Business Loan Marion, Iowa

As a prerequisite to reaching out to banks to get 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, walk the banker through the planned use of proceeds, and show how you plan to pay the loan back to the bank.

A well-defined business plan is is critically important. If the capital 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 secure the business with your personal assets, such as the equity in your home. 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 these banks 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 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 Marion.

More Advice on Raising Money

Our site is all about supporting small business owners, and we have a lot of useful articles about to Raising Money. To learn more, we would suggest you read Borrowing Money from Friends and Family.