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Sean Murray: I want to ask you
about the Puerto Rican market,

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because you mentioned it a few
times. Right. And you I

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actually, this is this is not a
coincidence. This is not a

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coincidence.

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Sonia Alvelo: Yes, I love that.

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Sean Murray: Yeah. Underneath my
notes here, it's an article that

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you are you were cited it, you
were put in the story. This is a

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deBanked magazine issue for what
it is 2018, says it's back to

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business for alternative funding
in Puerto Rico.

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Sonia Alvelo: Yeah.

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Sean Murray: So 2018 Sonia was
mentioned in this particular

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story.

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Sonia Alvelo: Yeah.

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Sean Murray: And we've talked to
you about the Puerto Rican

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market over the years, a few
times.

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Sonia Alvelo: Yes, three times
you've been you know, I and

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thank you. That helped so many
businesses, and they follow you,

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by the way.

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Sean Murray: In Puerto Rico?

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Sonia Alvelo: In Puerto Rico.

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Sean Murray: I have a following?

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Sonia Alvelo: Yes, you got
followers in Peurto Rico because

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you know, what they like, it's
interesting, you know,

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everything that it's not only
about Puerto Rico it's about

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everything else about you know,
the industry. But this one, I do

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have it on my wall.

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Sonia Alvelo: I have it on my
wall inside, yeah I got a lot of

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Sean Murray: You have it on the
wall?

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things on my wall. But yes, you
are on my wall, twice.

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Sean Murray: Twice, okay.

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Sonia Alvelo: So you better come
to my office and see about

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yourself,

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Sean Murray: Okay, we're gonna
have to get this live stream on

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your wall. Yeah. All right, so
to talk to me about Puerto Rico.

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So you, you were born and raised
there, and you're doing business

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there, I imagine that requires
you to go there to do business,

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is that right?

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Sonia Alvelo: Yes. I came to
Connecticut, when I was 17, I

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believe, never moved out of
Connecticut loved it, you know,

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I fell in love with the city
with fell in love with

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everybody. Um, and when I
started doing funding in Puerto

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Rico, I started doing business
with that associations in Puerto

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Rico, let's say if it's a
pharmacy, they have an

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associations for everything,
every single industry. So my job

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at that time, I was like, okay,
so instead of calling everybody,

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you know, it's impossible, you
know, so I was like, you know,

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what, let me call the
association. So I call those

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associations I, now I'm members
with all of them. And believe it

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or not two of them, I'm the only
the first one bit Latina

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business, but located outside of
Puerto Rico, and they invite me

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to see the governor, they invite
me to go different events. Oh,

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my goodness, twice already.

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Sean Murray: You've taken
advantage of this?

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Sonia Alvelo: Absolutely. Yeah I
mean, they send me business and

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you know on special occasions,
they always send an invite. So

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in the summer pre COVID, I used
to travel probably four or five

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times a you know, between July
and September. That's the

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convention time. And now,
unfortunately, you know, it's

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online, but I can't wait for
next year because that's, that's

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where my money is. So yeah, but
they still send me a lot of

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referrals. So yes, I travel a
lot.

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Sean Murray: Okay, so who's
funding the actual businesses

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there? Is it lenders and funders
based in Puerto Rico? Or is it

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ones that are on the mainland?

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Sonia Alvelo: From here.

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Sean Murray: From here.

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Sonia Alvelo: Yes.

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Sean Murray: Okay. Are there are
there no lenders and funders in

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Puerto Rico?

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Sonia Alvelo: You know what just
add that, you know what I'm

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gonna answer that to you in the
next interview, because I do, I

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did receive an email really
interesting, and I was in a

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conversation last night, and he
may be a lender in Puerto Rico

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that wants to do business with
Latin Financial, so that I can

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not tell right now that's news,
news, so yeah.

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Sean Murray: I look forward to
that one.

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Sonia Alvelo: I know you're
gonna be the first one to tell

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you.

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Sean Murray: Okay. But that you
have to sit through two hours of

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traffic again, to get back here
and tell everybody.

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Sonia Alvelo: No, no, no, no, we
ain't gonna assume that day.

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Sean Murray: Okay.

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Sonia Alvelo: Just kidding.

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Sean Murray: All right, so we're
talking about lenders and

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funders based in the mainland
who are funding the businesses

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in Puerto Rico. Now, the
question I get all the time is

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who's funding there? So I get
the sense that there's, there's

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a hesitance or resistance to
funding businesses in Puerto

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Rico. And I wonder why that is?
What's the aversion using

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countered to funding businesses
in Puerto Rico? If you're not

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from here.

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Sonia Alvelo: No, it for some
reason, you know, when I started

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in 2015, there was one lender
who gave me the opportunity for

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some reason they have this this
wrong information in their

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heads. The Latino businesses in
Puerto Rico, they're under their

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own run the business the same as
here in US they pay taxes, they

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do the same things. So.

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Sean Murray: There part of the
United States. They're not a

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different country.

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Sonia Alvelo: No, not at all.

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Sean Murray: Okay.

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Sonia Alvelo: Oh, my goodness. I
get that question. A lot.

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Sean Murray: Do you, do you
really?

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Sonia Alvelo: Yes. Yes. It's
incredible. Do you you know, do

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you do you need a green card?
No, I'm part of the US. Wow.

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Okay, but that's for another
segment. Okay. Yeah, that's a

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long but um, yeah, for some
reason, they have this wrong

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information that you know, they
don't run the business of, you

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know, any other business. So, I
started in 2015. And I'm gonna

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say, Jordan, I love you. He did
amazing. Jordan. From

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Greenbacks.

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Sean Murray: Okay, I was like
who's Jordan?

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Sonia Alvelo: He owes me one
right now, but no, he, he took

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the chance with me. He, he
wasn't easy. He said no, like,

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15 times. But I was like, give
me give me give me the

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opportunity. Let me try it. And
let me tell you, you know, it's

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still five years, six years
later, we still together.

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Sean Murray: You're still
funding deals out in Peurto

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Rico?

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Sonia Alvelo: Yeah, absolutely.

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Sean Murray: It's worked. So
it's worked out?

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Sonia Alvelo: Yes. Okay. Oh, my
goodness. Yes. He never stopped.

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There's been situations in
Puerto Rico, obviously, Maria,

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the hurricane Maria.
Earthquakes, COVID, obviously,

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and we always have a good
communication, you know, send an

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email, hey, listen, we're going
to have to do something, there's

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a hurricane coming. We're going
to have a problem with the

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payments. So it's the
communication I think that word.

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So and obviously other ones, but
you're not going to say

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Greenbacks. And I can say,
McKenzie, I love your band. So

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those are the two of you. But
other ones, I'm not gonna

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mention it. Because, you know,
I'm still waiting for offers not

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not too happy.

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Sean Murray: Putting you on the
spot.

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Sonia Alvelo: No, not right now.
But yeah, for some reason that

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was back in the day now, and
thank you for your

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opportunities, because you're
everything that you've wrote

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about Latin Financial in Puerto
Rico, it did hit a few nerves,

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because I did call in good
because.

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Sean Murray: I don't want to
disrupt my following in Peurto

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Rico.

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Sonia Alvelo: You're okay,
you're better now, because

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you're with me. But don't they,
the lenders, they actually

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called me after that, hey,
listen, you know, what can we

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do? So it's a matter of
opportunities, opportunities,

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like this opportunities, you
know, for the broker's sphere. I

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can't wait, it's gonna be
amazing.

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Sean Murray: I'm gonna I'm gonna
ask you a little bit more about

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that at the end.

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Sonia Alvelo: Oh, God, I did got
drunk. I'm so sorry. No.

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Sean Murray: That's okay. That
that's what it's all about

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having a good time. Right? Yeah.

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Sonia Alvelo: Oh, my God. Yes, I
can't wait.

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Sean Murray: So you know, Puerto
Rico, given that it has a lot

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of, you know, weather related
events, there are the lenders

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and funders that you've worked
with, have they been

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understanding when say a
hurricane happens? Like, I think

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you mentioned like something
about like, hey, you know, a

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hurricane's coming, we got to do
something about the payments,

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like, what ,what is your
experience been with, because if

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they're? If they're typically on
the mainland, right? Are they

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understanding of the issues that
happened there? Like a hurricane

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or earthquake? Or what have you
experienced?

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Sonia Alvelo: I was really,
really nervous when that

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happened at the beginning. 2016,
2017 was really hard. I was

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really, really nervous. I was
like, how am I gonna do this? I

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mean, we talking about a lot of
merchants, that they calling me

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and they are calling me. This
is, this is the crazy thing it's

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happening, I'm here again in
Puerto Rico, and both merchants

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are worried how am I going to
pay this loan? You know, that's

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incredible. You know, and, you
know, I'm there listening and

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saying, okay, let me let me
handle this, let me contact the

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lender. So at the beginning,
yes, I was super worried now I'm

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not, you know, things happen and
you can control it, want to make

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sure that they are safe, that
they okay, first. And my

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lenders, they're super
understanding, I think we go

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back to the communication, if
you have a good communication

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with them, Sean is not even a
problem. Because they understand

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don't get me wrong, you know,
when it's, you know, two weeks

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pass or a week later, I'm gonna
make sure I'm gonna be on top of

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it. Right. And contact them and
make sure that they have the

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power, you know, okay, so you
back in business let's let's

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let's catch up paying. So is
communication, I think that uh,

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you know, if we, the lenders
they should have more

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communications with all the
brokers, it should be a better

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way to do business, you know, so
I do have it, and I'm welcome

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new lenders, as long as we have
a good communication, some other

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brokers or lenders, they don't
get along, for whatever reasons.

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But you know, hello. But, you
know, I am happy with the ones

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that I have. So as long as they
give me their problems, I'm

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fine.

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Sean Murray: What about the
banks down there? Because we

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talk about how in the US, you
know, banks aren't lending and

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not lending to small business
but what's the relationship?

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Traditional funding, yeah.
What's the what's the

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relationship you know, the
traditional lending relationship

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down in Peurto Rico?

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Sonia Alvelo: They don't they
don't want to they don't want to

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lend that they don't have the
money. Peurto Rico is not in a

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good situation. They know about
companies like us and don't get

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me wrong, they try to mimic the
programs but it's not gonna it's

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not gonna work. It got lenders
like a banks from over there,

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Sonia, God, you know, oh, my
goodness, this lesson Oh, my

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merchants they coming, you know,
and they declining, then?

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Sean Murray: The banks don't
have the money.

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Sonia Alvelo: They just either
don't have the money or they

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don't wanna lend the money. Wow,
okay. No, and people that

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they've been 20, 40 years and
they don't want to.

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Sean Murray: They won't to it.
They won't lend they haven't.

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They've had a relationship that
long and still won't do it.

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Sonia Alvelo: I don't know what
you know, it's a shift right

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now. Yeah. Wish I would know and
the things that I know I cannot

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say right now. I got invitations
you know pending so you know so

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I unfortunately they're going
through they need us they need

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companies like ours for like
Latin Financial they need Latin

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Financial and that's it to help
them, yeah