{"id":2206,"date":"2019-03-02T04:51:17","date_gmt":"2019-03-02T09:51:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/?p=2206"},"modified":"2019-03-02T04:52:47","modified_gmt":"2019-03-02T09:52:47","slug":"lets-get-down-to-business-5-tips-on-getting-a-business-loan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/lets-get-down-to-business-5-tips-on-getting-a-business-loan\/","title":{"rendered":"Let&#8217;s Get Down to Business: 5 Tips on Getting a Business Loan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s face it. Starting a business requires cash. Cash you may not have on hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On average, a small business starting out needs <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessnewsdaily.com\/5-small-business-start-up-costs-options.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000<\/a>&nbsp;up front. And that&#8217;s only to get it off the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, what does a new business owner do when cash is hard to come by? You can start by applying for a business loan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Getting a business loan isn&#8217;t easy, though. You&#8217;ll need to follow some key guidelines to get one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s what you need to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How To: Getting a Business Loan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You can get a business loan for your startup. It&#8217;s like interviewing for a job or representing yourself in court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;ll need to convince the loan officer that you are a&nbsp;good investment with low risk to the bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, you need to prepare for what lenders will expect. Then, gather your materials and present your case. Here are the key areas you&#8217;ll need to concentrate on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Update Your Business Plan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The strongest case for your loan is your business plan.&nbsp;A developed business plan shows you are serious about conducting business. And you have a plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It also gives them a sense of the direction your business is going in. This all comes together to make you a more credible borrower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are a few areas of your business plan to update before you meet with lenders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Goals and Objectives<\/li><li>3 and 5 Year Projected Financials<\/li><li>Cash Flows<\/li><li>Income and Expense Projections<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Your business plan is solid support for&nbsp;how you expect your business to build profits. Once you&#8217;ve updated it, print a few copies to bring to lender meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Write a&nbsp;Request Letter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember writing those persuasive letters in high school? It&#8217;s time to dust off those skills.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This document works much like a cover letter when applying for a job. It introduces the lender to your borrowing intentions. State your case in clear and concise terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Write a <a href=\"https:\/\/requestletters.com\/home\/writing-a-business-loan-request-letter-with-sample\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">loan request letter<\/a> that includes three main areas of focus.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>Your formal request for the loan<\/li><li>Why you need the money<\/li><li>How it will help your business become profitable<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>This helps the loan officer understand your intentions as a borrower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Gather Your Documents<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Your business plan and request letter are only the beginning. There are several documents your lender will need to qualify you for a business loan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;ll need proof of any current income. That can come in the form of tax returns, banks statements, and even receipts&nbsp;from&nbsp;customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bring your&nbsp;business insurance policy and&nbsp;all legal business documents. That could include licenses&nbsp;and&nbsp;registration at the state and federal levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Find the Right Lender<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that you have all your documents together, it&#8217;s time to search for a lender. Not just any lender, though. You want one that offers the right loan product for your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Types of Lenders<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You can get a loan from several places. A bank, an online lender, or an investment organization are the most common. The one you choose depends on what will best benefit your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By that, I mean you need to look at what you qualify for and the terms of the loan. Let&#8217;s look at the types of loans you might encounter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Types of Business Loans<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Business loans come in a few varieties. What you qualify for varies from situation to situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s what you need to know about each type of business loan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Term Loans<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a lump sum loan with repayment options according to a schedule. You can get this type of loan within a week or two of approval. You may also need to provide collateral to secure the loan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rates depend on your credit history and score. You can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dealstruck.com\/business-loan\/term-loan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">read more here<\/a> about term loans and calculating a possible monthly payment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">SBA Loans<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>These are loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration. But they don&#8217;t lend money to businesses. The SBA offers guaranteed loans through banks and online lenders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They have . But, they&nbsp;offer great rates&nbsp;to those who qualify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lines of Credit<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It works like a personal line of credit. You can borrow up to the limit and repay according to the terms. It&#8217;s a flexible option for borrowing money but may have higher rates than other options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Equipment Loans<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Only looking to buy equipment for your business? You may need an equipment loan. It&#8217;s a loan&nbsp;with terms tied to the life span of the equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With this loan, you may need to provide a down payment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Personal Loans<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If all else fails, you may look into a personal loan to finance your startup business. The rates can be higher, but it can still be a good option. Especially if you&#8217;ll net profits soon after you get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Business Credit Cards<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The rates on a business credit card will be the highest of all the options. This is best reserved as a last resort. Or, only for small startup costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5.&nbsp;Bring the Budget to the Table<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Get ready to&nbsp;crunch the numbers! Accounting documents support the numbers you&#8217;ve put into your business plan. Bring them to the table when you meet with your lender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s a list of accounting documents that will help your case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Business Balance Sheet<\/li><li>Cash Flow statements<\/li><li>Profit and Loss statements<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These documents will show how you expect cash to flow in and out of your business.&nbsp;The document your expected sales and expenses on a monthly and yearly basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bring every figure you&#8217;ve got to the negotiation table. You need to convince the lender that you&#8217;ve got your plan well laid and you&#8217;re ready to succeed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Go ahead. Apply, today!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s difficult but not impossible. Getting a business loan comes down to preparation. Spend the time to gather the right documentation for the right loan product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do your homework beforehand and you&#8217;ll be set!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Need a form for your business? We have a great collection. !<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Let&#8217;s face it. Starting a business requires cash. Cash you may not have on hand. On average, a small business starting out needs anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000&nbsp;up front. And that&#8217;s only to get it off the ground. So, what does a new business owner do when cash is hard to come by? You can [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2206"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2206"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2208,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2206\/revisions\/2208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}