Coralie Myers and Pat Johnson, of Spokane, along with Lisa Lerner, of Phoenix, have formed a new national company here called SBA Simplified LLC, with the goal of advising lenders on how best to use new lending software. 

The U.S. Small Business Administration provides loans, loan guarantees, contracts, counseling sessions, and other forms of assistance to small businesses. 

Having worked together as consultants in the development of the SBA’s new online lending platform called SBA One, the three women decided to form their own company. Myers says they have more than 100 years of combined SBA lending experience.

 “SBA has been working on creating this platform for three years,” says Myers. “I was contacted by the vendor to be the subject matter expert on the project. I brought in Pat and Lisa as I’d worked with them before.”

That vendor, The Bank of New York Mellon corporation, also known as BNY Mellon, is a multinational banking and financial services corporation. BNY Mellon worked to create the software for SBA One, hiring Myer and her colleagues as temporary employees and primary consultants on the project.   

Myers says in working to create SBA One, the three women realized they had developed a better-than-average understanding of SBA’s standard operating procedures. 

“We saw that we had an advantage by knowing this material so well and we could use that knowledge to teach lenders around the country,” says Myers.

Myers is owner of a separate company, SBA Business Solutions Inc., which has been in operation here since 2009. Lerner also owns a separate, Arizona company, Enhanced Consultive Solutions LLC. Johnson is an attorney for Advocates Law Group PLLC here in Spokane. 

Both Myers and Johnson used to work for SBA as consultants, Myers retired in 2005 after 28 years. She then went on to work for a bank here for five years. 

“I’ve worked for both a lender as well as an agency,” she says. “Having that background allows me to translate things much easier.”

Myers says that all SBA lenders soon will be required to use SBA One for processing, servicing, and liquidation of SBA loans. 

“They’re going region by region right now, allowing lenders to get a feel for it,” says Myers. “My best guess is that Region 10, which includes Spokane, will be using SBA One by the middle of next year.”

SBA One works by asking applicants a series of initial questions that then are used to determine the type of loan they are eligible for and whether it meets SBA requirements. 

“Lenders know lending, but we know SBA,” says Myers. “They don’t have time to read every new 400-page manual that comes out, but we stay up to date on those changes and are able to help lenders get things processed a little easier.” 

The goal of SBA Simplified is to assist lenders in understanding the SBA lending process, terminology, requirements, and the reasoning behind them. SBA Simplified offers loan consulting, training and SBA file reviews. 

“We want to use our experience to share with lenders all the help available in the program that they may not be aware of,” says Myers.

In addition to its clients in Washington and Idaho, SBA Simplified also does business nationwide in such states as Florida, Illinois and Arizona.

SBA Simplified training includes one-on-one, onsite, and group seminars. The training is in person and can be lender specific. Webinars also can be tailored to each institution’s needs.  SBA Simplified offers both hourly and monthly consulting pack-ages, as well as billing specific to the project. Myers declined to disclose the company’s rates. 

Although the company has a Spokane Valley mailing address, SBA Simplified does not have a set office location. Myers and Lerner both work from home offices, while Johnson works from an office downtown at 422 W. Riverside. 

“Our clients are lenders, banks and credit unions,” says Myers. “Because we usually meet with them at their offices, a storefront location is unnecessary for our business.”

Myers even bought a motor home this year that will enable her to travel around the country doing bank training.

 “It’s really an ideal job. I can work on the road as well as locally,” she says.

Myers says along with the owners, SBA Simplified oc-casionally uses temporary staffing for larger events or projects. 

“We have the ability to hire assistants for seminars or administrative tasks, and that is something we may consider more of in the future,” she says. “We don’t need a lot of overhead. We’re strictly a service business, providing training and trying to stay flexible and responsive to the industry.” 

Myers says technology enables the business to interact with clients all over the country. 

“We each have very diverse service areas,” she says. “Our individual companies keep their clients, but all consulting is done by SBA Simplified. Lenders often need answers promptly and through technology they’re always able to reach one of us.” 

Myers says SBA Simplified is working on a marketing push that it plans to present at a National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders (NAGGL) conference this month. 

“There will be over 850 SBA lenders from across the country there,” she says. “We’ll mostly be focusing on Web training.”