Starway Business Loans, a small-business funding broker in Valdosta, GA, works with four sectors: construction, restaurants, medical and dental practices, and retail. This page sets Lowndes County Census counts for each beside the funding structures that suit its cash cycle. Lending partners make every credit decision and set rates and terms; agriculture and trucking are not covered.
Sector and structure at a glance
| Sector | Lowndes County employers (2023) | Structures that often fit |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | 227 | Working capital, line of credit, equipment financing |
| Restaurants and other eating places | 230 | Equipment financing, working capital, term loan for a rebuild |
| Medical and dental practices | 271 ambulatory health care | Equipment financing, term loan, working capital |
| Retail trade | 512 | Inventory financing, line of credit, equipment financing |
Source for counts: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023. We do not handle agriculture or trucking requests.
Construction and the trades
Lowndes County had 227 construction employer establishments in 2023, more than half of them (52.4 percent) with fewer than five employees. Specialty trade contractors made up 138 of them and builders 70. A further 871 construction businesses ran with no paid employees in 2024 (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023; U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2024). Residential building permits covered 863 new units in 2023, 899 in 2024 and 804 in 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey).
Contractors usually pay crews and suppliers before a general contractor or homeowner pays them, so the gap between the two drives most requests. Sizing working capital for a Lowndes County contractor works through the arithmetic.
Restaurants and food service
The county counted 246 food service and drinking place employers in 2023, 230 of them restaurants and other eating places with 5,688 paid employees between them (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023). Only 52 of those restaurants had fewer than five employees, so most run sizable crews and payrolls.
Kitchen equipment, refrigeration and the occasional rebuild are the large costs. Financing a commercial kitchen in Valdosta, GA covers what to lease, what to buy and how installation is paid for.
Medical and dental practices
Ambulatory health care, which includes physician and dental offices, had 271 employer establishments in Lowndes County in 2023, and the wider health care and social assistance sector paid $386.4 million in wages, more than any other sector. Medical and dental practice financing covers clinical equipment, build-outs and claims-cycle cash.
Retail and wholesale
Retail is the county's largest sector by count, with 512 employer establishments in 2023, 244 of them with fewer than five employees. Wholesale trade added 130. Stock bought ahead of sales is the defining cost, which is why inventory financing and credit lines come up so often. What inventory really costs to carry helps decide whether borrowing for stock pays.
The full county profile is on the Lowndes County picture.
By Starway Business Loans · Updated