Berlin, Wisconsin Business Loan

Before contacting banks to discuss getting a bank loan, you will need to determine exactly what size loan you will be asking for.

You need to be able to clearly explain your business, explain how much you want to borrow, describe what the money will finance, and show your ability to pay the loan back to the bank.

A well-defined business plan is is critically important. If the loan is to for an existing business, you should also have financial statements covering the last three years. Bankers will also want to know what collateral you have available to secure the loan. Collateral is relevant because banks always want to be prepared for a worst-case scenario in which cash flow from the business does not meet your projections.

If the business has few assets, you will likely be asked to pledge your personal assets, such as stocks and bonds that you might own or life insurance policies. The banks will look at your personal credit report in any case, so hopefully you have good credit history -- you may want to get a copy of your credit history prior to meeting with the banker.

Many of these banks participate in the financial assistance programs available through the SBA. Prior to visiting local banks, you may want to get up to speed on SBA loans programs to see if you qualify. SBA 7(a) loans, SBA 504 loans and SBA disaster assistance loans may be available to you.

To help you learn more about local small business lenders, here's our list of small business banks in Berlin.

More Advice on Raising Money

If you are new to our site, you should know that we are dedicated to helping entrepreneurs, and we have a lot of information pertaining to to Raising Money. If you want to learn about raising money, we would suggest you read 504 Loans.