June 24, 2026
The SBA's lending rule change is here, and the math is different than the headlines suggest. Also: what the new overtime threshold actually means for your payroll, a free cash flow tool worth bookmarking, and a note on the signals worth watching this quarter.
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The Brief
The SBA just raised its loan size limits — here's what changed
Effective this week, the Small Business Administration increased the maximum loan size for its 7(a) program from $5M to $6.5M, and introduced a new "small business express" tier capping at $500K with a 36-hour approval target. The agency says the changes are designed to make capital more accessible without overhauling the application process.
The practical change for most applicants: the new express tier looks like the old SBA Express product but with a higher ceiling and faster SLA. The 36-hour window is a target, not a guarantee — lenders still have discretion.
What this means for your business: If you've been sitting on an equipment purchase or buildout that needed $300–500K and didn't want the full 7(a) process, the express tier is worth a conversation with your bank. The ceiling increase matters more for businesses looking at acquisitions or real estate — that's where the $5M cap was genuinely limiting.
The new overtime rule lands July 1. Here's what it actually changes.
The DOL's updated overtime threshold takes effect July 1, raising the salary floor for exempt employees from $35,568 to $43,888 annually. Employees earning below that amount must receive overtime pay for hours worked above 40 per week, regardless of their title or job duties.
The rule was announced in April and survived a pair of court challenges. It's going into effect. There's also an automatic escalation clause built in — the threshold adjusts every three years starting in 2027.
What this means for your business: Pull your salary list now. Anyone between $35,568 and $43,888 who you've been treating as exempt needs to be reclassified as hourly and tracked for OT, or bumped above the new threshold. Most businesses have two weeks. If you have five or more people in that band, this is the highest-priority HR item on your list right now.
Three signals from the last two weeks worth holding onto
Nothing that warrants a pivot, but things worth clipping: consumer confidence slipped for the third straight month per the Conference Board's June index; freight volumes on the spot market are up 11% year-over-year, suggesting supply chains are normalizing but demand is uneven; and the Fed held rates again, with the September meeting carrying more weight as a signal of direction.
What this means for your business: The freight signal matters if you're buying inventory — prices are settling. The confidence dip matters if you're in consumer-facing B2C or hospitality. The Fed hold means financing costs stay where they are, which is fine if you're planning a capital purchase and waiting for rates to drop before pulling the trigger.
On the Radar
A federal appeals court ruled last week that non-compete clauses are unenforceable in four additional states, bringing the total to 17. This isn't the national ban the FTC tried to push through — it's patchwork, and it depends on which state law governs your contracts. If you've got non-competes in your offer letters, it's worth an employment attorney review.
Worth Using
Fathom — AI meeting notes that actually capture decisions and action items, not just a wall of transcript. Free tier covers most small teams.
Relay.app — Workflow automation that sits between your tools without requiring you to be a Zapier power user. Good for onboarding, client intake, or invoice follow-up sequences.
Pilot — Outsourced bookkeeping starting around $499/month. If you're still doing your own books, the pricing is competitive and the handoff process is clean.
That's it for this week. If you found this useful, the most helpful thing you can do is forward it to one business owner who'd get something out of it. See you Thursday if you're on the Michigan list.
Worth reading: The Diff covers the macro signals behind the freight data in more depth than we could here — good read if you want the fuller picture on what supply chain normalization means for small manufacturers.