You don’t hear the word cornucopia used much anymore except around the holidays. Did you know that it can mean more than a curved horn filled with vegetables? It also means “an inexhaustible store” and “abundance”, and that’s why it applies to business loans.
You can find plenty of news stories that say that the business of making business loans is almost nonexistent, but that’s simply not true. It may be true if you go down to your local bank and ask for a loan, but what about the bank in the next state or five states over or on the other coast or even overseas? What about the SBA with its menu of loan options designed to help businesses of all sizes? What about private angel investors?
A Changed Lending Environment
The recession did change the lending environment. The days of easy credit don’t exist anymore. All that means though is that you need to put more effort into finding business loans and not that loans don’t exist. In other words, ‘easy credit’ has turned into ‘look harder credit.’
You just need to understand the new places to look for startup funding. For example, the National Federation of Independent Business points out that small banks are still business friendly. But there are so many other sources of business loans if you know how to find them. For example, you could find private investors who are willing to provide startup funding if you have a well written business plan.
It always comes down to knowing where to look. A loan is debt that you repay over a specified period of time with interest. Private lenders like to provide venture capital to entrepreneurs, offer business funding for business expansion and or become equity partners in businesses for one very good reason – they get higher returns on their investment than they possibly could investing in government securities or putting their money in a savings account. Certainly the stock market and currency markets remain volatile and give and take profits day-to-day right now.
Who Is Holding the Money?
What that means is that angel investors and other private investors are looking for entrepreneurs with good ideas and solid business plans and also offer a likelihood of higher returns. But even if you aren’t interested in venture capital, the SBA is offering a menu of loan programs including what they call the SBA 7(a) Loan Queue. This is actually a program in which the government backs loans made by banks to small businesses.
In fact, there is a SBA microloan program that offers short-term business loans for up to $50,000 to small businesses. The SBA loans are made through banks, so once again you must find a bank willing to approve your loan. You don’t have to limit your applications to just local banks though which means you should get help finding all banks without regard to location that are willing to give you business funding so you have a real chance to succeed.
If you are looking for small business financing for purchase of inventory or furniture, working capital, equipment purchases, startup funding or business expansion, then you have to know where the cornucopia is or who is holding the money. There are private investors and banks willing to make loans and equity partners ready to share in your success.
More detailed information and useful business loans advice can be found at http://www.funded.com.
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