Business Loan East Chicago, Indiana

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

You need to be able to clearly introduce your business to the banker, explain how much you want to borrow, walk the banker through the planned use of proceeds, and show how you intend to to pay the money back to the bank.

Being able to present a well-written business plan is essential. If the financing is to for an existing business, you should also have financial statements covering the last three years. You will also need to discuss 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, the bank may ask you to to to guarantee the loan with your personal assets, such as stocks and bonds that you might own or life insurance policies. The banks will check on your personal credit history 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 the banks in our list participate in the financial assistance programs available through the SBA. Before you sit down to talk with a small business banker, you may want to read up on 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 East Chicago.

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