This episode features Sterling Birdsong, a franchisee and Nationwide SBA Lender with BayFirst National Bank. Sterling has been in SBA Lending since 2016 and the banking industry since 2013. He produced over $50 million in SBA loans in 2022, making him a top performer in the industry.

In this conversation, we dive into Sterling's experience as a franchisee, including why franchising has been a great model for him, and what to consider from a lending perspective when thinking about buying or starting a franchise. We also get into the nuances of SBA, including how to think about working capital, seller note dos and don'ts, and why SBA is the BEST produce out there for business acquisitions $5M and under.

00:00 Start
02:12 Becoming a franchisee
08:07 How franchising works
14:45 Plan to scale
17:32 SBA for franchising
20:45 What banks look for in a borrower
27:30 What banks CAN do vs. what they WILL do
29:30 Seller notes in SBA
32:43 The importance of using an experienced lender
36:56 How to think about working capital
38:26 SBA and add backs
42:51 SBA vs. conventional lending
48:40 What makes someone successful in ETA

Connect with Sterling: LinkedIn   / sterling-birdsong-32954918   | Twitter   / sterlingsba   | Instagram   / sterling.sba   | TikTok   / sterling.sba   | YouTube ‪@SterlingSBA‬ | [email protected]

Connect with me: ⁠LinkedIn   / ⁠   | ⁠Twitter⁠   / keirahamilton   | [email protected]

#franchise #franchiseowner #sba #sbaloans #smallbusiness #eta #businessowner #businessacquisition