Lanark, Illinois Small Business Loans

Local Lanark Lending Resources

To assist you in finding a small business banker, here's our list of small business banks in Lanark.

Lanark Bank Loan Tips

As a prerequisite to reaching out to banks for a loan, you will need to have a specific plan.

You need to be able to clearly explain your business, explain how much you want to borrow, walk the banker through the planned use of proceeds, and show how you plan to pay the loan back to the bank.

A well-defined business plan is is critically important. If the financing is to for an existing business, you should also have financial statements covering the last three years. Bankers will also want to know what collateral you have available to guarantee the loan. Collateral is relevant because banks always want to be prepared for a worst-case scenario in which cash flow from the business does not meet your projections.

If the business has few assets, you will likely be asked to pledge your personal assets, such as the equity in your home. The banks will check on your personal credit history in any case, so hopefully you have good credit history -- you may want to get a copy of your credit history prior to meeting with the banker.

Many of the banks in our list participate in the financial assistance programs available through the SBA. Before you sit down to talk with a small business banker, you may want to get up to speed on SBA loans programs to see if you qualify. SBA 7(a) loans, SBA 504 loans and SBA disaster assistance loans may be available to you.

Gaebler.com Advice on Raising Money

Our Gaebler.com site is dedicated to helping small business owners, and we have a lot of resources related to to Raising Money. For example, we would suggest you read Business Cash Advances.