UW and Wyoming SBDC Network to Host Business Loan Workshop in Riverton May 16

Small-business owners will have the opportunity to learn how to get a first small-business loan request approved Thursday, May 16.

Audie Cunningham, Drew Dietrich, Amy Lea and Deb Farris will lead a Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network workshop titled “The Inside Scoop: How to Get Your First Small Business Loan Request Approved” from 11:45 a.m.-1:15 p.m. at the Riverton Branch Library, located at 1330 W. Park Ave. To register, go here. Registration is free, and attendees are encouraged to bring a lunch.

The Wyoming SBDC Network offers business expertise to help Wyoming residents think about, launch, grow, reinvent or exit their business. The Wyoming SBDC Network is hosted by the University of Wyoming with state funds from the Wyoming Business Council and funded, in part, through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

The workshop, co-sponsored by the U.S. SBA, will take small-business owners behind the scenes and share what it will take to get ready to approach a lender and how small-business owners can increase their chances of getting an approval for their loan requests.

The workshop will cover preparing a personal financial statement; checking your credit score; what your safety net looks like if it takes longer than you expect to achieve the revenues you’re projecting; and a hands-on case study to review cash flow projections for a loan application to better understand how to evaluate a potential deal from a lender’s perspective. 

Cunningham is the Wyoming SBDC Network regional director for Fremont and Teton counties. She enjoys seeing community members bring their business ideas to life and is eager to help them grow and thrive. As an entrepreneur, Cunningham has worked in art licensing and graphic design and has 10 years of experience in customer service and marketing through her work in public libraries. Her education and experience have given her knowledge in print and digital marketing, creating marketing plans, social media marketing and business planning.

Dietrich is the east central regional director for the Wyoming Business Council. Lea is the district director of the Wyoming district office of the U.S. SBA. Farris is deputy district director for the U.S. SBA.

Workshop attendees also will have an opportunity to schedule a free one-on-one appointment with Cunningham to assist with developing cash flow projections for their businesses to help explain to their lenders where the money to repay their loans will come from -- in a format they will understand.

For more information, call Maureen Johnson, marketing, communication and database manager for the Wyoming SBDC Network, at (307) 343-0925 or email mjohn125@uwyo.edu.