General Business and Finance Blog

We are all listening attentively about lenders on the radio, television, newspapers, and the Internet of promises to be “small business friendly”, “small business oriented”, wanting to be your “personal small business advisor” and a panoply of packages taking care of all your business needs. What small businesses really need is money, not personal hand caring services. So is there anyone out there really making small business loans? Yes. If you know where to look you can find one.

You can generally categorize banks into: 1) 10% that are actually making small business loans now and are serious about doing so, 2) 70% who will talk to you directly and indicate they are not making small business loans at this time because of the economy, and 3) 20% that slap you on the back, invite you in, and readily take your application. It is the latter group that gives us the most heartburn. It is not unusual after the initial review of your application papers for a bank represented to signal you have a good chance. Overjoyed, you begin to make plans, including executing contracts and receiving quotes for inventory, raw materials, or merchandise. Two months later, after the fourth loan committee review, you get a call that they have decided not to make the loan. The reason has little if anything to do with credit. It is typically something that was never been mentioned before and after reflection, it seems like an excuse not to make the loan in the first place.

Loan brokers such as myself are victims of the same misleading behavior. I cannot tell you how many banks have looked me in the eye and said: “Sure, we are making lots of loans. For unsecured loans of $75,000 to $150,000, we just need a credit score above 680, in business for over a year and a half, and decent financials. Real estate security is not required. We would love to entertain your applications.” Right.

What they really do is pour over the applications and pick 1 out of 100 that has the following fantasy credentials: a platinum credit score that Bill Gates would be proud of and which could support a small country, gushing positive cash flow, little competition, executed contracts stacked high on your desk, then a booming market niche. In other words, someone who doesn’t need the loan in the first place. You know the old adage: banks only give money to people who don’t need it.

It is simply psychology 101. Banks are filled up with loan officers and they have to show they are busy. If their boss walks into their office and sees nothing on their desk, they might be laid off. They have to show they are busy earning their salaries, which means receiving applications and going through the review process. It’s gotten so bad that the other day we had a client whose grandfather helped found the bank, whose father was best friends with the president, and who had received two successful loans before. Even he was turned down. Nor do they tell you the large SBA commercial loan department job layoffs of employees throughout the nation.

To prevent being too caught in this trap, look your banker in the eye and ask these questions:

1) “Tell me honestly. I don’t want to waste your time or mine. I know the credit crunch is quite depressing and there is really no secondary market. Are you actually entertaining small business loans at this time or should I wait.”

2) “How many small business loans have you personally made in the last 30 days?”

3) “What are the loan terms of the last three loans you made, including interest rate and monthly payments, for the amount of loan I am seeking?”

4) “How long will it take before I get a definitive answer?”

5) “Can you briefly describe to me the process I have to go through to get the final approval? Will you be the one making the final decision? What other people superior to you or committees will make that decision?”

But do not despair. There actually are real live prime lenders out there making small business loans. They just need to know where to look. In the next article I will discuss if such loans are available to startups.

Wonder why the global market for business is on the rise, despite the world being hit hard by recession? In fact, what the business coaches have predicted is that they are looking forward to 2009 for being the year for profits. Enroll for the Business Coaching Course at the Institute for Business Growth. This is a training course that has been propagated by Andrew Neitlich. He has been one of the people to foresee that business owners would keep on investing in the executive level coaching through the time of a recession? As far as the Business Coaching Course is concerned, entrepreneurs know it well that it is best to approach concrete and sensible advice is worth time and money in the event of a crisis.

What In Case of a Slouch?

The fact remains, in case there is an economic slowdown, you have as much a chance to grab a reconnection with your business in terms of the following:

Enjoy rapport with clients Create original and innovative product offerings Position businesses for success in the hub of an expected economic resurgence

This is the year of back surging, as new and small businesses are increasingly going to turn towards the bigwigs for support and recovery. This is something that’s going to make them face the tough times, should they singe ahead in the long run.

Accounting for the Popularity of the Business Coaches

The Institute for Business Growth or IBG as it is known proffers a varied range of services for their customers and clients who span all over the globe. This is why they are so popular:

Traditional Business Coaching: The Business Coaching Course at the Institute for Business Growth provides one-to-one or group discussions which center on demonstrating to business leaders as to how to help their businesses grow. In addition to that, it also helps improve the performance of the key players and make sure they are all the more effectual, irrespective of the fact as to where the economy stands presently.

Specialized Consulting Solutions: The center has been constructed with an aim to focus on the constraints of and issues relating to revenue and profit.

Group Training Programs: This is a course taken up at Institute for Business Growth in order to prove to business leaders on how to perk up their bottom line performance at the same time concentrating on particular high end solutions for the common problems that clients are faced with so as to help the owners of the businesses obtain a reconnection to fill them with a passion for carrying on their business.

Moderated Leadership Circles: This Business Coaching Course helps bring together business leaders and experts to help them share their successes as well as challenges in a non competitive and private ambience.

Proprietary information products: Are you looking for a Business Coaching Course that concentrates on itinerary based solutions for common client problems? If yes, this is something you should definitely look into.

Specialized Consulting Solutions: This one helps generate control with the help of putting to task a whole team of certified trainers to make them dictate a certain market or business niche.