A Guide to Your Business Financing Options in 2023

Are you a small business owner in America? If you answered yes to this question, you are not alone. There are over 33 million small businesses in the United States. 

With so much competition in the country, you have to make sure that you have your house in order. One of the biggest things you need to do is make sure that your business financing is secure. 

What are your business financing options? This guide goes over some of the top solutions to this problem. 

Bank Loan 

If you want to go the traditional route, you have the option of asking the bank for a business loan to help finance your business. You will need to get a few things to get approved for this. 

For starters, you're going to need a business plan. You need to have a vision for your business that explains to lenders exactly where their money is going. Lenders will feel more confident if you know what you need every dollar for rather than asking for a random dollar amount. 

Also, you want to make sure that you have the strongest application for a loan possible before you go to a bank. This includes building up your savings, updating your pay stubs, making sure that your business records are in order, working on increasing your credit score as much as possible, and more. 

Make sure you have your application organized and it's as strong as possible before submitting it to a lender for a bank loan. 

SBA Loan 

Another option you have is to take this to the SBA (Small Business Administration). This is a group that likes to help small businesses thrive and as a result, they are typically willing to give friendlier loans to small businesses that they believe in. 

Luckily for you, there are also many different types of business loans available from the SBA. Some are structured so that way you can get a micro loan while others are structured so that you have more time to pay the loan back. 

Some of the biggest advantages of these types of loans tend to be lower interest rates compared to a bank as well as a better payment structure for business owners. 

However, getting a loan from the SBA does come with a catch. The catch is that you need a stronger application for this than a typical bank loan. 

An example of this is requiring a higher credit score than you may be able to get away with on a bank application. You are likely going to have to at least match the average credit score for Americans. 

As of 2022, the average credit score in the United States is 714. Considering that this score can range from 300 to 900, it is safe to say that your credit history has to be in good shape to get approved for this type of loan. 

Another aspect you need to think about is what your business's track record is. For these types of loans, startup businesses are unlikely to get approved. 

The SBA wants to see a couple of years of positive history in a business before getting involved with such a business. Make sure that your recent business records are in good shape before applying for an SBA loan. 

Crowdfunding 

If you don't like your chances of securing one of the loans above, you do have the option of asking for the public's help. These could be people that you know and who want to see you succeed. Or, these could just be people who know about your product and service and want to ensure that your business stays alive to keep producing it. 

Whatever the case may be, you can set up a platform that allows you to accept donations for your business. Think of something like Kickstarter or GoFundMe. These platforms easily allow people to donate to your cause as long as they have some sort of payment method available online. 

Some people may view this as begging for money though and may not want to risk their public image. You have to decide if there are social consequences or image consequences for going this route before you go further with this. 

However, if you do a good enough job asking people for money, you may get more money than you need. Plus, you don't have to pay any interest on this money, so it could be a strong incentive to go in this direction. 

Angel Investor 

Finally, one of the easiest solutions for your business financing woes can be to find an angel investor. Understandably, this is easier said than done. The angel investor would likely have to have been paying attention to your business already or you would have had a mutual connection. 

Whatever the case, this investor is usually someone who has more than enough money to go around. As a result, they use the excess money that they have to try to earn more money for themselves. 

So, how does this work? The angel investor will agree to give you a certain amount of money. This can be a one-time payment or it can be enough money to give you working capital while being open to giving you more money down the road. 

In exchange for this, the angel investor will likely ask for a certain percentage of your business for ownership purposes. So if your business ends up becoming a hit, you can both make a lot of money with stock options. 

Know Your Business Financing Options 

These are some of the business financing options you may want to consider to secure working capital for your business. You may consider asking a bank for a loan or applying for one through the SBA. 

If loans are not something you want to get involved with, you have the option of taking this idea public and asking for help from them. Or you could go the angel investor route. 

Do you need help financing your business? Message us here to get started.