General Business and Finance Blog

Raising business finance isn’t always easy, and especially so when you’ve not got enough assets to secure against your ambitious plans. In some cases, you’re going to have to part with equity. Venture capital funding can help you grow your business, and plays a vital role in fuelling growth and innovation in the world economy.
Venture capital has helped to fuel the growth of some of the world’s biggest public companies at one stage in their life-cycle. Venture capitalists are willing to run the risk of making poor returns, or losing all of their money, for a chance to hit a home run. That’s why their capital tends to follow big ideas, and is hard to get when you’re looking to do something that isn’t too innovative with huge growth potential.The Dynamics of Venture Capital Funds
When entrepreneurs are looking to raise money from venture capitalists, they often have a poor understanding of how the market works. Venture capital firms do not raise their funds from shareholders; they usually raise their funds from private institutions. They will then charge a management fee, and take a percentage of equity for themselves. They also have a tendency to work together – often they will have other firms invest in a deal along with them. This can be to limit their exposure, and bring in expertise. Some VC firms will take an active role in managing their investments, while others prefer to watch carefully on the sidelines.Don’t Be Too Scared Of Equity Dilution
Many a business has failed because the management have been too afraid of diluting equity. While it’s important to ensure you treat your equity with the respect it deserves, you shouldn’t be afraid to let go of some if it’s going to mean you own a smaller share of a bigger business. Using venture capital you can explore a high risk, high reward, rapid growth strategy. In many cases VC firms will be happy to fund your business to run at a loss initially, because they can see the bigger picture. This is a luxury that you will not be able to take advantage of when you have bank managers looking at your ever dwindling balance sheet.
Raising equity also gives you an opportunity to profit from your businesses success, or idea, before you manage to take dividends or experience a liquidity event. Although it will probably only be offered in later rounds, a VC firm might be prepared to buy equity from you directly as well as buying it from the company.Choosing The Right Venture Capital Firm For You
Working with a company that’s worked in your space before can be of tremendous benefit. They will have domain knowledge to share, and will often have the right contacts in their phone book for closing partnerships and recruiting expertise. The relationship that you have with your VC could make or break your success, so make sure you pick the right one and the best fit for your business.

A difficult task for any business is conducting market research. This research can impact a business in many ways including how they brand their products and who they market to. Although market research can aide a lot with your businesses marketing efforts, it also plays a key role when your business is attempting to obtain financing.

The lenders or investors main objective when evaluating your business is to determine whether or not they will get their money back. Good market research will help set your potential lenders mind at ease, and you will be more apt to obtain the business capital you need. The lender also wants to know things about the market such as the competition and the demand for your product or services.

To begin the process of researching your market you can start by searching trade associations, trade show websites, and trade magazines. They exist in nearly every industry and can supply a wealth of information related to your market. The best part is that many of the trade related websites provide the information free of charge. The government also provides a number of valuable resources for market research. For example, the Economic Census, released every five years from the U.S. Census Bureau, provides an excellent glimpse at industrial activity including the Industry Series report that offers separate reports for many industries and shows the number of businesses within an industry, sales volume, number of employees, and more. Other good resources for market researching are corporate websites of your competition and press releases from your competition. White papers provide good market research data because they are well-researched documents.

Magazines and Newspapers are another inexpensive resource for market research. As part of their research for articles journalists often gain access to expensive market research reports which may be mentioned in an article. Additionally, expert sites such as Google Answers provide value in offering direction to someone who seeks information. They don’t provide the hard numbers you may be looking for, but you may find the expert opinions useful when putting together your market research. Finally, another inexpensive resource for obtaining market data can be found at Academic Research Centers.

Market research companies and investment houses are expensive alternatives to market research. The information found with a market research company is generally well researched and contains extensive product/industry metrics and statistics, including forecasts and trend analysis. It is not uncommon to pay well into the thousands of dollars for a report that is only a hundred or so pages long. Since money is typically tight for a business starting out, it’s best to go after your market research using the methods above for gathering free and inexpensive research data.

Although market research is extremely important to your business plan and your business capital search, it is only one piece of the puzzle. Before a lender even looks at your market research they will look at things such as your business management team’s experience, your past business successes, and your “lending character” or your ability to repay a loan. It is vital that you not only have a good business plan, but you also need a good business financing plan as well.

The biggest reason that small businesses fail is a lack of adequate cash flow. When the economy is good and sales are high, this isn’t usually a problem. However, the economy is not always strong, and sales are not always high. During these down times, the cash flow can slow, and cash reserves begin to dwindle. Or you may be enjoying the good economic times, and decide that it is time to expand your business. When this happens, you need to make sure you have a plan for obtaining small business financing.
For well established businesses with a good credit record, finding small business financing is not usually a problem. If this describes your business, you probably already have a relationship with a bank. You should be able to talk to the loan manager at your bank, and it is just a matter of structuring the financing in a way that is acceptable. If you do not already have a relationship with a local bank, it is an easy thing to do. Most banks are more than willing to work with successful businesses.
However, not all businesses are well established, and not all businesses have a solid credit history. For those businesses, obtaining small business financing can be a bit more problematic. There are, however, lenders that are willing to work with business that have struggled financially. They specialize in lending money to businesses that might not qualify for financing with a bank.
For businesses that are already operating, many lenders only require the past several months credit card transaction records as proof that the business is generating income. The lender then “buys” a portion of your credit card sales as repayment for the loan. When you take out a loan, the agreed upon portion of credit card sales will go to the lender until the loan is repaid in its entirety.
Because there are so many lenders in the small business financing industry, it is important that you do your homework. Make sure you completely understand the terms of the loan before you sign any loan agreements. Read the agreement thoroughly, and if there are any parts you do not understand, ask for clarification. It is a good practice to have your attorney or CPA examine any documents. They are trained to read legal and financial documents, and they may be able to spot any problems before the agreement goes into effect. While it is important to keep your cash flow healthy, signing a bad loan agreement can hamper your business growth for years to come.
Taking out small business financing is a normal part of business. Do not look at the need to take out a loan as a sign of bad business or failure. It is a necessary part of doing business. Sometimes it is the difference between keeping your business running during a slow time, or closing your doors before you even have a good chance to succeed. When given that choice, a loan seems like a very good idea.

Are you willing to risk your home to finance your business? One way to infuse your business or startup business concern with cash is by tapping the equity in your home. Is it a smart move? The answer depends on a number of different factors.Financing a Business

One of the biggest stumbling blocks for a new business owner is acquiring financing for the early costs of establishing the business. Unless you have an established banking relationship or collateral to put down, few banks or lenders are willing to make a loan without a personal guarantee of some sort. It makes sense for a homeowner to turn to their largest asset as collateral. A home equity loan or line of credit is often the easiest way for a new business owner to acquire a sum of money that can be used to fund their business startup.The Case against Home Equity Business Financing

Financial experts almost unanimously warn against using your home as financing for a business. It’s a risky move. If your business fails, you could be putting your home in danger. Since most entrepreneurs begin a business with the intent of supporting their families, does it really make sense to put your family’s biggest asset at risk?

On the other hand, your home is the biggest asset. Using it as collateral can be a very cost-effective way of financing a new beginning. Home equity loans often carry the lowest rates of interest of any other type of loan. Add to that the fact that many banks will require a personal guarantee for a business loan to a startup, and the effect is about the same. You’ll still be personally liable for paying the money back if your business fails.

The trick is to borrow smart. Before you decide to put your house on line to finance your business, do a bit of soul-searching and a lot of research. Here are some factors to consider before you decide to put your home up as collateral for a business loan.

1. Are you counting on the success of the business to pay back the loan?

Keep in mind that most business concerns do not turn a profit within the first year. Can you make payments on a home equity loan for a year without tapping business profits? If you can, then a home equity loan may be a good option for you. Even if the business fails, as long as you know you can make the payments on your loan, your home is safe.

2. Is a home equity line of credit an option?

A home equity loan makes sense if you need a chunk of money to purchase equipment and pay starting expenses. A home equity line of credit has a number of advantages over a closed-end loan under some conditions. While you may be paying slightly higher interest rates on a line of credit, one of the biggest advantages is the revolving feature. In other words, when you pay back money on a line of credit, it becomes available for you to borrow against again. A second advantage is that you’ll only be paying interest on what you actually owe. A home equity line of credit for business purposes is a good way to have cash in reserves for emergencies without having to pay interest on it until you use it.

3. Do you have an exit plan?

One of the biggest failings for most business owners is that they fail to plan for failure as well as success. We all hope that our businesses will be wildly successful, and it’s easy to make big plans based on that dream. But there’s a real danger in not planning what you’ll do in case of failure. At what point will you decide that enough is enough, and what steps will you take to get out with the least possible damage? Deciding when to call it quits can save you from disaster if the business doesn’t fly as high as you hoped.

4. Should you tell your lender that your loan is for business?

While home equity loans can generally be used for any purpose, including funding a new business, some loan experts recommend against volunteering the information to your lender. They may feel obligated to direct you to the commercial lending arm of their institution if that’s bank policy. If, on the other hand, you are asked directly, it’s best to be honest. Lying about your purpose for the loan could be construed as misrepresentation and open you to charges of fraud. Misrepresenting yourself could also negate the loan and call it due immediately.

The long and short of it is this: your home is probably your best source of funding for your business in the early stages. If you do decide to use a home equity loan to finance your business, be sure to think it through and safeguard your home before signing on the dotted line.

By exploring what went wrong with commercial lenders and small business financing, business owners will be better prepared to avoid serious future problems with their working capital financing and commercial real estate financing. This is not a hypothetical issue for most commercial borrowers, particularly if they need help with determining practical small business finance choices that are available to them. Business owners should be prepared for the banks and bankers who caused the recent financial chaos to say that nothing has gone wrong with commercial lending and even if it did everything is back to normal. It is hard to imagine how anything could be further from the truth. Commercial lenders made serious mistakes, and according to a popular phrase, if business lenders and business owners forget these mistakes, they are doomed to repeat them in the future.Greed seems to be a common theme for several of the most serious business finance mistakes made by many lending institutions. Unsurprising negative results were produced by the attempt to produce quick profits and higher-than-normal returns. The bankers themselves seem to be the only ones surprised by the devastating losses that they produced. After two years of trying unsuccessfully to get someone else to pay for their errors, the largest small business lender in the United States (CIT Group) recently declared bankruptcy. We are already seeing a record level of bank failures, and by most accounts many of the largest banks should have been allowed to fail but were instead supported by artificial government funding.When making loans or buying securities such as those now referred to as toxic assets, there were many instances in which banks failed to look at cash flow. For some small business finance programs, a stated income commercial loan underwriting process was used in which commercial borrower tax returns were not even requested or reviewed. One of the most prominent business lenders aggressively using this approach was Lehman Brothers (which filed for bankruptcy due to a number of questionable financial dealings).Bankers obsessed with generating quick profits frequently lost sight of a basic investment principle that asset valuations can decrease quickly and do not always increase. Many business loans were finalized in which the commercial borrower had little or no equity at risk. When buying the future toxic assets, banks themselves invested as little as three cents on the dollar. The apparent assumption was that if any downward fluctuation in value occurred, it would be a token three to five percent. In fact we have now seen many commercial real estate values decrease by 40 to 50 percent during the past two years. For banks which made the original commercial mortgage loans on such business properties, commercial real estate is proving to be the next toxic asset on their balance sheets. In contrast to the government bailouts to banks having toxic assets based on non-performing residential loans, it is unlikely that banks will receive similar financial assistance to cover commercial mortgage problems. As a result, a realistic expectation is that such commercial finance losses could produce serious problems for many banks and other lenders over the next several years. Much to the dismay of all business owners and as mentioned in the next paragraph, many commercial lending programs have already been dramatically reduced.An ongoing problem is illustrated by misleading lender statements about their small business financing activities. While many banks have routinely indicated that they are providing business financing on a normal basis, the actual results by almost any standard indicate otherwise. It is obvious that lenders would rather not admit publicly that they are not lending normally because of the negative public relations impact this would cause. Business owners will need to be skeptical and cautious in their efforts to secure small business financing because of this particular issue alone.There are practical and realistic small business finance solutions available to business owners in spite of the inappropriate commercial lending practices just described. Due to the lingering impression by some that there are not significant commercial lending difficulties currently, the intentional emphasis here has been a focus on the problems rather than the solutions . Despite contrary views from bankers and politicians, collectively most observers would agree that the multiple mistakes made by banks and other commercial lenders were serious and are likely to have long-lasting effects for commercial borrowers.

The usual political example of “mixed signals” is depicted by conflicting statements made by politicians in different settings, but the use of “mixed signals” is no longer restricted to the world of politics. As banks become more connected with politics, it should come as no surprise that “mixed signals” is now as accurate in describing the financial world as it is with the political world. Unfortunately for small business financing, “mixed signals” has become a regular description that applies to business loans and working capital.

As a descriptive phrase, “mixed signals” most frequently includes references to confusion and variation as well as deception. Particularly in a competitive business world where the mere appearance of confusion or deception can be devastating, this phrase is routinely intended to be critical and negative. With this viewpoint, it is striking to see how often “mixed signals” or similar words have been used to describe current banking activities (based on a recent online search). The use of “mixed signals” seems to be appropriate and accurate (especially when viewed through the lens of commercial borrowers and business owners) because the words and actions of many banks are currently at odds with each other.

Commercial credit lines have been increasingly reduced or revoked entirely and fewer commercial mortgages are being completed in most locations even though lenders have indicated that business lending is proceeding at a normal pace. A direct result of this is confusion among business owners about the true availability of business financing and commercial real estate financing. Due to mixed signals as well as other factors, many commercial borrowers are now reluctantly admitting that banks are just not what they used to be. In a way similar to many automobile manufacturers that are now a tarnished and shriveled version of what they once were, it seems like almost overnight most banks have lost the confidence of the public. With such changes, small business owners are facing a new commercial loan environment and must adapt quickly. Because their business banker is not as likely to be up to the task anymore, small business owners should not hesitate to admit that they must look out for their own best interests.

The analysis here is intended to be a candid and practical evaluation of a situation currently faced by many small business owners. When unwinding a long-term relationship with a bank or banker, some of the same trauma that occurs when any positive relationship suddenly goes sour is likely to be present. Parties are likely to move forward after doing the best that they can. When making decisions involving potential changes, a small business owner considering whether to fire their banker should analyze the likely consequences if no changes are made. If keeping the old bank is holding their business back, either by bad advice or inadequate business financing, most business owners will conclude that they should seek a new bank.

There appears to be an adequate supply of new small business finance sources to fill the void left by the exit of many banks and other lenders from commercial lending despite the confusing and complicated lending climate for small businesses. Having a reliable and effective business loan provider to consistently support the operational requirements of their business is what matters to most business owners after all is said and done. Several outcomes can be produced by small business loan confusion. Individual circumstances will cause final decisions to vary for commercial borrowers effected by mixed lending signals. One of the most difficult issues to be considered in the process of small business finance decision-making is the feasibility of finding a new working capital financing or business financing source.

Business borrowers should be prepared to take a more personal and active role in the commercial finance needs of their business in order to increase the chances of their business surviving despite mixed signals from commercial lenders. There are a number of business financing resources which will describe specific commercial finance issues in more detail for small business owners seeking to learn more about any mixed signals they are experiencing with business loans.

Recent commercial lender changes are likely to impact most small business owners. If a commercial borrower wants to continue their present banking relationship, they will find (in most cases) that the business lending changes are permanent and cannot be avoided. A few new and more flexible commercial lending sources represent a welcome exception to this trend.

One of the biggest commercial lending changes involves new guidelines for working capital financing. Most banks appear to be quietly eliminating business lines of credit or severely reducing the amount they are willing to finance to a level which is not helpful to an average business. Very few businesses can survive without a reliable source of working capital, so this change promises to receive the highest priority from most small businesses. To replace the disappearing commercial lines of credit, the most practical options for business borrowers include working capital loans and merchant financing from one of the alternative commercial finance sources still active in small business financing programs.

The difficulty of locating investment property financing illustrates another business lender change. If the commercial property is considered to be owner-occupied (the owner occupies a substantial portion of the building), more banks will be interested in making commercial real estate loans. Investors that do not occupy the property often own business properties like shopping centers and apartments. For many banks, it appears that they are currently restricting their commercial lending activities to those which qualify for SBA loans (Small Business Administration) which generally exclude investor-owned situations.

A third significant business lending change is demonstrated by revised guidelines for refinancing commercial real estate loans. In almost all cases, commercial lenders have dramatically reduced the loan-to-value percentages that they will lend. In some areas and for specific types of businesses, many banks will no longer lend over half of the appraised value. While this causes difficulties when attempting to buy a business, the problems for a commercial borrower reach a crisis magnitude when refinancing an existing commercial loan. In many cases the original business loan was based on a much higher percentage of business value than the bank is currently willing to provide. The lending problem is further compounded when a current appraisal reveals a decrease in value since the original loan was made. Due to a distressed economy which frequently results in decreased business income that then leads to lower commercial property values, such an outcome is especially common.

In a fourth example of commercial lending changes, for virtually all small business finance programs many small business owners have already discovered an inflated fee structure from most banks. Perhaps the bank perspective for some of the commercial financing fee increases is that they need to find a revenue source to replace the diminishing income from small business loans which has resulted from bank decisions to decrease commercial loan activity. When they encounter suddenly increased business financing fees levied by their current bank, business borrowers should seek different commercial funding sources except in unavoidable and unusual circumstances.

A final example of commercial lender changes is depicted by banks changing their overall guidelines for small business financing. Many banks have effectively stopped making any new commercial loans to small businesses regardless of business income or creditworthiness. Unfortunately these banks are not announcing publicly that they have discontinued small business finance activities. This means that while they might accept business loan applications, they do not intend to actually finalize commercial financing in most cases. Whenever it becomes obvious that the bank has no real intentions of making a requested working capital loan or commercial mortgage, this approach has clearly frustrated and enraged business borrowers.

The five commercial lending changes described above are unfortunately the proverbial tip of the iceberg. As they approach business lenders to obtain commercial real estate financing, working capital loans and small business financing, business owners will need to be especially skeptical and diligent.

Advanced help is usually a good idea when faced with complex problems, and the use of a small business financing expert is a prudent step for commercial borrowers to take in view of continuing business lending difficulties. Small business owners are currently confronting what appears to be the worst commercial banking climate in several decades.

When it comes to running their own business, most small business owners probably have a very independent perspective. It is normal for most small businesses to postpone seeking outside consulting help even when facing a business loan rejection by their banker. Many previous business finance options are no longer available from traditional banks, and this might not yet be obvious to some small business owners. Realizing that they have a commercial finance problem requiring outside advanced consulting help will often be an appropriate starting point for a business borrower to seek a small business finance expert. For most this realization will occur after being turned down for a commercial loan by their current bank and not knowing what to do next. Some business owners might have already had this experience and then unsuccessfully tried to find new financing. In a growing number of situations, the decision by many banks to permanently stop making commercial loans to small businesses will be the last straw that prompts a call for expert assistance.

Some potential pitfalls should be anticipated during efforts to find a qualified and experienced working capital expert. Qualifications to act in the capacity of a small business loan expert are exhibited by very few individuals or companies. For an individual being asked to provide advanced help which can be used to formulate effective business financing options, problem-finding and problem-solving are both essential components. An adequate stock of these skills that are so critical to the success of a business financing expert are generally scarce commodities in any field but commercial financing in particular seems to be suffering from an ongoing shortage of these positive traits.

A large number of former residential mortgage consultants have no meaningful experience involving complicated commercial real estate loans but have still attempted to add small business loans to their line of products. Small business financing is more complicated than realized by many borrowers. It is appropriate to seek a qualified individual who is engaged in it as a full-time occupation and not a part-time venture because it usually takes at least several years to master the field. Finding a suitable full-time expert in an established commercial financing business with extensive experience should be emphasized when building upon this observation. It will also be prudent to avoid a current banking relationship when seeking advice about who to contact as prospective business financing experts. This will eliminate potential conflicts of interest and also properly reflect that a bank which has already been less than helpful in making needed loans will not necessarily have a trustworthy recommendation.

Business owners should not lose sight of their immediate objective when seeking small business loan expert help. Ensuring that all practical and effective commercial finance options are fully reviewed is ultimately the primary purpose in using a small business financing expert. It is essential that commercial borrowers receive thorough and candid advice before finalizing any working capital and commercial loan agreements.

If you were to start committing any of the following 3 business financing mistakes too often, you would greatly reduce your chances of long-term business success. And to be a success in business you have to think long-term. Track record and reputation in business is earned over time.  A good business track-record is largely judged on financial success and financial success in business is assessed largely through the examination of business accounts. Good business accounts demonstrate to banks, financiers, colleagues etc., that you are a bankable business person and will lead them to put their faith and money into you and your business ventures.By not committing any of the following 3 business finance mistakes you will, at the very least, have good financial indicators and be able to respond to the businesses financial position in time. The key here is to understand both the causes and significance of each. Business Financing Mistake # 1 – No Monthly BookkeepingRegardless of the size of your business, inaccurate record keeping creates all sorts of issues relating to cash flow, planning, and business decision making. In a word, your business is doomed if you are not doing monthly bookkeeping.Bookkeeping services are dirt cheap compared to most other costs a business will incur. Bookkeeping should be done on a monthly basis along with Management Accounts so that your financial records are always up to date and you can view the financial status of the business (Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet etc.,)Once a bookkeeping process gets established, the cost and time involved usually goes down.  By itself, this one mistake tends to lead to all the others in one way or another and should be avoided at all costs.Business Financing Mistakes # 2 – No Projected Cash Flow & BudgetHaving no meaningful bookkeeping creates a lack of knowledge on where you are. And having no projected cash flow and budget creates a lack of knowledge about where you’re going.  Without keeping score, a business tends to stray further and further away from its targets and, invites a crisis that eventually forces the business to change it monthly spending and cash-management habits.A projected cash flow first and foremost needs to be realistic. You should project both a best-case and worst-case scenario based on projected sales and business expenditures. It’s a good idea to aim for the best-case scenario but know how the business would respond should the worst-case scenario transpire.Business Financing Mistakes # 3 – Inadequate Credit ControlThere’s nothing worse than making sales, doing the work, sending your customer an invoice and then not getting paid on time…or worse still not getting paid at all! It’s a well-established fact that the longer a debt isn’t collected the less chance it will be collected. Typical credit terms in most established business are 30 days. However, due to a culture amongst some customers of paying late and small business not operating strict credit control, a business can often not get paid on time and fast run out of cash. So how do you avoid this? Well, there are numerous steps you can take but the following 3 steps will help ensure you always get paid…and paid on time.1.Appoint someone in the business to be in charge of credit control. It’s vital that someone is responsible for sending out invoices and statements; reminding the customer that payment is due, handling queries on invoices etc.2.Reinforce your payment terms and conditions on your contracts, on your website, on your invoices etc. It’s important that customers are aware of your payment terms and the consequences of late payment (cessation of service, interest charges etc.,)3.Send your invoices on time and include a statement of the account with each invoice. If you don’t send your invoice out at the end of each month how can you expect to get paid before the end of the following month.In a world of tightening credit from banks, strict business finance practices are required even more. You can’t expect your bank to extend your overdraft or facilitate a term loan if you are guilty of any of the 3 above financing mistakes.There’s so much more to business finance and money management than I have covered in this article that I could write a whole book on it! But for the moment if you are starting out or taking over the running of a business and are experiencing working capital or cash-flow difficulties than I would first start investigating these 3 key areas and see that they are being managed diligently. If you do this, than many of your cash-flow difficulties will begin to disappear and your business finances will improve quickly (assuming your business proposition is sound in the first place and sales are strong). Find out more about business, personal finance and wealth creation strategies by signing up NOW at www.MillioniareMindsetSecrets.com.

Business owners should not lose sight of their immediate objective when seeking small business financing expert help. Ensuring that all practical and effective commercial finance options are fully reviewed is ultimately the primary purpose in using a working capital expert or other commercial loan specialist. Receiving candid and thorough advice before finalizing any small business loan agreements is essential for all commercial borrowers.Finding an experienced and qualified commercial loan expert will have some potential pitfalls that should be anticipated. Qualifications to act in the capacity of a small business loan expert are exhibited by very few individuals or companies. Problem-finding and problem-solving are both essential components of an individual being asked to provide advanced help which can be used to formulate effective business financing options. An adequate stock of these skills that are so critical to the success of a working capital expert are generally scarce commodities in any field, but commercial financing in particular seems to be suffering from an ongoing shortage of these positive traits.When it comes to running their own business, most small business owners probably have a very independent perspective. It is normal for most small businesses to postpone seeking outside consulting help even when facing a business loan rejection by their banker. Many previous business finance options are no longer available from traditional banks, and this might not yet be obvious to some small business owners. Realizing that they have a commercial finance problem requiring outside advanced consulting help will often be an appropriate starting point for a business borrower to seek a small business finance expert. For most this realization will occur when they do not know what to do next after being turned down for a commercial loan by their current bank. Some business owners might have already had this experience and then unsuccessfully tried to find new financing. The last straw that prompts a call for commercial finance expert assistance in a growing number of cases will be the decision by many banks to permanently stop making commercial loans to small businesses.There is an ample supply of former residential mortgage consultants that have attempted to add small business loans to their line of products but have virtually no meaningful experience involving complicated commercial mortgages. Small business financing is more complicated than realized by many borrowers. It is appropriate to seek a qualified individual who is engaged in it as a full-time occupation and not a part-time venture because it usually takes at least several years to master the field. Finding a suitable full-time business finance expert in an established commercial financing business with extensive experience should be emphasized when building upon this observation. It will also be prudent to avoid a current banking relationship when seeking advice about who to contact as prospective business financing experts. This will eliminate potential conflicts of interest and also properly reflect that a bank which has already been less than helpful in making needed loans will not necessarily have a trustworthy recommendation.Small business owners are currently confronting what appears to be the worst commercial banking climate in several decades. Advanced help is usually a good idea when faced with complex problems, and the use of a small business financing expert is a prudent step for commercial borrowers to take in view of continuing business lending difficulties.