“Would you rather work with a lender with relevant expertise or one still figuring things out? I assume you would answer the same way you would if you were picking a surgeon.”

“When we started, we used Wells Fargo. Philosophically, I didn’t like working with a big bank. I never thought I was important to them, but I also never prioritized making a change.”

"You may be able to pick up talent for your company that you would never have dreamed about getting during a strong economy."

"It seems these owners did not squander their EIDL on anything criminal, but they got used to a new comfort zone and used the money to pay salaries and other expenses. They got used to having the extra cash, but it didn’t help them grow the business."

"Here is how it starts: You have a friend who goes to a bank and has a bad experience applying for an SBA loan. So, you assume that the SBA is slow, requires too much collateral, or is too expensive. And by association, you conclude that the SBA is not for you."

"It’s important to consider what the money was used for. In her case, she used her line of credit to invest in software development, which is an investment that really should have been paid for with term debt."

“How we respond in a crisis is a sign of who we are and how we lead. Mine arrived several years ago when 90 percent of my business was coming from one lead source.”