Small Business Today Magazine MAR 2015 IMPACT STONE DESIGN | Page 32

EDITORIALFEATURE

Small Business Loan Success

Story - Zoom Car Wash
By Bruce Hurta

S

BA financing assists many small business owners year after year.  While
the application and approval process
for financing can be overwhelming
for any entrepreneur, a small business lender is happy to walk every single prospective business owner through each step.

Consider this example of Zoom Car
Wash, a brand new small business located
in Houston, Texas.  Although Zoom Car
Wash has only been in business for the
last six months, the company has exceeded projected goals and has serviced over
40,000 people.

The Challenge:

Zoom Car Wash needed to acquire financing for the purchase of land, construction, new equipment, and start-up working
capital.  Although the partners of Zoom
Car Wash were denied lending through
traditional banks, the business was able to
finance the entirety of the project through
SBA lending.

The SBA government-guaranteed loan
program for small business is a suitable alternative for small businesses seeking the
best financing for their start-up business
including commercial real estate.  Since
an SBA loan is classified as a business
loan and not a real estate loan, the lender relies on the financial performance of
the business and the credentials of the
owner(s).  Zoom Car Wash owner Mark
Dost expressed, “The SBA process was a
little more challenging but we would not
have been able to do this project without
their financial support.  Although our three
business partners all had auto mechanical
backgrounds, being first time car wash
owners was a risk traditional banks did not
want to take on.”

The Solution:

One major factor that often causes traditional or conventional bank lenders to
deny a business loan application is insufficient industry experience of one or more
of the owners.  Sometimes, as was likely
the case with Zoom, banks avoid lending
to particular industries or sectors with a
high failure rate.  “Traditional banks seem
to have preconceived beliefs that start-up
car wash businesses are too risky 8