Homeless Mom to Entrepreneurial Photographer

Business Wire, June 03, 2009

SBA Loan Will Market, Expand School Photo Business

SAN FRANCISCO -- Twenty years ago, Linda Russell was homeless and virtually penniless with two young kids living in a women’s shelter in Marin County. Divorced and bankrupt but not broken in spirit, Russell used her knowledge of photography and an idea to create unique portraits of kids into a growing business called Mugshots School of Photography. From one school in Marin County with 200 students in 1993, Russell and 12 contract photographers captured the images of 17,000 students last year at public and private schools in the Bay Area.

On June 3, Russell will appear with SBA’s San Francisco Director, Mark Quinn, to talk about her recent $300,000 loan from OneCalifornia Bank in Oakland. Her SBA-guaranteed loan will be used to market her company, expand its online presence, and perhaps franchise it to other parts of the country. With the recent passage of the American Recovery Act and provisions related to SBA lending programs, Russell was able to save over $8,000 in lender fees which she’ll put back into her San Rafael company.

“Instead of making decisions based on the short-time needs of today, I’ll have the capital to plan a strategy for the long-term growth of tomorrow,” says Russell. Her son, Jarreau Cross, 25, works with her in the company that’s been featured in Businessweek Online, Bay Area Parent Magazine and Professional Photographer Magazine. Three years ago, Russell was selected as one of 20 women entrepreneurs to win the Make Mine a Million Business Program award, which seeks to help a million women-owned businesses reach $1 million in annual revenue by 2010.

Russell and Quinn will appear with Robert Gebauer, senior vice president of OneCalifornia Bank, to discuss her loan and the provisions of the American Recovery Act which are helping to unlock the small business lending market at a press conference set for Wednesday, June 3, 12 p.m., at One California Bank, 1438 Webster Street, in Oakland.

Key items of the stimulus bill that are getting capital flowing to small businesses include the elimination and reduction of loan fees, increasing the guaranty on loans from 75% up to 90%, increasing funds for Microloans, doubling the Surety Bond Guarantee from $2 million to $5 million, and the introduction of a new SBA loan program up to $35,000 with a 100% guaranty for struggling small businesses that need help to make debt payments.

Release Number: 09-14