Today we’d like to introduce you to Samuel Smith.
Hi Samuel, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
We are in the alternative finance industry. We provide small business loans to businesses who cannot get capital from traditional banks. I started in the credit repair space. We made a ton of money but I did not like the clientele that we attracted in that space. Then I found out about the industry in 2023 by purchasing a $2000 course from this guy in New York to learn how to sell business loans. In that course, there was a video course by a lady by the name of Cheryl Tibbs who had been in the equipment finance space for over 20 years. She spoke about the ability to make money by being a broker of equipment loans. After chasing her down via Facebook, I learned that she was in Georgia. By the grace of God, she was located 5 minutes from my job at the time. I ended up working in the office with her over the summer as a sales manager and made around $15k in 3 months.
Since that point, I have been working as the Director of Strategic Partnerships with Equipment Lease Co. and we have been rolling ever since that point. We manage over 250 business broker partners and we are always looking for great people who want to learn this great industry.
As someone who is a serial entrepreneur, I have had countless side hustles. I came to Atlanta in 2011, fresh out of college in a 1996 Ford Explorer, and $150 I now work in a dynamic industry that will allow someone with no college degree or even a high school diploma make hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions by helping small businesses gain access to millions of dollars in business loans and real estate.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been a bunch of ups and downs in the industry because of all of the uncertainty around lending and the economy. With interest rates going up, many customers have been much more hesitant to accept lending terms being that they have been so used to having lower rates for so long.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Equipment Lease Co.?
Equipment Lease Co. is a full-service commercial finance brokerage. We provide access to capital for small business owners through working capital loans, equipment loans and real estate. What sets us apart is our flexibility. We have partnerships with over 75 lenders which allows us the opportunity to craft customized solutions for small businesses. On the other hand, we help entrepreneurs learn how to become commercial loan brokers. Here they will learn how to consult with small businesses to help them to get to where they want to go.
One of my favorite products is our sales leaseback program. There are hundreds of large businesses that are taking advantage of these types of transactions, but it seems the smaller firms are not aware of this powerful program.
A sales leaseback is a transaction when there is a small business who is in need of capital for things like expansion, renovation or debt reduction and they have raw land or real estate that they own. Entrepreneurs and business owners can pledge that land as collateral and receive up to 50% of the value of that land in cash and up to 70% of the value of the real estate in cash. In turn, the business owner will pay monthly lease payments to the lender, with the option to purchase the property back from the lender at a later date. For Example, on a $100,000 piece of raw land we can lend out $50k on just a desktop appraisal of that land with a monthly payment of under $1000, No credit checks required!
This is one of the most creative ways that we help small business owners during these uncertain economic times. We love to get great feedback from our customers when we hear that they have just purchased a new franchise or renovated an outdated location. We also love to help small businesses such as restaurants, auto shops, gyms and any other small business in our community looking to grow.
What makes you happy?
We love to see small business owners win. Here we understand that small businesses and entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of our country and without them, we would not be as great as we are.
Contact Info:
- Website: EquipmentLeaseCo.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/SamisCEO
- Facebook: Facebook.com/Samisceo
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elcosam/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@FundingVibes
Image Credits
Sam Smith
