Fund your Wyoming business

When your own money is not enough, start with a no-cost advisor, then read which program actually lends. The Wyoming Business Council’s financing page says it cannot put state money straight into a private business. Several programs on the next page are written differently. Regular SBA loans come from a lender. The SBA itself lends after a declared disaster, and only if you qualify.

What’s different in Wyoming

• Advising is free. The SBDC homepage says its business advising is free and confidential.
• Most Council loans need a partner. A few are written as direct. Read the program, not the overview sentence alone.
• The named grants are narrow. One is a pitch competition, paused until further notice⁶. One pays for selling outside Wyoming. One matches a federal research award you already have.
• One SBA office covers the state. It is in Casper and serves all 23 counties¹⁰.

Do this

1. Write down what you need and what it is for. Equipment, a cleanup, a trade show outside Wyoming, and the first payroll are different asks. Kickstart, the Market Expansion Grant, and a bank loan do not pay the same things.
2. Book advising. The Wyoming SBDC offers free, confidential business advising, and it describes the services as no-cost, confidential business services¹. The training page marks some events free. Check an event’s own page for its price before you register.
3. Use the SBA office. The Wyoming District Office, at 150 E. B St., Room 1011, Casper, offers funding programs, counseling, federal contracting certifications, and disaster recovery for all 23 counties¹⁰.
4. Understand who lends the regular SBA loans. 7(a) loans are delivered by lenders, not by the SBA¹². The SBA loans guide explains who makes each kind.
5. Read the Council loan list before you assume a bank has to be involved. The financing page says the Council cannot loan or grant state funds directly to a private business, and every loan program needs a partner³. The loan list then names these:
   • Partnership Challenge Loan: a match with a local economic development organization. The state portion has to be secured, cannot exceed $500,000, and the term is at most 10 years⁴. The business is the third-party borrower. The partner is a local economic development organization.
   • Partnership Bridge Loan: beside a local lender, up to 35% of the project and at most $1,000,000⁴, in a shared note with that lender.
   • Partnership Guaranteed Loan: beside a commercial lender on a federally guaranteed loan, up to 50% of the note and at most $2 million⁴.
   • Main Street participation: beside a local lender, for a building owner improving a historic building, up to 75% of the loan and at most $100,000⁴.
   • Economic Disaster Loan: after the Council approves an economic disaster declaration, the affected business may apply for a direct Challenge loan of its actual dollar loss⁴. The declaration comes first.
   • Natural gas fueling stations: a direct loan to install a natural gas filling station for vehicles⁴.
   • Large Project Loan: a loan from the State Treasurer for buildings or equipment that add economic value in Wyoming⁴. The rules are on rules.wyo.gov. The loan list does not print a loan maximum.* Ask the Business Council for the current terms before you apply.
   • Value-added agriculture: the bank is the applicant and the producer is the beneficiary. The page says the money cannot fund working capital, production expenses, or refinancing.
   • Brownfields: loans for private developers and citizens, and sub-grants for towns, cities, and counties, to clean up contaminated sites⁹. That is cleanup money, not opening-day cash.
6. Read the grant pages the same way. The grants page says the Council is not able to grant state funds directly, and that there are some exceptions for very specific situations⁵. The programs behind those links:
   • Kickstart is paused until further notice. When it runs, it offers between $5,000 and $50,000 per award, with no repayment, and the page says a participant can leave without a grant. The business has to be founded in Wyoming, planning to stay at least three years, no more than 25 employees, at least half of them Wyoming residents, and aiming at markets outside Wyoming. Also, one founder has finished an accelerator, been a finalist in a pitch competition, sold a previous business, or closed a previous venture-backed business⁶. The page describes one competition cycle a quarter: five semifinalists pitch, and three finalists go on. The Governor’s office approves the amounts.
   • The Market Expansion Grant helps a private Wyoming for-profit business expanding into markets outside the state. The page says a Wyoming filing and a registered agent are not enough. The business has to have a physical presence in Wyoming. Lodging help is up to $100 a night for up to 10 room nights, and meals are not covered. Also, retail businesses are on the ineligible list⁷. A shop opening in town is not the reader this grant describes.
   • The SBIR match is for a company that already has a federal Phase I or Phase II SBIR or STTR award. Phase I can be matched up to $100,000. Phase II can be matched up to $200,000⁸.
7. Keep your paperwork ready. Lenders and the Council ask for formation documents and an EIN. Several programs also want the company in good standing: Register your business and Get your tax IDs.
8. After a declared disaster, the SBA can lend directly. Disaster assistance offers low-interest loans the SBA makes after a declared disaster, to repair damage or cover costs the disaster kept you from paying, and only if you qualify¹¹. Check the declaration and the loan type before you apply.

What you get back

An appointment with an advisor, and a clearer picture of which program fits the ask. A loan decision comes only if you qualify, from the Council or the Treasurer on a direct program, or from a lender on the others. When Kickstart runs, an application can end with feedback and no award. These pages do not promise a finished plan or an approval.