Many people are trying to start their own businesses today and most of the entrepreneurs that i have spoken to have used their own savings or equity from their home and have come up short financially trying to get the business up and running or to keep it going.

There are steps that should be taken before the business is actually operating, and these steps are crucial to a successful start-up. The first is "How much will it cost," the second is, "How much money do I have to put into it," and," Can I get additional financing to operate the business until i start making a profit?'and "How is my credit," These questions need to be examined in depth, before hanging the shingle out.

There are many ads on the internet from finance companies offering loans to small businesses, which is great, but, the business has to meet certain criteria in order to qualify for the  loan. More times than I can count, the new business start-up has spent most or all of their funds before securing additional financing to stay in business and either did not consider how or if their personal credit would have an impact on obtaining a business loan.

A business start-up checklist is being created by me so people can at least look it over and it will provide an outline and resource links to give the entrepreneur a fair chance at getting up and running the RIGHT way.

Over 80% of business in America today is generated by small businesses. Having the right information in an easy to read,easy to access format,i think would greatly help, those individuals who take the financial risks to start out on their own, and create a product or service that they believe in.

Recently I walked into my bank and sat down with a personal banker and asked her how I would go about applying for a business loan for a new business. She smiled and said that her bank would need the last two years tax returns of the business in order to make a lending decision! Talk about a catch 22! (The new business needs to be in business 2 years before qualifying for financing. Hmmm. She then went on to say that she did not even promote the banks business loan program because  no one could qualify for it. That's a sad testament for new start-ups that think their local bank is going to be able to help them.

And let's not forget a persons credit profile when applying for a business loan. What was considered a good score 5 years ago isn't as good today. We will talk credit and getting good credit in the next article.

Until then, Thanks and may you be prosperous in all you do.