Frio County sits along Interstate 35 southwest of San Antonio, with a bilingual customer base and small, owner-run shops. Apply in five minutes.
Apply Now →Frio County lies southwest of San Antonio, with Pearsall as its county seat and Dilley as the other city. The census-designated places of Bigfoot, Hilltop, Moore and North Pearsall and the community of Derby fill out the map. It was created in 1858, organized in 1871, and named for the Frio River, whose name is Spanish for "cold." The 2020 census counted 18,385 people, with roughly half living in urban areas and half in rural ones. About 77 percent of residents identified as Hispanic or Latino, so serving customers in both Spanish and English is part of daily business for many shops.
The county is crossed by Interstate 35 and U.S. 57, with State Highways 85 and 173 and several farm-to-market roads connecting the smaller communities. Business routes of I-35 run through both Pearsall and Dilley. For a gas station, a restaurant, a tire shop, a motel or a truck-parts counter, the highway is a steady, unpredictable stream of customers: many are strangers who stop once.
That kind of traffic rewards a shop that is open, stocked and clean at the moment someone needs it. It also means that a closed fryer or an empty parts shelf has a direct cost on the same day.
| Type of business | Cost that comes first | Money that comes later |
|---|---|---|
| Roadside food and fuel | Inventory, payroll, utilities | Sales that rise and fall with traffic and weather |
| Ranch, farm and feed supply | Stock bought ahead of the season | Payments from customers when crops or livestock sell |
| Contractors and trades | Crew, fuel and materials | Customer payment at completion or in draws |
| Family-owned retail and service | Rent and wages | A thin but regular daily register |
The median age was 33.0 in 2020, and about a quarter of residents were under 18. A younger community tends to mean families starting households, buying vehicles, renting, and using local services. It also means more households stretched by the cost of growing a family, so a small shop may extend credit or wait longer for an invoice from a customer it knows.
That kind of generosity is part of what keeps a small town running, and it also turns the owner into the bank. Working capital lets the shop keep that goodwill without missing its own payroll.
For illustration only, picture a Pearsall tire and repair shop that wants a $40,000 alignment machine and a larger tire inventory. The shop is busy, but the cash from today's jobs is already spoken for by rent, payroll and parts. These invented numbers show the timing; they are not terms we offer or outcomes to expect. Funded, the machine allows the shop to take jobs it currently turns away.
The application takes about five minutes. The credit check is a soft pull. Sole proprietors can apply, and funding runs from $25,000 to $5,000,000, with funds arriving in as little as 24 hours. Apply now.
Yes. The application is online and takes about five minutes, so you can complete it from the shop or on your phone.
Sole proprietors can apply. The credit check is a soft pull.
No. The credit check is a soft pull.
Common uses include payroll, inventory, equipment and repairs. Describe your purpose in the application.
Funding can arrive in as little as 24 hours after approval.
Three months of business bank statements and a 5-minute application. FICO 500+ considered. $25,000 to $5,000,000, funded in as little as 24 hours.
Apply Now →It takes about two minutes and it will not affect your credit score.
No obligation • No impact to your credit score
