Bridge Loan Helps Winter Haven-based Lawyer Resume Business
Pobjecky & Pobjecky LLP of Polk County
Artie Renee Pobjecky, owner of Pobjecky & Pobjecky LLP, provides full scale legal immigration services in Winter Haven. Her focus is on family-based immigration, employment-based immigration, citizenship and naturalization, and deportation defense.
As Hurricane Irma ripped through Florida in September 2017, Pobjecky & Pobjecky experienced physical damage to its building, as well as economic loss from canceled appointments.
Seeking a way to get repairs and cleanup started while also maintaining operations, Pobjecky reached out to the Florida SBDC at University of South Florida, with an office located at the Lake Wales Administration Building.
Assistant Director, Carl Hadden, stepped her through the process of applying for a State of Florida Emergency Bridge Loan. The loan is interest-free and repayable within six months. It’s meant to help businesses bridge the gap between natural disaster and economic recovery.
When asked about her experience with the storm and the assistance received, she recalled:
What type of damage occurred?
As a result of Hurricane Irma, our 1915 office building suffered damage from some of the old trees that are planted in the office – the tree limbs fell down and lots of debris. Because of loss of electricity, we were closed for four days. We suffered damage because our clients were not able to come in.
How will the Bridge Loan help?
This Bridge loan is a life raft for us. We’re able to finish cleaning up the debris from the tree limbs. Fortunately, business is picking back up. People are now moving forward and rescheduling appointments so I’m able to make the payroll and take care of other necessities while business gets back to normal.
How was the Florida SBDC at USF helpful during this process?
The process was extremely easy. Because of the loss of power and so forth I forgot to make copies of my application so Carl was fabulous at helping me with all of that. I’m grateful that Florida SBDC was very patient with us as I was trying to get the office back up. I was able to ask questions the whole way and then, when needed, Florida SBDC was always there for me. It was a great partnership.
