It’s been about 20 years since Los Angeles native Yolanda Duckett first opened Duckett Kidz Care Inc.
Since then, she and a small group of employees have operated the business in her South Los Angeles home seven days a week, 23 hours a day, with the exception of major holidays.
“I have the capacity to handle 14 children at one time, but because of the nature of the child care business not everyone arrives at the same time and the days vary,” said Duckett.
The business has continued to grow, leading Duckett to consider expanding. The main thing stopping her? She wasn’t sure how to finance the endeavor.
Then last year she learned about the Small Business Administration’s 504 Loan Program, which provides long-term fixed-rate financing to borrowers who own for-profit companies and want to purchase real estate, equipment or improve existing facilities in order to grow or create jobs.
Loans are generally capped at $5 million.
The program features a unique 50-40-10 structure in which the borrower is required to contribute only 10%, with half of the financing package provided by a bank or another lending entity and the remaining portion facilitated by an SBA community-based partner known as a Certified Development Company.
Duckett obtained her loan through CDC Small Business Finance, a mission-driven nonprofit lender that is one of several organizations that are part of the Momentus Capital brand.
Mission-based lenders are committed to assisting borrowers who traditionally would not have access to loans.
She has since purchased a property on East Compton Boulevard in Compton and anticipates opening her second location at the end of March.
“Without this loan, I could not have expanded,” said Duckett. “Traditional commercial loans require about 25-35% down and that would have meant I would not have had enough to buy equipment and renovate the property.”
She expects to hire at least 10 full- and part-time employees to staff the new location.
“The loan has been life-changing,” she said. “I am going to be able to make a real impact on this community, which needs child care services and jobs.”
The 7(a) program
While Duckett secured a 504 loan, it’s not the only option.
The Small Business Administration has other loan programs, including the 7(a), which provides up to $5 million to for-profit businesses.
Unlike the 504 loan program, which is generally used to finance fixed assets, the 7(a) program allows the borrower to use the money for a variety of purposes, such as working capital, business acquisitions, partner buyouts and buy-ins, equipment, inventory, real estate purchases, or to refinance business debt.
There’s also the Community Advantage Small Business Lending Company Program, which is designed to provide capital to small businesses in underserved markets by allowing mission-oriented lenders access to 7(a) loans.
The Small Business Lending Company Program was created after the longstanding Community Advantage Loan pilot ended in the fall of 2023 and offers up to $350,000.
Susan Lamping, vice president of sales for CDC Small Business Finance, said the Small Business Lending Company Program gives mission-based lenders who were part of the Community Advantage Program a more secure home in the SBA lending space.
“Community Advantage SBLC loans are offered by nonbank, mission-based lenders whose credit box is broader than a traditional lender,” said Lamping. “This allows the lender to think outside the box more, stretch the limits a bit, dig deep to understand the client’s situation and know them beyond just what is seen on paper.”
“Ultimately, this gives the client a higher likelihood of loan approval and the ability to access much-needed capital for growth,” said Lamping.
According to numbers released by the SBA in October, the agency backed 4,781 loans ($1,455 billion) to Black-owned businesses and more than 7,700 ($3,006 billion) to Latino-owned businesses in the fiscal year 2023 through its 7(a) and 504 programs. The numbers represent a substantial increase from 2020 when the figures were 1,718 and 3,877 and respectively.
A tale of two markets
While the number of minority business owners benefiting from these loans may be rising, Tony Barengo, head of commercial real estate at CDC Small Business Finance, said the institution has seen a decrease in the overall number of 504 loan applicants since the fall of 2022.
“The 504 is a well-known product and we do expect things will return to normal in the near future,” said Barengo.
Erik Daniels, head of SBA lending at U.S. Bancorp is seeing similar trends.
“In 2018 and 2019, traditional 7(a) and 504 SBA lending was quite robust,” said Daniels, who is based in Pasadena and oversees the business nationally. “As the pandemic began in 2020, many businesses received Paycheck Protection Program loans to bridge their operations. Then additional government stimulus programs followed such as fee waivers that reduced businesses’ cost of capital and enhanced 7(a) and 504 lending in 2021.”
“Then came interest rate increases beginning in 2022 and into 2023,” said Daniels. “As rate increases began to slow, we experienced higher demand the second half of 2023.”
As inflation drops and the potential of lower interest rates is floated by the Federal Reserve, Daniels expects things to return to normal.
“We’re seeing increased interest from companies who are looking to grow, restructure debt, and retain capital with the longer terms SBA lending provides,” said Daniels.
TMC Financing Senior Vice President of Business Development Jennifer Davis said she’s seen a decline in the number of applicants seeking loans for expansion, but an increase in the number of people looking to refinance existing SBA debt.
The nonprofit mission-based lender administers below-market, fixed-rate SBA 504 loans to small-business owners looking to purchase, construct or refinance commercial real estate.
In 2023 TMC administered 319 504 loans in Los Angeles County for a total of $417 million in SBA financing, a noticeable decrease from 2020 when there were 369 loans amounting to $452 million.
Despite the uncertainty that accompanied the pandemic, Davis said the simultaneous availability of stimulus funds and historically low interest rates created a rare and favorable opportunity for small business borrowers.
Since the height of Covid, Davis said banks have adopted a more cautious lending approach.
Today’s high interest rates and stringent lending criteria have also deterred property owners from putting their assets on the market, resulting in a shortage of available industrial properties, said Davis. She has also noticed a recent uptick in escrow cancellations.
“In the current climate, buyers are increasingly cautious and are quick to rethink the transaction if any issues arise,” Davis said.
Over at Wells Fargo, Senior Vice President of SBA Lending Chris Ledesma has a different perspective.
“We are seeing good activity, especially in Southern California,” said Ledesma, who is located in Sacramento. “While interest rates may be higher and the money may not be as free flowing as it was during the pandemic, businesses still need to grow and many are selecting both our 7(a) and 504 products to achieve that growth.”
Ledesma has noticed an increase in requests to refinance conventional commercial loans, as well as existing 504 and 7(a) loans to secure more stable interest rates.
Change in the SBA rules
Last August, the SBA implemented a number of changes designed to make it easier for small businesses to obtain capital through the 7(a) and 504 loan programs.
For example, the SBA has relaxed eligibility criteria, reduced the financial documentation required for loan approvals and unveiled an updated credit policy, with credit scores/history, earnings or cash flow and equity/collateral now the primary factors used to calculate creditworthiness.
In addition, 7(a) borrowers can now utilize the funds for partial transfers of ownership.
Affiliation rules have also been simplified, with the term now defined as owners and/or companies that have more than a 50% stake in another entity within a similar line of business. The change makes it easier for more applicants to obtain financing.
