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.

In the late spring, Myers began looking for a way to access a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. After contacting his own bank, a private broker, and another bank that wanted to unlawfully charge him an additional 1% interest, Myers needed an alternative. “We couldn’t seem to find a place to get a loan,” he said. “We were just ignored. We submitted our info and never heard back from anyone. It was very frustrating and disappointing.” When Myers reached out to his small business coach at BCL, he was referred to our PPP loan application and finally able to access the funding he needed to pay employees, rent, and utilities. “Raquel just jumped on it and was really fast about making it happen. We had the whole thing funded in two to three days after my initial phone call,” he said.

10 months into the pandemic, Eagle Pride Supply has not had to lay off a single employee. “The PPP made all the difference between laying off employees or not. Without the PPP, there’s no way we’d be where we are today,” Myers said.

“I would say to any business out there - make sure you have a relationship with a community lender, someone that’s truly looking out for your best interests. “