If you are a citizen of the U.S, you can access funding for your small business through Small Business Administration (SBA). Although SBA does not offer loans directly to the business owners, it partners with some lenders and lending institutions to organize for easier funding for people looking for small business financial assistance. There are various programs which you can choose from depending on your financial requirements.
Some of the small business administration loans programs that you can apply for include:
Loan program- this offers financial assistance to businesses that have special arrangements and some classifications of this include special purpose loans program, export loans programs to help businesses that specialize in exports and rural business loans that help to provide some unique processing that ease up the application of SBA loans within the local community. You can then choose among these programs for the one that fits your business.
Microloan program- this is a program that helps business owners to access small business administration loans but these are small and short-term. Under this program, SBA avails funds to nonprofit community organizations and these are charged with the responsibility of extending financial assistance to business owners. The average amount offered is ,000 but this can go up to a maximum of ,000. You can use the funds on this microloan program to:
• Purchase supplies or inventory
• Purchase furniture and fixtures
• Purchase machinery and equipment
• You can also use the amount you get as working capital
CDC/ 504 Loan Program- this is the program that you should go for if you need long term financing through small business administration loans. The funds are offered at a fixed rate and you can use such to purchase some major fixed assets meant to modernize or expand your business. CDC simply stands for Certified Development Company and this is a community based nonprofit corporation meant to provide economic development in the concerned community.
Requirements to qualify for SBA loans
There are some requirements that are specific depending on the program you decide to go for as a business owner. However, others are general and some of these include an SBA application form, a personal background statement, your financial statement, business financial statements, business certificates, and projected financial statements among others. To have a clear list of these, you can visit the SBA website where they are listed and explained.
