Small businesses serve as hubs for job possibilities for locals and opportunities for entrepreneurs. Small firms play an essential role in local economies, contributing to developing interconnected financial systems that promote prosperity. Such firms are better able to build a flourishing local business community when they make the most of their ability to help one another. It emphasizes for banks and politicians the significance of promptly delivering money to firms and streamlining operations to maximize economic stimulus. Delays in helping small businesses during challenging times can adversely affect their performance and the economy’s productivity.
Several companies help small businesses, but not all may be reliable. John Shen started his journey of becoming a parallel entrepreneur in 2009 when he founded the American Lending Center (ALC). This small startup grew into one of the most successful non-bank small business lending institutions in the US, with revenues exceeding $100 million in 2021. The Small Business Administration (SBA) program co-funds loans with banks to aid small firms. ALC is the only small business lender that combines the SBA loan programs with the federal government’s EB-5 program, which generates foreign investment in the US. ALC represented an innovation in financial engineering. It runs a nationwide operation to channel foreign investment into US small firms and has emerged as the industry’s most significant nonbank player in the EB-5 sector.
The Treasury Department and the Small Business Administration (SBA) also gave ALC permission to finance loans for the government’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) during the COVID-19 outbreak. ALC is among the top 50 PPP processors in terms of total number of funded loans. It had funded approximately 30,000 PPP loans across all fifty states by the time the program expired in the summer of 2021.
Numerous university students demonstrated in China in 1990 to call for more favorable economic conditions and democratic reforms. Shen participated in a hunger strike with little to no effect on the government. He decided he could not live in China and started applying to American graduate schools. Since the average Chinese individual did not have computer access, the application procedure was complex. He had to travel to a large local library to examine the printed catalogs produced by American colleges. He received free tuition offers from multiple universities in his first year of applying, but not the living expenditures he needed to cover while living overseas in his first try in 1992.
In the summer of 1992, Shen accepted a position as a paralegal at a Beijing law company after four years of study at Peking University Law School. The next year, a record was achieved in Beijing when he was accepted with full scholarships to 11 universities. He became well-known among students who were applying to institutions in the US. Other kids and families submitting applications for admission and scholarships overseas invited him to speak to them. He once addressed more than 1000 people at the National Library of Beijing’s main auditorium. John Shen later met students who had seen him talk while living in the US at that lecture.
In the summer of 1993, Shen finally came to the US. He first arrived in Los Angeles and spent time with his older brother, a Chinese instructor at Pomona College. He experienced severe culture shock when he first started living in Los Angeles.
Upon arrival at the Duke University, Shen shared a two-bedroom apartment with a Ph.D. student from Germany while attending a Sociology PhD program. He changed his mind and enrolled in Duke’s master’s program in statistics and decision sciences after deciding he no longer wanted to pursue a sociology Ph.D. In May 1996, he earned his master’s degree. Shen struggled to find his first job despite having a master’s degree in statistics and decision sciences.
Duke University significantly influenced Shen’s life, and he decided to return the favor. He volunteered in 2009 as a member of the Alumni Admissions Advisory Committee (AAAC). This group interviews candidates from around the world to assist with undergraduate admissions. He worked on AAAC China during this time while frequently visiting China for business purposes and interviewing potential students all around the country. He became the Chair of the AAAC China committee in 2013. He received the renowned “Forever Duke Award” in 2015, which is only granted to a select few people yearly.
Substantial evidence supports the idea that small and medium enterprises are significant engines of prosperity that contribute to creating jobs. Small business owners and managers must act urgently and cautiously to navigate the challenging business environment, especially after the pandemic. The owners of large-scale businesses and people who can help small startups must come to the front to support the cause.
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