Small Business Lenders in Chesapeake, Virginia

Local Chesapeake Business Loan Sources

To assist you in finding a small business banker, here's our list of small business banks in Chesapeake.

Other Lending Resources for Chesapeake Businesses

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

Business Loan Advice for Chesapeake Businesses

Prior to reaching out to banks to get a bank loan, you will need to determine exactly what size loan you will be asking for.

You need to be able to clearly introduce your business to the banker, explain how much you want to borrow, define how the money will be used, and show how you plan to pay the money 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 guarantee the loan. Collateral is relevant because banks always want to be prepared for a worst-case scenario in which you cannot repay the loan.

If the business has few assets, you will likely be asked to pledge 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 are SBA lenders. 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

Gaebler.com is a site that is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs, and we have a lot of resources related to to Raising Money. For example, we would suggest you read Attracting Investors.