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Showing results for tags 'financing'.
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Hi all, I've reached out to a bunch of financing companies at this point now and haven't had much luck in getting the loan support I need to get my business up and running. I have talked to GE Capital, Brewery Finance, and a few local banks, but they all require that I have been in business for at least a year in order to be willing to provide a loan. Do any of you have experience in working with lenders in the early stages of your business and can you offer any advice? I've already gone to friends and family and am looking for loans to cover the rest of my start-up needs. Thanks!
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I have over 20 years’ experience working with finance solutions through the SBA financing arena. My primary focus is Craft Beverage Lending on a nationwide platform. Dogwood State Bank is a preferred lender with the SBA and offers financing options to businesses with loan sizes usually ranging from $350,000 to $5,000,000. You can email me at sbirkner@dsbnc.com and we can set up a call to discuss your project. Cheers! Scott Birkner| SBA Business Lending Specialist Dogwood State Bank Small Business Lending Cell: 704.564.5940 10130 Mallard Creek Rd., Bldg 2, Suite 232 | Charlotte, NC 28262 linkedin.com/in/sbirkner
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At this point I cannot suggest a bank to approach for funding a startup, but I can definitely urge that no sane person wanting to start or expand a distillery ever considers using BB&T. On some misguided recommendations we started with them, and four months later here is a synopsis of our results: BB&T - Thanks, that should be all we need. Us - (Later) - Hello? So where do we stand? BB&T - We need some additional information. Us - (actual sample BB&T responses) It's on page 1 of our financial summary. That is on the second page of our business plan, just after the cover page - ya can't miss it. We sent that to you two months ago. Etc. etc. etc. etc. BB&T - Thanks, that should be all we need. Rinse and Repeat. Last week it was stated that we had not proven competence with the process at hand to be successful. I reviewed the summary already provided (imagine that), starting with my 3 engineering degrees, cutting my engineering teeth in oil refinery cracking towers in a process generally known as fractional distillation. I also confessed to having worked closely with a father-in-law moonshiner of renown, only recognizing him as such now by name since his demise. My 40 years of efforts also included 20 of fermenting - beer, wine, and mead, and frolicking at working adult beverage distilleries in four states and three countries, plus ADI hosted training, plus the availability of consultants (included in our financial plan) through our still manufacturer. The phrase "this ain't rocket science" was also used (I am not a rocket scientist, but some of my satellite communications equipment is still orbiting up yonder). BB&T - We need some additional information. Us - Expletives deleted. Shortly we will officially "fire" BB&T. The City that has anxiously awaited our startup also uses BB&T, and they will likely "fire" them as well (they have not been terribly happy with them either, but this debacle precipitated the move). We are fortunate to have my wife's cousin as our third partner. He has established six physician-owned hospitals in Texas, and employs my wife (a recovering attorney) as his lobbyist in our state, to consider opening others here. BB&T had been under consideration for those projects, we made that crystal clear up front, they amazingly showed no interest, and that is now off their table as well. In my long professional career, when I began any new project I made every effort to learn at least the basics of what was expected before forging ahead (DUH). Four months later and BB&T still can barely spell "distillery." Avoid them like the plague. Two days after deciding to dump BB&T and we now have two viable bank clamoring for our business, so we will start anew on Monday.
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We are a distillery in San Francisco, CA focusing on making whiskeys from craft beer and are looking to expand our operations to distill and brew in house. We have been on the market for roughly 20 months, have a proven track records with two whiskeys available for purchase, a third release in April of 2015, a vodka and a line of craft bitters. We currently self-distribute but have a distribution network taking over in October to expand our reach throughout California. To facilitate our growth and reduce our costs of production we are seeking to purchase a 15bbl brew setup and a 250 gallon copper pot still. We are currently looking for financing options to purchase this equipment. If anyone has any suggestions I'd appreciate them.
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Does anyone have experience in getting SBA loans to finance PP&E for a craft distillery? In general, this looks attractive. I have heard from friends in other industries that the loan interest rates are quite low and reasonable. Right now, we plan to send in an application to see what we catch, but I'd love to hear from the spirituous lot of you what experiences (if any) you've had, or if you find that other financing sources are mo' bettah. So that I'm not just asking for free knowledge while being a total waste of space, I'm going to write down some of the high-level I've learned about the loans so far. Also, count on hearing back from me on this after I meet up with our "SBA Loan Guy" (who has not yet impressed me with his awesome master of English): General small business loans - 7(a): - fixed rate and adjustable rate available - can be used for PP&E and operating expenses, so these are pretty flexible - real estate maturity = 25 years; equipment = 10 years; working capital = "up to" 7 years; - rate @ an average of 4.6% and 5.3% annually respectively (this average takes into account servicing fees into the life of the loan) - rate is a negotiated spread put on top of one of three base rates, so no guarantees that ours wouldn't be a higher rate - monthly payments CDC/504 Real Estate & Equipment Loans - must create 1 job / $65,000.00 of loan (or $100,000.00 if we qualify as a manufacturer) - *** DOES PAYING CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTORS COUNT TOWARD JOB CREATION? DO WE QUALIFY AS A MANUFACTURER? *** - The purchase of land, including existing buildings - unlike the general loans, NOT useable for operating expenses/working capital/inventory Microloan program - Up to $50k MISC - distilleries = NAICS code 312140, which must have fewer than 750 employees to be "small" according to the SBA. Sounds like craft distilleries are going to have an easier time outgrowing the distinction of "craft" before they outgrow the SBA category of "small"
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A client of mine sent me this article today from yesterday's NY Times. I'm often asked about options for raising capital for breweries/distilleries so I thought I would pass it along to the group. It is a short article about direct to the public offerrings and an easy read. Could be a consideration for breweries or distilleries looking for $1 - $5 million in capital. Not a simple process but far less complicated/costly than an IPO and could allow companies to reach beyond angels, 'friends & family', and wealthy private placement type individuals. Here is the link: http://www.nytimes.c....=smallbusiness Best, Rich LINDSAY CPA LLC http://lindsayllc.com
