Houma, Louisiana Business Loan

Prior to contacting banks for a 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.

Having a business plan is essential. If the loan is to for a company that is already doing 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 you cannot repay the loan .

If the business has few assets, the bank may ask you to 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. Before meeting with the banker, you may want to do your homework 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 Houma.

More Advice on Raising Money

If you are serious about Raising Money, you need to educate yourself. If you haven't read it already, we recommend you review Business Incubators.