Bank loans for small business
NPR aired an interesting story during today’s All Things Considered. The story focused on the tight credit market and its effects on community bank lending and small businesses in Georgia.
As with many stories related to small business lending, there is very little mention of the value of a solid business concept, nor of a concise written business plan - each of which are critical to sustainable business.
As you advance towards a business start-up, keep the following in mind…
- Talk to your friends, family and those you trust to supply an honest evaluation of your business concept.
- Meet with free business counselors in your community. In Buffalo, look to SCORE and the Small Business Development Center.
- Take the advice that makes sense to you.
- Know your credit (free reports here).
- Research your concept at your community’s library. The central library in Buffalo and its reference librarians are an excellent small business resource.
- Ask questions, listen to answers and evaluate them.
- Write your business plan. Sample plans and templates can be found in many places on the internet, including at SCORE.
- Share your business plan with your counselor(s), family, friends and others who can give you critical advice to enhance your plan.
- Perfect the elevator speech.
- If it looks like you will need to finance your start-up, talk to your existing bank to see whether they typically lend to businesses like the one you want to start; if they don’t, your counselor may have some additional advice.
