The Small Business Administration (SBA) was established in 1953, but it took 57 years for self-storage borrowers to become eligible for its lending program. In 2010, the SBA announced it would grant banks the ability to provide its loans to our industry. At the time, many facility owners didn’t have the funds to build or buy existing properties. This announcement allowed those with strong cash flow, positive feasibility studies and business experience to qualify for loans that are partially guaranteed by the government.