My name is Christian and I am from Louisville, KY. I would like to give some tips about how I acquired a business loan to get my HDR Photography career going since getting a business loan wasn’t the easiest thing to do. The following is what I did to secure my business loan and if you keep these tips in mind, you will improve your chances of getting your loan.
Banks are in the lending business to originate loans. If it wasn’t for lending, banks wouldn’t be in business, so they have to lend money. They would like to give you your loan. They just have to calculate the risk whether a business is healthy enough, or have the borrower sign a personal guarantee. In the case of a personal guarantee, the borrower would have their credit report pulled to see if they’re responsible enough to repay loan should the business fail.
Before you approach the bank, make sure that you have all the documents required to show your ability to repay the loan. You’re going to need to bring along your financial statements showing the health of your company. Also, provide your best guesstimate on what your future income should look like if they were to approval the loan.
You’re going to need to play Sherlock Holmes here and anticipate their every question. The most common questions they will ask are:
- What are you going to use the money for? In my case, it was to purchase a Nikon Camera, tripod, and several expensive camera lenses.
- How are you going to repay it? I told the loan originator that I was going to sell my prints.
- How long are you going to need the loan for? I told him that my best estimate was that I would be able to pay the $5,000 loan safely within a year.
- He also asked me what would happen if I were denied. I expressed to him that I would have to get an extra job to save money, but I also let him know that I have marketed many items on the internet before, and I was confident that the images that I created would sell.
Present yourself in a positive manner. Make sure you are wearing your Sunday’s best so to speak. They want to see people that dress for success – it eases their mind. The last thing that they’re going to want to see is someone that just doesn’t look well put together.
Don’t over exaggerate the success of your business. Everything that would help them make their decision is going to be in black and white. Telling them something that would be easily picked apart would be construed as dishonest and impact their decision in a negative manner.
If your loan does get denied, it’s not the end of the world. There is a world full of lenders out there, so keep your head up. Plus there are other organizations on the internet where they would love to loan you money, Kiva.org is a good example. Well, I am off to start my HDR photography career.. wish me luck!
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