In order to receive j-ref financing, does my business have to
be located in Howard County? Yes. To qualify for j-ref financing,
your business must be in Howard County. As an owner you are not
required to live in Howard County, but your business must be located
here.

When should I approach j-ref for a loan request? j-ref offers
financing for businesses in Howard County that are unable to receive
a portion or all of their financing from traditional sources, such as
banks and other financial institutions.

I want to start my new business, but I'm not quite ready to
leave my current job. Can I receive j-ref financing and still work full time at my old job? No. j-ref requires that all qualified businesses be full time, for profit ventures. That means business owners applying for j-ref financing have to work at their business full time. They cannot be holding full time jobs elsewhere.

How extensive a business plan must I give j-ref in order to apply for financing? j-ref requires a completed and comprehensive business plan. If you don't have a completed business plan or you need assistance to develop one, j-ref can point you to a variety of Howard County resources including SCORE volunteers, the Business Resource Center and the Small Business Development Center. All three organizations can help business owners write comprehensive business plans, and all three are conveniently located in the Center for Business & Technology Development on Bendix Road in Columbia, the same facility that
houses j-ref.

What is the maximum amount of financing that j-ref will approve, and what kind of financing does j-ref offer? j-ref will make loans of up to $250,000. j-ref provides ONLY term loans to emerging businesses. We do not offer revolving lines of credit. Our term loans are available for a period of up to seven (7) years. Our goal is to provide you with the ability to grow your business so you can graduate from our program and be 'bankable' to traditional financial institutions as quickly as possible.

How long does the approval process take? Every loan application must be approved by j-ref's Board of Directors. On the first Wednesday of every month, the Board meets to examine new applications. The applications must be accompanied with all the other necessary documents, including a business plan, in order to be considered. The approval process usually takes between one and two months, depending upon when you submit your completed application and documents.

Does my business have to be a certain size or have a minimum number of employees to qualify for financing? Business size is not as important to j-ref as your business' ability to create new jobs. Job creation is our primary emphasis. We want to help entrepreneurs realize their dreams of creating their own businesses. Most of all, we want to help your business succeed so it can directly create new jobs in Howard County.

Is j-ref a government agency? j-ref is a private, stand alone, not-for-profit loan fund. Although we are a private organization, we do receive grant money and support from Howard County Government. We also administer Howard County Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) loans for the Howard County Office of Housing & Community Development.