How to Get the Dough, Part II

Courtesy of the National Federation of Independent Business magazine, here is some more insight on how you can get the dough:
1. Apply for a loan! Approval rates among all banks were actually up in 2010 for 2009, but actual applications were down. Don’t believe the Negative Nellies in the national media.
2.A majority of owners who requested credit got it, and generally the amount they wanted. The article doesn’t say whether borrowers were switching banks, but it’s still somewhat optimistic.
3. Cash flow was the most often cited reason for applying, to bolster cash flow (it was probably increased credit lines), but the banks weren’t too fond of bailing out losing operations, apparently. Have a plan to reverse the negative flows when you apply.
4. Real estate ownership continues to thwart attempts to borrow, probably because its under water. In other, move and lease, put your real estate in another corporation. This is a real reversal from the way that most owners think, since 95% of the owners surveyed owned real estate. You should own business real estate personally for tax reasons, but it’s clearly not going to help you in the lending market, unless you bought at recently depressed prices.
5. Smaller firms had greater success with smaller lending institutions, which is what we said in the earlier post. The larger financial institutions aren’t interested in lending to you.
So, here’s some validation for our earlier statements. Go get that loan!