Think small business financing is nothing more than money changing hands and signing the dotted line? Think again. Beyond every line of credit or equipment financing loan is a story of American grit, growth and opportunity. For many small business owners, financing isn’t just a tool — it’s a pathway to independence and the freedom to build their business on their own terms. So, let’s look beyond the numbers and hear directly from real small business owners. Let’s explore how financing has helped them stay independent and achieve their goals. 

Turning Survival Moments into Expansion Moments 

“Financing has been my independence engine. In 2021, I bought a custom packaging manufacturing business with an SBA 7(a) loan instead of outside investors. The note felt scary, but it let me keep 100% decision-making. 

“Just nine months ago, we then purchased a competitor using seller financing. This allowed us to grow our business and take a competitor off the table. None of that would have happened without the financing. 

“My favorite example, though, is when buying machinery. We wanted a new piece of machinery that cost over $100,000 and, when running the numbers, we determined it would achieve a 40%+ return on investment (ROI). Comparing the ROI to the 9% equipment term loan, it was a no-brainer. 

“Each loan felt like adding ballast at first, yet each one removed a hidden shackle: dependence on outside buyers, competitors, cash-flow anxiety or manual bottlenecks. Financing turned survival moments into expansion moments and kept the company squarely in the hands of the people who built it. That’s my version of small-business freedom.” 

Matteo Valles 

Owner, Vol Case & Container 

Growth on Your Own Terms 

“Being the president and manufacturing leader of a soap and cleaning products brand, I believe that being flexible and making the right choices, during any situation of uncertainty, can be very crucial. A couple of years ago, we experienced considerable disruption in our supply chain, and the inflation of material costs strained our operations and margins. 

“When everything was at stake, we took external capital as a leverage point to continue. Through this assistance, we managed to order in advance those materials that were in high demand, which helped us maintain continuous production. This action secured our customer contracts and retained our brand image. 

“What was more important was that this financial flexibility enabled us to make the necessary investments in critical improvements to our manufacturing line. We also widened our product range by introducing a new series of environmentally friendly cleaning products — an act that not only introduced us to new market segments but also went hand-in-hand with our pledge to be friendly to the environment. 

“Freedom to innovate, freedom to grow, freedom to be true to our mission are priceless in this competitive world. The funding has enabled us to be flexible, and we were not forced to make some short-term decisions that may have acted as deterrents to our longer-term objectives. We maintained complete control of our operations, our talented employees were kept active and, when we came out of that period, we were stronger and more narrow-focused. 

“Financial freedom, in my case, is gaining the ability to defend your business idea and grow without compromises. The presence of such support has been critical in our process of negotiating obstacles, embracing opportunity and entrenching growth at the moment when we needed all the help.” 

Delbert Baron Lee 

President, Manufacturing Leader, soap and cleaning product expert and Business Growth Strategist of Wynbert Soapmasters Inc. 

Keeping Culture Alive 

“I will never forget the week we almost lost it all. When three major commercial projects suddenly got postponed in 2021, our runway disappeared overnight. Conventional investors had no interest in a boutique production house, and we didn’t want to water down our creative control. It was then that a short-term working capital loan bought us the time we needed to survive. We continued to keep our in-house cinematography staff on salary, we fulfilled all of our independent film commitments and we have even rolled out our director-in-residence program in what should have been our darkest hour. 

“That loan not only kept the lights on, but it bought us time to rethink our model. We combined departments and diversified our client base and invested heavily in branded content and docu-style storytelling, which turned into our calling card. 

“Later, when we saw an opportunity to grow into the world of original intellectual property (IP) development, we secured a type of financing that was new for us — a growth loan based on projected licensing revenues. That capital enabled us to hire a development producer, acquire rights to a niche memoir and put together a pitch deck that ultimately led to a coproduction deal with a streamer. 

“So, yes, financing has been both a lifeline and a launching pad. It kept us from being eaten up by a larger agency and allowed us to grow in size on our own terms. More importantly, however, it taught us that creative independence isn’t a matter of going it alone but of finding the right partners at the right time.” 

Andrew Cussens 

Owner, FilmFolk 

Scaling with Financing 

“My company encountered a significant barrier to growth even though our services were highly demanded. To jumpstart, I took a loan so we could develop new technology, inflate personnel and increase marketing. With this investment, we got the material to manage the new market and develop our courses. In its absence, we would have had a hard time catching up and we would not have had a chance to scale up. 

“The outcomes were instant: Our admissions boomed, and we acquired bigger and more profitable customers. What was more important is that the loan allowed us to be independent and not feel that we have to sell out on our vision. That funding opened up the potential growth that we required as we expanded rapidly, and this demonstrated that when a small business has the financial support, it can expand and remain successful long-term but not lose its identity.” 

Ben Richardson 

Director and Owner, Acuity Training 

Keep Growing. Keep Leading. Stay Independent. 

In the world of small business, independence is what you make it — but financing is often a key tool for keeping that freedom alive. It empowers business owners to stand out, take smart risks and operate on their own terms. A strong economy depends on strong small businesses, and those businesses rely on access to diverse, flexible financing to keep them going. So, when you take out a business loan or secure funding to boost your business, know that you’re not just signing on the dotted line — you’re investing in your freedom.