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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.
As new homeowner Steven Hanaway stands over his cast iron skillet talking about his love of cooking he says, “One of my favorite things about owning a home is that I love being able to pick my own appliances.”
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.”
Being a social entrepreneur is a little like running a business and a non-profit at the same time, in that you’re focused on both the bottom line and your social mission. It’s a big vision, and requires a lot of work. Yet, if there’s any entrepreneur in Austin equipped for the job, it’s Fuerte Fitness owner Romy Parzick.
With a focus on counties along the I-35 corridor, BCL of Texas has worked with businesses in cities across the state of Texas, from Dallas and Austin to small towns such as Rogers and Luling, TX. During the month of April, we are celebrating our commitment to supporting growing businesses that will create jobs to build economic vitality in rural communities across our state.
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.
One of our early customers, BCL worked with Rudy Ruiz of Community Development Management, Inc. for an SBA 504 loan to help them grow their operations. Founded in 1979, Community Development Management is a consulting firm that works with communities across Central and South Texas for community development projects like public works, housing, disaster relief, parks and recreation, and economic development.
Not often is a parking lot considered an interesting business success story. That is, unless that parking lot is situated next to the brand new Baylor University McLane Stadium with a crowd full of rowdy fans on game day.
How far would you go to grow your business? Would you drive nearly 400 miles twice a month for 6 months?
That’s exactly what Jazmin Jernigan of Aesthetic Innovations, LLC is doing. Jazmin’s business is a full service marketing firm that provides branding, web design, graphic design, and photography services all under one roof. She drives from Shreveport to Dallas twice a month to participate in Capital One’s Getting Down to Business education and mentoring program, which provides guidance on a series of business topics taught by industry experts. BCL of Texas is the facilitator for the 2015 course in Dallas.
Suite 500 Austin, TX 78701 P: 512.912.9884 F: 346.301.5752 NMLS #1114924
Suite 1220 Dallas, TX 75208 P: 214.688.7456 F: 346.301.5752 NMLS #1114924
Suite 2 San Marcos, TX 78666 P: 512.383.0027 NMLS #1114924