[Malyn]

Hello guys and gals, so I was in the merchant service industry for about 14 years until the covid era 2020. I dabbled in the MCA and other alt financing, but mainly was in the high risk / ecomm merchant service space.

My career situation has been changing and I am thinking of re-entering the business loan broker industry again...not merchant services. It has been a few years and I was wondering if a lot has changed post Covid. i.e. MCA, LOC and SBA. For instance is Celtic Bank still the go to for SBA? etc. I saw an ad from BLB... Business Loan Brokers. I have previous experience, but was wondering if this program would be a nice primer / refresher getting back in. Does anyone have any experiences, good and/or bad with BLB? Or can and should I do this on my own?

I think the biggest challenge is setting a system for a consistent flow of warm in coming leads.

Thank you to anyone that can comment and assist me with my questions. This is a serious inquiry.

Kind regards... my fellow professionals.

[abfunders]

Classic question over here. It's been asked on the boards, take a look at the old discussions. However, everyone agrees: work for someone else first. Get hands-on experience without the risk of blowing everything on bad lead gen/sources before you start making money. Go-to for SBA? Lendistry, Loan Bud, Newtek should be explored first. However, you need the right lead source to start those. And there are LOTS of bad lead sources. And lots of bad actors who will steal from you and your merchants if you're not careful. Work for someone, get fluent in the industry, network, and then see if you want to move on.

[Malyn]

Thank you Micah for your candid response. Oh yes, Newtek, I remember that name, horrible profit splits if I remember on the Schedule A. I will do a search of the forum for previous posts. You are absolutely right. I should have done that first. Thank you again.

[Olderguy]

Reach out for help with SBA, Equipment, hard money property, asset based financing, anything not MCA etc. Newtek service levels have gone to crap and can't recommend them anymore. I'd pass on Lendistry as well as they are just a super broker.

[Malyn]

Thanks for you few that have taken the time to respond here. Just in a few hours, I have seen and heard enough. I did some searches and it appears to be worse than when I left. Very saturated, race to the bottom on pricing. I think I am going to pass on re-entering. Again, I appreciate the help.

[abfunders]

Reach out for help with SBA, Equipment, hard money property, asset based financing, anything not MCA etc. Newtek service levels have gone to crap and can't recommend them anymore. I'd pass on Lendistry as well as they are just a super broker.

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[ridextreme]

Yes, it is saturated and you're often competing against liars and thieves but if you're exceptionally good at sales (especially over the phone) and know how to develop good lead campaigns it can be extremely rewarding for the right individual but it's definitely not for everyone.

[Olderguy]

Yes..I'm a broker and I help brokers and merchants......and split commissions 50%.

[MichaelP]

Yes..I'm a broker and I help brokers and merchants

Do we have a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black here? A tale as old as time.

[Olderguy]

Do we have a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black here? A tale as old as time.

Guess I don't understand the question...Newtek sucks and Lendistry is a super broker....I have 6 other SBA banks I use depending on the situation. You can access Cadence bank through SmartBiz and fund in 25 days. You have to ask for them specifically though on submission....and on and on...Cadence Bank won't do direct on deals less than $750,000. I have two SBA banks that will do truckers, construction and auto dealers.....and on and on...

[MichaelP]

Guess I don't understand the question...

There is no question being basked. You cited Lendistry as a poor choice to send files too because they are just a super broker when in fact you are also a super broker. That was the purpose of the spider man meme.

[Olderguy]

There is no question being basked. You cited Lendistry as a poor choice to send files too because they are just a super broker when in fact you are also a super broker. That was the purpose of the spider man meme.

Ok....maybe so..I would certainly say I have more experience then Lendistry....as a "super broker"...I just funded a deal they declined.

I'm a loan officer that get's into a file and figures out a way to get it done...these superbrokers just process.

[Chambo]

A whole lot has changed in the industry since 2020. I agree with other posters here that you might want to link up with a bigger shop first and get reacclimated. If not for any other reason than to get acquainted with the new regulations in certain states.

[Malyn]

I]

Yes, it is saturated and you're often competing against liars and thieves but if you're exceptionally good at sales (especially over the phone) and know how to develop good lead campaigns it can be extremely rewarding for the right individual but it's definitely not for everyone.

[/I]

Hello RidExtreme, thank you for the reply. Liars and thieves, ha ... looks like nothing has changed here is this industry. But to be honest, every industry has these... some industries have more than others. With that said, I AM exceptionally good on the phone, but... could use some help in the lead campaign side of things. I am sure a lot has changed in the last 4 years with email marketing, social marketing etc and seriously, that is the only reason that I initially was thinking of looking into the BLB program. Solely for the lead gen stuff. I have been living off trading in the last 4 years and having a family with two kids, a wife and taking into consideration Central Bank Digital Currency coming, the political environment in the US, War, and macro economics in general... you don't need to be a full time trader to see that way of making money is risky. I need something a little more reliable and something that I can set up that will have a consistent funnel of warm leads coming in. At least until referrals out weigh the marketing side.

A whole lot has changed in the industry since 2020. I agree with other posters here that you might want to link up with a bigger shop first and get reacclimated. If not for any other reason than to get acquainted with the new regulations in certain states.

Hi Chambo, very good advice. I do see a need to get re-acquainted and learn about any regulation changes. It has been a long time. Like mentioned earlier. I was solely doing merchant services way back in the day and then this guy Mike Daily comes around talking about MCA's and such circa 2006 or 2007. That was around the time Strategic Funding Source was I think starting out and a few others. I also was starting to get into Factoring, however never got any traction with that product. Then YellowStone appeared taking so much high risk stuff and I think that is when the industry changed. Not blaming YellowStone Capital, just that was the time period that full saturation seeped in. Subprime and way subprime paper started to flood the market.

So I am sure that a ton has changed. For instance stacking, renewals, what is the typical clawback on commissions... I am sure all of this has had subtle changes. And I haven't got a clue on what those changes are. So you were right it would be good to get reacquainted and work with a larger iso or shop or broker. My only concern with working with someone else, is that there will be a time when I am caught back up with the ins-n-outs and I don't want to be tied to non-compete, non-circumvention clauses etc when I am ready to leave the nest. Not to sound like a jerk or greedy in anyway, and this statement isn't meant to be taken that way, but I have mouths to feed and once I get on my feet and get caught up with all the changes and such, at that point it makes no sense taking a huge revenue share cut, when in fact the the umbilical cord has been cut and tied. ;-)

Any honest input on that good or bad. I would be interested in hearing from some of you that run super brokers and your take on those last couple statements. How do you feel about training possibly your competition? I mean is it standard in the industry to set up some thing where you work for a super broker at an even smaller rev share in order to not be tied to stipulations in a contract, that when you feel like going it alone, they allow you to do that with no problems? Just throwing that out there.

You can DM me if you want to have a serious conversation and discussion about possibilities. I would like to learn the ropes again, but I have to be completely honest, up front, you need to know that eventually I will wanna be on my own. There has to be a way for you to be compensated for that, I totally get that.

Thanks again for the input.

By the way, it is good to see that there is still a fair bit of heckling, calling each other out and self-regulating on here. Giving each other a hard time is healthy, as long as it is within reason and doesn't get out of hand. haha

[Ehenek]

I think he was trying to communicate he wants to enter into SPACE. Not Commercial Finance.

[ridextreme]

I][/I]

Hello RidExtreme, thank you for the reply. Liars and thieves, ha ... looks like nothing has changed here is this industry. But to be honest, every industry has these... some industries have more than others.

No, not at all, I guess you haven't even dug into the industry in the past too if you were unaware that there is no other industry full of shady practices than the MCA industry by far. I've never heard of a mortgage broker telling a new homeowner "sign today at 8%, I'll be able to restructure it in 90 days for 2.5%" then block his calls, or a broker altering statements and coaching clients to get them tripple funded then running away from clawbacks. It doesn't go on in other industries to the extent it does here (not to mention fraud by merchants altering bank statements knowing no one will ever file criminal complaints against them for forgery. It's a very unscrupulous industry on both sides of the fence).