Within the rural areas of Central and Northern Nevada, Michelle Beecher, a lending associate with the Rural Nevada Development Corporation, is making stops to present small business funding made available through the Economic Development Centers and Associates.
Shelley Hartmann, Executive Director of Mineral County’s Economic Development Authority met to discuss coordination of funding opportunities into the current Small Business Development Center startup classes, which is being run in Hawthorne at the USO building.
“Our classes include the groundwork of finance and building a solid portfolio, but without the knowledge of proper funding opportunities a small business can’t even get off the ground,” Hartmann explained.
The small business classes include a three-week involvement of building a business plan, financial literacy, counseling to build a business profile and resources. Interaction is shared, with a variety of individuals presenting new business ideas for the area.
Beecher shared that the RNDC was created to assist in start-ups and to assist existing Nevada businesses that have a need for expansion using an alternate lender. This personal approach can begin with a 30-45 day turn around, with loans available from $500 up to $250,000, depending on the need, collateral and application commitments.
“We are not a standard way of lending because we have a specific goal in mind and that is to assist people to begin new businesses in rural Nevada. With that, we review payment plans that work according to the successful need of the small business and after an application clears the underwriter, it goes before a committee which analyzes the data and the personal approach,” Beecher stated.
The RNDC has varying interest rate programs and these business startup loans can be converted to traditional loans, as an option once cash flow is established. A flexible financial assistance is also available for low-income home improvements, which pertains to weatherizing funds, homeowner rehab or other repairs and can be done with a deferred loan agreement.
To find out more about these programs and the application process, please contact Shelley Hartmann locally at 775- 945-5896 or Michelle Beecher at 775-289-8519.
