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Seeing our clients achieve key milestones is what drives our work at BCL of Texas. From startups that have expanded to multi-employee businesses to families buying their first homes, our success all comes down to you.
BCL loan customer Juan Gonzalez and his wife, Monica, have every reason to celebrate. Not only are they expanding the scope of their business, but this week they are becoming American citizens after becoming permanent residents in 2009. “We’re very proud,” Gonzalez said.
Ruth and Arnold Guerra were born and raised in Gonzales, Texas, where they have opened hotels, restaurants, and built homes to meet their community’s needs. “We started with nothing,” Ruth said. Now, they have built over 100 homes in their community of 7,000 people.
I visited the Guerras and we drove around the town, as Ruth pointed out both homes she and her husband had worked on, as well as other neighborhoods of older homes in states of disrepair. Gonzales has not had new home construction in a long time. “Big builders are not going to come into this town,” Ruth said. In a previous subdivision, a builder constructed about 5 homes and then left town, the work unfinished. We drove past a 17-home affordable subdivision of 3-bedroom homes the Guerras built in 2009.
Now, they are building Angel Oaks, a 6-home development for median income families, featuring 3-bedroom ranch-style homes with yards. A longtime customer of BCL, having worked with us in the past for an SBA 504 loan, the Guerra family is now working with BCL’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Texas Community Builders for our new pre-development loan product.
The demand for median-priced new housing in Gonzales is apparent, as five of the Angel Oaks homes have already been purchased, just as groundbreaking has barely begun. Most of the buyers are people of color, and all are first-time homeowners. “People are getting out of renting and into their first homes,” Ruth said.
And as with their hotels, their construction business is a family venture. They’ve taught their two daughters skills in construction, management, and project administration. “In the big city, you get a job and you learn one thing,” Ruth said. She said her daughters are now prepared with a wide range of skills to take on all kinds of jobs.
“I’m really glad that Texas Community Builders is investing in small developers,” Ruth said. “I appreciate that they saw that we have projects that will benefit individuals that probably never would have been able to buy a home. Without Texas Community Builders, we would not have been able to do this project.”
BCL is proud to provide business coaching for 100 long-standing local businesses through the Austin Legacy Business Relief Grant program, supporting art and music venues, restaurants, bars, and theatres that have been in Austin for 20 or more years.
Guy Lahav and Gary Franco left their established lives and careers in Los Angeles to move to Gonzales, Texas with a dream of opening a dance studio to foster the love of arts and dance in small-town Texas.
With the help of BCL of Texas’ small business lending services, Guy and Gary were able to secure a building in downtown Gonzales, and Come and Take It Dance was born.
Adrian Paredes, owner of the Austin-based Tamale Addiction, was helped with two loans from the BCL Business Growth Fund. From pork pastor with pineapple and onions to vegan nopalitos and sweet guava tamales, Paredes has been able to learn from his customers and successfully diversify his product to meet new market trends.
When Marqueta Grant retired after 22 years of military service, she knew she didn’t want to go back to a desk job. “My mother was a hairstylist and seamstress, and she worked for herself, so I know a lot about hair and clothing. When we were on deployment, all of the girls would ask me to get them the best products,” she said.
There are many different kinds of business owners out there. There’s the salesman, the organizer, the independent do-it-yourselfer, and more. But the successful ones? They build a team that can wear all the hats. Just ask Jason Herrera, owner of ClearVue Networks, LLC, an information technology (IT) firm that in just the past five months has grown from 5 to 13 employees, a number which is likely to double before the end of the year.
SportHooks was born out of a runner’s love for her sport and her growing collection of medals. Founder Marcey Futris, who has now run a full marathon in all 50 states and on 4 continents, was looking for a place to display her race medals.
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