A county shaped by the Navy and the Marines
San Diego has a long association with the United States Navy, and the largest sectors of its economy include military and defense-related activities. San Diego hosts the largest naval fleet in the world; in 2008 it was home to 53 ships, over 120 tenant commands, and more than 35,000 sailors, marines, Department of Defense civilian employees and contractors. The county also includes Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, the major West Coast base of the Marine Corps, along the coast near Oceanside. Several defense contractors were started and are headquartered in San Diego, including General Atomics, Cubic and NASSCO.
The county's civilian economy leans on that presence: about 5 percent of all civilian jobs are military-related, and 15,000 businesses in San Diego County rely on Department of Defense contracts.
Who counts as military-adjacent
Most of those 15,000 businesses are not household names. They are the vendors and subcontractors who serve the base, the fleet or the prime contractors:
- Machine shops and fabricators supplying parts to larger defense manufacturers.
- Facilities, janitorial, landscaping and maintenance companies working on or near installations.
- Food, uniform, print and office suppliers.
- IT, engineering and administrative contractors.
- Local shops serving service members and their families, such as auto repair and child care.
Why payment cycles run long
| Step | Effect on a small vendor |
|---|---|
| Award or order | Work may need to start before every approval is final |
| Delivery or performance | Payroll and materials are paid immediately |
| Invoice and acceptance | Paperwork must match exactly, or payment waits |
| Prime contractor pays you | Often after the prime itself is paid |
For illustration only: a subcontractor that bills $60,000 a month and is paid at 60 days carries about $120,000 of costs at any time.
What a request can cover
Vendors commonly use working capital to cover payroll while an invoice is in review, to buy materials for a larger order, to add a crew for a new site, or to cushion a gap when a contract renews late. Equipment needs may fit equipment financing, and operating needs fit working capital.
We fund $25,000 to $5,000,000, with funding in as little as 24 hours after a complete file. FICO 500+ is considered, about three months of business bank statements are requested, and no tax returns are required. The application takes about five minutes with a soft credit pull. Sole proprietors can apply. Our trucking page may also be useful for suppliers who haul their own goods. Apply here.
Habits that help a base-area vendor
Vendors who weather long payment cycles usually track each invoice from submission to payment, keep documentation complete so nothing is rejected on a technicality, and keep a short list of how long each prime or agency actually takes to pay. They also avoid concentrating all of their revenue in a single customer where they can. When a funding need arises, it is far easier to explain a specific, time-limited gap than a general shortage.