Monisha J. Brown: Good morning rolling out family. This is Monisha J. Brown, and I am here today with another episode of “A Seat at the Table” with today’s guest, Administrator Isabel Guzman. She is the 27th Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Biden administration. She also serves on the Biden cabinet, and she is responsible for a $500 billion portfolio, with $50 billion of those dollars earmarked, annually, for small businesses. We are here today to ask all the questions and see what the SBA has in mind for Black entrepreneurs. Administrator Guzman, thank you for coming today. How are you?
Administrator Isabel Guzman: I am great. Thank you so much for having me. It is my pleasure. I love that question because this administration has really focused on diversity as our strength. We want to ensure the economic security of the future by focusing on the people who are starting businesses at the highest rates right now. Those numbers are remarkable.
Today, we announced a small business boom in this country. Twenty million new business applications have been filed by women and people of color. In particular, the Black and Brown communities have been leading those numbers (the Black community in particular). The number of Black households who own a business has more than doubled from 5% to 11%. That means more job creation. That means wealth building. That is a historic new trend that is really going to build for the future.
Monisha J. Brown: How can Black business owners access the assistance of the SBA?
Administrator Isabel Guzman: We have focused, in the Biden-Harris administration, on regulatory reforms, technology investments, as well as an expansion of our lending network and our footprint on the ground so that we can better serve Black businesses.
We recently announced our capital financings where we provided over 100,000 financing last year. This is a record high. We have more than doubled the number of small-dollar loans so you can get your working capital. We have increased the lending numbers overall. We have tripled the lending numbers to the Black community, in particular, to $1.5 billion last year and the year before as well. We are going to continue to see that growth in the future.
These are dollars that are here for you. We have an incredible district office in Atlanta where you can visit and learn more about the SBA resources or go online to sba.gov to find out what is available to you.
Monisha J. Brown: Thank you. Now, I know each case is different, but when you speak about loans, what do those loan amounts look like?
Administrator Isabel Guzman: The SBA core loans are 7(a) and 504. These loans can go up to $5.5 million. That is the highest dollar amount on our loan products. These loans are for working capital, to buy a building, or to buy a business. There are a lot of businesses for sale right now with the Silver Tsunami that can be acquired. You can buy a business or take over a business.
We have a network of small business investment companies, and they will write an average check size of about $2 million. But those loans can go much higher. This is a fund that helped launch businesses like Federal Express, Build-A-Bear and Tesla.
Monisha J. Brown: That is good to know. Can the SBA assist if someone is interested in purchasing a franchise?
Administrator Isabel Guzman: The SBA does quite a bit of franchise loans. If you are interested in acquiring a business, whether that is buying into a franchise model or acquiring from an existing business owner, we can help you with that. Whether it is the 7(a) or 504, you can match with lenders directly online at sba.gov/lendermatch or you can contact our district office to find out more about the lenders who serve in your area.
To view the full interview, please click the video link.
