Welcome to this course on the basics of business loans business loans provide funds to grow your business.
Increase profits and avoid cash crunches.
Loans are a cash management tool that some use wisely and some misuse.
They can help your growth explode or just blow up your business.
I want to show you how to get the right loan for you how to use it and what to watch out for.
I'll start by explaining where businesses can get loans.
This course focuses on loans from banks and credit unions.
But I'll explain other sources.
Next I'll define words used in the lending process so we all know what I mean as I talk about loan types
and structures will go through different types of business loans and the appropriate uses of those types.
I'll talk about loan underwriting which is the process and criteria lenders use to decide whether to
grant alone.
Sometimes a borrower is too risky for Standard Bank loans so they are more likely to be funded via government
programs like Small Business Administration loans.
I'll talk briefly about those programs.
I'll explain the loan documents and point out important clauses in these documents.
It's crucial to you to understand these documents to know your rights and responsibilities.
Before we dive into the materials I wanted to tell you a little about me and my background with banking.
I'm Rob Stevens and I'm the founder of CFO perspective which provides financial education and consulting
to small business owners.
I was previously the CFO of a couple banks and a community health clinic system.
I've been on loan approval committees.
I've also been on loan workout committees and special asset committees which is what banks call in meetings
where we discuss what to do with past due loans.
The collections department at a two billion dollar credit union reported to me.
Long story short I've seen The Good The Bad and the ugly of business lending.
I want to show you the good and how to avoid the bad and the ugly.