Business Loan Berkeley, California

Local Berkeley Business Loan Sources

Without further adieu, here's our list of small business banks in Berkeley.

Other Lending Resources for Berkeley Businesses

This is a list of banks outside of Berkeley, California that have provided SBA loans to Berkeley businesses. Some of these may be national banks with local branch locations.

Tips for Getting a Business Loan in Berkeley

Before contacting banks for a loan, you will need to determine exactly what size loan you will be asking for.

You need to be able to clearly explain your business, explain how much you want to borrow, define how the money will be used, and show how you plan to pay the loan back to the bank.

Having a business plan is an important prerequisite. If the financing is to for an existing business, you should also have financial statements covering the last three years. You will also need to discuss what collateral you have available to secure the loan. Collateral is relevant because banks always want to be prepared for a worst-case scenario in which cash flow from the business does not meet your projections.

If the business has few assets, you will likely be asked to to guarantee the loan with your personal assets, such as stocks and bonds that you might own or life insurance policies. The banks will check on your personal credit history in any case, so hopefully you have good credit history -- you may want to get a copy of your credit history prior to meeting with the banker.

Many of the banks in our list participate in the financial assistance programs available through the SBA. Before meeting with the banker, you may want to get up to speed on SBA loans programs to see if you qualify. SBA 7(a) loans, SBA 504 loans and SBA disaster assistance loans may be available to you.

Gaebler.com Advice on Raising Money

If you are serious about Raising Money, you need to learn as much as you can. If you haven't read it already, we recommend you review Business Line of Credit.