No two trades in Lee County, FL pay their bills on the same calendar. These pages and notes cover more than thirty kinds of Lee County, FL business: what each may need funding for, and which funding type fits its cash cycle.
Materials and crews paid before the draw.
Construction business loans in Fort Myers, FL: contractor loans, lines of credit, equipment financing and Lee County building figures for builders and trades.
Landscaping equipment financing in Fort Myers, FL: mowers, zero-turns, trailers and trucks, lawn care business loans and Lee County landscaping counts.
Lee County, FL had 945 residential building contractors and 107 nonresidential builders with paid employees in 2023 (CBP 2023, NAICS 2361 and 2362). 73.2% of the home builders had fewer than five employees. Builders carry materials and subcontractor bills between draws, which is what a line of credit or working capital covers; site equipment fits equipment financing. Partners read the draw schedule and the contract.
Building finishing contractors, which include drywall, painting, flooring and tile, counted 916 employers in Lee County, FL in 2023, with 5,494 paid employees (CBP 2023, NAICS 2383). 74.9% had fewer than five employees. Finishing crews are paid near the end of a job, after buying materials up front, so working capital and lines of credit fit; sprayers and lifts can be financed as equipment.
Lee County, FL had 550 plumbing, heating and air conditioning contractors and 318 electrical contractors with paid employees in 2023 (CBP 2023, NAICS 238220 and 238210). Plumbing and HVAC payroll came to $390.4 million, about $65,864 per employee (our arithmetic). Service vans, stocked parts and equipment are the main purchases; vans fit equipment financing and parts fit a line of credit.
Roofing contractors numbered 123 employers in Lee County, FL in 2023, with 3,118 paid employees (CBP 2023, NAICS 238160); other specialty trade contractors added 411 (NAICS 2389). Roofing payroll per employee was about $63,113 (our arithmetic). Materials bought ahead of a job and crews paid weekly point to working capital or a line; trucks, trailers and lifts fit equipment financing.
Stock bought before it sells.
Business loans for retail in Fort Myers, FL: retail business funding, inventory loans, furniture and liquor store financing, with Lee County store counts.
Boutique business loans in Fort Myers, FL: clothing store financing, inventory loans for a boutique, lines of credit, with Lee County clothing store counts.
Pharmacy loans in Fort Myers, FL: pharmacy working capital, equipment financing, buying a pharmacy, with Lee County health and personal care store counts.
Grocery store financing in Fort Myers, FL: grocery store loans, lines of credit, coolers and equipment, buying a store, with Lee County grocery counts.
Lee County, FL had 157 furniture and home furnishings stores, 171 building material and garden supply dealers and 82 convenience stores with paid employees in 2023 (CBP 2023). Each holds stock that has to be bought before it sells, so inventory financing and lines of credit fit. The retail page covers all three. Building material and garden dealers employed 4,947 people in 2023 (CBP 2023).
Gasoline stations numbered 167 employers in Lee County, FL in 2023, and automobile dealers 113 (CBP 2023, NAICS 4471 and 4411). Stations buy fuel and store stock ahead of sales and finance pumps, tanks and coolers; dealers fund vehicle stock through dedicated floor-plan lines, which this site does not arrange. Store inventory and equipment can go to partners. Gas station payroll averaged about $25,956 per employee (CBP 2023, our arithmetic).
Card receipts daily, equipment for years.
Restaurant loans in Fort Myers, FL: kitchen equipment, working capital, restaurant cash advances, food truck loans and Lee County restaurant counts.
Hotel loans in Fort Myers, FL: FF&E and renovation financing, motel loans, working capital and buying a motel business, with Lee County lodging counts.
Lee County, FL had 48 bars with paid employees in 2023, employing 723 (CBP 2023, NAICS 7224). Coolers, draft systems and remodels fit equipment financing or a term loan, and card-heavy bars may be offered merchant cash advances, which are not loans. Partners read liquor license status and the lease along with statements. Bar payroll came to $20.3 million in 2023 (CBP 2023).
Claims that trail the visit.
Medical practice loans in Fort Myers, FL: physician practice loans, medical equipment, clinic build-outs, working capital and Lee County physician counts.
Dental office loans in Fort Myers, FL: dental practice and equipment loans, clinic financing, buying a practice, with Lee County dental office counts.
Offices of other health practitioners, such as chiropractors, physical therapists and optometrists, counted 561 employers in Lee County, FL in 2023 (CBP 2023, NAICS 6213), and 75.2% had fewer than five employees. Treatment tables, imaging and exam equipment fit equipment financing, and claims that trail the visit fit working capital. Their payroll totaled $141.1 million in 2023 (CBP 2023).
Lee County, FL had 108 home health care employers with 2,586 paid employees and 84 veterinary practices with 1,030 in 2023 (CBP 2023). Home health is payroll-heavy while claims are paid, which suits working capital; veterinary practices finance surgical and imaging equipment and build-outs through equipment loans or term loans. Home health payroll averaged about $46,993 per employee (CBP 2023, our arithmetic).
Fit-outs and equipment on a replacement cycle.
Salon business loans in Fort Myers, FL: nail salon financing, beauty salon and barbershop loans, equipment and remodels, with Lee County salon counts.
Gym business loans in Fort Myers, FL: gym equipment loans, fit-outs, buying a gym and how to get a loan for a gym, with Lee County fitness counts.
Parts, lifts and payroll-heavy weeks.
Auto repair shop loans in Fort Myers, FL: lifts and diagnostics, parts inventory, body shop and mechanic shop financing, with Lee County repair shop counts.
Daycare center financing in Fort Myers, FL: daycare business loans, childcare working capital, build-outs and buying a center, with Lee County child care counts.
Revenue that lands after the work.
Lee County, FL had 420 legal services employers and 401 accounting, tax and bookkeeping employers in 2023 (CBP 2023, NAICS 5411 and 5412). Both bill after the work is done. A line of credit covers the gap between payroll and collected fees; a term loan can fund an office build-out or buying a practice. Partners read billing and collection history.
Insurance agencies and related businesses counted 428 employers in Lee County, FL in 2023 (CBP 2023, NAICS 5242), and management, scientific and technical consulting firms 686 (NAICS 5416). 90.2% of the consulting firms had fewer than five employees. Agency purchases fit a term loan; uneven fee income fits a line of credit. Insurance agency payroll totaled $154.8 million in 2023 (CBP 2023).
Architectural and engineering firms numbered 350 employers in Lee County, FL in 2023, and computer systems design firms 250 (CBP 2023, NAICS 5413 and 5415). Both are paid by project or contract, so payroll can run ahead of receipts. Working capital or a line of credit covers that gap; plotters, survey gear and workstations fit equipment financing. Architectural and engineering payroll came to $207.8 million that year (CBP 2023).
Real estate agent offices numbered 1,134 employers in Lee County, FL in 2023, 96.4% with fewer than five employees (CBP 2023, NAICS 5312); other real estate activities such as property management added 423 and lessors of real estate 304. Commission advances and property loans are not products here; office build-outs and working capital for management firms can go to partners.
Equipment-heavy work on contract.
Lee County, FL had 32 carpet and upholstery cleaning employers and 218 other services to buildings and dwellings, such as pressure washing and gutter cleaning, in 2023 (CBP 2023, NAICS 561740 and 561790). Truck-mounted units, vans and pressure equipment fit equipment financing, and crews paid ahead of monthly contracts fit working capital. Of the carpet cleaners, 26 had fewer than five employees (CBP 2023).
Fabricated metal product makers, including machine shops, counted 73 employers in Lee County, FL in 2023, printers 50 and commercial machinery repair shops 42 (CBP 2023, NAICS 332, 323 and 811310). Presses, welders, CNC machines and shop equipment fit equipment financing; materials bought for a job fit a line of credit. The fabricators employed 1,487 people in 2023 (CBP 2023).
Smaller groups round out the county: 24 warehousing and storage employers, 9 food manufacturers and 12 agriculture and forestry support businesses in Lee County, FL in 2023 (CBP 2023). Forklifts, racking, processing equipment and tractors fit equipment financing. Trucking businesses are not served through this site. Warehousing employers had 1,226 paid employees in 2023 (CBP 2023), about 51 per establishment (our arithmetic).
Driftwater Loans, a small-business funding service in Fort Myers, Florida, groups funding notes by industry: builders and trades, stores, kitchens and guest rooms, clinics, personal care, repair and care businesses, offices and building services, using Lee County, FL Census counts.
Funding partners consider requests from every kind of business. What changes from one trade to the next is the cash cycle: when money goes out, when it comes back, and which assets can back a request. Fourteen industries have their own page. The notes below cover other Lee County, FL businesses, with employer counts from County Business Patterns 2023 and the funding types that tend to suit them. Lee County, FL counted 22,756 employer establishments in all that year.
Restaurants buy kitchens that last years and take card payments daily. Lee County, FL had 1,317 restaurants and other eating places with paid employees in 2023 (CBP 2023, NAICS 7225), 692 of them full-service. Equipment financing, working capital and, for card-heavy kitchens, merchant cash advances (not loans) are the three routes, set out on the restaurant page. Payroll at those eating places averaged about $24,141 per employee (CBP 2023, our arithmetic).
Cleaning crews pay wages weekly against contracts paid monthly. Lee County, FL had 339 janitorial services employers with 2,030 paid employees in 2023 (CBP 2023, NAICS 561720); Nonemployer Statistics, a separate program, counted 7,148 janitorial businesses without employees in 2024. Working capital covers payroll gaps, and vans and floor machines fit equipment financing. Janitorial payroll came to about $26,956 per employee in 2023 (CBP 2023, our arithmetic).
A food truck is a vehicle and a kitchen financed together, and partners look at both. The equipment page's food truck section covers what they read. Lee County, FL had 472 limited-service restaurants with paid employees in 2023 (CBP 2023, NAICS 722513); food trucks are counted separately and are not in that figure. An operating restaurant adding a truck has sales history to show; startup loans are not arranged.
Gyms finance equipment that wears out on a schedule and fit-outs for new space. Lee County, FL had 76 fitness and recreational sports centers with paid employees in 2023, employing 851 (CBP 2023, NAICS 713940). The gym page covers equipment loans, fit-outs and buying an existing gym. Of those centers, 37 had fewer than five employees (CBP 2023), close to half of the total.
Contractors pay for materials and crews before draws arrive. Construction had 3,887 employer establishments in Lee County, FL in 2023, more than any other sector (CBP 2023), and 13,547 housing units were authorized by permit in 2025 (BPS). Lines of credit, working capital and equipment financing are the usual tools; the construction page goes trade by trade. Specialty trade contractors alone numbered 2,697 employers (CBP 2023, NAICS 238).
An operating franchise is reviewed like any business, with two extra documents: the franchise agreement and any approval the franchisor requires before you take on debt or sell. Partners read the unit's own statements, not the brand's national figures. Buying an existing franchise location is an acquisition; a brand-new unit with no sales is a startup, which falls outside what Driftwater arranges. Ask the franchisor about any lender requirements first.
Salons finance chairs, stations and remodels, and take card payments daily. Lee County, FL had 307 beauty salons, 82 nail salons and 26 barber shops with paid employees in 2023 (CBP 2023). The salon page compares equipment loans, working capital and cash advances, which are not loans. Nonemployer Statistics, a separate program, counted 2,182 beauty salons without paid employees in 2024, a count kept apart from the employer figures.
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Call (239) 453-0635 with the kind of business and the cost.
