Business Funding in Fort Drum, NY

An Army post and the economy around it

Fort Drum is a U.S. Army military reservation and census-designated place in Jefferson County, near the western border of northern New York, and the 2020 census counted 15,896 people in the CDP. It is home to the 10th Mountain Division. The installation covers a very large area, and its mission includes command of units assigned there, support to active and reserve units from all services that train at the post, and planning and support for the mobilization and training of a large number of troops each year.

For a business owner, that means a customer base that moves in cycles of training, deployment and return.

How a military-driven customer base moves

Businesses serving service members and their families, such as restaurants, auto shops, barbers, child care, home services and small retailers, see demand rise and fall with the post's schedule. When a unit deploys, nearby spending can drop. When it returns, spending rebounds. These swings are hard to predict from a calendar and easy to see after the fact in a bank statement.

• Deployment gaps. Fixed costs continue when customers are away.
• Return surges. A rush of customers means extra stock and staff before the revenue arrives.
• Winter. The area's winters are severe, with temperatures that can fall as low as minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit, which affects heating, vehicle upkeep and foot traffic.

Where to look for businesses served

Because the base itself is a military reservation, most private businesses operate in the surrounding communities of Jefferson County. Watertown is the county seat. Alexandria Bay, Clayton and Cape Vincent are other nearby places in the county. If your business is in any of these communities, apply with your business address.

Reading your own cycle from the statements

If you have operated near the post for more than a year, pull the monthly deposits from your statements and mark the months when a large unit was away. The drop shows how exposed the business is to the cycle. Our review looks at about three months of statements, so the timing of your application matters: applying during a stronger stretch shows stronger deposits, but the request should still be sized so that you can carry the business comfortably through the next quiet period.

Terms

We fund from $25,000 to $5,000,000, and businesses that are approved can be funded in as little as 24 hours. FICO 500+ is considered. We ask for about three months of business bank statements and do not require tax returns. The application takes about five minutes and uses a soft credit pull. Sole proprietors can apply, which suits many veteran- and spouse-owned operations.

See Jefferson County and the North Country for the wider picture.