Chapter 3
SBA Loans
Essential Idea: Obtain a Bank Loan Guaranteed by the Small Business Administration
Jesse Kresky founded the Kresky Manufacturing Company in Petaluma, California, in the early 1900s. In 1953, the Kreskys diversified their business and created Kresky Signs. The company became a leader and innovator in the industry as it pioneered the mass-production of fabricated signs for a national market. Kresky became the first supplier of baked enamel metal signs in the western United States—the big, famous red Coca-Cola button sign was one of its products.
Although the manufacturing arm of Kresky moved to Southern California in the 1970s, the sign company stayed in Northern California. When the founder passed away, his son took over, and when the son passed away in 2009, his sister Cecilia Miller took the reins of the company. Miller soon realized that Kresky Signs had not updated its equipment in quite some time. She decided that she needed to get a loan for that purpose, as well as for working capital and marketing.
Her loan options looked challenging in 2010; that is, until she started working with a lender that offered SBA loans. In short order, Miller qualified for and received an SBA loan. And because of special incentives available at the time, the six-figure loan Kresky Signs received even came with a fee waiver. Miller was thrilled with the loan as it was affordable and the terms were great. The business continues to thrive to this day (over 500 customers, 10 employees), ...
