October 20, 2025 • 29 mins
Zack Folk is a Business Development Officer at the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership (STL Partnership), where he connects businesses with capital solutions that drive job creation and investment across the region. Since joining STL Partnership in 2016, he has held roles in both business development and finance, including Credit Analyst, before moving into his current position in 2020.
Zack specializes in marketing and managing economic development finance programs such as the SBA 504 loan and local and federal revolving loan funds. He works directly with business owners and lending partners to guide applications, structure loans, and minimize risk—helping businesses improve cash flow, purchase real estate, refinance debt, or acquire equipment.
With a BA in Economics, Political Science, and International Studies from the University of Missouri-Columbia and an MBA in Economics from Saint Louis University, Zack also connects clients to broader STL Partnership resources, including business counseling, trade assistance, tax incentives, and incubator space—ensuring businesses have the tools to grow and thrive in the St. Louis region.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:02):
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Welcome to the Business Credit and Financing Show.
Each week, we talk about the growth strategies
that matter most to entrepreneurs.
Listen in as we discuss the secrets to
getting credit and money to start and grow
your business.
And enjoy as we talk with seasoned business
owners, coaches, and industry leaders on a variety
(00:22):
of topics from advertising and marketing to the
nuts and bolts of running a highly successful
business.
And now, to introduce the host of our
show, financial expert and award-winning author, Ty
Crandall.
Hello, and thanks for joining us today.
I'm super excited you could be here because
today we're talking about one of the coolest
SBA programs that's really out there.
(00:43):
And this is a program a lot of
people think they know a lot about, but
really don't know nearly as much as they
think that they do.
It's the SBA 504 program, probably one of
the most powerful programs you can get from
SBA.
And today we've got like a guy that
this is all he does.
I mean, this is his main niche is
SBA 504.
I'm so excited to dive in because he
probably has more information and knowledge on this
(01:04):
than anybody else you're gonna talk to in
the field.
So with us today is Zach Falk.
Now, he is a business development officer at
the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership where he
connects businesses with capital solutions that drive job
creation and investment across the region.
Now, since joining STL partnership in 2016, he
has held roles in both business development and
(01:24):
finance, including credit analysts before moving into his
current position in 2020.
Now, Zach actually specializes in marketing and managing
economic development finance programs such as the SBA
504 loan and local and federal revolving loan
funds as well.
He works directly with business owners and lending
partners to guide applications, to structure loans and
(01:46):
to minimize risk, helping businesses improve their cashflow,
purchase real estate, refinance debt or acquire equipment.
Now with BA in economics, political science and
international studies from the University of Missouri, Columbia
and an MBA in economic from St. Louis
University, Zach also connects clients to broader STL
partnership resources, including business counseling, trade assistance, tax
(02:09):
incentives and incubator space, ensuring businesses have the
tools to grow and thrive in the St.
Louis region.
Zach, what's up, man?
Thanks for joining us today.
Yeah, happy to be here.
I'm excited you can be here.
So a lot of people don't even know
what an SBA 504 program is.
So let's start there.
What is the SBA 504 loan program?
So the 504 program is a specific loan
(02:32):
program from the Small Business Administration and it
is tailored specifically towards purchasing fixed assets like
specifically real estate typically, but also any kind
of heavy equipment or anything associated with a
real estate project.
And those are specifically for owner occupied real
estate.
So any small business that's applying for it,
they have to occupy the space, typically at
(02:54):
least 51% of that total space.
But what it does is we work with
a bank or any sort of lending institution
and they will finance typically 50% of
the total financing.
And then we'll come in and do roughly
40% of the project.
And that 40% is at a pretty
cheap interest rate, typically lower than any bank
(03:16):
loan that you can get.
And it's amortized fully fixed over 25 years.
So it's super helpful for businesses for getting
that long-term payment cycle along with kind
of a low cash injection into the project.
Cause typically you'll see most real estate transactions
or most bank loans, they'll want 20 to
25% of liquidity into the project.
(03:39):
Whereas with the 504, you only typically need
10% there.
Okay, love that.
And a lot of things to unpack.
So on the real estate side of the
504, you said this is, is this for
only, I think you mentioned an owner-occupied
property where the business owner is gonna occupy
51% of the property in question that's
(04:00):
actually looking to get financed.
Is that right?
Yeah, that's correct.
And that is for any existing structure.
So if it is a new construction project,
so if the business is looking to build
an entirely new building, they actually have to
occupy up to 80% of the project.
They don't have to occupy it all at
once, but kind of have a plan in
place to occupy that amount within 10 years.
(04:20):
Okay, so they're looking, we get an SBA
504, we're looking to basically buy a property.
We need to be occupying 51% of
the building.
We can put renters, for example, in the
other 49%.
Is that correct?
Yes, that's correct.
And then if we building, if we're gonna
use the money to be able to build
a new building, then we need to have
a plan in place to occupy like 80
% of that actual location.
(04:42):
The other 20%, for example, we could put
renters into.
Yes.
So what I think is interesting about 504
is that most people are really associated with
real estate.
I mean, everybody I know, but it's also
interesting that you mentioned fixed assets because a
lot of people don't even know what fixed
assets are.
And to be honest with you, I've always
wanted clarity on that as well because they've
even read things about like SBA that even
includes the utilities.
(05:03):
And so I'm trying to figure this out.
So outside of real estate, the 504 program
can also cover, you said things like heavy
machinery equipment.
So give me some examples outside of real
estate that the 504 can actually cover.
Yeah, so when it comes to heavy equipment,
so you would need something that's more big
equipment that's fixed to a facility.
(05:25):
And typically we say like difficult to move
out of the facility.
So manufacturing equipment, anything that's probably over $100
,000 for equipment that you're purchasing.
You can also within a 504 project, whether
it be a real estate transaction or just
an equipment transaction, you can bring in other
things like furniture and fixtures with the financing,
(05:46):
as long as it's a kind of minimal
part of the project.
You can include things like any sort of
professional fees, like if you're getting an appraisal
or environmental reports for the project.
And then where you can even expand further
out of that is with the SBA, their
504 refinance program, you could potentially include operating
expenses of the business that have been incurred
(06:08):
within the last 18 months or expected to
be incurred in the next 18 months within
that financing, as long as there's enough collateral
with anything you're refinancing, whether it be building
or the equipment to cover the amount that
you're looking for to add in working capital
into your business.
Wow, that's crazy.
I didn't even know that any of that
was possible.
So like if, so let's say I'm looking
(06:29):
to buy an existing building, I can come
in and be able to get to some,
I'm gonna occupy more than 51% of
it.
Then I could even potentially include some like
furniture and things like that into the actual
purchase into the overall transaction and get that
financed as well.
Yeah, exactly.
As long as it doesn't reduce the kind
of economic life of the overall collateral, you
(06:52):
can include a good amount of furniture and
fixtures into it.
So office furniture, anything that helps with that
specific project.
The SBA isn't specific on how much that
actually is as a percentage of the project,
but kind of a rule of thumb I've
looked at is roughly 10% or less.
Okay.
So, and you say fixed assets, meaning, cause
when you talk about heavy equipment, I get
(07:12):
excited.
I think about bulldozers and backhoes cause I'd
love to drive, exactly what most people don't
know about.
I'd love to like get, sell my business
and go drive those things around all day.
But not that kind of stuff, like stuff
that's fixed in the building.
So for example, my buddy Chip owns a
manufacturing company and he has all kinds of
machinery in his building for manufacturing, right?
You're not gonna like get that stuff out
of there without like forklifts.
(07:32):
That's the kind of fixed assets you're basically
talking about.
Yeah, and actually they're pretty specific that vehicles
are not included with that kind of heavy
equipment.
So anything like bulldozers or forklifts or things
like that wouldn't necessarily be eligible for 504
project.
But if something is fixed, there's some sort
of machine you have, or it could be
(07:53):
a lot of different things when it comes
to this equipment.
I don't wanna necessarily specify it to manufacturing
type equipment, but pretty much anything that doesn't
have wheels is what we're typically looking at.
So give me an example.
What's the craziest thing that you've actually seen
financed when it comes to fixed assets that
even you were like, wow, I cannot believe
that we actually got this thing done.
(08:14):
Oh my gosh.
I mean, it's hard to say specifically as
far as crazy things.
One that we've done recently, actually we're helping
a winery set up a production facility there.
So they had been outsourcing their production to
another winery and costs had been going up.
So they decided to build their own production
facility right there on their specific property.
(08:37):
So we took the 504 program, we actually
refinanced their loan that was already on that
property, put it into the 504 and then
added on an additional amount of money to
help them finance the building itself, which they're
also kind of doubling it as an event
space and then adding into a bunch of
different winery making equipment.
I got to learn a lot about how
(08:57):
wine is made through that.
Yeah, that's really interesting.
I mean, there's so many things I just
didn't know the 504 was even capable of
doing.
Now, when you talk about SBA, typically SBA
guarantees the loan and they don't offer the
money.
So how does that actually work?
Because you said that, for example, a bank
comes in and gives 50% and then
(09:19):
it sounds like somebody else comes in for
the other 40%.
But I've always thought that SBA was basically
we guarantee the loan and the bank was
always the one typically doing the financing.
So give me a clear understanding of how
that works.
Yeah, so the 504 program is actually a
direct lending program through the SBA.
So they're actually funding the money for that
(09:40):
40%.
So it's not coming from another source.
It's actually coming from the SBA.
What they do to fund these loans is
they, every SBA loan closes at the, and
then funds at the same time each and
every month.
So they collect all of the closing packages,
put it together in what they call debenture
and then sell off that debenture to investors.
(10:02):
And at that point, when they sell that
off, it sets the interest rate for all
the 504 loans across the country, which are
exactly the same, and then uses that money
to fund those loans.
So it is a direct funding program and
not just a guarantee program.
This sounds like the Taylor Swift Eros Tour
where all the tickets went on sale at
(10:24):
the same time.
Like why would they try to fund every
loan in the country at exactly the same
time?
That seems like that could get out of
control pretty quick.
Well, and it's actually really good for them
because it helps them package it up into
a good investment vehicle.
I hate to bring up like 2008 kind
of mortgage packaging, but these are kind of
exactly the opposite of that.
(10:44):
I think the 504 program has a default
rate of under a half a percent nationwide.
And so these are, it's an incredibly safe
investment vehicle that they package up each and
every month and sell off to investors.
And it works well to, it's almost kind
of like a bond from the government to
fund these loans.
Wow, I didn't know that either.
(11:05):
So SBA funds the 504, and then they
basically take it and sell it on the
secondary market.
Yeah, so actually they sell it on the
market to fund the 504.
So the SBA doesn't necessarily directly put any
of their own money into funding the 504.
They're selling it off to investors to fund
all the loans across the country for any
(11:25):
given month.
Out of curiosity, who are the investors?
Who's a typical investor?
Is it like individuals?
Is it banks?
Is it like?
I think it could be anybody.
I believe if I'm remembering correctly right now,
I believe it's Wells Fargo who packages it
up and sells it off.
And so it kind of like any other
investment vehicle or any other kind of bonds.
If you look at like a municipal bond,
(11:46):
it's fairly similar where they package it up
and they market it out to the retail
investors of the world.
So if I come to you to get
a 504, do you help me find the
bank that covers the 50%?
Because SBA is doing 40, and then 50
% is covered by the bank.
Do you help me find the bank?
I can, yeah.
I would say a good portion of the
(12:06):
loans I work on are actually coming from
banks.
Coming from banks.
Yeah, because you don't typically talk to an
economic development agency if you're looking for financing.
You want to talk to a bank first.
Right.
But we have in many circumstances, I have
had relationships with businesses in the community where
they've come to us and said, hey, we're
looking at doing this, but we don't necessarily
have a bank yet.
Can you help us find people?
(12:26):
And then since I work with literally any
kind of bank in our area, I've got
these relationships.
So I had one loan where they were
looking for a lender.
And I think we had approvals from three
different banks and that particular client got to
pick whatever he thought was the best deal
to move forward with financing on the 504.
Yeah, I'd say kind of an important part
(12:47):
to that.
So while the 504 portion of the financing
is all the same for everybody across the
country, the bank loan is set by the
bank.
So they get to set whatever rate that
works for them on the financing.
So that's kind of where people have a
little bit of a wiggle room to shop
around for the 504, but whoever you're working
(13:07):
with on your 504, it's going to be
the same product everywhere.
So in that case, then I have two
different interest rates, two different set of terms,
right?
I have the terms for the bank for
the 50%, and then the terms from SBA
for the 40%.
Correct.
And it's basically like having two loans for
your property.
So initially too, the bank actually will finance
the entirety of the project.
So while it's going through construction or anything
(13:28):
like that, until all the funds have been
dispersed out to the business, they will finance
that full 90%.
And then after that's done, that's when we
come in and take out the bank's portion
of that financing.
So the bank finances the whole 90%.
You're coming in and removing the 40%
and then moving it to another source.
And then the bank keeps the 50%.
Correct.
(13:49):
What if the bank wants to keep more
than the 50% and it can match
the terms?
Does that ever happen?
So when it comes to the typical breakdown
of a 504 program, we typically see it
where it's 50% the bank, 40%
for the 504, 10% from the borrower.
That's kind of the maximum what you can
have for the SBA is 40%, but it
(14:10):
can be any percentage of what the bank
wants to do, what the borrower wants to
do.
They're kind of setting the terms really as
far as what they're comfortable with.
So a bank can put in above 50
% and we would lower our portion of
it.
But as long as the borrower has the
minimum amount they have to put in, as
long as we don't go over the maximum
amount, then they can move forward with kind
(14:31):
of whatever structure makes sense for them.
The one exception is, so I mentioned it's
typically 10% for a borrower.
And now a quick break to hear from
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In a lot of cases, in cases in
which it is a startup company, so they've
been around for two years or less, or
it's a single use property.
So like a bowling alley hotel, you can
(15:13):
get specific as a funeral home that has
a crematorium.
So that's considered a single use property.
In both those cases, they have to put
in an additional 5%.
And when they have to do that, the
bank has to be at least 50%
in the project.
And then SBA is doing 35% in
that case.
Yeah, 35% or 30% if they're
both a startup and a single use property.
(15:34):
I think it's interesting that a hotel would
be a single use property because they have
event space.
It seems like it's actually could be used
for multiple different things.
Yeah, and it does seem like it can
be converted.
And then there's an argument to be made
about a lot of the single use properties
that they could be converted to other things.
So I know one that I've had the
conversation on is a surgery center is considered
(15:56):
a single use property.
But honestly, if you take out a lot
of the surgery equipment, it becomes just an
office space.
But since the SBA designates that as a
single use property, we have to go based
on their designation.
So economic development agency, what do you do?
And is this something, because you provide a
lot of help in other areas, right?
And I don't wanna get too far.
I definitely come back to 504, but I
(16:17):
don't wanna lose sight of this either.
So can somebody come to you for help?
Is that typical how it has?
Or like you said, are most people coming
to you from the bank for the financing
part?
Or can I go find an economic development
agency in my area to help me with
other things?
Yeah, so economic development agencies work on a
lot of different things.
So I'll kind of talk more about what
(16:37):
we do just because it's pretty comprehensive of
what a lot of others do.
So we'll be working with you to get
certain kind of tax incentives.
So our tax abatements, different state or federal
programs, or even local programs.
We've got a business development counselor on staff
who can help with a small business in
making a business plan, getting them access to
data, things like that.
(16:58):
We have the World Trade Center, St. Louis
is underneath our umbrella, and they help businesses
with importing and exporting.
So really a lot of things that businesses
can look at, whether they're the smallest of
startups, all the way up to the biggest
of businesses, they can typically come and talk
to us and we can try to find
something to help them make something happen.
It's really our goal is to, we're kind
(17:20):
of mandated to create jobs and investment in
our community.
And we've got a bunch of tools or
we have connections to those people with those
tools to help those businesses make something happen
in our area.
And I do get a lot of referrals
from other people in my organization who work
with other different programs.
They're working with our Small Business Development Center
counselor and they're expanding to the point where
(17:40):
they need a loan, then they can come
talk to me and we kind of help
them through that process.
Yeah, I thought it was cool.
I don't know if you've ever saw the
show Undercover Billionaire.
I love that show.
Like the very first thing that came out,
he had created this business called Underdog Barbecue.
And it was cool because he went to
an economic development center and they helped him
do the research.
They helped him do the business plan.
Like they helped him, because the whole idea
is that he had like a hundred dollars
(18:01):
and he had to build a business worth
a million dollars like within a month.
And it was cool because he went to
the economic development center.
And that was the first time I'd ever
realized you did a lot of those extra
kind of support services.
I never even knew that was a thing
until I saw that.
Yeah, I haven't seen that show, but I'm
glad to hear somebody got use of us
and got that out there.
Yeah, a lot of people don't necessarily understand
economic development, because it's such a broad thing
(18:24):
that we do, but we can help in
a ton of different ways.
You know, even trying to get through some
of like the local bureaucracy of zoning or
things like that.
That's what we're really here to do is
to help make it easier for businesses in
our area.
Wow, that's cool.
Back to 504, the 10%, the 50%
bank, 40% SBA, 10% borrower.
(18:46):
Do you care where the borrower gets the
money?
Can I borrow the 10% from another
source?
So you can, but there's a little bit
of stipulation with it.
So if you borrow the money and they
use the same thing that you're using the
504 on as collateral for it.
So if they wanna put any sort of
deed of trust or lien on the building,
(19:07):
not only does that have to be in
a subordinated position for us, but it also
cannot be paid back quicker than the 504
loan.
So you'll have to set out the term
of that loan at like 25 years, which
is kind of a sticking point for a
lot of people to borrow those funds.
Yeah, you're not able to get financing for
25 years on anything.
Yeah, and so people typically have issues with
that or they'll find a source to borrow
(19:29):
that is unsecured or at least secured by
something else that's not associated with the project.
So like I could use like crypto financing
if I have crypto invested and borrow against
crypto or securities finance, borrow against stocks.
I can use another asset, another form of
collateral, potentially borrow against that.
I just can't use the asset I'm trying
to buy unless of course they subordinate and
(19:51):
then I'll get 25 years, which doesn't even
exist.
I can't even think of a financing source
that would do that.
Yeah, the only time I've ever seen it
happen I was with family who financed their
portion of the financing.
So other than that, yeah, it's typically not
something that happens.
Sure, so what about, you talked about term,
you talked about really good rates.
Are you basing interest rates on prime rate?
(20:13):
How do we configure the interest rate?
How low are these interest rates typically?
Yeah, so when we talk about interest rate,
they, at least when I quote it to
those I'm working with, I quote it in
a way that is inclusive of all the
fees that are in our interest rate.
Right now, I believe it's for a 25
year, it's 6.377% and that's for
loans that have been funded this past month,
(20:35):
so.
That's your APR.
Yes.
Okay, so APR is including the interest rate
and the fees, everything that's real with the
true cost of actually getting the money.
Yes, so it's inclusive of all of that.
And with the interest rate, it is, I
would say typically tracks along with the 10
year treasury notes.
I say typically, cause it's, since it's its
own investment vehicle, it has its own way
(20:58):
of setting that interest rate, but you can
kind of see the ups and downs based
upon what the 10 year treasury is doing.
How high of loan amount am I able
to get?
So you can get up to 5 million
in SBA financing, both, so it's collectively of
any kind of SBA financing you have, up
to 5 million, or if you're a manufacturer,
you can get up to 5.5 million.
(21:18):
I think there might be some legislation out
there to increase that amount currently, but I'm
not sure where it's at currently in Congress
for that, but it's still a pretty good
amount.
And we rarely kind of see people hit
up to that.
And even when they do, and even when
they need more than that 5 million, the
bank can come in and finance the rest
of the portion.
So 5 million, the max would be like
(21:38):
a $12.5 million project.
We've worked with a project up to 17
million where the bank just had more of
a portion of the financing there.
Sure, that makes a lot of sense.
Yeah, and again, for clarification, you can have
up to 5 million.
Currently, I think it's like you said, I
think it's like they're trying to get us
raised to 10 million or something like that,
but currently you can only have 5 million
in money to SBA.
(22:00):
Yeah, EIDL loans and like F7As, the max
you can have extended by SBA at one
given time is 5 million.
But what if I pay that down?
I'm curious about that too.
If I had 5 million, if I got,
let's say 504 multiple loans, I'm at 5
million, but then I paid down a million
of that.
Does that million then become available or is
it when I have to pay off that
(22:20):
debt before it can actually reset?
Yeah, so it's anything that's your current balance
at the time of the application when we
go to send it into the SBA.
So whatever your balance is at that moment,
under 5 million, that's what you have available.
And I also do think it's important to
note if you're using multiple different SBA products,
the 7A is a little bit different than
the 504 in that they look at it
(22:41):
as a total project.
So while it could be 5 million for
the total project, technically the guarantee portion, something
like 3,750,000.
So if you're working at getting a 504
and 7A at the same time, we typically
recommend that you apply for the 7A first
so you can maximize the amount of SBA
loan that you're getting to get up to
that 5 million.
Hmm, that's interesting.
(23:01):
I never even thought about that before either.
So that, what's the underwriting?
What is it like to be able to
get approved for something like an SBA 504?
Yeah, so our credit standards, I would say
typically are lower than a bank's credit standards.
We're here to make projects that may not
necessarily work to get them to work.
So bank does have to underwrite it for
their portion.
And then typically we're underwriting it either concurrently
(23:23):
with the bank or after they have an
approval, they send it to us like saying,
here's the term sheet.
We underwrite it, they have it contingent upon
our approval.
And so we look at that, get it
approved on our side.
As far as the total underwriting, it's pretty
similar to what a bank does.
So we're pulling credit reports.
We're looking at debt service coverage ratios, a
bunch of different stuff from the past couple
(23:45):
of years of tax returns, looking at balance
sheets, things like that.
So overall, what the SBA requires is a
one-to-one debt service coverage ratio.
They don't necessarily have a minimum as far
as a credit score or anything like that.
And banks typically have a higher standard for
that in particular.
And if a business doesn't necessarily meet that
amount, we can submit the projections for the
(24:07):
business to show that they're going to make
it within the next two years and still
get a loan approved on that side.
Yeah, so to your point, it's way harder
to get the bank portion of the loan
than SBA.
If you could typically get that bank portion,
you're probably gonna be fine with SBA in
most cases.
Right.
What about business credit?
How important is business credit into getting an
(24:27):
SBA 504 loan?
Yeah, so business credit's an interesting thing.
And I may be speaking a little bit
more on kind of my opinion of it
versus that.
So we do pull business credit.
As I'm sure a lot of people have
experienced with looking at their business credit score,
it's not necessarily reflective of how well the
business is doing, kind of depending on some
of the lead times for their receivables or
(24:48):
payables, different things like that.
What we're really looking at is not necessarily
the specific score, but the details that are
within, how current are they on all their
debts?
Have they ever defaulted on anything?
Give me the context to what's in a
business credit report, not necessarily the score itself,
because there's a ton of businesses just by
the nature of what they do are going
(25:09):
to have lower credit scores because they have
a longer AR and AP than other industries.
And business credit scores, they kind of look
at it very like black and white for
the actual number, despite what is in the
actual report itself.
Are you using a FICO SPSS or are
you using a combination of D and B
(25:29):
Equifax experience?
So we use kind of a combination of,
I think we use Equifax typically or TransUnion
for that.
We've got a business credit score system that
pulls the actual business side of it along
with the personal side for when we get
the guarantors on there.
Anything else that you think that we should
know about 504 that I haven't already asked
(25:49):
you?
I would say, I mentioned a little bit
the refinance program with the 504 and I'm
finding, especially more recently, the SBA has relaxed
the requirements for getting a refinance.
And if businesses who already have a loan
on their building or a loan on equipment
and are looking to increase their cashflow, the
(26:09):
refinance program is a great tool to extend
out that amortization, to refinance that debt into
something that could be opening up for their
cashflow in that.
And when they refinance, we get a new
appraisal for all of that and any equity
they already have in their assets counts towards
their contribution for that project.
(26:30):
So they're not having to add necessarily anything
new to that project and can really improve
their cashflow overall with using the refinance program.
I love it.
Thanks, Zach.
If I'm in St. Louis area or if
I'm in Missouri, excuse me, clarify, if I'm
in Missouri, you also deal with some counties
in Illinois as well, where can I go
to talk to you, to talk to your
team to be able to learn more?
(26:50):
And if I'm not in that area, where
can I go to be able to learn
more about finding economic development agency in my
area?
Yeah, so you can find us at stlpartnership
.com.
All my information's on there, along with a
bunch of information about the loan programs we
work with, not only 504, but a bunch
of others as well.
If you're not in Missouri or near us
(27:11):
in Illinois, you can go to the SBA's
website.
The specific type of entity that works with
504s is called a certified development company.
So if you go to SBA's website, you
can search for certified development companies in your
area.
And there's a lot of people across the
country like me who know all of this
about 504s, who are very specialized in 504s,
and can talk just as well as I
(27:32):
have with all of this.
All right, Zach, thanks for coming on with
us today.
Yeah, thanks for having me.
All right, so listen, like I said, Zach,
one of the most knowledgeable people you're ever
gonna hear from on SBA 504.
I think he's humble and he says there's
other people that might know as much.
I don't think so.
I think this guy knows more than almost
all of them out there.
So if you are in the Missouri area,
or if you're in some of the counties
that can deal with eight counties in Illinois,
(27:54):
make sure you check them out.
They're at stlpartnership.com.
That's stlpartnership.com.
You can get in touch with them.
You can learn more about what they do.
And then you can also, if you're not
in this area, now you've learned everything you
need to learn.
I don't know, I learned a lot today
that I didn't know about 504s.
And you can find an agency, you can
find the group that Zach talked about in
your area as well.
So make sure you check it out with
SBA.
So make sure again, if you're in the
(28:15):
area, check out stlpartnership.com.
If you're in Missouri, if you're also in
some of those counties in Illinois, or you're
not sure of the counties, get in touch
with them at stlpartnership.com to figure that
out.
And then you can also find a local
agency in your own area if you're not
to be able to help you with the
504 and other kinds of services that Zach
talked about today.
Thank you very much for tuning in.
Take care.
Have a great day.
(28:42):
You've been listening to the Business Credit and
Financing Show with your host, Ty Crandall.
Watch for our next episode to get even
more insight on financing and growing your business.
And don't forget to check us out online
at creditsuite.com for even more business growth
strategies.
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Welcome to the Business Credit and Financing Show.
Each week, we talk about the growth strategies
that matter most to entrepreneurs.
Listen in as we discuss the secrets to
getting credit and money to start and grow
your business.
And enjoy as we talk with seasoned business
owners, coaches, and industry leaders on a variety
(00:22):
of topics from advertising and marketing to the
nuts and bolts of running a highly successful
business.
And now, to introduce the host of our
show, financial expert and award-winning author, Ty
Crandall.
Hello, and thanks for joining us today.
I'm super excited you could be here because
today we're talking about one of the coolest
SBA programs that's really out there.
(00:43):
And this is a program a lot of
people think they know a lot about, but
really don't know nearly as much as they
think that they do.
It's the SBA 504 program, probably one of
the most powerful programs you can get from
SBA.
And today we've got like a guy that
this is all he does.
I mean, this is his main niche is
SBA 504.
I'm so excited to dive in because he
probably has more information and knowledge on this
(01:04):
than anybody else you're gonna talk to in
the field.
So with us today is Zach Falk.
Now, he is a business development officer at
the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership where he
connects businesses with capital solutions that drive job
creation and investment across the region.
Now, since joining STL partnership in 2016, he
has held roles in both business development and
(01:24):
finance, including credit analysts before moving into his
current position in 2020.
Now, Zach actually specializes in marketing and managing
economic development finance programs such as the SBA
504 loan and local and federal revolving loan
funds as well.
He works directly with business owners and lending
partners to guide applications, to structure loans and
(01:46):
to minimize risk, helping businesses improve their cashflow,
purchase real estate, refinance debt or acquire equipment.
Now with BA in economics, political science and
international studies from the University of Missouri, Columbia
and an MBA in economic from St. Louis
University, Zach also connects clients to broader STL
partnership resources, including business counseling, trade assistance, tax
(02:09):
incentives and incubator space, ensuring businesses have the
tools to grow and thrive in the St.
Louis region.
Zach, what's up, man?
Thanks for joining us today.
Yeah, happy to be here.
I'm excited you can be here.
So a lot of people don't even know
what an SBA 504 program is.
So let's start there.
What is the SBA 504 loan program?
So the 504 program is a specific loan
(02:32):
program from the Small Business Administration and it
is tailored specifically towards purchasing fixed assets like
specifically real estate typically, but also any kind
of heavy equipment or anything associated with a
real estate project.
And those are specifically for owner occupied real
estate.
So any small business that's applying for it,
they have to occupy the space, typically at
(02:54):
least 51% of that total space.
But what it does is we work with
a bank or any sort of lending institution
and they will finance typically 50% of
the total financing.
And then we'll come in and do roughly
40% of the project.
And that 40% is at a pretty
cheap interest rate, typically lower than any bank
(03:16):
loan that you can get.
And it's amortized fully fixed over 25 years.
So it's super helpful for businesses for getting
that long-term payment cycle along with kind
of a low cash injection into the project.
Cause typically you'll see most real estate transactions
or most bank loans, they'll want 20 to
25% of liquidity into the project.
(03:39):
Whereas with the 504, you only typically need
10% there.
Okay, love that.
And a lot of things to unpack.
So on the real estate side of the
504, you said this is, is this for
only, I think you mentioned an owner-occupied
property where the business owner is gonna occupy
51% of the property in question that's
(04:00):
actually looking to get financed.
Is that right?
Yeah, that's correct.
And that is for any existing structure.
So if it is a new construction project,
so if the business is looking to build
an entirely new building, they actually have to
occupy up to 80% of the project.
They don't have to occupy it all at
once, but kind of have a plan in
place to occupy that amount within 10 years.
(04:20):
Okay, so they're looking, we get an SBA
504, we're looking to basically buy a property.
We need to be occupying 51% of
the building.
We can put renters, for example, in the
other 49%.
Is that correct?
Yes, that's correct.
And then if we building, if we're gonna
use the money to be able to build
a new building, then we need to have
a plan in place to occupy like 80
% of that actual location.
(04:42):
The other 20%, for example, we could put
renters into.
Yes.
So what I think is interesting about 504
is that most people are really associated with
real estate.
I mean, everybody I know, but it's also
interesting that you mentioned fixed assets because a
lot of people don't even know what fixed
assets are.
And to be honest with you, I've always
wanted clarity on that as well because they've
even read things about like SBA that even
includes the utilities.
(05:03):
And so I'm trying to figure this out.
So outside of real estate, the 504 program
can also cover, you said things like heavy
machinery equipment.
So give me some examples outside of real
estate that the 504 can actually cover.
Yeah, so when it comes to heavy equipment,
so you would need something that's more big
equipment that's fixed to a facility.
(05:25):
And typically we say like difficult to move
out of the facility.
So manufacturing equipment, anything that's probably over $100
,000 for equipment that you're purchasing.
You can also within a 504 project, whether
it be a real estate transaction or just
an equipment transaction, you can bring in other
things like furniture and fixtures with the financing,
(05:46):
as long as it's a kind of minimal
part of the project.
You can include things like any sort of
professional fees, like if you're getting an appraisal
or environmental reports for the project.
And then where you can even expand further
out of that is with the SBA, their
504 refinance program, you could potentially include operating
expenses of the business that have been incurred
(06:08):
within the last 18 months or expected to
be incurred in the next 18 months within
that financing, as long as there's enough collateral
with anything you're refinancing, whether it be building
or the equipment to cover the amount that
you're looking for to add in working capital
into your business.
Wow, that's crazy.
I didn't even know that any of that
was possible.
So like if, so let's say I'm looking
(06:29):
to buy an existing building, I can come
in and be able to get to some,
I'm gonna occupy more than 51% of
it.
Then I could even potentially include some like
furniture and things like that into the actual
purchase into the overall transaction and get that
financed as well.
Yeah, exactly.
As long as it doesn't reduce the kind
of economic life of the overall collateral, you
(06:52):
can include a good amount of furniture and
fixtures into it.
So office furniture, anything that helps with that
specific project.
The SBA isn't specific on how much that
actually is as a percentage of the project,
but kind of a rule of thumb I've
looked at is roughly 10% or less.
Okay.
So, and you say fixed assets, meaning, cause
when you talk about heavy equipment, I get
(07:12):
excited.
I think about bulldozers and backhoes cause I'd
love to drive, exactly what most people don't
know about.
I'd love to like get, sell my business
and go drive those things around all day.
But not that kind of stuff, like stuff
that's fixed in the building.
So for example, my buddy Chip owns a
manufacturing company and he has all kinds of
machinery in his building for manufacturing, right?
You're not gonna like get that stuff out
of there without like forklifts.
(07:32):
That's the kind of fixed assets you're basically
talking about.
Yeah, and actually they're pretty specific that vehicles
are not included with that kind of heavy
equipment.
So anything like bulldozers or forklifts or things
like that wouldn't necessarily be eligible for 504
project.
But if something is fixed, there's some sort
of machine you have, or it could be
(07:53):
a lot of different things when it comes
to this equipment.
I don't wanna necessarily specify it to manufacturing
type equipment, but pretty much anything that doesn't
have wheels is what we're typically looking at.
So give me an example.
What's the craziest thing that you've actually seen
financed when it comes to fixed assets that
even you were like, wow, I cannot believe
that we actually got this thing done.
(08:14):
Oh my gosh.
I mean, it's hard to say specifically as
far as crazy things.
One that we've done recently, actually we're helping
a winery set up a production facility there.
So they had been outsourcing their production to
another winery and costs had been going up.
So they decided to build their own production
facility right there on their specific property.
(08:37):
So we took the 504 program, we actually
refinanced their loan that was already on that
property, put it into the 504 and then
added on an additional amount of money to
help them finance the building itself, which they're
also kind of doubling it as an event
space and then adding into a bunch of
different winery making equipment.
I got to learn a lot about how
(08:57):
wine is made through that.
Yeah, that's really interesting.
I mean, there's so many things I just
didn't know the 504 was even capable of
doing.
Now, when you talk about SBA, typically SBA
guarantees the loan and they don't offer the
money.
So how does that actually work?
Because you said that, for example, a bank
comes in and gives 50% and then
(09:19):
it sounds like somebody else comes in for
the other 40%.
But I've always thought that SBA was basically
we guarantee the loan and the bank was
always the one typically doing the financing.
So give me a clear understanding of how
that works.
Yeah, so the 504 program is actually a
direct lending program through the SBA.
So they're actually funding the money for that
(09:40):
40%.
So it's not coming from another source.
It's actually coming from the SBA.
What they do to fund these loans is
they, every SBA loan closes at the, and
then funds at the same time each and
every month.
So they collect all of the closing packages,
put it together in what they call debenture
and then sell off that debenture to investors.
(10:02):
And at that point, when they sell that
off, it sets the interest rate for all
the 504 loans across the country, which are
exactly the same, and then uses that money
to fund those loans.
So it is a direct funding program and
not just a guarantee program.
This sounds like the Taylor Swift Eros Tour
where all the tickets went on sale at
(10:24):
the same time.
Like why would they try to fund every
loan in the country at exactly the same
time?
That seems like that could get out of
control pretty quick.
Well, and it's actually really good for them
because it helps them package it up into
a good investment vehicle.
I hate to bring up like 2008 kind
of mortgage packaging, but these are kind of
exactly the opposite of that.
(10:44):
I think the 504 program has a default
rate of under a half a percent nationwide.
And so these are, it's an incredibly safe
investment vehicle that they package up each and
every month and sell off to investors.
And it works well to, it's almost kind
of like a bond from the government to
fund these loans.
Wow, I didn't know that either.
(11:05):
So SBA funds the 504, and then they
basically take it and sell it on the
secondary market.
Yeah, so actually they sell it on the
market to fund the 504.
So the SBA doesn't necessarily directly put any
of their own money into funding the 504.
They're selling it off to investors to fund
all the loans across the country for any
(11:25):
given month.
Out of curiosity, who are the investors?
Who's a typical investor?
Is it like individuals?
Is it banks?
Is it like?
I think it could be anybody.
I believe if I'm remembering correctly right now,
I believe it's Wells Fargo who packages it
up and sells it off.
And so it kind of like any other
investment vehicle or any other kind of bonds.
If you look at like a municipal bond,
(11:46):
it's fairly similar where they package it up
and they market it out to the retail
investors of the world.
So if I come to you to get
a 504, do you help me find the
bank that covers the 50%?
Because SBA is doing 40, and then 50
% is covered by the bank.
Do you help me find the bank?
I can, yeah.
I would say a good portion of the
(12:06):
loans I work on are actually coming from
banks.
Coming from banks.
Yeah, because you don't typically talk to an
economic development agency if you're looking for financing.
You want to talk to a bank first.
Right.
But we have in many circumstances, I have
had relationships with businesses in the community where
they've come to us and said, hey, we're
looking at doing this, but we don't necessarily
have a bank yet.
Can you help us find people?
(12:26):
And then since I work with literally any
kind of bank in our area, I've got
these relationships.
So I had one loan where they were
looking for a lender.
And I think we had approvals from three
different banks and that particular client got to
pick whatever he thought was the best deal
to move forward with financing on the 504.
Yeah, I'd say kind of an important part
(12:47):
to that.
So while the 504 portion of the financing
is all the same for everybody across the
country, the bank loan is set by the
bank.
So they get to set whatever rate that
works for them on the financing.
So that's kind of where people have a
little bit of a wiggle room to shop
around for the 504, but whoever you're working
(13:07):
with on your 504, it's going to be
the same product everywhere.
So in that case, then I have two
different interest rates, two different set of terms,
right?
I have the terms for the bank for
the 50%, and then the terms from SBA
for the 40%.
Correct.
And it's basically like having two loans for
your property.
So initially too, the bank actually will finance
the entirety of the project.
So while it's going through construction or anything
(13:28):
like that, until all the funds have been
dispersed out to the business, they will finance
that full 90%.
And then after that's done, that's when we
come in and take out the bank's portion
of that financing.
So the bank finances the whole 90%.
You're coming in and removing the 40%
and then moving it to another source.
And then the bank keeps the 50%.
Correct.
(13:49):
What if the bank wants to keep more
than the 50% and it can match
the terms?
Does that ever happen?
So when it comes to the typical breakdown
of a 504 program, we typically see it
where it's 50% the bank, 40%
for the 504, 10% from the borrower.
That's kind of the maximum what you can
have for the SBA is 40%, but it
(14:10):
can be any percentage of what the bank
wants to do, what the borrower wants to
do.
They're kind of setting the terms really as
far as what they're comfortable with.
So a bank can put in above 50
% and we would lower our portion of
it.
But as long as the borrower has the
minimum amount they have to put in, as
long as we don't go over the maximum
amount, then they can move forward with kind
(14:31):
of whatever structure makes sense for them.
The one exception is, so I mentioned it's
typically 10% for a borrower.
And now a quick break to hear from
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Many of our subscribers want to get the
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(14:52):
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In a lot of cases, in cases in
which it is a startup company, so they've
been around for two years or less, or
it's a single use property.
So like a bowling alley hotel, you can
(15:13):
get specific as a funeral home that has
a crematorium.
So that's considered a single use property.
In both those cases, they have to put
in an additional 5%.
And when they have to do that, the
bank has to be at least 50%
in the project.
And then SBA is doing 35% in
that case.
Yeah, 35% or 30% if they're
both a startup and a single use property.
(15:34):
I think it's interesting that a hotel would
be a single use property because they have
event space.
It seems like it's actually could be used
for multiple different things.
Yeah, and it does seem like it can
be converted.
And then there's an argument to be made
about a lot of the single use properties
that they could be converted to other things.
So I know one that I've had the
conversation on is a surgery center is considered
(15:56):
a single use property.
But honestly, if you take out a lot
of the surgery equipment, it becomes just an
office space.
But since the SBA designates that as a
single use property, we have to go based
on their designation.
So economic development agency, what do you do?
And is this something, because you provide a
lot of help in other areas, right?
And I don't wanna get too far.
I definitely come back to 504, but I
(16:17):
don't wanna lose sight of this either.
So can somebody come to you for help?
Is that typical how it has?
Or like you said, are most people coming
to you from the bank for the financing
part?
Or can I go find an economic development
agency in my area to help me with
other things?
Yeah, so economic development agencies work on a
lot of different things.
So I'll kind of talk more about what
(16:37):
we do just because it's pretty comprehensive of
what a lot of others do.
So we'll be working with you to get
certain kind of tax incentives.
So our tax abatements, different state or federal
programs, or even local programs.
We've got a business development counselor on staff
who can help with a small business in
making a business plan, getting them access to
data, things like that.
(16:58):
We have the World Trade Center, St. Louis
is underneath our umbrella, and they help businesses
with importing and exporting.
So really a lot of things that businesses
can look at, whether they're the smallest of
startups, all the way up to the biggest
of businesses, they can typically come and talk
to us and we can try to find
something to help them make something happen.
It's really our goal is to, we're kind
(17:20):
of mandated to create jobs and investment in
our community.
And we've got a bunch of tools or
we have connections to those people with those
tools to help those businesses make something happen
in our area.
And I do get a lot of referrals
from other people in my organization who work
with other different programs.
They're working with our Small Business Development Center
counselor and they're expanding to the point where
(17:40):
they need a loan, then they can come
talk to me and we kind of help
them through that process.
Yeah, I thought it was cool.
I don't know if you've ever saw the
show Undercover Billionaire.
I love that show.
Like the very first thing that came out,
he had created this business called Underdog Barbecue.
And it was cool because he went to
an economic development center and they helped him
do the research.
They helped him do the business plan.
Like they helped him, because the whole idea
is that he had like a hundred dollars
(18:01):
and he had to build a business worth
a million dollars like within a month.
And it was cool because he went to
the economic development center.
And that was the first time I'd ever
realized you did a lot of those extra
kind of support services.
I never even knew that was a thing
until I saw that.
Yeah, I haven't seen that show, but I'm
glad to hear somebody got use of us
and got that out there.
Yeah, a lot of people don't necessarily understand
economic development, because it's such a broad thing
(18:24):
that we do, but we can help in
a ton of different ways.
You know, even trying to get through some
of like the local bureaucracy of zoning or
things like that.
That's what we're really here to do is
to help make it easier for businesses in
our area.
Wow, that's cool.
Back to 504, the 10%, the 50%
bank, 40% SBA, 10% borrower.
(18:46):
Do you care where the borrower gets the
money?
Can I borrow the 10% from another
source?
So you can, but there's a little bit
of stipulation with it.
So if you borrow the money and they
use the same thing that you're using the
504 on as collateral for it.
So if they wanna put any sort of
deed of trust or lien on the building,
(19:07):
not only does that have to be in
a subordinated position for us, but it also
cannot be paid back quicker than the 504
loan.
So you'll have to set out the term
of that loan at like 25 years, which
is kind of a sticking point for a
lot of people to borrow those funds.
Yeah, you're not able to get financing for
25 years on anything.
Yeah, and so people typically have issues with
that or they'll find a source to borrow
(19:29):
that is unsecured or at least secured by
something else that's not associated with the project.
So like I could use like crypto financing
if I have crypto invested and borrow against
crypto or securities finance, borrow against stocks.
I can use another asset, another form of
collateral, potentially borrow against that.
I just can't use the asset I'm trying
to buy unless of course they subordinate and
(19:51):
then I'll get 25 years, which doesn't even
exist.
I can't even think of a financing source
that would do that.
Yeah, the only time I've ever seen it
happen I was with family who financed their
portion of the financing.
So other than that, yeah, it's typically not
something that happens.
Sure, so what about, you talked about term,
you talked about really good rates.
Are you basing interest rates on prime rate?
(20:13):
How do we configure the interest rate?
How low are these interest rates typically?
Yeah, so when we talk about interest rate,
they, at least when I quote it to
those I'm working with, I quote it in
a way that is inclusive of all the
fees that are in our interest rate.
Right now, I believe it's for a 25
year, it's 6.377% and that's for
loans that have been funded this past month,
(20:35):
so.
That's your APR.
Yes.
Okay, so APR is including the interest rate
and the fees, everything that's real with the
true cost of actually getting the money.
Yes, so it's inclusive of all of that.
And with the interest rate, it is, I
would say typically tracks along with the 10
year treasury notes.
I say typically, cause it's, since it's its
own investment vehicle, it has its own way
(20:58):
of setting that interest rate, but you can
kind of see the ups and downs based
upon what the 10 year treasury is doing.
How high of loan amount am I able
to get?
So you can get up to 5 million
in SBA financing, both, so it's collectively of
any kind of SBA financing you have, up
to 5 million, or if you're a manufacturer,
you can get up to 5.5 million.
(21:18):
I think there might be some legislation out
there to increase that amount currently, but I'm
not sure where it's at currently in Congress
for that, but it's still a pretty good
amount.
And we rarely kind of see people hit
up to that.
And even when they do, and even when
they need more than that 5 million, the
bank can come in and finance the rest
of the portion.
So 5 million, the max would be like
(21:38):
a $12.5 million project.
We've worked with a project up to 17
million where the bank just had more of
a portion of the financing there.
Sure, that makes a lot of sense.
Yeah, and again, for clarification, you can have
up to 5 million.
Currently, I think it's like you said, I
think it's like they're trying to get us
raised to 10 million or something like that,
but currently you can only have 5 million
in money to SBA.
(22:00):
Yeah, EIDL loans and like F7As, the max
you can have extended by SBA at one
given time is 5 million.
But what if I pay that down?
I'm curious about that too.
If I had 5 million, if I got,
let's say 504 multiple loans, I'm at 5
million, but then I paid down a million
of that.
Does that million then become available or is
it when I have to pay off that
(22:20):
debt before it can actually reset?
Yeah, so it's anything that's your current balance
at the time of the application when we
go to send it into the SBA.
So whatever your balance is at that moment,
under 5 million, that's what you have available.
And I also do think it's important to
note if you're using multiple different SBA products,
the 7A is a little bit different than
the 504 in that they look at it
(22:41):
as a total project.
So while it could be 5 million for
the total project, technically the guarantee portion, something
like 3,750,000.
So if you're working at getting a 504
and 7A at the same time, we typically
recommend that you apply for the 7A first
so you can maximize the amount of SBA
loan that you're getting to get up to
that 5 million.
Hmm, that's interesting.
(23:01):
I never even thought about that before either.
So that, what's the underwriting?
What is it like to be able to
get approved for something like an SBA 504?
Yeah, so our credit standards, I would say
typically are lower than a bank's credit standards.
We're here to make projects that may not
necessarily work to get them to work.
So bank does have to underwrite it for
their portion.
And then typically we're underwriting it either concurrently
(23:23):
with the bank or after they have an
approval, they send it to us like saying,
here's the term sheet.
We underwrite it, they have it contingent upon
our approval.
And so we look at that, get it
approved on our side.
As far as the total underwriting, it's pretty
similar to what a bank does.
So we're pulling credit reports.
We're looking at debt service coverage ratios, a
bunch of different stuff from the past couple
(23:45):
of years of tax returns, looking at balance
sheets, things like that.
So overall, what the SBA requires is a
one-to-one debt service coverage ratio.
They don't necessarily have a minimum as far
as a credit score or anything like that.
And banks typically have a higher standard for
that in particular.
And if a business doesn't necessarily meet that
amount, we can submit the projections for the
(24:07):
business to show that they're going to make
it within the next two years and still
get a loan approved on that side.
Yeah, so to your point, it's way harder
to get the bank portion of the loan
than SBA.
If you could typically get that bank portion,
you're probably gonna be fine with SBA in
most cases.
Right.
What about business credit?
How important is business credit into getting an
(24:27):
SBA 504 loan?
Yeah, so business credit's an interesting thing.
And I may be speaking a little bit
more on kind of my opinion of it
versus that.
So we do pull business credit.
As I'm sure a lot of people have
experienced with looking at their business credit score,
it's not necessarily reflective of how well the
business is doing, kind of depending on some
of the lead times for their receivables or
(24:48):
payables, different things like that.
What we're really looking at is not necessarily
the specific score, but the details that are
within, how current are they on all their
debts?
Have they ever defaulted on anything?
Give me the context to what's in a
business credit report, not necessarily the score itself,
because there's a ton of businesses just by
the nature of what they do are going
(25:09):
to have lower credit scores because they have
a longer AR and AP than other industries.
And business credit scores, they kind of look
at it very like black and white for
the actual number, despite what is in the
actual report itself.
Are you using a FICO SPSS or are
you using a combination of D and B
(25:29):
Equifax experience?
So we use kind of a combination of,
I think we use Equifax typically or TransUnion
for that.
We've got a business credit score system that
pulls the actual business side of it along
with the personal side for when we get
the guarantors on there.
Anything else that you think that we should
know about 504 that I haven't already asked
(25:49):
you?
I would say, I mentioned a little bit
the refinance program with the 504 and I'm
finding, especially more recently, the SBA has relaxed
the requirements for getting a refinance.
And if businesses who already have a loan
on their building or a loan on equipment
and are looking to increase their cashflow, the
(26:09):
refinance program is a great tool to extend
out that amortization, to refinance that debt into
something that could be opening up for their
cashflow in that.
And when they refinance, we get a new
appraisal for all of that and any equity
they already have in their assets counts towards
their contribution for that project.
(26:30):
So they're not having to add necessarily anything
new to that project and can really improve
their cashflow overall with using the refinance program.
I love it.
Thanks, Zach.
If I'm in St. Louis area or if
I'm in Missouri, excuse me, clarify, if I'm
in Missouri, you also deal with some counties
in Illinois as well, where can I go
to talk to you, to talk to your
team to be able to learn more?
(26:50):
And if I'm not in that area, where
can I go to be able to learn
more about finding economic development agency in my
area?
Yeah, so you can find us at stlpartnership
.com.
All my information's on there, along with a
bunch of information about the loan programs we
work with, not only 504, but a bunch
of others as well.
If you're not in Missouri or near us
(27:11):
in Illinois, you can go to the SBA's
website.
The specific type of entity that works with
504s is called a certified development company.
So if you go to SBA's website, you
can search for certified development companies in your
area.
And there's a lot of people across the
country like me who know all of this
about 504s, who are very specialized in 504s,
and can talk just as well as I
(27:32):
have with all of this.
All right, Zach, thanks for coming on with
us today.
Yeah, thanks for having me.
All right, so listen, like I said, Zach,
one of the most knowledgeable people you're ever
gonna hear from on SBA 504.
I think he's humble and he says there's
other people that might know as much.
I don't think so.
I think this guy knows more than almost
all of them out there.
So if you are in the Missouri area,
or if you're in some of the counties
that can deal with eight counties in Illinois,
(27:54):
make sure you check them out.
They're at stlpartnership.com.
That's stlpartnership.com.
You can get in touch with them.
You can learn more about what they do.
And then you can also, if you're not
in this area, now you've learned everything you
need to learn.
I don't know, I learned a lot today
that I didn't know about 504s.
And you can find an agency, you can
find the group that Zach talked about in
your area as well.
So make sure you check it out with
SBA.
So make sure again, if you're in the
(28:15):
area, check out stlpartnership.com.
If you're in Missouri, if you're also in
some of those counties in Illinois, or you're
not sure of the counties, get in touch
with them at stlpartnership.com to figure that
out.
And then you can also find a local
agency in your own area if you're not
to be able to help you with the
504 and other kinds of services that Zach
talked about today.
Thank you very much for tuning in.
Take care.
Have a great day.
(28:42):
You've been listening to the Business Credit and
Financing Show with your host, Ty Crandall.
Watch for our next episode to get even
more insight on financing and growing your business.
And don't forget to check us out online
at creditsuite.com for even more business growth
strategies.
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