There’s no denying it: Creating, running and financing your own small business can be challenging, exhausting, nerve wracking and rewarding experiences—in that order. Acquiring a startup loan is all of those things and the only way to get to the best part—the reward.

The time for a startup loan comes after the seed money, and after you’ve been in business long enough to show positive cash flow. Few business owners are fortunate enough to have enough revenue to finance their own startup loan with the proceeds, though. So where do they get the money their business needs? From one of the following sources.

• Self financing – If you can swing it, do it. The key to doing so successfully is that you must not forget this is a startup loan; you’ve got to separate your personal finances from your business finances as soon as possible, so start making payments on the loan from business revenue as soon as your business can handle it.
• Online bank applications – It doesn’t make sense to go from bank to bank applying for a startup loan; it’s too time consuming. Submitting startup loan applications online means you can submit more applications in a shorter time span and increase your chances of success. Unfortunately, most banks—not all—will be looking at your personal finances with a skeptical eye, and after starting a new business few business owners are able to retain the golden credit score they started with.
• Friends and family – In the early days of your business and throughout your life you’re going to need more than just financial support from those near and dear. You must absolutely not allow business transactions to damage those relationships. Safeguard those bonds by treating their startup loan with the same gravity you would a bank loan: execute a contract with the assistance of an attorney and have the agreement notarized.

It never fails. If your washing machine is dying a slow death, your dryer will experience sympathy pains and your dryer will go deathly cold. If your tires are balding, your transmission will soon slip. How are you going to take care of it all?

If you don’t have the cash on hand, your first impulse might be to put it on plastic. Before you make a move, think about getting a personal loan.

• A personal loan is available for nearly any purpose. Common usages include auto repairs, appliance purchases, home fix-ups, vacations, weddings, medical bills and debt consolidation.

• A personal loan has a fixed interest rates that are almost always lower than credit card rates. Applicants with lower credit scores will likely have to accept higher interest rates, but the same applies to credit cards.

• A personal loan is usually unsecured, so you don’t have to put up your car, your home or any other assets as collateral.

• You can get a personal loan for up to $250,000, depending on borrower qualifications.

So, before you add to your credit card debt, consider this: A $2,000 transmission repair job on a credit card with an interest rate of 15.39% (the current average) will cost a total of #336.26 if paid off in two years. With a 12% personal loan, you save almost $100.

And, if you use a credit card from a big-box home improvement store (currently at 24.99%) to buy a washer and dryer combo, you’ll pay $421.19 in interest if you pay it off in two years. Take out a personal loan instead, and save $226.55.

For help getting the best rate and terms on a personal loan contact America One Unsecured. They’re one of the biggest loan-consulting firms in the country, and have been helping people get the money they need since 1999.

If you feel like you’re drowning in medical bills, an unsecured loan might be your lifeline. Every year thousands of people are hit first with serious illness, then hit with the second blow of devastating medical bills. In fact, medical bills forced roughly 620,000 Americans into bankruptcy last year; that’s 62% of approximately 1 million personal bankruptcies filed in 2008.

Being unable to pay your medical bills isn’t your fault. Your debt didn’t originate with fast cars or fur coats. If you’ve been responsible with your finances, you probably qualify for an unsecured loan to help you pay off your bills before your credit or your health suffers.

• 20% of lawsuits noted on credit reports are from medical debt.
• 50% of all collections are from medical debt.
• Many health care providers will no longer treat patients unable to pay off their medical bills.

Every loan comes with pluses and minuses, and an unsecured loan is no different.

• An unsecured loan has a fixed interest rate.
• An unsecured loan has lower interest rate than most credit cards, but higher than a home equity loan.
• An unsecured loan doesn’t force you to use your house as collateral, but you can’t write off the interest on your taxes.
• An unsecured loan is available to renters who can’t get a home equity loan.

America One Unsecured is one of the largest loan-consulting firms in the United States. Since 1999 they and their partner banks have helped more than 3 million people obtain personal unsecured loans and small business loans. Contact America One Unsecured.

There’s a lot of work to do before you go to the bank asking for a startup business loan, and whether or not you get your loan will depend on your expectations and preparations.

What to expect
• Nearly all businesses begin with personal saving and money from friends or family. In fact, unless you’ve already raised 25% of the startup costs from these sources, no bank will give you a startup business loan. If you’re not willing to put your money on the line, why would a banker?

• You’re almost certainly going to need collateral. It might be your house, your car or your inventory. If it’s any of these, don’t expect the value to match that of your cost or appraisal; if you’re unable to pay back the startup business loan, it’s going to cost the bank a lot of money to liquidate your assets. Accordingly, the bank will most likely ask for collateral equal to 150% of the startup loan.

• Showing the bank the money and collateral you’re bringing to the table is only the beginning. You have to convince the lender that your new venture is going to generate enough money in the first year to pay back the startup business loan with interest. Your business plan better be very well researched.

• Your personal credit will be an important factor in acquiring a startup business loan because a new business has no real credit history of its own. If your credit record has errors, correct them; if it has negatives, consider delaying your loan request until you’ve added positive entries and raised your credit score.

• The importance of loan officer’s impression of your character and personal attributes shouldn’t be underestimated. Part of that assessment will be based on your education, professional background and reference letter, but the rest is subjective. Even if your proposed business will allow you to work from home in your bathrobe, dress like a banker for all face-to-face meeting.

• Getting a startup business loan typically takes 60 to 90 days. If you fail to provide required information early on, expect it to take longer. The best idea is to meet with the bank in advance to get a checklist.