Pace SBDC Director Andrew Flamm about stretching your working capital.