An Officer and a Businessman

"If you are going to manage a number of people, you want an institutionalized process so that they work when you’re not there," Moss says. "What makes a business successful is its people. The more authority that you can give your organization at the lowest levels, the more processes they have at their fingertips, the better they’re going to perform."

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is working to aid members of the military community who believe they have the skills to be successful entrepreneurs but need funding to get started. More than 14 percent of businesses in America are owned by veterans, and 23 percent of veterans leaving the military express a desire to own their own business, according to the SBA.

"There is a fairly good-sized pool of eligible veterans and eligible military personnel," says John N. Dunn Jr., SBA assistant district director for lender relations.

The Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative (www.sba.gov/patriotexpress) offers up to $500,000 in aid for veterans, Reservists and National Guard members, active-duty service members participating in the military’s Transition Assistance Program, and spouses of service members or of veterans who died in service or of a service-connected disability. Five businesses in the South Florida district had taken advantage of the program as of August, although none are in Southwest Florida. Loan amounts ranged between $8,000 and $100,000.

The concept of the Patriot Express and other SBAExpress loans is that the paperwork is expedited because businesspeople apply directly to a bank, and SBA documents are not needed, Dunn says. The lender, rather than SBA, approves the credit, and the bank is not required to fill out the inch-thick 7(a) loan application, which Dunn admits can be tedious and time consuming.
Turnaround is quick, and "basically shows the government can work faster and better to meet the needs of America’s entrepreneurs," he says.

The real benefit of the Patriot Express Loan is the maximum loan amount, which is $500,000 compared with $350,000 for SBAExpress loans. Those already exceeded typical SBA loan limits.

The SBA is also offering a guarantee to repay a lender, if the owner is unable to, up to 85 percent for loans of $150,000 or less, and up to 75 percent for loans over $150,000, up to $500,000.

That’s compared with a 50 percent maximum for other SBAExpress loans.

"The SBA has pumped up the loan amount, and we’ve certainly increased the inducement to the lender by increasing their guarantee substantially," Dunn says.

The aid may be used for start-up, expansion, equipment purchases, working capital, inventory or business-occupied real-estate purchases, according to the SBA.

Although a lender may turn down an applicant, Dunn says the SBA hopes its efforts with the increased guarantees will cause lenders to look at a Patriot Express Loan "with just slightly different eyes than they would a regular loan." The SBA also is offering its lowest interest rates for business loans, at 2.25 percent to 4.75 percent over prime, depending upon the loan’s size and maturity.

By August, about 570 banks in the United States had asked to be Patriot Express lenders. More than 20 are in Florida, including Bank of America and SunTrust, which have centralized SBA departments outside of the region. Dunn says no Charlotte, Collier or Lee bank offices were yet on the list.

Dennis Weimer, chairman of Southwest Florida SCORE, a non-profit organization with volunteer retired executives and business owners serving as counselors in Lee and Hendry counties, says he can’t think of a case in the past several months in which a veteran has sought its help.

As a business owner, Moss is impressed by the SBA’s interest in helping folks with military affiliation achieve their business goals. Moss, president of the Military Officers Association of Southwest Florida, knows of a number of local businesses whose leaders have significant military experience. But he says it’s not played up as much as it might be in other parts of the country.

"It’s not advertised," he says. "I don’t think people wear their military experience on their sleeves down here like they do up in the Northeast."