Small Business Loans – Knowing Where to Begin Is Half the Battle

For a lot of entrepreneurs, especially first timers, many aspects of launching a business seem overwhelming. Whether it’s choosing a business partner or finding a supplier, there are so many critical choices to make—it’s daunting, even when you do have some prior experience. Getting a small business loan is no exception.

Most entrepreneurs know that it helps to have a decent credit score when applying for a small business loan. What they don’t know is how much more there is to consider, and they often wait too long before they decide to take on funding. Recently I spoke about this with Ty Crandall, host of The Business Credit & Financing Show. Produced by the company CreditSuite, the podcast covers a variety of topics relating to business credit and financing for growth.

During our conversation, we thoroughly covered the nuances of the loan process. Ty and I have both seen it time and time again. Entrepreneurs are so busy running their businesses they don’t have time to research loan options. Or, they are new to the lending process and don’t know what is involved. Many have also taken out the wrong loan for their situation, resulting in a negative experience.

We talked about how to determine loan priorities (including amount, speed of funding, and rates), the types of loans available to different businesses, what qualifications lenders are looking for, and how to become less risky in the eyes of the lender in order to qualify for better rates/graduated loans. Ty and I broke down everything entrepreneurs need to know before applying in order to boost their chances of success. As with most things in life, when getting a loan for your business, knowing where to begin is half the battle.

For more of my conversation with Ty, listen to The Business Credit & Financing Show here.