How did you Finance or get the Financing?

StormHotRod300 said:

For the past 2 yrs, i've been wanting to open a pool hall AKA dreaming about it.

I obviously have a site, the city doesnt have a pool hall in it, the one that was open closed because of money mis-management. Plus the location it was in is still vacant. And its right across from a college too!

I'm just curious how people went about getting the $$$ for thier business? I've read up about SBL's and it seems like its alot easier if you have collateral. Which obviously i dont have a house to put up for that. I've also talked to people who said there is people who will actually invest in your business plan, because they obviously have the money to do it, when you cant goto through the bank.

dave

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I can’t speak directly about getting financing for a poolhall, but I did get an SBA backed load for another business a few years ago.

Keep in mind that you are borrowing money from the bank, the SBA is just guaranteeing the load. The bank is taking no real risk here, the SBA is taking all the risks. If the SBA approves, you get the loan, if not you don’t. When you apply, your bank will contact the SBA and the SBA will review you application, business plan, and financial portfolio.

When I did this, the SBA seemed most interested in knowing if I had the collateral to back the loan. Basically, they want to know how you are going to pay this back if the business fails. Between my home and investments (retirement accounts) I had the loan covered, so getting approval was a snap. Without this collateral, I expect getting the loan would have been very difficult.

If you don’t have much in the way of collateral, it is going to be a tough sell. Before wasting too much time, go to your bank and talk to them. Many banks have dedicated small business bankers. Make an appointment with one and tell them your story. The small business banker will be able to give you an honest assessment of your chances to get a loan.

Lastly, when you talk to people that don’t really know what they are talking about, they will tell you that you can not get an SBA load unless you are a woman or a minority. This is a load of crap. I am a middle age white guy from the Midwest and got the loan. The only other person I know that has an SBA loan is just like me. The one woman I know that applied for an SBA loan was turned down, not enough collateral. The SBA is more interested in knowing the loan will be paid off than your gender or racial makeup.