Michaela Schell Champions Small Business Dreams Through Gap Financing At Dakota Business Lending

Conrad Fargo reconnects with Michaela Schell, whose unique name has sparked many conversations over the years. Michaela shares her background in entrepreneurship, event planning, and direct sales before taking on her role at Dakota Business Lending. She explains what it means to be a nonprofit lender, how her organization provides gap financing, and why their mission is focused on supporting small business owners in North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Montana. Unlike traditional banks, Dakota Business Lending partners with local institutions to fill gaps when businesses have strong potential but lack collateral or meet unconventional needs. Their primary lending program works through the Small Business Administration, with loans serviced in-house so entrepreneurs have a local partner throughout the life of their loan.Michaela describes the importance of outreach, ensuring small businesses know about available resources, and highlights the value of having a strong board guiding a nonprofit lender’s mission. She explains how the lending process depends on underwriting that goes beyond flashy business plans and focuses on realistic financials, projections, and the ability of a business to succeed. The discussion touches on issues like working capital, debt consolidation, collateral requirements, and why new startups sometimes need education before they are loan-ready. Michaela also emphasizes how Dakota Business Lending provides advising after the loan, ensuring entrepreneurs have ongoing support to manage cash flow and build strong habits.The conversation dives into her leadership of the Entrepreneur District, a program at Dakota Business Lending that provides free office space and community for solopreneurs. Every year, around eight entrepreneurs are chosen to join a cohort of residents who collaborate, share expertise, and support one another. With desks located together in the Fargo office, they benefit from networking, shared problem-solving, and professional space to meet clients. Michaela highlights the importance of fostering an abundance mindset versus a scarcity mindset, showing how collaboration allows entrepreneurs to lift each other up rather than competing from a place of fear. This mindset, she explains, attracts positive people and clients who value generosity and community.Michaela also shares her personal story of creating the Limitless Conference for solopreneurs in 2020, an event derailed by the pandemic after more than a year of planning. Despite setbacks, that effort connected her with Dakota Business Lending, where her entrepreneurial background and passion for supporting small businesses made her the perfect fit to lead new initiatives. She describes how LinkedIn and timing led her to join the organization, expand their small loan program, and shape strategy to help startups and small operators who might otherwise struggle to secure funding.Throughout the episode, Conrad and Michaela reflect on networking, community, and the power of in-person human connections in an age dominated by screens and AI. They discuss the challenges solopreneurs face when navigating cash flow, the lessons learned from failures, and the opportunities that come from collaboration. Michaela’s husband, a mechanical engineer, provides grounding support as she pursues her vision of helping entrepreneurs thrive.