<?php $title = '7 Tips for a successful business loan'; ?>
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            <h1>7 Tips for a successful business loan</h1>
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            <p>The economy is starting to heal and small business 
            owners are readying to get back into business. This includes 
            borrowing money so they can successfully start, buy or grow their 
            business. This article offers 7 tips to use when making your 
            application for your next business loan and get a &#8220;yes&#8221; rather than 
            a &#8220;no.&#8221; <BR><BR>Money tends to rate high up on the list of needs for 
            people planning on starting or moving into business ownership. 
            Here&#8217;s 7 tips if you need start up financing for your business. 
            <BR><BR><B>1. Clearly identify how much you have available.</B> 
            <BR><BR>The best place to start is yourself. If you have some 
            capital available to invest in a business this is a great start as 
            other parties you approach will take you more seriously. They will 
            take you more seriously as they want to see that you have &#8220;skin in 
            the game.&#8221; Once your position is clear, family and friends are the 
            next to approach. If you say they have money make sure it truly is 
            available. There is nothing more frustrating than approaching 
            professional lenders with your well thought out business plan 
            showing a clear financial plan that includes a partial capital 
            injection from family and or friends. The lender then approves their 
            loan subject to the other parties contributing but then everyone 
            finds out the family and or friends have changed their mind and al 
            the planning by all parties has been a waste of time. <BR><BR><B>2. 
            Identify what you need.</B> <BR><BR>How much capital do you need and 
            why? Is it to buy equipment, buy inventory, pay a franchise fee, 
            downpayment on a business or cash to fund the business operation? 
            There are different types of lenders for different types of loans. 
            Get the &#8220;why&#8221; worked out quickly so you can find the right lender to 
            approach. <BR><BR><B>3. Research your options.</B> <BR><BR>There are 
            different lenders that focus in different areas of the market. The 
            obvious place to start is your local bank or credit union. Hopefully 
            you have a good enough relationship to speak to the business 
            development officer at your branch or be referred to this person. If 
            this position doesn&#8217;t exist, ask to speak with the manager. If your 
            bank can&#8217;t help, ask for a referral to a lender that can but make 
            sure it&#8217;s clear why you need the loan so you are introduced to the 
            right lender. If you&#8217;re still looking for options, the Small 
            Business Administration (SBA) has a wealth of knowledge. Search 
            online at www.sba.gov. If you still need options, search the 
            internet but focus on keywords that are specific to the loan you 
            need. For example, if you need a loan for cash flow and have 
            accounts receivable to use as collateral, use &#8220;accounts receivable 
            loan&#8221; as your key words and you will come across lenders that 
            provide factoring. Once you find some companies that can help, make 
            sure you are comfortable working with them and research the full 
            costs and terms of the loans. <BR><BR><B>4. Support your loan 
            application.</B> <BR><BR>Wanting the money for your business won&#8217;t 
            be enough. Proving you need the money won&#8217;t be enough. A quality 
            lender will want to see a business plan explaining how the loan will 
            be used, a resume detailing ownership experience (and therefore the 
            ability to repay the loan), education, credit history and most 
            important of all in today&#8217;s economy, the appropriate management 
            experience to run the business and therefore repay the loan. If you 
            need help on how to write your business plan, look for the article 
            I&#8217;ve written called &#8220;10 tips for your next business plan.&#8221; 
            <BR><BR>Supporting your loan application also includes looking at 
            your credit score and credit history. These two points are 
            important. If your credit score is in poor shape and you can clearly 
            explain why and the lender is comfortable with the explanation, they 
            may approve your loan. For example, if you had an auto accident a 
            few years ago that resulted in medical bills that are now under 
            control, your poor credit score is explainable. Similarly, before 
            applying for a loan get a copy of your credit report. Often there 
            are mistakes on your credit report. Get these removed before 
            applying for a loan so this problem is eliminated. <BR><BR><B>5. 
            Build cash flow projections.</B> <BR><BR>Lenders eat and sleep cash 
            flow projections. This is what they do for a living. The stronger 
            your cash flow projection the greater your chances of success in 
            getting the loan approved. If this is not your strength, get help 
            from your accountant or someone who knows and understands cash flow 
            projections. <BR><BR><B>6. Sell your need.</B> <BR><BR>Once you have 
            the data built and ready to launch your loan application, practice 
            your sales pitch. Don&#8217;t over embellish but be confident, know the 
            ins and outs of why you need the loan and practice your response so 
            you come off confident. The lenders aren&#8217;t looking for a sales pitch 
            but they are looking to see that you believe and that if they need 
            to escalate your loan request to higher management, you will present 
            strongly and not have their judgment questioned. <BR><BR><B>7. Keep 
            educating yourself.</B> <BR><BR>As you work through each step of 
            this process, ask questions. It&#8217;s amazing how options appear from 
            places you least expect because you talk to a friend who knows 
            someone at Rotary who specializes in these sorts of loans. 
            Alternatively, they may not be able to help you with that loan but 
            they can help strengthen you and your application so it gets 
            approved&#8230;which is what this all about in the first place. 
            <BR><BR>Obtaining a loan or finance for a business has been very 
            difficult. Because the economy is stabilizing and government 
            programs are beginning to have a positive effect, loans are 
            available as long as you the borrower, present a professional 
            business case.
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