Athens, Georgia Business Loan

Local Athens Banks

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

Business Loan Providers for Athens Businesses

This is a list of banks outside of Athens, Georgia that have provided SBA loans to Athens businesses. Some of these may be national banks with local branch locations.

Athens Business Loan Advice

Prior to contacting banks to discuss getting a bank loan, you will need to determine exactly what size loan you will be asking for.

You need to be able to clearly explain your business, explain how much you want to borrow, define how the money will be used, and show your ability to pay the loan back to the bank.

A well-defined business plan is essential. If the bank loan is to for a going concern, you should also have financial statements covering the last three years. In addition, you should itemize what collateral you have available to secure 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, the bank may ask you to to pledge your personal assets, such as stocks and bonds that you might own or life insurance policies. 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. Prior to visiting local banks, 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

If you are serious about Raising Money, you need to learn as much as you can. If you haven't read it already, we recommend you review Bank Credit Lines.