Let's Talk with Leaha & Rhonda December 2, 2023

What is Let's Talk with Leaha & Rhonda?

Leaha Crawford and Rhonda Nolen are business consultants that discuss the current struggles of small business owners and entrepreneurs. Each episode covers steps necessary for smaller businesses and business owners to grow and prosper.

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You're listening to locally produced programming created in KU NBC Studios on public radio K, u and v. 91.5. The following is a paid program sponsored by Crawford management group and smart time consultants. Please be advised that the voices and opinions you hear did not represent the views of 91.5 Jazz anymore, the University of Nevada Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.

Unknown Speaker 0:34
Hi, my name is Leah Crawford.

Unknown Speaker 0:36
And I'm Rhonda Nolan.

Unknown Speaker 0:37
And you're listening to the let's talk with Leah and Rhonda show

Unknown Speaker 0:41
for all the beautiful entrepreneurs out there. This is for you. Good morning, Las Vegas. Morning. Leah. How are you doing this fine Saturday morning. Hey,

Unknown Speaker 0:50
find it's cold. It's cold. It is. Amazing weather? Yes, time to get out here and start working out. And so I do anything, are you walking?

Unknown Speaker 1:02
Not yet. I'm going to start slow because you're fractured my foot. So I'm coming off a foot injury. But I'm so happy to get back. Oh my god, I have eaten everything in like a whole over last six months. And it's time to get back and make things happen. And

Unknown Speaker 1:17
we didn't talk about it late last week, we should have set them. You know, put your scales back 15 miles, like you know, you set your clock back. I remember bodies such as scales back 15 pounds so that you can set miles 15 pounds, so that you won't feel that bad about all the good food you ate. But we got to get ready because this The holiday season is always party time.

Unknown Speaker 1:34
It is party time.

Unknown Speaker 1:35
It's party time. Let's have festive, fun. Business Owners. You know, we always talk about the resources that are out there for you. So today took me about I know it took us a while to get these gentlemen in the building. But we have them here. From Preston, Preston most right, less than most CDFI we got Frank, we got our boy. And we're gonna talk about the resources that are out there for business owners. So if you know someone as a business owner, you looking to be a business owner. You know, we're going to talk about some things today to get you Friday. So welcome, gentlemen. Welcome to the show.

Unknown Speaker 2:13
Welcome. Welcome.

Unknown Speaker 2:14
Thank you so much.

Unknown Speaker 2:15
Thank you for having us on your show. We really appreciate it. And you're we're here to get in some information for business owners, and that's going to be some interesting information for them. So stay tuned. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 2:25
yeah, no, let's, let's go. So, press the most tell us why ROI because I know you're a lender. Why we're why CDFI? Why should a business owner look to a CDFI when looking for money for their business?

Unknown Speaker 2:39
Yeah, that's a good question. So, so timely, right now with the current economy, you know, the capital markets have been frozen. Money's not really free flowing like it has been in the past. So our small business owners, they're hurting out there, you know, they need, they need some help, they need an infusion of cash. That's what a CDFI is for. We're a community development financial institution. So we're not an actual bank. But we're not a hard money lender, either. We're kind of that that layer in the middle, you know, so our business clients, many of them come referred directly from banks. And they're considered unbreakable. Many times, because they don't meet the criteria, the stringent criteria of the banks. So we have more flexibility built into our underwriting and our programs to make more money available for funding for the small business owners. Okay,

Unknown Speaker 3:27
all right. So I'm free. Tell me what I mean. Tell me what you think, like, how, how would I get started? Say I'm a business owner? I am? I don't know what I don't know. So what do I do in order to see what I'm even eligible for? Right,

Unknown Speaker 3:42
one of the things that that sets us apart, like Ray mentioned is that we are a community development financial institution. And we help those businesses that are hard to get financed, and especially those ones that are getting started. Most banks do not lend money to businesses that are under two years, under two years. That's correct. So that's something that we can come into, into the picture. And we can help the business owner with the financing that they need, you know, under two years of business history. So that's something that sets us apart. And like Roy, you mentioned that we're not a hard money lender, but we're not doing to your prime lender. So we'll fill in the gap, as you know, how we can help them obtain the financing that they need, either for expansion, or for those are those clients are looking to start their business. And that's something that we take on upon that somebody that is just starting a new business and they don't have a clue or they don't have a business plan in place, or they don't have any type of projections, that's something that we can assist them with. And these resources for this type of client or this type of consumer are free of charge to them. So we take the time to sit with them and explain you know, the process and if they don't have a business plan in place, that's something that we can help them with. Doing the plan that projections help them with A marketing as well as their business. So that's something that they should be, you know, taking advantage of Got

Unknown Speaker 5:05
it. Got it. So how do they get started though? What do I do? I don't know, I don't know what I don't know. So how do I get started? Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 5:11
that's a great question. So Frank and I generally will meet with a customer and, and have a consultation with them to kind of best determine really what their current needs are, you know, many of these clients, like Frank said, they're just getting started. But some of them are existing businesses as well, that maybe had challenges within their their financials over the past couple years, especially post pandemic, a lot of these companies are now on the rebound. Some of them actually haven't really felt the pandemic until, you know, two or three years later, which is kind of amazing. For example, you know, we had an attorney recently, who was declined by a bank, he couldn't get funding, and he had tons of money in these contingency fees that were backed up 90 to 120 days, we essentially were able to look at those contingency fees. We saw what he had, and we made that loan happen for him. So there's, there's not just, you know, small business owners, there's actual professional clients as well that need help out there. And Frank, and I work predominantly in the minority, minority space, so that would, that would consist of women, Hispanic, African, American, Asian. So we cover the gamut of really trying to help the underserved community out there. We're located over off Bonanza, Maryland Parkway. So we're kind of right in the heart of the community in which we're trying to serve. And to have impact. And impact is really important, because you know, the small businesses are the lifeblood of the local economy. They're part of the economic engine. Right, right. So ecosystem, yeah, yep. So So we're here to help them and, and again, sometimes it's going to be interim financing, short term financing, but it gets these businesses going where they need to go. And many times, once they're ready to exit our loan, they're bankable at that point. So they can go back to their major bank, the Bank of America, the Wells Fargo's, the chase banks, and then they're able to get traditional financing, with better terms and better rates. Got

Unknown Speaker 7:11
it? Got it. So I want it back up. Because I met Frank, you guys did a lending circle. Correct. Which was, I thought, probably a very, it was it never seen it done before, something new. And I know, it's probably not new, but it helped the business owners understand that you have to make a payment every month, correct. And to make a payment every month, with the withdrawal, and then you got some kind of reward at the end. But business credit, because I know people talk about personal credit, business credit, you hear about it, but no one tells, you know, what it? What does that mean? You know, you because you know about your FICO. I mean, your FICO scores, right, but not your business scores. Talk to us about that, because I know, that's why we did the lending circle to build those business scores. Right.

Unknown Speaker 8:01
And that's something that when you when you take out a line of credit under the under your business, that's something that it helps your business create a credit score and, and that's something that we help with. And it's my if I were going to the lending circle that we did with Tampa's downtown business alliance, we're gonna start that again, you know, this coming year. So people that are interested in in signing up for the program, not only that, they get the information or the literacy that they need to, you know, with their business as a financing and help them guide them through the business, it helps them with building business credit. And these, these, the business credit will be obviously separate from your personal credit, and it keeps aside, most other lenders out there will use will be utilizing the business credit to help them qualify for financing. And there's it's a different criteria right ROI for this type of business. Well,

Unknown Speaker 8:57
let's talk about that. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 8:58
no, I I wanted to also make a point just about some of our programs, you know, we offer micro loans. So micro loans or loans, you know, as low as $5,000, up to $50,000. We offer a community advantage SBA loan, most major banks are just offering traditional SBA seven a loans. The community advantage is a hybrid product, it allows customers to borrow up to $350,000 without actual tangible real estate as collateral. So we will generally place liens like on equipment, you know, personal personal assets and things like that. But, you know, most of the time, the major asset that they're looking to put a lien on is real estate and it's not required on the SBA community advantage. A lot of our folks in our in our community maybe still are not homeowners, but they own businesses. So this provides that flexibility for them to obtain financing. And then of course, we offer, you know, commercial real estate financing up to a million dollars as well. So if somebody's looking to buy a building, to house, their business and occupy, as long as the business occupies 51% or greater of that building, it's considered owner occupied. Yes. So they're getting the best rates and terms. And we can look at that as putting the money on our portfolio with our commercial real estate program or using an SBA 504 loan. I love the SBA 504 loan as well, because business owners can can generally put as little as 10% down to buy a commercial real estate building up to a million dollars, I

Unknown Speaker 10:32
was gonna say that, you know, because there's a different record requirement, because you know, we're out here people talking to people, but now we're hearing it from the professionals. So up to a million dollars, and it possibly can be 10% down because before it before it's 20%, you're putting 20% down if you want to buy commercial real estate.

Unknown Speaker 10:48
Yeah, and I think all of us are familiar on the residential side, most homeowners are looking for the lowest barrier of entry with three and a half percent down, maybe doing an FHA loan with downpayment assistance. Well, the SBA is kind of the business version of kind of like an FHA loan, you know, on the business side, it gives you more flexibility with credit collateral, and provides, you know, the best terms and rates out there on the market. So, definitely a program that small business owner should look into. And we're happy to consult with them and talk with him anytime about this.

Unknown Speaker 11:17
All right, so let's, let's put the phone number so contact number, how can someone contact contact you,

Unknown Speaker 11:23
they can contact me Frank Rubalcaba at 72526302917252630291. He

Unknown Speaker 11:32
said that fast, so we're gonna say it a little bit slower, so that we can get it out. 725-263-0291, I tell you guys, when we're, when you're listening to us, sometimes you want to pull over, because you want to get this information, because it's huge. And it's a way we know, we bring credible professionals to you, to give you the information that you can use in your business to grow your business.

Unknown Speaker 11:56
Correct. And yeah, and then by calling this number, they cannot get a hold of me we can, we can set up a an appointment, so they can either come to the office, or we can do a phone calls, phone consultation, we can go over the options that they may have, or what is it that they need to be able to apply for financing. And, and again, once what if the person is looking to start a business, we were the source for that. Most people don't know where to go for this will guide them through the process, help them with the business plan help and what the projections. And the first step for doing that either towards starting the business or somebody that's already existing business, give us a call at this number, we'll schedule a time and we'll go over the stuff that they need to go.

Unknown Speaker 12:39
And that's used because the business plan, most business owners don't start with the plan. Correct? We don't they don't we don't start with the plan. We only develop the plan after we enter for a couple of years. Right? We just gonna wing it as we go along. tax returns, do you need tax returns when you use these products? Yes,

Unknown Speaker 12:55
we look, we basically look at criteria and supporting documentation. So on the personal side, they'll need to provide their most recent three years personal tax returns. And then on the business side, again, if they're a startup, we're going to use the business plan and projections that we helped them create. If not, if they're an existing business, we do require the most recent three years, you know, business tax returns, as well as a year to date, profit and loss year to date balance sheet, and some other ancillary documents that will we'll consult them on. But overall, that's pretty much the heavy lifting for a borrower is gathering all the documentation, I'd say it's kind of like a jigsaw puzzle, you know, you're just getting piece by piece. That's pretty much the hardest part. But I would like to add that, you know, Frank, and I take a very consultative approach to our clients. You know, we care about what they're doing out there, we want to see what their overall short and long term vision is for their business. And we try to incorporate options that are going to benefit them, not us. You know, we're not we're not a sales organization. We're here to help people in the community so they can feel comfortable telling us, you know, hey, this is a challenge of mine, or this is where I want to go. And I think some of our resources are just fantastic. On the technical assistance side, like Frank said, you know, we can help with marketing we've, we've created free websites for customers, and logos, they just go out and they have to pay the actual hosting fee for the website. So things like that through our Minority Business Development Agency, and also our Women's Business Center. So our women business owners are really big for us as well. And

Unknown Speaker 14:33
that's an that's huge, because those little things are kind of expensive when overall, you know, because hosting the website, you know, building the website, it takes a lot of time and energy and because you are your brand. Sure so you want that to be correct. And then with the tax returns because I know people fail when starting and in growth. That's when they tend you know, it gets overwhelming because it's not planned. Not planned. and post pandemic sba eidl loans because post pandemic, a lot of business owners have those e idea loans. How can they still get another SBA loan having the idle loan?

Unknown Speaker 15:15
Yes, they can. The eidl loans, emergency disaster funds, they don't have the same type of lien requirement that a general SBA loan does on certain assets. So, so most of the time, the assets that they currently have are not encumbered by that. So they're still available, available to be used for a standard SBA loan. Okay,

Unknown Speaker 15:35
because then there's a lot of conversation going on about the the idle loan. I tried, we haven't talked about a gentleman tried to bring somebody from SBA in here to talk about that, because post pandemic, people got the funds and can't know, the cash flow is not there to pain. Right?

Unknown Speaker 15:52
Right now, the way the economy is headed, that's what most people are struggling with is that they don't get their business are not productive, or they're not generating enough revenue. So that's something that we we actually, you know, we take into account as to you know, how we can benefit the business owner to expand or to push their business to start making profit on it.

Unknown Speaker 16:11
Got it, and then trying to rent something right now is ridiculous. Oh, yeah. So they're not homeowners, and they're trying to run the business and they're renting something. Because rent is hot, and it doesn't seem to be going down?

Unknown Speaker 16:25
No, no, it doesn't. It just seems it seems to be just kind of staying steady or not going up a little bit going. Right.

Unknown Speaker 16:30
Right. Right. Right. And you got a nice,

Unknown Speaker 16:32
I do if you want to find out more about what loans are available from this organization, you can visit them on the web at HTTPS semi colon, backslash backslash, p r e s, t a M oscdfi.org. That's prestamoscdfi.org. I do have a couple questions. Okay. So there are companies who've been in business five or 10 years, and they want to go get a line of credit, they have a great Dun and Bradstreet number. Why is it still necessary for you to pull their personal credit? versus looking at their credit lines? They already have established with businesses that report to Dun and Bradstreet?

Unknown Speaker 17:17
That's a great question. And we get asked that quite often. And I think those are going to be really specific to every lender in general, every lender is going to have their own specific guidelines. And you know, pertaining to the programs, we typically have not really offered a true line of credit. We offer term loans generally, with the start and a finish. And we are looking into bringing in some type of line of credit here in the near future. But currently, we're we're doing mostly term loans, but we do structure our loans on a draw basis. So if a customer doesn't really need all the funds, today, we can, we can actually set up this draw schedule where they're getting the funds as needed. So it kind of acts and works similarly, but it is not a line of credit. So

Unknown Speaker 18:00
backup, because I want you because a lot of business owners don't. What's the difference between a line of credit as opposed to a term loan? What's the difference? Sure, what are the differences,

Unknown Speaker 18:13
I would just say the term loan has a beginning and an end. So generally anywhere from two to five years of the term, we can amortize the payment, which means your payment is calculated over a certain period of time, typically 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, even up to 2525 years on some of these SBA products. But again, we look at every case, case by case, which is kind of nice here. It's not a cookie cutter, one size fits all approach. So we are taking our time to explain amortization we're explaining how the interest rate works. Just giving them full understanding, you know, as a business owner, how this loan is impacting their business. And is it right for them today? Hmm. You know, that's a big question. That's

Unknown Speaker 18:58
a hard question.

Unknown Speaker 18:59
It is sometimes it's not. Exactly, exactly. And there's other lenders out there as well that, you know, we get a lot of feedback, there's some financial tech companies that are like apps on your phone now or you know, there's just some names I'm not gonna really but the small business owner goes on there, they're promoting themselves like on Tik Tok and these different mediums and, you know, the rates are pretty high, you know, and, and I think a lot of times again, the time that we spend with the customer is really important. Just gathering needs and understanding I think is probably the number one Paramount thing in my mind. That small business owner don't

Unknown Speaker 19:35
go to the Tick Tock financial advisor. No, no, don't go to tick tock Esquire.

Unknown Speaker 19:40
There are a lot of hard money lenders out there posing as companies like CDFIs calling business owners asking them questions just for example, because I just wanted to entertain myself. A company called me out of blue and says oh yeah, he got you know, a great credit score and great this Nick, brand new your, you've been established. Let's see what type of This is long we can get for you by giving my information and you come back to me and they say, okay, yeah, well, we have a loan for you. It's 35% interest, you have to pay it off in three months, and I just started laughing. They're like, why are you laughing? I said, because that's not a loan. I said, that sounds like loan sharking. You're a hard money lender, you're not a real business trying to help small businesses. I said, I don't need your loan. I just wanted to see what you were gonna tell me. So I'll know what to tell my friends. Yeah, I mean, so it was it was really ridiculous. So for you, small business owners do not fall for the Okey doke.

Unknown Speaker 20:30
Ya know. And that's, that's actually considered predatory lending. It's just on the small business or commercial side, the regulations are different than on the residential side, the residential has all the regulations built into it, because it's there to protect consumers. The federal government believes that business owners in general are a little more savvy. So there's less restrictions, less regulations out there. So in reality, if you're kind of a somewhat uneducated business owner, and you don't know any better, you can be taken advantage of, you know, they're still whether you whether you call it that or not, there are predatory lending practices, like you just mentioned out there. So yeah, it's definitely, you know, you got to absolutely be careful. And again, we're proud to say in our organization, you know, our parent organization is the third largest Hispanic nonprofit in the country, Chicanos Por La Casa. So we're proud of that it's got an almost 60 year history, working predominantly coming out of Arizona, recently have expanded into California, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas. So our foot footprint out there is growing, but the mission is still the same,

Unknown Speaker 21:42
the mission is still the same. And what I love is the fact that you start you're serving all minorities, and you're helping educate us as business owners, because as a business owner, you know, we don't know how big corporations get all the educational how to do the business, you have somebody focused on just the financial statements, another department that just does marketing, another department that might handle you know, customer service, or whatever. But as a business, small business owner, you're everything. Sure. And you have to know a little bit about everything. And sometimes the resources, you don't know what you don't know. Absolutely,

Unknown Speaker 22:13
no. And you know, just to be clear, we do serve absolutely everybody, right? We serve all our clientele from all walks of life and all socio economic levels. So yeah, our focus and mission is probably I would say, more focused on Minority Business Development, but we do serve all communities just

Unknown Speaker 22:30
it's someone that needs help a business owner that needs help. And guy's been an entrepreneur for the past 20 years is baptism by fire? Because you don't know what you don't know.

Unknown Speaker 22:40
That's true. Tell me some I'm looking at your website now. And you list several funding options. What is your Valley Metro, Small Business Financial Assistance Program?

Unknown Speaker 22:48
So some of the things on our website are going to be tied to geographic areas like Arizona. So for our Las Vegas audience, those are really not going to pertain to them.

Unknown Speaker 22:58
Okay, what about the North Las Vegas credit Building and Loan business support

Unknown Speaker 23:02
on that North Las Vegas program we just started, we're going to launch it, it's going to start at the beginning of the year. Right now we're taking application and similar to what we did with downtown Vegas Alliance, is that any business that it's out in the city of North Las Vegas, we're going to have a loan program, it's a 1200, it's a six month loan program, that is going to provide them with $1,200. There's a $1,200 loan at a 5% interest rate. So they're going to be making payments for the next six months on that money. At the end of the six month term or the six month period, they're gonna receive a grant up to $5,000 by completing the the, the enrollment on this program.

Unknown Speaker 23:44
Okay, now with this, I want to duplicate that program.

Unknown Speaker 23:47
Well, right now we're, we're in city of North Las Vegas, we're going to start it. So right now it's that possibly might expand to other areas. But right now we're we have this this program with the city of North Las Vegas trying to launch it, that's a

Unknown Speaker 24:03
good deal. That's a good deal. No, are you responsible for $1,200 paying on time for six months, and then somebody gives you a $5,000 grant at the end of that correct. That's fabulous. Now,

Unknown Speaker 24:12
not only that, but within the next six and in the six months that they're in this program, they have to take financial literacy classes, they're going to have to take six months of financial literacy classes. And they also have to work with what our business advisors for 14 hours in order for them to know. $1,000 $5,000 Grant and you have to do a little bit homework of yourself. Right? You know, that's something that it's in exchange for that we got to make sure that they're, they're properly educated, they know how to manage their business, and they got the financial leadership behind them because most people like we had mentioned, they don't have they know how to run the business. They have no idea how to run the business, but in the in the in the back scenes, they don't know how to, you know, find out you know, handle their financials. And that's funny. Exactly. That's an important aspect of Running a business not only making it profitable, but also finding managing the finances of it. That

Unknown Speaker 25:05
sounds like a great program for a brand new person that wants to entrepreneur that wants to open up a business, a

Unknown Speaker 25:10
good program for somebody that's in business.

Unknown Speaker 25:14
Really all the way around and you get it, you're getting money and an education, but more importantly, you get an education, because you need those tips and tricks to move forward and be successful in your business. And

Unknown Speaker 25:24
you also are networking with other business owners, because I'm sure you guys are doing large sessions to get the Well let me ask, are you doing sessions where all the business owners are coming like so they have a schedule, like we did with downtown business alliance, and then you have the coaching separate?

Unknown Speaker 25:39
Correct, we're gonna be having that as far as I know, the the business advisors that we have, they're going to be on staff where they're going to be on on the phone, phone, depending on how their schedules like but we got to make sure that they are taking those those six months of financial literacy to make sure that they can meet the requirements, because if they don't, most people will go into a class, or they don't, if they don't complete the requirements and not going to they're not going to get the grant. Bottom line. So we got to make sure that they're accounted for the accountability on their end, it could be you'd like said either in person or by on all virtual classes, right, whichever is easier for them. As long as they meet the requirements, there's going to be obviously there's going to be a an application that has to be submitted, they have to present their financials, two years of tax returns, they have to present business license for city of North Las Vegas, everybody that is part owner or an owner of the organization has to be in the healthcare center this information exactly. So and this will help them like we had mentioned responsibility, making, you know, business credit. And at the end of the day, that reward will be a $5,000 grant

Unknown Speaker 26:46
at North Las Vegas. So if your business is in North Las Vegas, I'm gonna give you his phone number. She's gonna say it real slow. 252630291 again, 725-263-0291. If you are a business owner, and you have questions, I know boy, you got some more stuff to add. Yeah, I

Unknown Speaker 27:13
just wanted to add a couple of things here that, you know, we do have an affinity for industry types as well. We're talking trucking companies have taken a hit, they've taken a huge hit and industry nationwide. We're still lending to trucking companies, restaurants we like, Yeah, we like a lot of auto body shops, you know, maybe your non traditional stuff that banks really don't have an appetite for at this current time. Some of them may even be blacklisted, so to speak, but And just remember, we're not a competitor to banks. Were a partner with banks. Banks have huge commitments to the Community Reinvestment Act. So they look to us and partner with us. We're not here to take banking relationships. Because we don't have depository accounts. We're not credit cards. We're just strictly a business lender. That's all we do. So we work in tandem with your banker or your commercial broker. So yeah, reach out anytime, folks. If you guys need some help from us, we'll be happy to help and have a conversation with you.

Unknown Speaker 28:08
Fantastic. Well, thank you, Frank and Roy, for joining us today from presto, CVS, Eskimos festival CDFI. You can they gave you your phone number. You can find them online to get more information about their programs. They're out there for you. You've been listening to Let's Talk with Lee and Rhonda. I'm Lea Crawford I'm rounding on. And thank you so much for joining us this beautiful Saturday morning. See you next week. Bye

Transcribed by https://otter.ai