Is your business prepared to apply for a business loan? - Business Lending Advocate

 On March 16th, 2022, I hosted a webinar in collaboration with UTSASBDC to teach small business owners about the 5 questions every business should know the answer to before applying for a business loan. Through this webinar I aimed to educate all businesses of business bank lending lingo and requirements

From people interested in applying for a business loan but who don’t know where to begin, to people who have been declined for a business loan in the past and  want to increase their odds to try again, this webinar taught the insights of how to become more prepared in approaching a bank and requesting a business loan and reduce the uncertainty and fear of getting declined.

Below are the five main questions I talked about.

1. Can you provide a Balance Sheet  for the previous 2 years and current year to date?

A Balance Sheet provides a snapshot of a company’s finances at a particular point in time.

Today, do you have an updated and accurate Balance Sheet?

2. Can you provide a Profit and Loss statement for the previous 2 years and current year to date?

A Profit & Loss Statement, otherwise known as an Income Statement, summarizes the total income and total expenses of a business at a particular period in time.

Today, do you have an updated and accurate Profit and Loss Statement?

3. Do you have a current Personal Financial Statement?

A Personal Financial Statement provides a snapshot of the finances for an individual at a particular point in time.

Today, do you have an updated and accurate Personal Financial Statement?

4. Have you missed payments on your existing personal and business loans in the last 6 months?

Missed payments significantly affect your ability to get approved for a bank business loan

5. Do you know what’s in your Credit Report?

The information in your Credit Report is extremely important, and is a large factor in the banks overall decision about your loan request. 

These five questions help business owners evaluate if they are ready to apply for a business loan. In this webinar, I went more into detail about each of these questions and how the bank uses them to evaluate you and your businesses financial health. They then take this information and come to an overall conclusion about your loan request. 

If you’re interested in learning more about these five questions and what you need to do to prepare your business to apply for a bank loan, please check out our “Events” page to register for one of our upcoming webinars. In our webinars, we cover a variety of topics, all surrounding the world of business bank loans and lending