When the Industry Zigs, It’s Time to Zag: How Category Creation Wins in Commercial Finance Why Following the Crowd is a Shortcut to Obscurity In today’s commercial finance landscape, it’s tempting to benchmark success against the nearest competitor—better rates, faster approvals, lower fees. But this approach is a trap. It’s a race to the bottom that commoditizes your service, thins…
Why Thoughtful Exceptions Make Financing Exceptional In today’s market, many lenders lean on rigid scoring models and default decisions. But real businesses don’t run by algorithm—and neither do we. At SLS Financial, we believe that thoughtful exceptions and common-sense audibles are what set great financing partners apart from the rest. We don’t look for reasons to say “no.” We look…
5 Long-Term Career Paths in Business Lending As businesses grow, so does the demand for access to capital. The business lending industry plays a pivotal role in supporting entrepreneurship, innovation, and expansion across all sectors. For professionals seeking a rewarding and scalable career, business lending offers several distinct long-term paths—each with its own responsibilities, skill sets, and potential for advancement….
A Common-Sense Revolution: How SLS Built a 360° Commercial Credit Scoring Model That Thinks Like a Lender Rethinking Risk, Reclaiming Judgement At SLS Financial, we’ve long believed that smart lending goes beyond what credit reports and scorecards can show. In a space increasingly dominated by automation and rigid credit boxes, we built something different—something better. Our commercial credit scoring model…
Should You Repair or Replace That Equipment? How Equipment Financing and Leasing Can Help Make the Right Call When your equipment breaks down or becomes less reliable, it puts you at a crossroads: do you repair it again or invest in a new piece? The answer isn’t always straightforward. But by looking closely at the true cos
Why Rate Isn’t Always the Real Story: How Warren Buffett Helped GE Stay Afloat Capital in Crisis: A Real-World Example In late 2008, as the financial world teetered on the edge of collapse, even the most iconic American companies were struggling to stay liquid. General Electric—yes, that GE—wasn’t immune. With a massive finance division and a sprawling industrial empire, the…
Why Unified Financing Is Better—for Everyone Why Are We Still Fragmenting the Financing Experience? In today’s equipment finance world, it’s common to see brokers and equipment sales organizations piecing together a patchwork of lending options: A bank lender for prime credits An app-only lender for “speed” A lease-to-own partner for challenged customers A microticket specialist for small-dollar deals A story…
Money Is a Commodity — Value Is in the Process The Harsh Truth About Lending In today’s equipment finance landscape, it’s time to confront an uncomfortable truth: money is just a commodity. Capital, on its own, is not special. It’s not scarce. And for borrowers, it’s not hard to find. If you’re in the business of simply offering money, you’re…
Why Smart Businesses Finance Equipment Instead of Paying Cash Fueling Growth Without Draining the Tank When it comes to acquiring new equipment, many business owners default to a simple question: “Do we have enough cash in the bank to pay for it?” But that’s not the smartest question to ask. Instead, forward-thinking leaders ask: “How can I best deploy my…
No Such Thing as a Free Lunch: The Truth Behind 0% Equipment Financing Let’s say a manufacturer is dangling a shiny “0% financing” carrot in front of you for that brand-new machine. Sounds like a dream, right? No interest, no extra cost, no brainer! Well… not so fast. Because here’s the deal: there’s no such thing as a free lunch…
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