SBDC Central California Regional Capital Access Center
The Central California Small Business Development Center Regional Network provides expert guidance to help small businesses access the capital and funding needed to start and grow a business.
The Challenge
Many business owners:
- Don’t know how to approach lenders or investors.
- Unknowingly trap themselves high-risk financing options.
- Don’t know what type or amount of capital or funding is appropriate or available to them.
- Need to know that improperly structured financing can make or break a business.
The Capital Access Center
We’re your connection to finding business capital. We provide no-cost advising and practical tools to help companies find funding at every stage of their business. We can provide assistance to small businesses with:
- Expanding beyond loans to explore and identify alternative funding options.
- Improving success in securing funding.
- Evaluating existing financial structure and making recommendations to reduce risk and improve cash flow.
Financing & Funding Options
Many entrepreneurs and small businesses often think that funding principally comes in the form of a loan. Yet in today’s financing arena, there actually are many different options that can be considered. Some examples:
- Lines of Credit
- Term Loans
- Asset-Based Loans
- SBA Guaranteed Loans
- USDA Guaranteed Loans
- State of CA Guaranteed Loans
- Venture Capital
- Owner Equity
- Angel Investors
- Friends and Family Offerings
- Crowd Funding
- Incubators and Accelerators
- Local
- Regional
- National
- Purpose Specific
- Industry Specific
Business Support
If you are an entrepreneur or existing business owner interested in receiving free, confidential one on-one advising on issues related to capital access and business funding, please contact the Central CA SBDC Network Service Center nearest you.
Roger Gilbert, CAC Center Director
Roger Gilbert serves as Director of the Central California Regional Capital Access Center, where he leads the launch and expansion of capital access services across the SBDC Central California Regional Network. Previously, he was Executive Director of the Central Coast SBDC for Monterey and San Benito Counties. He also contributes to regional economic development through leadership roles with California Coastal Rural Development Corporation Loan Committee, and the Workforce Development Boards of both Monterey and San Benito Counties.
Roger brings more than three decades of experience in finance, lending, and small‑business leadership. Before joining the Central CA SBDC network, he built and led Government Guaranteed Lending groups at two Community Banks, with senior roles in business banking and investment management. He founded and operated companies in multiple industries, developing an understanding of the challenges of small businesses. Roger holds an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and a B.S. in Business Administration from USC.