Fieldstone Lending, a small-business funding broker in Gillette, Wyoming, arranges contractor financing through lending partners for Campbell County builders and specialty trades: equipment financing, working capital between draws, and construction lines of credit. Construction had 188 employer establishments in the county in 2023, more than any other sector. A partner decides each request and its terms.
| Employer establishments | 188 employer sites in Campbell County, WY (CBP 2023) |
|---|---|
| Specialty trade contractors | 116 specialty trade firms among them (NAICS 238) |
| Builders of buildings | 42 (NAICS 236) |
| Under five employees | 53.7% of construction employers |
| Owner-only construction firms | 353 (NES 2024) |
| Decision | The lending partner's |
Builders and trades in Campbell County, WY: the 2023 count
Construction led the county by number of employer establishments in 2023: 188 establishments employing 1,751 people, with $137.5 million in annual payroll (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023). Specialty trade contractors, such as electrical, plumbing, concrete and finish trades, made up 116 of them; builders of buildings numbered 42.
Most crews are small. Of the 188, 101 (53.7%) ran with fewer than five employees; for builders of buildings that figure reached 66.7%. In 2024, U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2024 also counted 353 construction businesses with no paid employees, 258 of them specialty trades; that is a separate series, not part of the employer count.
Around the office ZIP
ZIP 82716 had 59 construction employer establishments in 2023, 49.2% with fewer than five employees (U.S. Census Bureau, ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023). The ZIP extends well beyond city limits, so treat it as a postal area. More local context is on the Gillette, WY page.
Specialty trades and general contractors need different things
The 116 specialty trade employers in Campbell County paid $70.3 million in annual payroll in 2023, and the 42 builders of buildings $25.8 million (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023). A specialty contractor usually works for a general contractor or an owner on invoice terms, so its gap is receivables: work done, payment pending. A builder carries materials and subcontractor bills across a longer project, so its gap is the stretch between draws.
Owner-operators are a large part of the picture: U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2024 counted 258 specialty trade and 87 building construction businesses with no paid employees in 2024. For a one-person trade business, an equipment purchase is often the first funding request, and the paperwork is usually the owner's personal and business records combined.
Equipment: loaders, trailers and tools
Most contractor requests start with a machine. Equipment financing lets the asset secure the deal and spreads the cost over its working life. Used machines are common in the trades, and partners look at hours, condition and the seller; the post on financing used equipment covers what they check.
Run the numbers first with the equipment loan repayment calculator, which shows the monthly payment and total cost including the down payment.
Working capital between draws
A contractor pays wages and suppliers weekly but may be paid by progress draw or on invoice terms. Working capital financing covers a known gap on a single job. Sizing matters: fund the gap until the expected payment, not the whole contract value.
Retainage, the share of each payment a customer holds back until the job is complete, stretches that gap further. Ask the partner how it treats retained amounts when it reads your receivables.
A worked gap, with invented numbers
A hypothetical framing crew with a $3,500 weekly payroll starts a job that pays $42,000 in two draws, the first after four weeks. Before that first draw it will have paid four weeks of wages ($14,000) plus a $9,000 lumber order. The gap to fund is about $23,000 for about a month, not the $42,000 contract value.
If the crew runs two or three jobs like this at once, with draws landing at different times, a revolving line handles the overlap better than a string of one-off advances.
A revolving line for overlapping jobs
General contractors with overlapping jobs often prefer a revolving line: draw for materials on one job, repay when that job pays, draw again for the next. Partners usually want to see bank statements, a receivables aging report and a job list. A line that never clears between jobs is a warning sign that a term loan or equipment financing would carry the cost better.
Permits, codes and the funding timeline
Owners often search for Gillette, WY building permits and the building code before taking on a project. Permit timing affects when work, and therefore payment, can start; the permits and commercial space guide sets out what to confirm first.
What partners commonly review for contractors
- Business bank statements and a receivables aging report.
- A current job list with contract values and expected payment dates.
- Equipment quotes or a list of owned equipment.
- Time operating and any trade name on file with the state.
- Existing equipment liens and debts.
Related
See the other sectors partners fund, or call to talk through a specific job.
By Fieldstone Lending · Updated
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