Lending Library

At Lendio we pride ourselves in helping business owners and entrepreneurs find the capital they need to fuel their American Dream, and we love hearing the success stories of business owners we were able to help. To celebrate Independence Day and show that the American Dream is alive and well, this 4th of July week we want to spotlight 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.

The Brulee Catering Company

She went on to attend and graduate from MATC’s Culinary Arts Program, but tragedy struck when her daughter, Itzel was diagnosed with cancer and the medical bills began piling up. Her dream of running her own company had to be put on hold to tend to her daughter. However, Itzel knew of Chalia’s dream and encouraged her to follow through with it, even after she was gone. Chalia promised to keep chasing her dream and booked a catering job for a friend’s wedding. With the profit she made from that event, Chalia was finally able to start her own business.

However, with new opportunity comes new costs and necessities and she was in desperate need of crucial kitchen equipment to continue to grow her business. As fate would have it, she soon catered a Lendio company lunch where she discovered that she had more options than she thought and started down the road of finding and obtaining a small business loan suitable to her company’s needs.

Through Lendio, Chalia was able to secure the funds she needed to purchase the necessary kitchen equipment for her catering company and The Brulee Catering has been growing ever since. Chalia has since become a huge advocate of making dreams a reality and says to anyone seeking advice, “If you want to expand your business, there are funds to make it happen. Any dream that you can imagine, just act and make your business plan now to make things real.”

Chalia’s story is what Lendio lives for. We are thrilled to work with people like Chalia who have the passion and the drive to make a small business thrive, and are proud to see the fruits of the American Dream that we helped fuel. The Brulee Catering is now a highly rated, popular establishment in its hometown of Lindon, UT. Hats off to you, Chalia – we are sure Itzel is very proud of the business you have created.

I had the opportunity to talk to Anamaria Delvalle of Elite Team Realty about her experience with Lendio. Anamaria was looking to improve her building and consolidate some debt, and Lendio helped her find the loan she needed. Here’s what she had to say about her experience with Lendio.

Tell me a little bit about your business.

I am a the owner of Elite Team Realty. My agents and I provide exceptional Elite service to the public to assist them with what is usually their largest investment, real estate.

Why and when did you start it?

I opened my office on May 13, 2011. After seven years of working for a major real estate firm in the Manahawkin area and working with a builder in new construction for one year, I decided to branch out on my own, knowing that I could do more for my clients and agents as a broker/owner; opposed to working under corporate rules and restrictions.

I used my IRA funds that I saved up for 18 years working in the fashion industry in Manhattan. I also decided to use the same bank that was selling the property. Since I could not get a conventional loan from anyone, I thought outside the box and went to the seller direct. The seller happened to be a small bank and even though the interest was very high, I knew that eventually I would refinance the building where my office is located. And I used that to complete the commercial building and use the capital for my company.

What keeps you going? What’s your passion that drives your business?

My passion is knowing that I am helping people achieve their biggest goal in life and that is to be a homeowner. I meet people from all walks of life and nothing gives me greater satisfaction than to put a smile on a buyers face or help a seller sell their home so they can move on and get to where they need to go. I also enjoy helping my agents succeed, and seeing them help other people gives me the same satisfaction.

What did you need funding for?
To consolidate some debt and make improvements to the building to bring in a new tenant into my building.

How was your experience with Lendio?
Quick and smooth, a very easy process and my contact agent was wonderful to work with. Lendio assisted me with my current finances and enabled me to move forward.

How was your experience with your Lendio rep?

Susan is a lovely person. I have never met her, but her sales approach is similar to mine. She really cares about people and wants to help them achieve their financial goals.

Would you recommend Lendio to a friend?

Yes.

What general business advice do you have for other small business owners?

When you come across a road block, perseverance is key. Thinking outside the box, when you think no one can help you, has gotten me to where I am today, a proud owner of a real estate company that I opened during the economic downturn.  My business is now approaching its 5th year. It has shaped me into the person that I am today and I would not change anything.

I had the recent opportunity to talk with Chris Millett, who is founder, President and CEO of Science, Math, and Technology Center of Excellence. His business helps kids reach higher academic success, whether it’s with the ACT or SAT, or they just need help reaching the next level in school.

His passion is helping young people achieve academic success, so they can reach their full potential.

“I had one student who was failing her freshman level math class. Because of this, she was ineligible for volleyball, and she was an extremely gifted volleyball player. We worked with her, and we got her to pass the academic modules she needed to pass right at the last minute. She went on to lead her volleyball team to a state championship. She now has a full-ride scholarship at a university. That’s what keeps me going, seeing young people’s lives change for the better.”

Chris Millett, Founder of SMATCOE

Chris officially started SMATCOE in August 2014 to help kids in the Houston, Texas area. After a career in IT working for NASA and IBM, he wanted to pursue his passion of teaching. He had previously helped Atlanta area students work on their math and science skills, and he wanted to start something in Houston. After forming as a C-Corporation, he was able to use his 401k to get started.

When he was looking to expand his business through marketing, he started searching for small business loans online. He found Lendio, and a short time later, he had the money he needed.

“It was a great experience, my Lendio Loan Specialist, Lamont Mency, was able to approve more than I normally could have got. He was totally professional, he listened to me, and he tried to understand my business and my vision. Once he understood my business, he found me the right loan for where I was going with my small business. It was a very good experience.”

Because of the loan he got through Lendio, Chris has been able to purchase advertising space and run successful local marketing campaigns.

“I’ve already seen an increase in revenue, and I’m expecting a lot more as I continue my marketing efforts. People are starting to understand what my business is and how it can help their kids succeed in STEM (Science, Technology, Math and Engineering).”

When asked for any advice he had for small business owners, Chris said, “Create a really good solid business plan, and know how you’re going to use your money. When it’s time to get a loan, find one that matches your vision for your business.”

You can find out more about SMATCOE at http://www.smatcoe.com. To get started with Lendio, visit www.lendio.com.

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Dennis R. Stebbins of Green Leaf and Pebble Tea Spa about his experience starting his business, running it and finding a loan through Lendio to improve his business. Here’s his experience with Lendio along with advice for small business owners in his own words.

Tell me a little bit about your business.

Green Leaf and Pebble Tea Spa, in Virginia Beach, VA, is a full-service medi-spa integrated with a totally organic, loose leaf, fair trade based tea shoppe so as to provide the customers and guests a total health and wellness experience.  

With regard to our tea shoppe, we offer over 90 organic teas, all with numerous health and wellness benefits, as well as having a full line of tea accessories for our patrons.  Our extensive selection of organic teas are specially chosen for their therapeutic benefits, as well as for their great aromas and flavors.  Complimentary teas of choice are served our spa patrons after their sessions.  Customers of the tea room have the option to purchase individual cups of hot or iced tea or any of our organic teas in bulk.

In the 3 years we’ve been open, we’ve won over a dozen local and regional awards and honors for our services, both on the skincare realm, as well as with our massage services.  We were selected and certified in 2014 as the first EcoSpa in the United States and more recently, we were selected as a State of Virginia – Virginia Green tourist attraction for our unique spa and environmental / eco-friendly operations.   

Why and when did you start it?

We incorporated our business in September of 2012 and opened the doors of our business on November 19th of 2012 after an extensive build-out of the facility we leased.  My wife, Katherine, was/is a Master Aesthetician and had worked in the industry both as a practitioner and manager prior to our spa’s incorporation.  Katherine, who also has a management degree, came to a point in her life where she felt she could run a successful spa business on her own – thus, the conception of the business.  

How did you get the initial capital to start your business?

Initial capital of approximately $120,000.00 for Green Leaf and Pebble Tea Spa came directly from all of our life savings.  We believed in what we were doing, so we jumped in with both feet – “believing” we could swim.  No additional investors were initially involved.  After a few months in operations, we brought on one minor investor to assist us for an immediate financial need for capital, in the amount of $5,000.  

What keeps you going? What’s your passion that drives your business?

We have had very scary struggles in building the business, especially over the course of the first couple of years when we didn’t know if we would be able to stay in business more than a few more days.  The scare or risk factor was ever-present, primarily in having the need to constantly build business by bringing in clients for our spa services and customers for our tea business – alas, revenue.  As we steadily built our business, however, we found that steadfast focus and faith in what we were doing was the best course of action.

I don’t think there is ever a time, as an entrepreneur, that one is not nervous about one’s business success – but confidence in what one does builds as the days go by, especially when seeing the return on investment coming in along with customer repetition.  What drives the passion for our business?  The simply complex answer to that is the desire to provide customers excellence in service in every aspect of our operations, to serve the community with a decent and honest business environment for our customers to enjoy and, of course, the passion to be successful.  Once the passionate focus of striving for success, no matter the challenges, departs one’s consciousness, it becomes easy to fail.

Failing is not in my mindset, my wife’s mindset, nor that of our staff.  In 3 years, we have built our business from just the two of us to a staff of 12 and we are still looking to bring more staff on. Certainly, we don’t want to let our staff and their employment go by the wayside, nor do we want our customers to lose a place in their lives wherein they can get wonderful spa services, great customer service and be in a beautiful, peaceful and pampering environment that we have striven so hard, every day, for them to have.

What did you need funding for?

One year ago, we expanded our operations by acquiring the lease of the office unit next door to us.  This expansion doubled our size, allowing us to add three more spa treatment rooms, an employee lounge, a storage room and an expanded customer lobby for our Tea Shoppe.  At the time we expanded, we found two lending sources that were not Lendio associated.  At the time, we had not heard of Lendio.  The loans were expensive and another risk based upon our financial needs.  We successfully struggled through them to complete 90% of our expansion build-out before those funds ran out.  We still needed capital, so we sought out a new financial partner which ended up being Lendio.  

How did you find Lendio?

Because the customer service of the two financial firms we previously utilized was horrible, we sought out a new lender.  We found Lendio thanks to a web-based ad that made the firm and its services seem perfect for what we were looking for.  It was worth checking out, which we did.  It only took a few minutes of our time to realize that the Lendio financial consultant we spoke with cared, really cared about what our needs were. Customer “service” was the initial key to us using Lendio.  Needless to say, Lendio followed through with everything promised.   

How was your experience with Lendio?

Our experience with Lendio has been, from the onset, nothing less than wonderful.

How was your experience with your Lendio rep?

Our Lendio representative was/is Ms. Meghan Finning.  We have nothing but wonderful things to say about Meghan and the over-the-top, superlative customer service she has been providing us.  She is a wonderful representative of Lendio and certainly a person everyone in the business lending industry should consider emulating.  She knows her stuff and she is wonderful, as well as professional, in what she does.  To top the cake, she listens and cares about our business and our success.  She is not just out to bring in clients for loan offerings, she is there for her clients every step of the way as a means to build the professional relationship and to help one’s business grow.

Would you recommend Lendio to a friend?

ABSOLUTELY!

What general business advice do you have for other small business owners?

Stay the course in following your passion and never give-up on your dreams of success.  Perseverance, stamina and having the guts to work through the toughest of times will bring success as long as your motives are honest and ethical.

You can find out more about Green Leaf and Pebble Tea Spa here. To get started with Lendio, you can fill out the popup form or go to lendio.com.

Lisa Pajac was working as a civilian for the Navy, stationed in Italy managing a bowling complex. When the government shutdown limited the amount of hours she could work, she realized it was time for a change. Her father helped her find a restaurant for sale in Hayward, Wisconsin, and they both knew it was the one. Her and her husband, Rick, researched the area and developed a thorough business plan that they referred to many times during the start-up process. Using her retirement funds and a loan from the bank, she bought the business and started Italia.

One day, Lisa was looking for capital funding companies online and found Lendio. After signing up through Lendio’s easy online portal, she was matched with Jon Klevin, her loan specialist. “I loved Lendio, when I had to submit documents, it was frustrating, but they walked me through the whole thing. Jon Klevin was fantastic, he was helpful through the whole process, and very encouraging. I would absolutely recommend Lendio to a friend” Lendio was able to get her a loan to cover the cost of the repair and consolidate her loans.

Now, Lisa’s restaurant continues to flourish. “We’ve made such a difference here in Hayward, there is no Italian restaurant in a 100 mile radius. People come from Chicago, Milwaukee, all around. They’ve been waiting for something like this, and that’s what keeps us going: making these people happy, every single day.”

You can find Lisa’s restaurant at italiahayward.com. To get started with Lendio, click here to see all of your small business loan options.

While spending 12 years in New York City’s financial sector, Alyssa Snow asked herself an important question, “What am I contributing to the world?”

Shortly thereafter, Alyssa left the financial world with a desire to create jobs in her local community and to create a studio for people to feel peace and healing, and Mind Body Soul Yoga studio was born.

Alyssa’s studio was a bigger success than she had planned for, so she went to a local bank that she had worked with for years to get an expansion loan, with no success. Frustrated, she was reading a Fortune article about Lendio and how they were helping small businesses in her exact situation and decided to give it a try.

She goes on to explain, “I went online, filled in a few things and I immediately had a call. It was a gentlemen saying, okay, here is your business and here are your options. It was amazing and I’ve never had so many options.”

“Now that the business is healthier, and I have the opportunity to save money with cash flow, I don’t have to let people go, I’m supported and now can look at what experiences I want to give my children.”

Alyssa Snow is a mother, foster mother, entrepreneur, and yoga instructor. She’s combined all of the skills she’s learned into running her business, Mind Body Soul Yoga and used Lendio to fuel her American Dream.

To get started with Lendio and see all of your loan options in one place, click here.

Rick Hagen has been in the car business a long time. When he was a kid, he would work at his grandfather’s Ford dealership. “Growing up washing cars wasn’t just a job, it was something I loved and looked forward to.” Rick has taken this passion for cars and used it to build his American Dream; Euro Motor Werks, a dealership centered on service and finding the perfect car for the customer.

As it is with most small businesses, the path to entrepreneurship has been a rocky one. Previous to opening Euro Motor Werks, Rick had owned a gym which he had built from the ground up. While the business was thriving and everything was going well, Rick became extremely ill, and after being hit by several major medical bills, he had to declare bankruptcy and close the gym. “People have bankruptcy, I’ve had it, a lot of people have had it.”

The American Dream

After he recovered, Rick built Euro Motor Werks, a car dealership where they specialize in finding European cars for their customers. With hard work and the support of his friends and family, Rick turned the dealership into a successful business. Even though the business was successful, when Rick wanted to find capital to expand, he couldn’t find any because of the previous bankruptcy. Rick was stuck, give up and work for someone else’s dream, or find a new way to get the capital needed, and live his own American dream.

When he found Lendio, he found a company that reflects his own desire to provide exceptional customer service. We interviewed him about his experience, “The lady’s name that helped me, and I’ll never forget her, you know, you guys contact people, you keep up, that’s the customer service. Her name was Peggy, and she said, “you’re approved”. I know I’m good, I know I’m going to make it, and I know I’m going to make my mom and everyone proud. I’ll make my dad proud.”

Lendio found Rick the capital he needed to grow his business, and we can help you find the capital you need to grow or start yours.

Lendio’s mission is to fuel your American Dream by making small business loans simple through options, speed, and trust.

To get started with Lendio, click here to find your loan options.