Lending Library

"You know when you're in the right frame of mind and you have great energy, you just feel like you can do anything…"

— DEANNA NUNEZ, OWNER

"We have a daughter and we wanted to pass on something to her that would be beneficial to her for a lifetime."

— NEPH AMEN, OWNER

Von Sydow’s Moving and Storage, Inc., a family-owned and operated business, is one of the oldest moving companies in the state of Illinois. Since 1888 and for five generations, they’ve moved families and companies everywhere.

Unfortunately, economic downturns spare no one.

Many small businesses struggled to survive or even recover from the storm. And without the support or funding from a bank for day-to-day expenses, payroll, etc., many small businesses were forced to close their doors.

Von Sydow’s looked to Lendio because banks did not want to provide lending to small businesses at the time.

“A bank loves you coming through the door when they are trying to get your business,” says Judy. “But when the economical storm hit, banks didn’t want to lend to small businesses that were struggling and they didn’t want to give credit lines. Banks only wanted to lend to profitable businesses.”

It’s why small businesses such as Von Sydow’s reached out to Lendio to continue operating their business. In the long run it was worth it to keep their doors open and continue to provide a living for many employees.

“When the economical

Von Sydow’s used the funds from Lendio for operating capital which helped this established business get through difficult times.

“Choosing Lendio was an easy decision,” says Judy. “There was no hassle and it was a done deal with funding in less than 3 days at an affordable rate.”

Judy’s advice for fellow small business owners, whether they’re just starting out or have been operating for generations? “Save for a rainy day. There’s always expected financial surprises in running a small business.”

Illinois ranks No. 10 on Lendio’s 2018 Top 10 Best States for Small Business Lending. Learn more about why the Prairie State is such a thriving hub for small business.

Jon Johnson has always been passionate about unique forms of entertainment. Combine that with his love of nature and his self-professed dreamer personality, and his business venture was all but inevitable.

While he’s fueled by a passion for outdoor adventure, the transition hasn’t been easy. His zipline courses took a year and a half to build, and Jon financed the initial cost with his retirement money and investments from friends. As most business owners will attest, everything ended up costing more than anticipated. Additionally, navigating permits over a federal waterway was complex and time consuming.

While Jon says ziplining is not just a summer activity—ziplining over the frozen reservoir is an amazing experience, and whizzing between snow-covered

Without any hard assets, most banks wouldn’t work with Jon to get the financing he needed to stay afloat and to grow his business. He came to Lendio to get working capital for the lean winter months. “I would definitely recommend Lendio to anyone with my type of business or in my situation. They’ve worked hard to find the right product for me and my business,” he says.

Today, Jon is thrilled with his business and firmly believes in nothing ventured, nothing gained. Zipline Utah prides itself in offering once-in-a-lifetime experiences to out-of-town visitors and locals alike. “I love the look on people’s faces when they’re able to overcome their fears, try something new, and end up with a whole new outlook on nature and their own abilities,” Jon shares.

Brig Taylor was teaching abroad in Moldova when a student gave him a gift that would change his life: a belt without holes.

He’d never seen anything like it before, but knew right away that this holeless military belt would be widely popular back in the U.S. With a few tweaks, including an improved ratchet design and modern materials, Brig created a belt that is as functional as it is fashionable.

But there was one problem. The ratcheting buckle was already public domain.

After nine years of hard work improving upon the buckle’s technology, Brig’s company, SlideBelts, finally received its patent and moved out of his garage and on to exponential growth.

SlideBelts now employs more than 30 people, ranks on the 2017 Inc. 5000 list, and manufactures a full line of innovative sliding belts. The company believes even the most time-honored fashion can be improved on; the patented design (a tab on the buckle that ratchets into teeth-like ridges on the back of the strap) is the perfect marriage of utility and innovation. In addition to the original leather belt design for men, women, and children, SlideBelts also has a line of canvas belts and a multipurpose, military-esque Survival Belt with an integrated folding knife.

Brig’s advice to aspiring entrepreneurs and inventors on the long and winding path to success: if you’re going to create something, it should hurt—otherwise you’re not producing the absolute best fruit of your labors. “Most people cut corners on quality, in small or big ways,” says Brig. “To truly create, it requires one to focus to the extent of it not feeling good. Creating requires serious grit and pain to give the attention necessary to the work at hand.”

He also reminds fellow business owners not to worry about the competition. Anytime you see another company doing something extremely well, take it, implement it for yourself, and make it better. “We’re all kind of on the same team, battling against the sloppy world,” says Brig, who handles competition in business by focusing 90 percent of his attention “on the craft.”

While the initial capital to kickstart his business idea came from a student loan, Brig credits his early success to pouring back money from every sale into new inventory, slightly increasing the numbers each time. “I did this countless times, and still do,” he says. SlideBelts became a Lendio customer last fall when the company needed additional working capital for business growth.

What continues to drive Brig and his business forward? “It’s the adrenaline rush you feel after tackling big and small challenges alike and helping others accomplish the same goals,” he says. “My job, and my passion, is to constantly create that pressure internally for myself and externally for my team.”

The dream of independence from outside forces is what allowed America to begin its journey to becoming the “Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.” Those before us gave their all so we could have the opportunity to pursue our passions. Brian Carter is a prime example of how Freedom allowed him to pursue what he loved most.

HTI Customs LLC

A few years ago, Brian Carter was working for a local company specializing in home technology integration and after developing a passion for this kind of work, he decided he wanted to turn this passion into his own business and be his own boss.

When he first started his own home technology integration company, he had zero startup capital, but did have the tools and experience needed to get started, so he went to work and bootstrapped his venture in the early stages. He took every job he could get his hands on and invested every penny earned back into the business to keep his dream alive.

After a year and a half in business, HTI had a couple of clients and numerous jobs in its portfolio, but the company was not yet where Carter wanted it to be, as money was still tight. He found Lendio on Google, and began working with a Lendio funding manager to obtain the capital needed for his business. He was able to get the funding he needed to keep his business moving forward and loves what he does more than ever.

Carter still does not view what he does as “work” in the strictest sense of the word. “What we do is not work,” says Carter. “I genuinely have fun doing everything that I do and best of all at the end of the day/project I get to say pay me.” Though the early days were tough, the end result was very much worth it. Carter advises other small business owners to “follow your passion and the money will come.”

Find something you are passionate about and work at it until you reach your American dream. The beauty of America is that anyone who wants to build a business has the capability to do so with hard work and sufficient small business funding. Brian Carter is a great example of how you too can reach your American Dream with hard work and a passion for what you do.

America is the land of opportunity and just about any business venture is possible because of the freedom we have here. Independence Day is a time to reflect on those who made endless opportunities possible so that we all have the chance to live our own American Dream. Small businesses are the backbone of America and we want to highlight some great success stories of real-life people out there currently living their dream.

Denver Washer Dryer

Soon after, Cody opened Denver Washer Dryer so he could offer high quality, expertly refurbished appliances to residential customers. As with many new business owners, he funded the operation entirely out of his own pocket and personal savings. This was enough capital to get him started, but not to keep him going long-term.

Knowing he wanted to create and maintain a 5-star reputation, he began to look into other financing options to increase inventory and keep his business running smoothly and came across Lendio. Soon after, he found the funding he needed to maintain that high-quality care and was able to take his business to the next level.

Let us know how you and your small business have found success and what advice you have for other small business owners in the comments below!

To celebrate Independence Day and show that the American Dream is alive and well, this 4th of July week we are highlighting some of our favorite success stories to show that no matter who you are, no matter your beginnings or current state, you too have the capability to make your business dreams a reality and become a living embodiment of the American Dream.

We love hearing the success stories of business owners we were able to help, and throughout this week we will continue to highlight small business owners and entrepreneurs who have found the capital they need to fuel their American Dream.

TeleReach

Bootstrapping was her funding method of choice which can be incredibly difficult but very rewarding. This method involves a lot of personal sacrifices, where the entrepreneur uses personal savings and funds borrowed from family and friends as seed money, and he or she puts almost all of the initial earnings back into the business.

Since its inception, TeleReach has helped several models, from small privately owned businesses to Fortune 500 companies to develop their advertising programs, radically increase their sales revenues, and make their sales/marketing process more efficient.

As with any business seeking to grow, having enough working capital is a necessity and Tracie decided it was time to branch out from bootstrapping and find alternative methods of capital. She was pleasantly surprised with Lendio and how knowledgeable her rep was and that he was able to actually help her find the capital she needed to grow her business.

Today, Tracie’s business is going strong and she was able to take her business to the next level with the capital she was able to secure through Lendio. More than anything, she advises small business owners to go into it with an “all in” commitment if they truly desire to reach success. With a mindset like that, anything is possible.