Hello All,

I’m a self-funded searcher who has been looking for a business to buy while also holding down a job in financial services. I’m at a point where I’m considering whether to leave the job and search for a business full-time (I’ve been looking for about two years and would like to start searching more aggressively, maybe with some proprietary work in addition to the brokered, BizBuySell-type deals I’ve been looking at; I’m in the up-to-$4mm size range). My plan is to largely finance with an SBA 7a loan. The events of the past few days in the banking sector have me a bit concerned about availability of financing in the event that the financial system continues to show upheaval. I know recessions can bring great buying opportunities from an acquisition standpoint, but I’m worried about leaving my job if lending is about to get very tight.

I’d be interested in any thoughts on how SBA 7a loan availability was in the###-###-#### timeframe — were deals getting done? I know that that time was different and that there are reasons to be optimistic that it won’t get that bad this time, and I also know that the search fund model was in a much different place then. But any guidance on SBA 7a loan availability in general would be greatly appreciated as I consider whether to take this career step at this time. Thanks in advance for any thoughts.