Small Business Financing with Anna Serio | Ep. 61

• Anna shares how she fell into personal finance writing after moving to Beirut for graduate school in 2013. She worked at a struggling newspaper and learned budgeting while managing student loans without a local bank account.

The only thing I remember was my teacher went on this sort of rant about credit card debt... And she just like scared me so much about debt in general that I didn't understand until really until I started writing about loans and debt and personal finance, that it can be beneficial in some ways.

• She notes the catch-22 of needing credit to build credit, and how Lebanon's banking system (including HSBC and Islamic banking) differed from American systems.

• Anna explains that COVID caught lenders off-guard because their recession contingency plans were based on 2008's financial crisis, which had different dynamics.

• Banks lacked technology to process PPP applications efficiently, leading partnerships with fintech lenders. Credit scores became unreliable as they lagged behind rapid financial changes, prompting lenders to focus on cash flow analysis instead.

Lenders are trying to meet that new kind of demand... Another thing that happened was that credit scores became a lot less reliable. It takes about six months for your credit score to update and reflect your financial situation.

• Anna expresses mixed feelings about PPP loans, noting the program was designed assuming a short pandemic. Many businesses were confused by unclear forgiveness rules despite the 1% interest rate.

• Recent changes improved access for sole proprietors by switching from net to gross revenue calculations. The program expires May 31st, with uncertainty about extensions.

• Alternative grants like Shuttered Venue Operators Grant and Restaurant Revitalization Fund may offer better options and can sometimes be combined with PPP.

• The SBA debt relief program, extended through September 30th, covers 6-8 months of payments on qualifying SBA loans including 7(a) and 504 loans.

• Tiffany recommends using sba.gov's lender matching service, which connects businesses with interested lenders via email after submitting business information.

If you can qualify for an SBA loan right now, you will not... It's not even that like you'll have payments deferred. Like you just will not make payments or pay the guarantee fee if you apply right now and get approved.