| Loan Financing Guide for Small Business Owners |
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| Your guide to securing and repaying small business loans |
| Reviews |
So, you’ve finally decided to open that cozy café on the corner or
you have been running a dry cleaning service for a year and feel you’
re ready to purchase the empty building next door to expand into a
coin laundry service. You have a business plan and financial
statements at hand and feel assured that you can convince a lender
that you deserve the loan that will take your business to the next
level. Are you sure about that? If your answer is yes, that means
you can respond to the following questions succinctly and openly
without hesitation: How much money (the exact amount, not an
estimate or range) do you need to borrow? What, specifically, will
the money be used for? How quickly will your business be able to
repay the loan? Are the answers flowing freely, complete with
qualitative documentation in a clear language that any lender can
quickly grasp and translate into loan approval? No? Help is
available.
Author D. Neil Berdiev, a banker who has worked for Fidelity
Investments, Fleet Bank and other financial institutions, has written
a practical, straightforward book aimed at educating small business
owners about the process of securing financing. Loan Financing
Guide for Small Business Owners informs entrepreneurs about
all aspects of financing from the types of loan products available,
the variety of bank and financing companies to approach, as well as
how to present the information that will effectively answer the
questions a lender uses to determine if a business is worth the
investment and risk required to approve a small business loan.
Berdiev suggests from the start that business owners take an
honest, realistic look at their business’ structure including the
amount of equity they hold in the company, cash flow history,
management, and the risks in their industry. This is the starting point
for preparation of a loan application. The Request for Loan
Proposal (RLP) is one of the tools the author describes that is used
to effectively present a small business in its best light. The RLP
helps the business owner translate qualitative desires into
quantitative goals. Lenders need to see how a company will handle
timely repayment of a loan and Berdiev provides the information
and instruments needed to enable the business owner to do just that.
Throughout the book, the author informs the reader about various
aspects of lending that should be a part of an owner’s knowledge
set. The primary financial statements that lenders need to see are
described as well as what the author calls the “five C’s of credit”
(character, capacity, capital, collateral, and conditions). Berdiev
stresses the importance of being ethical and forthcoming in the
presentation of a business’ strengths and weaknesses. He also
makes a point of noting that any weaknesses disclosed should be
accompanied by a concrete plan to deal with the outlined
deficiencies. And it doesn’t end there. Business owners are warned
that loan approval does not constitute the end of the financing
relationship, because loan agreements include requirements that
demand ongoing contact and disclosure between the two parties:
“… the moment you sign a loan agreement, you have to play by the
lender’s rules outlined in the contract (p.105).”
Loan Financing Guide for Small Business Owners is an
essential tool for beginning or seasoned business owners who find
themselves in the position of needing debt financing to grow their
companies. The book is structured with short, to the point chapters
and accompanying appendices that make it useful as a reference
book once an initial page by page read through has been
completed. To be successful in securing loan financing, every small
business owner needs this book.
you have been running a dry cleaning service for a year and feel you’
re ready to purchase the empty building next door to expand into a
coin laundry service. You have a business plan and financial
statements at hand and feel assured that you can convince a lender
that you deserve the loan that will take your business to the next
level. Are you sure about that? If your answer is yes, that means
you can respond to the following questions succinctly and openly
without hesitation: How much money (the exact amount, not an
estimate or range) do you need to borrow? What, specifically, will
the money be used for? How quickly will your business be able to
repay the loan? Are the answers flowing freely, complete with
qualitative documentation in a clear language that any lender can
quickly grasp and translate into loan approval? No? Help is
available.
Author D. Neil Berdiev, a banker who has worked for Fidelity
Investments, Fleet Bank and other financial institutions, has written
a practical, straightforward book aimed at educating small business
owners about the process of securing financing. Loan Financing
Guide for Small Business Owners informs entrepreneurs about
all aspects of financing from the types of loan products available,
the variety of bank and financing companies to approach, as well as
how to present the information that will effectively answer the
questions a lender uses to determine if a business is worth the
investment and risk required to approve a small business loan.
Berdiev suggests from the start that business owners take an
honest, realistic look at their business’ structure including the
amount of equity they hold in the company, cash flow history,
management, and the risks in their industry. This is the starting point
for preparation of a loan application. The Request for Loan
Proposal (RLP) is one of the tools the author describes that is used
to effectively present a small business in its best light. The RLP
helps the business owner translate qualitative desires into
quantitative goals. Lenders need to see how a company will handle
timely repayment of a loan and Berdiev provides the information
and instruments needed to enable the business owner to do just that.
Throughout the book, the author informs the reader about various
aspects of lending that should be a part of an owner’s knowledge
set. The primary financial statements that lenders need to see are
described as well as what the author calls the “five C’s of credit”
(character, capacity, capital, collateral, and conditions). Berdiev
stresses the importance of being ethical and forthcoming in the
presentation of a business’ strengths and weaknesses. He also
makes a point of noting that any weaknesses disclosed should be
accompanied by a concrete plan to deal with the outlined
deficiencies. And it doesn’t end there. Business owners are warned
that loan approval does not constitute the end of the financing
relationship, because loan agreements include requirements that
demand ongoing contact and disclosure between the two parties:
“… the moment you sign a loan agreement, you have to play by the
lender’s rules outlined in the contract (p.105).”
Loan Financing Guide for Small Business Owners is an
essential tool for beginning or seasoned business owners who find
themselves in the position of needing debt financing to grow their
companies. The book is structured with short, to the point chapters
and accompanying appendices that make it useful as a reference
book once an initial page by page read through has been
completed. To be successful in securing loan financing, every small
business owner needs this book.
| Copyright © 2005-2008. D. Neil Berdiev. All rights reserved. |
| REVIEW |
| Melissa Levine for Independent Professional Book Reviewers www.bookreviewers.org |