Small Business Lenders in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Before meeting with lenders to discuss getting a bank loan, you will need to have a specific plan.

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 how you plan to pay the loan back to the lender.

Having a business plan is is critically important. If the financing is to for a going concern, 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 secure the business with your personal assets, such as the equity in your home. 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 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 Lancaster.

More Advice on Raising Money

This website is all about assisting entrepreneurs, and we have a lot of information pertaining to to Raising Money. For example, one article that might be of interest to you is Getting a Small Business Loan.