In Pursuit of Happiness Minus Money

Keeping momentum when a business slows down is not easy, especially if cash flow starts to dwindle. Take Joanna D'Angelo, owner of Tea Together, she had this problem, but not because business was bad, rather, she merely needed a bridge loan until her next busy season.

While shopping for loans last month, Ms. D’Angelo walked into Chase, a preferred lender of loans backed by the federal Small Business Administration, and walked out a short time later — minus any money.

“We tried a few other banks, but they all had impossible conditions,” she said. “We did not qualify for an S.B.A. loan, something they were very adamant about.”

According to Ms. D’Angelo, Tea Together failed to qualify at Chase because the business was fewer than three years old, though she did not know if that was the Small Business Administration’s or Chase’s rule.

Ms. D’Angelo joins other owners of small local businesses who are finding credit hard to come by, even with the help of federal stimulus money directed to help.

Read more here.

Photo from Tea Together shop.