For many entrepreneurs, it can be a real challenge to come up with the capital you need to start your business all on your own. Because of this, applying for a small business loan is often a great choice. However, this can be a long and complicated process if you don’t know what you’re doing and haven’t prepared yourself financially beforehand.
So to help ensure that you’re able to get the funding you need, here are three tips for qualifying for a small business loan.
Build Your Personal And Business Credit Scores
Before you start applying for any type of loan, including a small business loan, it’s wise to do everything you can to build your personal and business credit scores.
According to Steve Nicastro, a contributor to NerdWallet.com, it’s very likely that you’ll need to have high personal and business credit scores in order to apply for and receive a favorable small business loan in a traditional way, like from a bank or from the Small Business Administration. So to get these scores up, make sure you’re doing things like making your debt payments on time, lowering your total debt, and not applying for additional lines of credit.
Apply For The Right Loan
Once you feel like you’re in a good place financially, you’re now ready to start applying for a small business loan. But with so many options available, it can be hard to know which type of loan to apply for in order to increase your chances of getting approval for the money you need.
To help you know what your options are, Richard Harroch, a contributor to AllBusiness and Forbes.com, recommends looking into things like small business lines of credit, working capital loans, SBA loans, small business credit cards, and more. The option that you’ll want to go with will depend on what your needs are and what you feel most confident that you can qualify for.
Share Your FInancial Plans With Potential Lenders
As you prepare your small business loan applications, Sarina Siddhanti, a contributor to FitSmallBusiness.com, advises that you share with your potential lenders what your plans are for this money. Try to portion out what you plan on spending for each area of your business that you need financial help with.
Not only will this help your lender see how you plan to use their money and make a profit so you can pay them back, but it will also help them know that you have a plan for the growth and ultimate success of your small business.
If you need a small business loan but are worried about qualifying for one, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you accomplish this.