# Business Tip: She educates entrepreneurs of color—about equitable access to capital.

An episode of [Money Making Conversations Master Class](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1264705641), 21 Apr 2026, 28 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/b1db7263-d1a3-4d00-8976-af62012aab44/df3d6434-061e-4097-929c-b425015c8b7d/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=35a10561-3e1b-4d05-a529-af62012aab6a

Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily. I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep winning! Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Sahra S. Halpern. Interview Purpose The purpose of this interview is to educate small business owners—especially entrepreneurs of color—about equitable access to capital, alternative lending pathways, and how to become “capital ready.” Sahra Halpern, President and CEO of the Business Consortium Fund (BCF), explains how mission‑driven lending fills the gap left by traditional banks and helps small businesses survive, grow, and ultimately graduate into mainstream financing. The conversation also aims to demystify lending, reduce fear around capital, and encourage entrepreneurs to build trusted financial relationships before entering moments of crisis. Core Themes Discussed 1. Why Small Businesses Are Turned Down by Banks Halpern explains that many small businesses are rejected by banks not because they lack potential, but because banks operate under strict underwriting and regulatory requirements. These systems often fail to account for resilience, experience, contracts, and future growth. BCF exists to serve as a bridge—supporting businesses where banks cannot and preparing them to eventually return as qualified borrowers. 2. Capital Curious vs. Capital Ready A key distinction introduced in the interview is the difference between businesses that are “capital curious” and those that are “capital ready.” Many entrepreneurs know they need funding but lack: • Financial organization • Clear projections • Proper documentation • A capital strategy BCF provides technical assistance to help businesses prepare for financing instead of setting them up to fail. 3. Mission‑Driven Lending and Community Impact Halpern frames lending as an ecosystem, not a transaction. When small businesses succeed: • Business owners gain stability • Employees gain jobs • Communities grow stronger • Large corporations benefit from more diverse and capable supply chains BCF focuses on long‑term economic impact, not short‑term profit. 4. CDFIs vs. SBA Loans The interview draws a clear distinction between Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) like BCF and government entities such as the SBA. Key differences highlighted: • SBA programs shift based on political administrations • SBA underwriting has tightened in recent years • CDFIs are nonprofit, mission‑aligned, and relationship‑driven • CDFIs look at the whole entrepreneur, not just credit scores 5. The Danger of Merchant Cash Advance Loans Halpern strongly warns against Merchant Cash Advance (MCA) loans, which are often marketed as fast solutions but carry extremely high interest rates and long‑term consequences. She explains that: • MCAs disqualify borrowers from future SBA refinancing • They often trap business owners in cycles of expensive debt • CDFIs like BCF can help refinance and escape these loans A real‑world case study (The Cut Buddy / Shark Tank entrepreneur) illustrates how BCF helped refinance over $1M in predatory debt and save a growing business. 6. Relationships Matter More Than Transactions Both Halpern and McDonald emphasize the importance of building lender relationships early, not only when cash flow is tight. BCF underwrites the entire business and the entrepreneur, rather than seizing control of a contract or revenue stream, as some factoring companies do. Power comes from having options—and informed decision‑making. Key Takeaways • Banking…

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: Welcome to my show.
[0:01] Speaker 2: I'm Rashon McDonald, a host of Money Making Conversations Masterclass,
[0:04] Speaker 2: where we encourage people to stop reading other people's success
[0:07] Speaker 2: stories and start planning your own. Now, you don't want
[0:10] Speaker 2: to miss an episode, so please take a moment right
[0:12] Speaker 2: now to follow or subscribe to Money Making Conversations Masterclass.
[0:16] Speaker 1: It's free.
[0:17] Speaker 2: You can follow me on the iHeartRadio app, Spotify, Apple Podcasts,
[0:21] Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your podcast. New money Making
[0:24] Speaker 2: Conversations Masterclass episodes drop daily. I want to keep you
[0:28] Speaker 2: on alert because my guests provide tips on how you
[0:30] Speaker 2: can uplift your community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or
[0:34] Speaker 2: advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Now, let's
[0:38] Speaker 2: get this podcast started. My guest is President and chief
[0:42] Speaker 2: executive officer of the Business Consortium Fund and try Ad Investments.
[0:47] Speaker 2: I am Mission Drivemner and Linda committed to delivering capital
[0:51] Speaker 2: to achieve social impact to Community Development Finance. BCF can
[0:56] Speaker 2: issue loans as small as twenty five thousand dollars and
[1:00] Speaker 2: up to one point five million dollars and is authorized
[1:03] Speaker 2: to lend throughout the US. Please welcome to Money Making Conversation.
[1:07] Speaker 2: A person I've known a long time and we've had
[1:09] Speaker 2: many discussions about this, Sarah Halpern.
[1:12] Speaker 3: How you doing, Sarah, I'm doing so great. It's always
[1:15] Speaker 3: so good to see you. Sean, so glad to be here.
[1:18] Speaker 2: Well, first of all, give every a little background on
[1:20] Speaker 2: you so we can really get a clear understanding of
[1:22] Speaker 2: your commitment to our community, especially people of color, and
[1:27] Speaker 2: that's what attracted to be. I met you at the
[1:29] Speaker 2: National Minorities Supply to Development Council, say about four years ago,
[1:35] Speaker 2: and we've been You've been on my show before being
[1:37] Speaker 2: have an interview, and I've been trying to get you back,
[1:39] Speaker 2: and I finally have you back, Sarah. So I'm happy
[1:41] Speaker 2: updaters on who you are and what you're doing right now.
[1:45] Speaker 3: Absolutely, BCF is a community development financial institution. We have
[1:53] Speaker 3: a dual purpose that's built right into our name, blending
[2:00] Speaker 3: and community development, Sir Rashan, As you probably know more
[2:05] Speaker 3: than anyone else, there are over thirty six million small
[2:10] Speaker 3: businesses in America and I'm going to guess most of
[2:13] Speaker 3: them have never even heard of a CDFI like BCF.
[2:18] Speaker 3: So that is the problem because CDFIs like us exist
[2:24] Speaker 3: specifically for the small business owner, right, the small business
[2:29] Speaker 3: owner who walked into a bank who got told no
[2:31] Speaker 3: and thought that that was the end of their road,
[2:34] Speaker 3: and we're here to tell you it wasn't. That's where
[2:37] Speaker 3: we come in. Over the past forty years, BCF has
[2:41] Speaker 3: put in about two hundred and thirty million dollars into
[2:44] Speaker 3: businesses that the traditional system has passed over, and we're
[2:48] Speaker 3: trying to get the secret out today that we exist.
[2:51] Speaker 3: And when I met you four years ago, I was
[2:54] Speaker 3: just at the beginning of this journey of revamping and
[2:58] Speaker 3: reinvigorating this company. And I'm happy to say we are
[3:02] Speaker 3: well on the path and we are solving so many
[3:04] Speaker 3: problems that that small businesses are facing today in this
[3:10] Speaker 3: very unique environment, the post COVID environment, the environment of tariffs,
[3:17] Speaker 3: of economic contraction and uncertainty. We are here to meet
[3:22] Speaker 3: this moment cool.
[3:23] Speaker 1: Thank you for that update there, Sarah.
[3:25] Speaker 2: Sarah, when you talk about small businesses, you know just
[3:28] Speaker 2: there's always issues with a small business because of the
[3:32] Speaker 2: fact that you know how you put it together, how
[3:34] Speaker 2: you staff, did you have a budget, did you have
[3:37] Speaker 2: legal paperwork signed correctly? Do you have accounting or in
[3:41] Speaker 2: place so you'll know how to how your money is
[3:44] Speaker 2: being spent and all how you can project your money
[3:47] Speaker 2: and dealing with small business. Tell us the maybe top
[3:50] Speaker 2: three things that you notice the eras the small businesses
[3:55] Speaker 2: create that stop them from getting the loan or doing
[3:58] Speaker 2: business with you.
[4:00] Speaker 3: Yes, so a lot of small businesses, many small businesses
[4:06] Speaker 3: are focused on their work right, they know exactly how
[4:11] Speaker 3: to run their business. What they're not always thinking about
[4:15] Speaker 3: is capital. So what's what One thing that's very important
[4:20] Speaker 3: to know is that we meet business owners every day
[4:23] Speaker 3: who we call almost loan ready. There may be capital curious.
[4:29] Speaker 3: They know they need capital to grow their business, but
[4:35] Speaker 3: they haven't set themselves up yet to be capital ready.
[4:40] Speaker 3: So we like to help those businesses by by steering
[4:45] Speaker 3: them into our technical assistance programs to get them where
[4:49] Speaker 3: they need to be. So we you know that and
[4:53] Speaker 3: that also goes for these capital curious businesses. But what
[4:56] Speaker 3: we also call the pre lending stage, right, we want
[5:00] Speaker 3: want to set up these businesses to succeed.
[5:03] Speaker 1: That would be really interesting.
[5:04] Speaker 2: I always whenever I hear a company like yours in
[5:07] Speaker 2: this case you're a nonprofit, you know it lends. You know,
[5:10] Speaker 2: you lend a businesses that a bank won't touch. Or
[5:14] Speaker 2: can't touch. How do let me say this correctly, Why
[5:19] Speaker 2: do you do it? And how can you do it?
[5:22] Speaker 3: Hmm, Well, why do we do it? Is a matter
[5:27] Speaker 3: of me personally. It's a matter of economic security for
[5:31] Speaker 3: people in my community and the communities outside of my community,
[5:37] Speaker 3: and all of us need to be thinking about how
[5:39] Speaker 3: are we strengthening the American economy so that more businesses
[5:45] Speaker 3: that can succeed. And when business, when small businesses succeed,
[5:49] Speaker 3: you have the success of the business owner of the
[5:52] Speaker 3: people in uh who are who work for that business.
[5:56] Speaker 3: But also what we see a PCF and what we
[5:58] Speaker 3: find so exciting is we're geting small businesses ready to
[6:02] Speaker 3: participate in supply chains of large corporations. So those large,
[6:08] Speaker 3: large corporations also benefit because now they have you know,
[6:13] Speaker 3: the it person, the grounds person, they have the contract lawyer,
[6:19] Speaker 3: they have all of these businesses to choose from to
[6:22] Speaker 3: strengthen their economy. So I really see this as part
[6:25] Speaker 3: of the fabric of the American economy. You also asked
[6:30] Speaker 3: about banks. So often we are working with businesses who
[6:38] Speaker 3: have been turned down by a bank, right, and we
[6:43] Speaker 3: end up being the bridge between where the business is
[6:47] Speaker 3: today and where the opportunity is bringing in those various players.
[6:52] Speaker 3: I just talked about local economies, large corporations, and large
[6:58] Speaker 3: lending institutions. So a lot of times banks are going
[7:02] Speaker 3: to turn have turned down the barrowers we're talking to, right, right.
[7:07] Speaker 3: Why do they do that? Mm hmm. There are many reasons.
[7:11] Speaker 1: One of the.
[7:11] Speaker 3: Reasons that banks have regulatory requirements. They have to follow
[7:19] Speaker 3: certain underwriting standards. Right, that's one. Let's just say that's
[7:24] Speaker 3: one of the reasons. And when a business older doesn't
[7:27] Speaker 3: meet those standards, the responsible bankers are saying, I can't
[7:31] Speaker 3: help you today, but let me connect you with somebody
[7:35] Speaker 3: who can't like BCF. Right, So, our bank partners are
[7:40] Speaker 3: sending us really wonderful clients who have may have had
[7:43] Speaker 3: a down year, they may have had two down years,
[7:46] Speaker 3: but we see they have a contract, they have promise,
[7:49] Speaker 3: they have growth. So when they call us, we are
[7:54] Speaker 3: completing the ecosystem. We are connecting the dots. And when
[7:58] Speaker 3: a business graduates from BCF, they you know, they've built
[8:01] Speaker 3: their credit, they've built their business, they've grown their revenue,
[8:06] Speaker 3: they've established a track record. Then they can go back
[8:09] Speaker 3: to that bank to get those loans over one and
[8:11] Speaker 3: a half million dollars because they're now a qualified borrowwork.
[8:14] Speaker 3: So what we see is that everybody can win.
[8:17] Speaker 1: What's great. I'm talking to Sarah Helpin. Help her.
[8:20] Speaker 2: She's the president and CEO or the Business Consortium Fund
[8:24] Speaker 2: and Try and Investments. This is about being able to
[8:28] Speaker 2: save the community when people come to you. Because I
[8:31] Speaker 2: want people to hear this interview, how can they get
[8:34] Speaker 2: in touch with y'all? Would like to get that at
[8:35] Speaker 2: early because that doesn't mean everybody going to stick to
[8:37] Speaker 2: the end of the interview. So how can one get
[8:40] Speaker 2: in touch with you?
[8:40] Speaker 3: Yeah? Great, Well, the easiest way to find us is
[8:44] Speaker 3: to go to BCF capital dot com. That's Business Consortion
[8:51] Speaker 3: Fund b CF bcfcapital dot com. There you can learn
[8:56] Speaker 3: about everything that we do, whether you need help getting
[9:00] Speaker 3: ready for a loan, whether you're ready to submit a
[9:03] Speaker 3: loan package, whether you just want to chat with one
[9:05] Speaker 3: of us and get to know you know what we
[9:08] Speaker 3: do and how we do it. That's the first entree
[9:11] Speaker 3: is bcfcapital dot com.
[9:13] Speaker 2: Okay, well, and here you talk Sarah. I'm almost feel
[9:17] Speaker 2: like I'm talking.
[9:17] Speaker 1: To s b A. You know, what is the difference
[9:21] Speaker 1: between s B A and b CF.
[9:24] Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, there are so many, so many different
[9:28] Speaker 3: different different differentiators between uh b CF and the SBA.
[9:33] Speaker 3: So the s b A the Small Business Administration, Right,
[9:41] Speaker 3: the SBA is a government entity. So as a government entity,
[9:47] Speaker 3: it really is supposed to be there to help small businesses.
[9:52] Speaker 3: But I'm going to say that it depends. It depends
[9:58] Speaker 3: on you know, who is the who the administration is,
[10:03] Speaker 3: who is leading the government. The SBA is going to
[10:08] Speaker 3: change how they're responding to small business needs depending on
[10:14] Speaker 3: who is leading the government administration. Now, BCF is a
[10:20] Speaker 3: certified standalone nonprofit community development financial institution. We are funded
[10:31] Speaker 3: by private organizations, private entities, mostly banks, and I think
[10:37] Speaker 3: a lot of people will be surprised to hear that.
[10:39] Speaker 3: So a lot of our funders are the big banks
[10:41] Speaker 3: you've heard of there, Wells, Fargo, JP, Morgan, Chase, Fifth
[10:45] Speaker 3: Third Bank, Co America, US Bank. These are some of
[10:51] Speaker 3: our most important partners. They fund us. Why do they
[10:54] Speaker 3: fund us? People may wonder they fund us because there
[10:59] Speaker 3: was an Act of Congress back in the seventies that
[11:01] Speaker 3: said banks have to make loans in all the communities
[11:06] Speaker 3: where they take in deposits, and so these banks rely
[11:09] Speaker 3: on CDFIs like BCF to deliver their capital into the
[11:14] Speaker 3: communities because we are specialized. We are looking at small
[11:19] Speaker 3: businesses from a specialized lens, from a community development lens.
[11:24] Speaker 3: So the banks trust us to make loans in the
[11:26] Speaker 3: communities where they are required to do business. Now I
[11:31] Speaker 3: see a question.
[11:32] Speaker 2: Well, there's the first of all, that's I'm glad you
[11:35] Speaker 2: are pausing because they see the possibility of doing businesses
[11:39] Speaker 2: business with these small businesses. There's a reluctancy. It's a
[11:44] Speaker 2: reluctancy because they are traded on the stock market. Is
[11:48] Speaker 2: a really reluctancy because they have this this you know,
[11:51] Speaker 2: like you said, there are they are there. They are
[11:53] Speaker 2: points of why I will give a person loan. There
[11:56] Speaker 2: are points of why I won't give a person loan,
[11:58] Speaker 2: and so our loan.
[11:59] Speaker 1: So when a.
[12:01] Speaker 2: Pass that lead over to you BCF, which is a lead,
[12:05] Speaker 2: and this relationship you have with the bank, how does
[12:07] Speaker 2: that come back? Does that same lead come back to
[12:11] Speaker 2: that same bank, or it can go to another bank.
[12:14] Speaker 3: It can go wherever, it can go wherever. But the
[12:19] Speaker 3: reason that banks aren't making these loans are many folds. Okay,
[12:22] Speaker 3: And we could have a whole two hour conversation about
[12:26] Speaker 3: why banks aren't making loans to these small businesses, but
[12:29] Speaker 3: to encapsulate it. Underwriting small businesses that have had challenge,
[12:36] Speaker 3: that have faced and overcome challenges is a very time
[12:40] Speaker 3: consuming business. Banks are churning through applications. A lot of
[12:45] Speaker 3: things are online. They're not giving the personal attention to
[12:50] Speaker 3: these small businesses that's required. They may also may not
[12:53] Speaker 3: have the specialized underwriting capacity that we have built so
[12:59] Speaker 3: our the running capacity at BCF, we are looking at
[13:02] Speaker 3: We're not just looking at your FIGHTO score and saying
[13:06] Speaker 3: yes or no. We're not just looking at you know,
[13:09] Speaker 3: your cash flow and saying yes or now. We're looking
[13:11] Speaker 3: at you as a full entity, with your experience, your partners,
[13:16] Speaker 3: what you've overcome. Some of our borrowers we say they've
[13:19] Speaker 3: stared into the abyss of you know, the challenges that
[13:23] Speaker 3: they've overcome. A bank is not going to look at
[13:26] Speaker 3: that and say, Wow, this individual, this entrepreneur has overcome
[13:34] Speaker 3: and they still maintain their credit and they still pay.
[13:37] Speaker 3: They'll look at the negative. BCF will look at the positive. Now,
[13:41] Speaker 3: I do want to talk for a moment about the SBA.
[13:44] Speaker 2: Mm hmm, Okay, so who are who are wrongfully compare
[13:49] Speaker 2: to the BCF.
[13:50] Speaker 1: Let's go and get that. The one said that we are.
[13:53] Speaker 3: One hundred percent separate from from the and.
[13:57] Speaker 2: But I have to say, this is SBA. I heard
[14:00] Speaker 2: of SBA from a marketing standpoint. Why am I not
[14:04] Speaker 2: here in the BCL because there are meanings advantages of
[14:09] Speaker 2: why I should probably go to you first, befirrest before
[14:12] Speaker 2: wasting my time at SBA, which a lot of small
[14:17] Speaker 2: business owners of color can be frustrated and then walk
[14:20] Speaker 2: away from their dreams because they've been turned down at
[14:22] Speaker 2: the SBA. Now let's talk about the differences.
[14:26] Speaker 3: I want to focus on the differences that have emerged
[14:31] Speaker 3: recently because at the time, the SBA was a good
[14:34] Speaker 3: place to go for the small businesses that we serve. Okay,
[14:39] Speaker 3: things changed recently. So in June twenty five, the SBA
[14:46] Speaker 3: closed the door to using their loans to refinance merchant
[14:52] Speaker 3: cash advances. Do you know what if merchant cash advances? No?
[14:55] Speaker 3: Do not. Your listeners may know.
[14:58] Speaker 2: Hopefully they know, Well, I said, just because I don't know,
[15:01] Speaker 2: because I've never needed that cash advance because I'm in
[15:04] Speaker 2: the that's normally news needed for people who need supplies
[15:09] Speaker 2: people in construction, and I'm not there. I'm in the
[15:12] Speaker 2: marketing business, absolutely I will.
[15:15] Speaker 3: I'll explain it to you and I'll explain it to
[15:18] Speaker 3: your listeners as well. An mc a loan is something
[15:22] Speaker 3: that is marketed aggressively to people too small businesses. It's
[15:27] Speaker 3: a way to get cash very quickly with a very
[15:31] Speaker 3: light underwriting and a very high cost. So if you
[15:34] Speaker 3: ever hear you can get you can get cash in
[15:38] Speaker 3: three days, you can get cash in five days, right,
[15:43] Speaker 3: walk or run, don't walk away from that person, because
[15:47] Speaker 3: merchant cash advance lenders are trying to to to provide
[15:52] Speaker 3: capital at a very high cost. And if you're desperate,
[15:56] Speaker 3: because you need to pay tariffs to to be able
[15:59] Speaker 3: to get your you know, your your goods off the
[16:02] Speaker 3: boat or you know, off of the you know, into
[16:05] Speaker 3: your own hands, you may take a merchant cash advance
[16:08] Speaker 3: loan because you're not you haven't you haven't prepared yourself
[16:12] Speaker 3: for capital. So they are often used as a lifeline
[16:19] Speaker 3: to quick to quick money. But then a business owner
[16:22] Speaker 3: will find him or herself stuck. So you're paying high
[16:25] Speaker 3: interest rates on a big load of cash, and the
[16:29] Speaker 3: SBA is not going to be able to refinance you
[16:31] Speaker 3: now or ever. Because you've taken on a merchant cash
[16:35] Speaker 3: and advance loan, it's seen as a red flag mm hm.
[16:39] Speaker 3: So if you as a small business owner right now,
[16:42] Speaker 3: and I'm talking to all of your listeners, if you're
[16:44] Speaker 3: sitting on an m c A loan right now and
[16:48] Speaker 3: you feel stuck, you are not stuck. There are options.
[16:53] Speaker 3: BCF is one of them. Other CDFIs around the country
[16:56] Speaker 3: are also uh providing that kind of escape patch. Okay,
[17:02] Speaker 3: so now that is one change with the SBAY. Also,
[17:08] Speaker 3: you'll see interest rates are going up or down. Their
[17:12] Speaker 3: underwriting criteria may titan, may loosen, depending on the administration.
[17:18] Speaker 3: Right now is a tough time I think for small
[17:20] Speaker 3: business owners to access SBA money. But that's where CDFIs
[17:27] Speaker 3: can come in.
[17:28] Speaker 2: Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
[17:31] Speaker 2: Money Making Conversations master class. No need for you to
[17:34] Speaker 2: do me a favor right now to follow or subscribe
[17:37] Speaker 2: to Money Making Conversation. It's free and you can find
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[17:49] Speaker 2: or subscribe money Making Conversations. Welcome back to Money Making
[17:56] Speaker 2: Conversations master Class with me Rashaun McDonald. Well, you know,
[18:00] Speaker 2: the interesting thing about this whole process is that Donald
[18:06] Speaker 2: Trump administration, that's who made the tariffs, which is now
[18:11] Speaker 2: into basically his second year, and no one planned for that.
[18:17] Speaker 2: No one saw that. Now then they turn around and
[18:21] Speaker 2: said the tariffs were not legal, But doesn't mean that
[18:26] Speaker 2: the terrffs that you.
[18:27] Speaker 1: Have paid have went away.
[18:29] Speaker 2: And so now you have businesses who have taken out
[18:31] Speaker 2: these loans that may have not needed to take out
[18:35] Speaker 2: these loans, but they had to take out the loans
[18:37] Speaker 2: because guess what, they had to get the goods they
[18:39] Speaker 2: needed to run their businesses. So you are assuming operate
[18:45] Speaker 2: as a counselor too these people who are going through
[18:48] Speaker 2: a lot of emotional and mental ups and downs.
[18:53] Speaker 1: Is that true, Sarah?
[18:56] Speaker 3: Absolutely? An uncertain environment. It is very challenging to keep
[19:04] Speaker 3: your bearings as a small business owner right, and we
[19:07] Speaker 3: see that all the time. I can give you an.
[19:10] Speaker 1: Example, thank you, please do.
[19:12] Speaker 3: Yeah, So I'm going to talk about one of our clients.
[19:18] Speaker 3: His name is Josh Snard and he has a product
[19:23] Speaker 3: that's called the Cut Buddy. It is a shark tank
[19:27] Speaker 3: success story.
[19:28] Speaker 1: I've heard of that, yeah, a lot.
[19:30] Speaker 3: Of people have. And Josh is an amazing entrepreneur. He
[19:34] Speaker 3: started when he was very, very young. He is sharp,
[19:38] Speaker 3: he is successful, and he got hit with eight hundred
[19:43] Speaker 3: thousand dollars in tariff bills almost overnight.
[19:48] Speaker 1: Eight hundred thousand.
[19:50] Speaker 3: Yes. Meanwhile he's trying to stock the shelves at Walmart
[19:55] Speaker 3: and Target and CBS with his product. So how can
[19:59] Speaker 3: he do both? What did he do? He turned to
[20:02] Speaker 3: a merchant cash advance out of desperation, and he ended
[20:05] Speaker 3: up with one point two million dollars in debt. Okay,
[20:09] Speaker 3: one point two million. If you can imagine one point
[20:13] Speaker 3: two million dollars in debt with a high interest rate,
[20:17] Speaker 3: it is tens of thousands of dollars in interest he's
[20:21] Speaker 3: paying every month. Okay. But he came to us and
[20:27] Speaker 3: we were able to work with our partners and refinance
[20:32] Speaker 3: his debt into a manageable five year loan. So he
[20:36] Speaker 3: didn't lose his business. He is still growing. And that
[20:39] Speaker 3: is just one of the examples of what mission a
[20:42] Speaker 3: lined lending looks like in real life. I mean, Josh,
[20:47] Speaker 3: he did with a lot of small visitors' owners would
[20:49] Speaker 3: do in a crisis. He moved fast, not realizing that
[20:55] Speaker 3: these SBA or these MCA loans would create so much
[20:59] Speaker 3: trus for him down the road. Luckily, we had a
[21:02] Speaker 3: relationship with him already and we're help now.
[21:06] Speaker 2: She can say she is the president and shef executive Officer.
[21:11] Speaker 2: Business Consortium as BCF is at BCF capital dot com.
[21:17] Speaker 2: Is the website BCF capital dot com if you want
[21:20] Speaker 2: to find out more information about our company that can
[21:22] Speaker 2: issue loans to small businesses of people of color from
[21:26] Speaker 2: twenty five thousand as lords that up to one point
[21:29] Speaker 2: five million dollars and is authorized. That's why I have
[21:32] Speaker 2: on the show, Ladies and Gentlemen. She's authorized to lend
[21:34] Speaker 2: throughout the US. Now when we talk about frustration, you
[21:38] Speaker 2: talk about bad loans.
[21:40] Speaker 1: How did he find out about you?
[21:42] Speaker 3: Guys?
[21:42] Speaker 1: Again, that goes but that's why you're on the show.
[21:44] Speaker 1: You know that, Sarah. We've talked about it.
[21:46] Speaker 2: We've sat down at launch talk about how can we
[21:49] Speaker 2: tell more and more people about BCF because you're more
[21:51] Speaker 2: than a life's line, your friend to the business. I
[21:54] Speaker 2: remember when we was at the National Minorities and Flight
[21:58] Speaker 2: Development council. You know, you was pointing out different businesses
[22:01] Speaker 2: that you not only recently were in business with, but
[22:05] Speaker 2: years ago you like kick started these businesses where they
[22:09] Speaker 2: are multi million dollar businesses.
[22:12] Speaker 1: They're employing over all hundreds of people.
[22:14] Speaker 2: When you see that journey, So I'm just giving you
[22:17] Speaker 2: guys who are listening or watching this, that her conversation
[22:21] Speaker 2: is not a new conversation. Her conversation. She's been there
[22:25] Speaker 2: watching these businesses that she initiated loans would grow. How
[22:28] Speaker 2: does that make you feel, Sarah? When you see that
[22:31] Speaker 2: and like you were casually pointing out these very very
[22:34] Speaker 2: successful businesses that you kind of like give them their
[22:37] Speaker 2: seed money.
[22:41] Speaker 3: You can see the smile on my I mean, nothing
[22:45] Speaker 3: makes me happier than seeing these clients succeed and seeing
[22:51] Speaker 3: these clients realize their dreams. And that's you know, that's
[22:55] Speaker 3: why we wake up every day and do what we do.
[22:58] Speaker 2: Let me this question, Sarah, cause I want to sure
[23:00] Speaker 2: I get the right name, because I probably should have
[23:02] Speaker 2: came to you guys when we had this contract. Their
[23:05] Speaker 2: businesses out there are called Factoring Factory. Okay, cool, Okay,
[23:10] Speaker 2: let's give my backstory. You know, so we were just
[23:13] Speaker 2: like she said, you know, we got this big government
[23:15] Speaker 2: contract and we hired a staff because we didn't really
[23:20] Speaker 2: have a staff to handle a contract this big. I mean,
[23:24] Speaker 2: we was responsible for marketing the entire United States and
[23:27] Speaker 2: Puerto Rico recruitment platforms. We had to do one hundred
[23:31] Speaker 2: and thirty five events under this contract, and guess what,
[23:35] Speaker 2: we didn't have the money. So we went to a
[23:37] Speaker 2: factoring country company now and they were able to DISI
[23:42] Speaker 2: factoring company works. They give you money and then they
[23:44] Speaker 2: take part of the money, and then the money has
[23:47] Speaker 2: to go.
[23:47] Speaker 1: Through them and they basically pay you.
[23:49] Speaker 2: So basically they kind of take control of your contract
[23:52] Speaker 2: and then they give you money.
[23:53] Speaker 1: So you have a.
[23:55] Speaker 2: Contract, but you don't have You do not have control
[23:58] Speaker 2: of the flow of the money of the contract, and
[24:01] Speaker 2: so how could I are now I understand you, And
[24:07] Speaker 2: it's really interesting. As many years I've talked to you,
[24:10] Speaker 2: finally realized I should have been talking to BCF because
[24:13] Speaker 2: I went to a factory company even though I didn't
[24:15] Speaker 2: have the relationship to when I had the contract offered
[24:18] Speaker 2: to me. But you exactly what you're saying I should
[24:21] Speaker 2: be doing. I should be talking to you a better relationship,
[24:25] Speaker 2: had a business model that will give me more of
[24:27] Speaker 2: my money than I was giving away.
[24:29] Speaker 3: Correct, Yes, that's correct, that you should have talked to us.
[24:34] Speaker 3: Now I do want to say that you should talk
[24:37] Speaker 3: to factoring companies. You should talk to banks, You should
[24:41] Speaker 3: talk to credit unions, and you should talk to BCF,
[24:45] Speaker 3: and you should have your You or any business should
[24:50] Speaker 3: go to multiple lenders with your financial pitch book that
[24:56] Speaker 3: has you know, your most recent banks stamens, your most
[25:00] Speaker 3: recent tax returns, and uh the items that paint a
[25:06] Speaker 3: financial picture, and see who's going to give you the
[25:08] Speaker 3: best deal? Right, So, who's going to give you the
[25:12] Speaker 3: longest term debt with the cheapest interest rate and the
[25:18] Speaker 3: fewest strings attached? That's what we want. So it could
[25:22] Speaker 3: be BCF, it might be the factoring company. Probably not,
[25:26] Speaker 3: but it could be right. Right, So you need to
[25:30] Speaker 3: go and do your homework and understand what's up, and
[25:34] Speaker 3: you need to be the chooser. Right. You want to
[25:37] Speaker 3: have all the information and you want to make the
[25:40] Speaker 3: choice you want to take. You want to have the
[25:41] Speaker 3: power in your hands to make the best decisions.
[25:44] Speaker 2: Let me answ you this because now we're talking about
[25:46] Speaker 2: not really understand this relationship. Now, when I had the
[25:49] Speaker 2: when the factor and company came to us, they wanted
[25:52] Speaker 2: a copy ab out contract that we have.
[25:55] Speaker 1: Now, if I came to BCF, what would you want
[25:58] Speaker 1: from me?
[25:59] Speaker 2: Because basically, like I said, they took control of our
[26:01] Speaker 2: contract from a financial saying that they didn't do anything
[26:04] Speaker 2: wrong with Ladies and Jim first of all, but that's
[26:07] Speaker 2: how they do business. They want to copy your contractor
[26:09] Speaker 2: they can verify, then the money flows through them, then
[26:11] Speaker 2: they take their percentage and they pay us the rest.
[26:14] Speaker 2: How would I would have done business with BCF in
[26:17] Speaker 2: that same situation, Sarah?
[26:19] Speaker 3: The factoring company looked only at your contract. They valued
[26:22] Speaker 3: the contract right right, and they said, okay, this contract
[26:26] Speaker 3: has legs. You are going to be paid yes, and
[26:29] Speaker 3: that means we're going to be paid yes. That's what
[26:31] Speaker 3: the contracting company said. When you come to BCF, we're
[26:34] Speaker 3: going to look at all you got or we're gonna
[26:37] Speaker 3: look at do you have other real estate, do you
[26:41] Speaker 3: have other income? What is your uh what's your history
[26:45] Speaker 3: of repaying debt? Do you do a good job with that?
[26:48] Speaker 3: Are you overextended or are you just right? We don't
[26:52] Speaker 3: want to take we don't want to. We don't want
[26:56] Speaker 3: to only rely on one contract to be repaid. What
[27:01] Speaker 3: we want to look at is you as a whole entrepreneur,
[27:06] Speaker 3: and if we can take collateral, we will do that.
[27:11] Speaker 3: If we see that your business is throwing off money
[27:14] Speaker 3: in these other ways and we feel pretty safe and
[27:17] Speaker 3: we know you right, we have a relationship with you,
[27:19] Speaker 3: we trust you, we see you, know what you've done
[27:23] Speaker 3: to grow your business, then we can we can underwrite.
[27:28] Speaker 3: We could underwrite the entire business and not just rely
[27:31] Speaker 3: on that one contract, and you'll often end up in
[27:33] Speaker 3: a better situation that way.
[27:35] Speaker 1: Cool. Well, she's wonderful.
[27:37] Speaker 2: She's the president and chief executive offer of Business Consortium
[27:41] Speaker 2: Fund and Try Investment. Sarah, thanks for coming on Money
[27:44] Speaker 2: Made Conversations and more important, like I said, create a
[27:47] Speaker 2: relationship with somebody you could trust and I trust Sarah.
[27:50] Speaker 2: Thanks Sarah, Thank you for listening to this episode. No
[27:54] Speaker 2: need for you to do me a favor right now
[27:56] Speaker 2: to follow our subscribe to Money Making Conversation's free and
[28:01] Speaker 2: you can find it on the iHeartRadio app, Spotify, Apple Podcasts,
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[28:07] Speaker 1: Please do me that favor.
[28:09] Speaker 2: Follow a subscribe money Making conversations keep winning

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