Silver Spring, Maryland Small Business Loans

Prior to reaching out to banks for a 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, define how the money will be used, and show your ability to pay the loan back to the bank.

Having a business plan is is critically important. If the financing is to for an existing business, you should also have financial statements covering the last three years. In addition, you should itemize 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 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 the banks in our list are SBA lenders. 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 assist you in finding a small business banker, here's our list of small business banks in Silver Spring.

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