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October 2, 2023
Finance

How to Get a Small Personal Loan for a Startup

  • May 25, 2022
  • 5 min read
  • 790 Views
How to Get a Small Personal Loan for a Startup

Getting a small personal loan can be a big hurdle for startups due to strict lending standards by lenders. Since lenders don’t have any proof of your capability to run a company, turn a profit and pay back the debt, they usually don’t prefer to lend a loan to newly-set up businesses.

Don’t worry, below are a few tried-and-tested tips that can help you get a small business loan quickly.

Analyze the startup cost you will be covering

There are a number of obstacles that may come across your way when starting a company from scratch. The one major hurdle is startup cost. The list of expenses can be different for every company, some common expenses include.

  • Equipment purchases such as machines and vehicles
  • Technology purchases such as printers and computers
  • Inventory purchase
  • Licenses and permits

Before you look for the loan option you must have an idea what initial and ongoing cost you will have to cover.

Improve your credit score

A good personal credit score is quite important for startups as it is the first thing a lender will have a look at. It ranges between 300-850. The higher is better, make sure it is at least 680+.

To improve your score, you should focus on the following actions.

-Pay your bills on time.

-Pay off debt and keep balances low on credit.

-Do not apply for too many new credits, resulting in multiple inquiries.

You can get your credit score report free from credit bureaus like TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax.

Find out if you qualify for the loan

Along with credit score, there are plenty of other requirements to qualify for a small personal loan no credit check. For example, lenders may consider:

  • How long your business has been running?
  • Does your business make enough profit?
  • Are you capable of making payments?

Choose the right startup loan

Once you know how to get a small personal loan, it is time to begin your startup loan search. You may get small business loans from several platforms such as banks, online lenders, and microlenders.

These lenders offer products such as Business lines of credit, term loans, accounts receivable financing, etc. Once you have decided which type of lender and financing option is right for you, try to compare 2 or 3 similar options.

Gather your documents

Most traditional lenders are hesitant to finance startups, even to get online advance 2nd chance payday loans are a challenge, as they have no business history and proven revenue. However, if you do some preparation before you start your search for a loan you can have a better shot at securing the loan. Some documents that every lender will require are:

  • Bank statements
  • Personal tax returns
  • Income statements
  • Resume
  • Legal documents such as a commercial lease, articles of incorporation, franchise agreement, etc.

So gather them all before applying for a loan.

You should approach small business loan shopping just as you would shopping for a vehicle. If you don’t know how to get started, take help of a financial firm that help startups get easy loans.

How to Get a Small Personal Loan from Government

Government small loans are usually long-term and low-interest personal loans that can be borrowed for different purposes like expanding the business, buying new equipment, and so on.

Although the interest rates of most government lenders are affordable, they don’t prefer lending to small businesses as they consider it a risky investment. You will need to meet the following requirements to qualify for a government personal loan.

  • A good personal credit score that is above 680.
  • You must have a two-year-old profitable business.
  • You must have invested your personal time & money in the business.

How to Prepare Your Government Personal Loan Application

Government lenders are infamous for needing a lot of paperwork. You can expect to spend a good amount of time gathering documents for a loan application. Moreover, processing time may also take somewhere between 4 to 12 weeks. Therefore, it is important you better prepare for it.

Below is the checklist for a small personal loan from the government.

Personal Background:

You will be asked to provide your education background, personal financials, previous addresses, and criminal records (if any). Certain crimes may disqualify you.

Business Plan:

You must have a strong business plan giving at least 3 to 5 years of financial projections that include future sales, profit and loss, cash flows, etc.

Personal & Business Tax Returns

Most small personal government loans will require you to submit your business and personal tax return for the past 3 years. Your personal tax returns play a huge role in whether or not you will get a loan.

Collateral

Though government loans, especially that are backed by SBA (Small Business Administration) don’t need collateral, your claimant will be stronger if you provide your valuable business assets such as real estate, inventory, and equipment as collateral.

Legal Documents

Lenders may request you to produce certain legal documents such as articles of incorporation, certification of business, copies of your business license or contracts with 3rd parties (if any).