Small Business Loans

Loans for Small Business

There is just no way around it: starting a small business takes money. Sometimes, it takes a lot of money. Unless you plan to dip into your savings to finance a business or expand your existing business, at some point you are probably going to seek capital financing in the form of a small business loan or grant. Finding the right lender and obtaining a business loan can be extremely challenging. If you are looking for a startup loan, most banks will require enough collateral to cover the entire amount of the loan. Typically, banks exhibit a preference for financing growth. Meaning lending money to established businesses with a history and some assets to speak of. That does not mean you cannot get funding for your startup business idea. You may have to seek a loan from sources other than banks or take on investors.

The Truth about Small Business Grants

If you are counting on a government grant to get your business started, you may be in for some disappointment. Despite what television hucksters and unscrupulous websites would like to have you believe, there is no free money for an individual to start a business. There are grants for businesses, however they are for very specific research and development projects in areas such as biotech, space, or national defense. Grants are also sometimes available to achieve very specific objectives like increasing tourism in a particular state, promoting recycling, or developing technology that results in energy savings. A lot of these grants are matching grants, meaning that a recipient has to put up an amount of money equal to the grant or combine the grant with other funding or a loan. Most of these free cash from the government for whatever type ads are selling information that is available to anyone for free via an official government publication called the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. Information from this publication is often misinterpreted or blatantly misrepresented in advertisements in order to sell expensive books that nobody needs. Do small business grants exist? Yes. Will you be able to find a grant that gives you free money to start your jewelry making business, bakery, or pet sitting service? Probably not.