Good afternoon all! I’m working on a grad school project and need some advice from those who have experience in obtaining a business loan. If you’ve worked with a commercial banker to finance a new business, or if you’re a business banker yourself, could you share your insights?
I’m interested in learning about the types of businesses that have been financed, the overall process, how challenging it was, and the necessary documentation. Any tips or personal experiences would be incredibly helpful!
Sidenote -> Mods: Apologies - I could not find the stickied Mon/Wed posts for “newbies”, I’m happy to post this in the appropriate spot if someone could point me in the right direction!
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I don’t have direct experience (underfunded bootstrapping ftw), but I would do some research on SBA loans. They seem to be a good alternative to traditional financing for young companies (or so I’ve heard).
Once the business is set up, you want to immediately start the process of building the business’s credit file. This is totally separate and different than your personal credit file. This is the credit file that’s attached to your company’s EIN. Experian business, Equifax business, and Dun & Bradstreet are the three reporting agencies that report for business credit. It takes a good 9 to 12 months for the file to be robust enough to the point where you can obtain business credit lines, loans and lease vehicles all on the business and not have to personally guarantee it with your SSN. It does not matter how old your company is. I’m assuming you have formed an LLC.