This may not be the best time to talk about money and banks in the same breath, but they are still a recommended source of funding for small businesses.
Lending certainly has dried up from what it was just a few years ago.
The behavior of some banks in recent months has reinforced the opinion that they try to give you money when you don't need it, but insist on taking it away when you do.
This doesn't mean that you shouldn't even try, but it does mean that you should have solid collateral to support your request for their money.
Even so, after approaching family and/or friends for business funds, banks are the next logical step.
At this stage, however, the relationship changes before you even start talking to them.
For one thing, they are a for-profit business.
If they lend money to you, then they will expect you to preserve their capital and to pay it back with the interest on it at predetermined rate.
For them, a business loan is no different than a car loan.
It's just that there's a bit more at stake than losing your car.
, depending on how much you need The first step will be to make an appointment to see the person at your bank who handles commercial loans.
Find out from him or her if they're loaning money, the amounts involved, their charges for doing so, and what they would need from you if you wanted to apply for a business loan.
They may even hand you a glossy brochure that tries to explain all of this to you.
By all means, skim through anything they give you, but devote your time to the application and to supplying any other information they request, especially your business plan.
Your business plan will probably need to be quite formal and presented as professionally as possible.
That shouldn't cause you any problems.
Most home computers can handle this quite easily.
Your plan will need to outline in some detail what your business will be; how you intend to market and sell your products and/or services, who the key people will be, and what you expect your profit and losses to look like in the next few years.
Be sure to include their charges and an estimate of the interest you'll pay them in your cash flow, and profit and loss estimates.