Business Loan Martinsburg, West Virginia

As a prerequisite to contacting lenders to get a bank loan, you will need to have a specific plan.

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 lender.

A well-defined business plan is an important prerequisite. If the financing is to for a going concern, 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 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 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 assist you in finding a small business banker, here's our list of small business banks in Martinsburg.

More Advice on Raising Money

If you are new to our site, you should know that we are deeply committed to supporting entrepreneurs, and we have a lot of information pertaining to to Raising Money. If raising money is on your to-do list, we would suggest you read Business Line of Credit.