If you’re like me, you wonder about odd things when you’re driving through southeast Georgia. Things like: who changes the blinking lights on those signal towers? Who maintains them? Does someone have to climb those towers to change the signal bulbs ensuring aircraft safety? Read More
Category Archives: Success Story
06.01.11
17Hundred90-Ghostly Glory Restored
Savannah-ians love a good story. Ghost, love, drama, thriller - we adore the intrigue, the fear, the sweet moments and good amount of southern sap thrown in to hold it all together. Read More
05.31.11
Ideas from new places
Did you know that you can find the inspiration to open a small business while eating frozen yogurt at Walt Disney World? For Stacy Kurko, new proprietor of Menchie’s Eisenhower Square..that’s exactly what happened. The Kurko family took a spring break Read More
03.24.11
SBAC Received CDFI Certification
The Small Business Assistance Corporation (SBAC) received notification from the U.S. Department of the Treasury that the Certified Development Financial Institutions Fund (the CDFI Fund) has certified the SBAC as one of 25 CDFI institutions in the State of Georgia. Read More
03.16.11
A lot of prayer and hard work, brings Echelon Studio to life
Being back on West 52nd Street is a homecoming for Shannon McAdams of Echelon Studio & Boutique. She began her career in the same storefront when it was Chris’ Coiffures as a shampoo girl. Miss Chris encouraged Shannon to pursue her cosmetology degree and use her natural talent for hair and welcoming personality to make the ‘after school job’ a career. Read More
01.04.11
SBA Loan Helps Build Dream
After a relaxing, enjoyable weekend at a bed and breakfast, some of us say to our significant other, “wouldn’t this be great. Can you imagine meeting all these amazing people? One day, we should open one of our own!” Read More
09.02.10
Loan got Jazz’d Tapas going
Swank, sexy and sophisticated industrial chic, Jazz’d Tapas remains one of the hot
spots in nightlife and dining in downtown Savannah. It seems like they’ve always
been downstairs serving us great food, memorable martinis and the varied live
music acts to round off the perfect evening. However, just 8 years ago Savannah-
ians had never experienced an evening at Jazz’d.
In 2002, Brian & Julie Curry had reached in an impasse. They found the location,
had the business plan, but needed the working capital to launch. Their banker,
Walter Bowden, advised them to visit the SBAC. He believed they would be able
to put the pieces together and get this ambitious couple open for business. Brian
said, “Walter was a different banker. We were not the best looking prospects on
paper, but he had this unshakable belief in me as a customer and businessman.”
Walter Bowden was right. The team at the Small Business Assistance Corporation
in conjunction with the City of Savannah used funding from the Business Loan
Guaranty Program.
The Business Loan Guaranty Program assists Savannah businesses to obtain
financing under the City of Savannah’s CDBG Revolving Loan Fund. The Small
Business Assistance Corporation makes a business loan directly available to qualified
borrowers. Priority is given to businesses located in low to moderate income
neighborhoods, minority owned businesses and businesses that will create jobs
for low to moderate income persons. Funding is eligible for working capital, land
and building, machinery, equipment, furniture, fixture or inventory acquisition,
renovation of current facilities, or payment of accounts payables.
“Jazz’d was a new concept for Savannah. Brian and Julie had years of restaurant
management experience and were savvy entrepreneurs. We knew it would be a
business to benefit the City of Savannah for years,” stated Stephen George, Vice
President of the SBAC.
Brian makes it clear that being a restaurant owner is “24/7 and rarely if ever the
glamour people might think it is. “This is your lifestyle. I am owner, maintenance
man, counselor and more. I know to the penny how much we make from
every dollar. I have to know. Just a 1% change in a few areas can make all the
difference.”
07.28.10
Special loans help in emergencies
Memories. The happy memories of people shopping, and families walking downtown on Broughton Street on a sultry Savannah afternoon. Those memories were the inspiration for Ruel Joyner to return to the nearly unoccupied Broughton Street. Ruel had a vision to take his father’s rent-to own furniture store and transform it into a unique wholesale modern furniture store.
When asked “Why Broughton Street?” Ruel candidly responded, “The opportunity was there. It just needed people and businesses to see the future of Broughton Street as full of small businesses, entrepreneurs and shoppers.”
By 2004, 24e. had many neighbors on Broughton Street and the G-8 conference attendees held the promise of a 
potential boost to sales. They bought inventory, prepared special window displays and launched marketing campaigns to attract the worldly visitors. All of this expense and preparation went awry when security cordoned off Broughton and surrounding areas. The small businesses expecting the world were now essentially shut down.
The Small Business Assistance Corporation in conjunction with the City of Savannah created a temporary loan program to help these businesses access capital quickly during the unexpected turn of events. “This loan program was fairly easy. We wanted to make it so these folks could receive the capital they needed during that specific timeframe,” stated Tony O’Reilly, SBAC President. “We can collaborate with the City of Savannah on special short-term loan programs to assist and sustain economic development. After the G-8, Ellis Square renovation began and there were businesses affected by the necessary traffic rerouting. It was a trickier situation, however these small boutiques and businesses work to shape the economy of Savannah. The SBAC has the ability to do what a traditional banking institution cannot- flex and create assistance for the situations that arise in our local economy.”
“I found out about this special program from Lisa Sundrla at the SDRA. She pointed me to the Small Business Assistance Corporation. The whole thing from start to finish was simple and effective,” stated Ruel Joyner. 24e. Furnishings and over 20 other businesses in the security zone benefitted from this short-term loan program.
So, what is Ruel Joyner’s advice to entrepreneurs before they have to face the unexpected?
• Do a business plan; revise it regularly and then..do it again.
• Numbers are the ‘name of the game’ -if you aren’t great at it; find someone who is.
• Find a local bank - it’s about the relationship. You will need someone who knows your name, your business and your neighborhood.
• Hard work.
• Utilize the many great resources in Savannah - the Downtown Business Association, the SDRA, the SBAC. There’s strength in numbers!
07.07.10
MLK Program helps Rancho Alegre open a downtown location
How did the small yellow house on Posey Street transform and expand to become Rancho Alegre, the downtown ‘hot spot’ for Latin American cuisine? Melody & Juan Rodriguez believe it is their determination, experience, a strong team of people and the right financing program.
After looking for years downtown, they seized the opportunity brought by the economic downturn to find a lower cost space, that with a little polish and Latin American flair, would fulfill the missing culinary niche for downtown diners. “We have surrounded ourselves with great people. Everyone contributes their strengths; from finances/contracts to menu items or the basic repair & maintenance needed on the older structures downtown,” stated Melody. “It was a well-thought out, planned decision. We just needed the financing to make it happen.”
Their personal banker, Michelle Michaels at SunTrust bank recommended they visit the Small Business Assistance Corporation to look at the MLK Special Purpose Program* for businesses on MLK & Montgomery Streets. This loan program, through the City of Savannah, assists with the expansion and development of small business enterprises for this transitioning area of downtown Savannah. Debra Simmons, Community Development Officer with the SBAC, remembers meeting with Mr. & Mrs. Rodriguez, “It was a perfect fit for Rancho Alegre. This loan program is so flexible in its use. From land, building or equipment acquisition to the furniture and fixtures or working capital, it gives a business like Rancho Alegre the flexibility to achieve everyone’s goals.”
When asked her top tips for businesses moving or starting up downtown, Rancho Alegre owner, Melody Rodriguez recommends: do a business plan, surround yourself with a team of experts, check the commercial zoning where you want to do business and most of all “come out to MLK. It is becoming a marvelous new place for all small businesses.”
06.23.10
What can $2,500 do for your business?
Pollard’s Lawncare is the dream of James Pollard. He launched in early 2007 and soon had over 30 commercial and residential customers. With an expanding customer base, he needed to upgrade to industrial equipment and hire extra help. So, Mr. Pollard visited the Small Business Assistance Corporation(SBAC). He reviewed several options with one of the Loan Officers and selected the Small Steps to Success loan program as the best fit for his small business need.
Pollard’s Lawncare received a $2,500 Small Steps to Success loan. With the acquisition of the new equipment, “I am able to bid on the larger jobs and create a job for someone who needed a second chance,” stated Mr. Pollard.
“I encourage an entrepreneur who is trying to expand their business to apply,” Mr. Pollard continues, after admitting he hesitated to apply after his first visit to the SBAC.
Debra Simmons, SBAC’s Community Development Loan Officer, explains, “The Small Steps to Success Loan Program offers financing to entrepreneurs who cannot access the traditional forms of commercial financing for their business. The idea is to fund business projects in incremental steps enabling borrowers to acquire successively larger loans based upon need and repayment record. For example, in Step One a client may receive up to $2,500 for a term of one year. However, by Step Four the maximum loan amount has increased to up to $15,000 for a term of sixty(60) months.” Loans can be made for a variety of business purposes: from product testing to startup to business expansion.
Small businesses in the service industry are well-suited because of their traditionally low overhead burdens. Entrepreneurs with little collateral and credit history issues are also good candidates since the program establishes management capability and a repayment track record for the business.