Anthony was a computer programmer by profession but he always had a passion for food and cooking. He was particularly interested in baking and for the longest time, had been playing with the idea of opening up his own bakery. Finally, one day in 2012, he asked his wife Theresa, who was a consultant in the same IT firm he worked at if she would be okay with the idea of him taking a break from work to try his hand at baking. He figured that with the family’s considerable savings, they can easily afford to subsist on one income, at least for a few months.

Being the supportive partner that she is, Theresa readily agreed and encouraged him to follow his passion. It was true that her salary could easily support their small family and besides, she also liked the idea of having their own family business. And so Anthony gave his two weeks’ notice and got ready to start a brand new chapter with a brand new career.

Learning the Ropes

Anthony knew how to bake and occasionally made cookies at home and even baked small cakes for special occasions. But in order to turn his passion into an income-generating venture, he knew he needed formal training. He signed up with the California Culinary Academy and worked towards his certificate in culinary arts. The entire program took 12 months to complete and cost him a little over $19,000 which he paid from his own pocket.

While still enrolled, Anthony also started taking orders for cupcakes and cookies from his local community. He didn’t really advertise his services but word spread that he had started baking and that he made the best chocolate chip cookies this side of town. At work, Theresa also proudly promoted her husband’s baking prowess and occasionally came home with some orders from Anthony’s former officemates. The income from these orders was irregular but they helped reimburse the tuition in some way.

Getting the Shop Ready

Equipped with a fresh culinary certificate with a specialty in baking, Anthony was eager to get his new business officially started. He had already decided to name his business “Alyana’s Sweet Treats” after their little girl who was four years old at the time. He had the money to rent a place and stock up his pantry but he would be digging far too deep in order to purchase all the equipment he would need. He knew he had to take out a loan of some kind to help ease the financing burden.

Anthony was aware that a bank loan would have been a really good solution because it would give him low-interest rates and a long repayment period, which would allow him more freedom in managing the funds for his new bakery operation. There was a problem though. A few years ago, Anthony made some poor financing decisions that caused his credit score to take a significant drop. Because of this, there was no way that he would be approved for a business loan, even by his own bank.

An SBA loan would have been wonderful as well because he fit the requirements almost to a tee except, once again, that his credit score did not make the cut. Theresa was more than willing to give him some money for his startup but Anthony wouldn’t have any of it. He was quite proud in that way and just wanted to be able to establish the business on his own terms.

Finding Funding Assistance

In a group chat with his culinary classmates, Anthony discovered that a couple of his fellow new bakers were going through similar problems. One of them shared that he was going to apply for restaurant equipment financing, as he had heard this can be the solution. Anthony took to the search engines and immediately read as much as he could about this type of financing. It looked promising and so he dug deeper until he landed on the website of the New York Tribeca Group.

His first thought was that it might not be the best lender for him since they were based on the opposite coast. But on the homepage, they were advertising “flexible funding to empower your business”. Well, that’s exactly what he needs, and they did have the restaurant equipment financing he was looking for. There was a very simple questionnaire on the home page where he had to input his desired loan amount, his time in business, and annual revenue.

It didn’t take long before a representative from the company called him up. Anthony thought the consultation would be intimidating, as he had never tried applying for a loan before, but it was all fairly simple. The customer service representative was very professional and very patient in explaining the different financial products they were offering that were applicable to his situation.

Equipment Financing

In the end, Anthony did get a good equipment financing program through the New York Tribeca Group. The loan allowed him to purchase all the hardware he needed for his start-up bakery. He invested in an amazing convection oven that would last for years to come, as well as a couple of mixers that would be essential for his bakery business. He was able to buy basically everything that he needed – a dough proofer, a dough sheeter, a refrigeration unit, a comfortable work table and even a fancy-looking display case where he can showcase his finished products for sale.

Repayment was not burdensome for him either, as he had initially feared. Through the guidance of the loan adviser who assisted him, Anthony was able to secure a competitive interest rate. The loan was also a short-term program so he was not going to be in debt for a long time. Things went swimmingly for a couple of years and his clientele steadily increased. In addition to the growing number of walk-in patrons, he was also receiving a higher volume of orders from all over the city.

Vehicle Loan to Handle Deliveries

Eventually, the orders grew too big for him to deliver with his Mitsubishi Mirage. All this time, Anthony was handling all the deliveries himself, which was not a problem because he actually liked being able to personally meet his clients. But the time came when he was desperately in need of a bigger vehicle.

This time, he knew exactly where to go. He had such a pleasant experience with the New York Tribeca Group the first time that he didn’t bother looking elsewhere. When he took out his first loan, the application process was very simple and very fast. He was approved for the funds within just a couple of days and the terms they offered were very much to his liking.

So in order to get the necessary funds to acquire his very first delivery van, Anthony called his old loan adviser, who was immediately able to hook him up with a suitable vehicle loan. Within days, he was able to purchase a van that proved instrumental in the further expansion of his bakery business. Once again, he did not have any problems with repayment. Besides, the additional income that he earned through the help of his new delivery partner basically covered the repayment amount.

Establishing an Online Presence

By 2019, Alyana’s Sweet Treats was really doing very well. In addition to having dozens of loyal customers, the place has also become quite a popular hangout for the local kids because it was quite close to the high school. Anthony had installed a small dine-in area where teenagers liked to gather for a quick bite after school, and it was always crowded. But then the pandemic struck and like every other establishment, Anthony was forced to stop operations.

It was really a good thing that food was still very much in demand despite the lockdowns. People still craved cakes and cookies. What he was not prepared for was the transition to an almost completely online setup. He did business the old school way and did not even have a proper website set up. He needed to drastically shape up his online presence if he wanted to flourish despite the ongoing pandemic.

Because of the uncertainty of the times, he didn’t want to dig into his savings. Luckily, Anthony had previously opened a business line of credit through the help of the New York Tribeca Group. He used these funds for buying a domain and hiring a professional website designer and soon enough, he had a striking presence that allowed him to continue doing business.

It has been almost a decade since Anthony dreamed of having his own bakery. The journey was not always easy but with his hard work, passion, determination, and the unwavering support of his loving wife, he was able to successfully pursue his passion. Of course, the financing programs that he had availed, and would continue to avail, through the New York Tribeca Group were indeed very instrumental toward his success.