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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.
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.
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What do Disney resorts, upscale New York condos, judges’ chambers, and the Austin Performing Arts Center have in common?
They all feature woodwork and furniture completed at Widner Finishing, a 54,000-square foot manufacturer located in the small town of Rogers, TX. Owner Adam Fuhr said, “These products add value to communities and buildings all over the world.”
Brice Hand had extensive experience in poultry farming and owned acres upon acres of land, but he needed help to make the most of it. Thanks to BCL’s assistance, he has used the SBA 504 Loan program twice to construct new hen housing with state-of-the-art energy efficient equipment, making Brice one of the largest poultry producers in his community and for all of Tyson Foods.
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.”
Before covid-19 hit, veteran-owned business Eagle Pride Supply was going strong - growing their business revenue 24-fold over just a couple of years. As an essential business providing supplies for government contracts and more, owner Patrick Myers was ready to weather the storm. But as smaller businesses shut down, suppliers tightened credit, and the consumer spending slowed, the effects of the prolonged shutdown began to affect his business too.
Patrick and Adriane Hodges were teachers in Virginia Beach that dabbled in home beer brewing, but it was when they attended a beer fest in 2017 that their lives took a different direction. Patrick saw the brewing setup of one of the craft brewers at the beer fest and noticed it was the same setup he had at his home. “I was using the same brewing setup to give my beer away to friends as this company was using to provide their product to paying customers,” said Patrick, “If they can do it, why can’t I?”
Patrick Myers, founder and CEO of Austin-based Eagle Pride Supply, is recapturing his American Dream. The son of a soldier and youngest of 8 siblings, Myers worked in the corporate world for 25 years before founding his own business.
Owning an equestrian facility has been a lifelong dream of Jacqueline McCroskey. Starting her riding career as a young child, working with horses on a daily basis was something she could only imagine. After graduating college with a degree in Equine Studies, she moved to Texas, where BCL of Texas helped her bring her dream to reality by providing lending capital for her purchase of the land that would soon become Needville Equestrian Farm.
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