These days, business operators must be creative in finding funding solutions. Thankfully, they do not have to handle the entire process by themselves.

Curtis Gulka of Questor Financial is the trusted expert who can guide you to funding success. Some of the services Curtis offers:

• His experience in financing is pertinent to visualizing a solution for his clients. He has helped his clients finance everything from a baby grand piano to million-dollar pieces of equipment for farms and construction. 
• Creativity in financing–leasing companies provide the creativity that traditional financing sources cannot.
• More than just leasing – a wide spectrum of financing options is available for those businesses searching for a way to grow.

It’s important to understand that, in most cases, leasing is better than owning … for the following reasons:

• Traditional funders have prohibitive policies that non-traditional funders aren’t limited by. For example, when Curtis sold above-ground fuel tanks, they used to be difficult to finance because of their perceived environmental risks. He found leasing companies were able to step in and provide financing options where traditional funders could not.
• Cash flow management – typically, clients want to lease various types of equipment primarily to help manage cash flow.
• Tax benefit – being able to expense the lease payment against income is very important.
• Avoid obsolescence – equipment can quickly become out of date, and being able to trade up equipment on a lease is very important to avoid that obsolescence and stay current with technology.
• Customizable – when Curtis joined the leasing industry with a primary funder in 2002, he quickly realized the opportunities available. The ability to customize leases very specific to his clients’ requirements was a big win.

Pullout: What Curtis finds most rewarding is when he can connect his creativity with a funding package that matches his clients’ expectations.

Caption: Curtis Gulka, Western Sales Manager, Questor Financial Corp.

Working with a lease broker is preferable to using a primary lender, especially when that broker is a trusted, seasoned professional.

As a broker with Questor Financial, Curtis has access to 40 funding sources that specialize in certain industries, certain transaction sizes, and a variety of credit profiles. His creativity knows no boundaries.

He has access to a variety of funders depending on his clients’ credit strength. He can split up a deal by asset type, or by funder, providing a one-stop shop for his clients.

For example, when working solely for a primary funder, Curtis would have to decline a client if the funder did not have an appetite for leasing a particular asset, or if the primary funder had reached its maximum exposure with the client.

Now, Curtis can approach several funders to successfully meet his clients’ funding needs. If a client wants to finance grain bins and a semi-truck, but a lender does not finance vehicles, Curtis can broker a deal with one funder for the bins and another funder for the semi-truck. This prevents any one funder from exceeding its exposure limits with a client. By working as a broker, Curtis can package a deal in a manner that best meets everyone’s needs.

Creativity, indeed, is a key advantage in working with Questor. Some of the options available to Curtis’s customers and vendors:

• The sale leaseback – The client initially pays for the asset, then the funder buys the asset from the client and leases it back to them. Sometimes a client needs a piece of equipment before they have been able to arrange lease-financing. They can use credit or cash to pay for it up-front, then free up their cash or credit by arranging a sale leaseback. Sometimes a client purchases equipment from another country. Some funding partners require the equipment to be paid for and land in Canada free and clear. In this case, a client is approved in advance of them going across the border to get the equipment. On their return, a sale leaseback is completed.
• Vendor programs – Designed specifically to address financing availability for various assets or industries. Curtis can tailor programs specifically for a vendor’s requirements and the specific assets they sell.
• Working capital loans –  Created to manage cash flow when clients need very flexible and short-term financing, this financing is not always tied to an asset and may not need collateral. It is meant to provide interim financing for things such as inventory or unique one-time expenses. Most important for Curtis’s clients, it helps to preserve their existing banking. They don’t have to use their credit when it could be used elsewhere more effectively. The working capital options for repayment are often more flexible than a term loan and, again, are designed specifically for the clients’ needs at that time.

Customizing payment structures is another core benefit of working with Curtis. For example, for his golf course clients who do not typically generate income through the winter months, he can set them up with payments that are six-on/six-off to match their seasonality. The same theory applies to ski resorts or any business that would have a certain level of seasonality to their income. He can match payments to income.

In some cases, Curtis combines a working capital loan and leasing options for the same client. Perhaps the client needs a short-term, working-capital loan to get a new project underway and then requires a long-term lease option for equipment or machinery for the project.

Why Questor?

Questor is headquartered in Markham, Ontario with offices across Canada.Account managers – including in the case of Curtis – have decades of experience and expertise. But Curtis does not profess to be an expert in every industry; no one could be. With account managers with experience in every industry from fitness and hospitality equipment to agriculture, there is always someone who can make suggestions when it comes to problem solving for clients. Every industry has unique leasing requirements, and Questor brokers can speak confidently in all of these industries.

What Curtis finds most rewarding is when he can connect his creativity with a funding package that matches his clients’ expectations. Providing win-win solutions that lead to meaningful, long-term relationships is the ideal scenario. Becoming a trusted advisor to his clients is Curtis’s goal every day. For more information, contact Curtis at 306-220-96323