The Art of SBA Lending

This week we have Steve Miriani, founder of Diamond Financial joining us to get into the industry hot topic, raising the SBA 7(a) limit. Listen in to hear Ray and Steve discuss why this needs to be a priority and what steps are being taken to get us there. We also discuss the journey of Steve's career, how creating his own niche led him to his success, and the overall state of SBA today. Steve has...

For this weeks episode we have Darren Davis, president of Small Business Specialty Lending at Colony Bank joining us to conclude our sit-down interview series from Asheville. In one of Ray's favorite episodes so far this season, they sit down to talk leadership, talent, overcoming obstacles and SBA changes, and the lessons he's learned the hard way on his own journey since his role as a BDO. Liste...

This week on The Art of SBA Lending- Shatterbox Join us for a panel discussion as we sit down with founder of Shatterbox, Dustin Baker, and early adopters of the program Chris Kwiatkowski and Cam Nayebi. Ray and our panelists go into detail about the struggles with the talent gap in SBA lending, including hiring and training, why Shatterbox was created, how it was created, and how it works, from 3...

This week we have Ken Rosenthal on the podcast giving us his 4 secrets to success in SBA sales.  Listen in as Ray and Ken think back to when they first met in the very beginning of Rays SBA career, how Ken organizes his day to maintain his position as a top-producer, standing out as an SBA lender in your market, and those sales secrets we are all wanting to hear.  Look out for new episodes every T...

This week on The Art of SBA Lending we have a guest who certainly likes to stay busy, Maria Lawson! Maria is the Managing Director of Government Guaranteed Lending at Signature Bank of Georgia and board member of GLQC. Maria sits down with Ray at The Southeastern Small Business Lenders Conference in Asheville, NC, to discuss: -Balancing her impressive roles as a Manager/Producer and board member o...

This week on The Art of SBA Lending we have Victor Diaz, Managing Partner of Starfield & Smith, an SBA Law firm you may already know. Kicking off our 5 week in-person interview series from Ashville, Victor is sitting down with Ray for another great episode. Victor talks about his experiences from being a trial attorney to now an SBA attorney, what to expect out of SBA counsel (and what not to expe...

In this weeks episode we are sitting down with Shane Lewis, President and co-founder of Baker Lewis, an SBA advisory firm. If you've been following along The Art of SBA, you already know who they are! We all know this shake up in the SBA industry has caused a lot of movement…but nobody knows it as well as Shane does. Listen in to hear what he has to say about the current SBA job market, why closer...

This week on The Art of SBA Lending we have a mystery guess with a big announcement…their retirement! Listen in to see who is retiring and what industry they are moving into. We're also talking BDO experiences and comp plans, post-covid trends, and more. Leave a review if you've been loving these episodes and don't forget to share our channel! This episode is sponsored by: Rapid Business Plans Rap...

This week on The Art of SBA Lending we're honored to be bringing you an interview with one of the few people who have actually run the SBA. Welcome, Jeanne Hulit, former acting SBA administrator and current CEO of Maine Community Bank! Jeanne is here giving us her takes on the 2023 changes of the SBA, and what she thinks about simplifying the SOP. We're talking about raising the SBA limits, her ba...

Join us for our newest episode with Jim Mueller, BDO at Celtic Bank and highly deserving recipient of last years "BDO of the Year" award. Ray and Jim have a great conversation about achieving success and caring deeply about the process from somebody who has been on both sides of the table. In this episode we discuss: Jim's transition from a CEO to a BDO, making mistakes quickly (and correcting the...

In this episode we interview Phil Johnson, Founder and CEO of the Master of Business Leadership program for employees and executives. Listen in as Ray and Phil get into the majorly important topic of emotional intelligence. What it is, why it's important, and it's current role in corporate America. Covering the questions of ego-based fears and how they're holding you back from success, the disconn...

Serious Episode- Sorry It's Jared Johnson of First Internet back on the podcast this week! $100+mm years, content creation, closers, authenticity and business acquisitions, we're talking about it all! Learn what kind of sacrifice, dedication, and value-add is needed to earn the spot of a top producer right here.  __________________________________________________ This episode is sponsored by: Rapi...

In this episode we bring you a LIVE panel discussion from The BDO Retreat in Miami! Join us for a panel discussion with top producing BDO's: Dennis Wagner, First National Bank, Ryan Kroge, First Internet Bank, Shane Pierson, Grasshopper Bank, and our host, Ray Drew. This episode is all about achieving success, meeting your potential, and maximizing your efforts. Listen in as our panelists give you...

Welcome to Part 2 of our State of Small Business Panel on The Art of SBA Lending Podcast with William "Bill" Woodard, Chief Credit Officer at T Bank, Jordan Hallam, Director of Government Guaranteed Lending at SouthState Bank, Nick Roach, President and CEO of Stone Bank. In this episode we cover which industries are hot right now, why you should be thanking your servicing teams, spikes in deal fal...

Welcome to the newest season of The Art of SBA Lending Podcast! This week we are kicking off with part-one of a fan-favorite, panel-style episode discussing the (surprising) state of small business. Our host, Ray Drew welcomes Bill Woodard, Chief Credit Officer at T Bank, Jordan Hallam, Director of Government Guaranteed Lending at SouthState Bank and Nick Roach President and CEO of Stone Bank. Lis...

In this episode we welcome our first guest of the new year, Sherry Martin! Sherry is the Director of Client Bank Development at SBA Complete. She's had a life-long passion for the success of small businesses, has worked every role in SBA, started shops from the ground up, and could teach everyone a thing or two about leadership. Listen in as Ray and Sherry get into a conversation about how her bac...

In this weeks can't-miss episode Ray sits down with his former boss, Mark Gibson, National Sales Manager at First Internet Bank . Ray first met Mark while working at Ready Capital- an experience in which Mark gives credit for preparing him for the difficult feat of starting and scaling a national SBA program to the top 10 the way that he did. Mark goes over some key aspects of what has made First...

In this weeks episode Ray sits down with Tom Pretty, Head of SBA Lending at TD. From heading up the SBA division at the top bank on the East Coast, to his background as a BDO himself- Tom has great insight to give our listeners when it comes to management and leadership, balancing the peaks and valleys of managing a department, setting yourself up to win, and achieving success at scale in the smal...

For this weeks insightful and inspiring episode, we sat down with the Head of Small Business Banking at Live Oak Bank, Mike McGinley, and got the background of what it's like to be a part of the #1 bank in SBA. Ray and Mike discuss Live Oak's success and what they attribute it to- their work place culture, their training and recruiting process, community, "The Theory of Verticality", in-person mee...

In this episode of The Art of SBA Lending, we keep the NAGGL interviews going with Kyle Gustafson, National Client Manager at Partner Engineering and Science. Kyle is a former tech-insider with a specialty in SBA software. Ever since Covid, our industry was forced to be more reliant on tech than ever but were we ready to jump into that change so quickly? As our systems and processes are upgrading,...

This week on The Art of SBA Lending Podcast, Ray continues his sit-down interviews from NAGGL in New Orleans with guest Shay Kleinschmidt! Shay is the VP of Funding at FranFund, and has tons of insight on how to be a top-tier lender and get more business from loan brokers, and what first-time borrowers need to be educated on before entering the lending process. New episodes drop every Thursday mor...

For this week's episode, we had the chance to sit down with Diane Gallion in NOLA and have a great conversation about her 48 years in banking and decades spent becoming a key player in the SBA industry. Ray and Diane get into details about her career in SBA from the very beginning and leave us with some great takeaways for a successful career, no matter what role you play in the industry. Tune in...

In this episode we sit down with founder of Distressed Loan Advisors,  Jason   Milleisen . During one of the worst financial disasters of our time,  Jason  was a workout specialist at CIT. From being an underwriter, to switching sides of the table and helping distressed borrowers-  Jason 's here to share his experiences from that time. If you've been enjoying our episodes this season feel free to...

It's THE episode you cannot miss, featuring Bob Coleman!  This week on The Art of SBA Lending, Bob Coleman, Publisher of The Coleman Report, is interviewed by our host Ray Drew about whether we've returned to the loosened credit standards of 2007, how technological advances disrupted Bob's business multiple times, and the SBA's new reputation problem thanks to PPP fraud. Hear the legend himself ge...

Gary Henderson, or as you may know him, "SBA Guy", is with us this week! In this candid episode of "The Art of SBA Lending" we share our thought-provoking wisdom, experiences and differences. This week we're diving deep into: - Having vision and playing the long game - Keeping your mind open to process improvements -The importance of meeting with clients, and your team, face-to-face Listen in toda...