To be a successful entrepreneur, you don’t have to start from scratch the idea is to buy an existing business, it will give you the opportunity without all the challenges and risks of your own startup.
However, this strategy costs money at first. And if your personal savings don’t seem to be able to cover the cost of your purchase, you still have a good chance you’ll be looking to apply for a business loan
It depends on various factors, you may be allowed to buy an existing business with a loan, but first you have to measure your needs and requirements, prepare the right information and documents required, choose and shop for the right lender.
What Do Lenders Consider About You Applying for a Business Loan?
The lenders want to know more about you and the existing business you want to buy by this point, you and your forthcoming business have had two entirely independent histories.
As they do with any loan, lenders will consider about your personal credit history they want to make sure you do have a history of successfully managing debt, you can handle credit responsibly.
They also will consider of the information about your income, your current or recent business (if you have one) and any relevant experience that can proof you as good candidate for running this new business successfully
Here’s a short list of items to prepare for the lenders considerations:
• Personal credit score
• Tax returns
• Income documentation and/or cash flow statement
• Outstanding debt
On the other hand, if you already own a business and are looking to expand it or change your business model, lenders will also consider about the financial health of your current company.
Once, check with your lender to get a full list of financial information they require, and also be prepared to provide the following:
• Financial statement (showing income, balance sheet, profit margin and cash flow)
• Business tax returns
• Business bank statements
• Business credit score
Furthermore, they want to make sure your business strategy is great and that your forthcoming business purchase has the income potential to allow you to repay your loan. Proving that could require:
• Valuation of the business you’re acquiring
• Business licenses
• 3 to 5 years of financial projections
• Business plan
What Things to Do Before Applying for a Business Loan?
Right before you can apply for a loan, you need to match some basic information
The answers that you need will require input from seller. Although this may seem critical, it’s also an opportunity to get some truths and facts about the business you’re about to buy.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) will recommends working with accountant and the attorney to help you and navigate the sales process more easily
SBA help you reach the key objectives, such as:
• Working out a fair business valuation.
• Negotiating and executing a letter of intent and sales agreement.
• Understanding the tax requirements and consequences.
To prepare for the loan application process immediately ask yourself about:
How much of the purchase price can I cover and finance myself—and how much i can prepare to use as a down payment?
Most lenders will require at least 10% down. It’s often dependable and preferable, and you will be required to put down more than that, since the more money you put down on a loan in advance,so less money you will need to borrow later on
Do I need to have collateral I can use to secure my loan?
Most business loan collateral might include the business you’re purchasing, equipment, vehicles, real estate, inventory, and accounts receivable.
Variety of personal assets—such as vehicles, valuables, retirement accounts or your home—may also be used to secure the business loan, but always beware of pledging an asset that you wouldn’t want to part of the business falters.
How does my credit can measure up?
Check your personal credit score for free, you can access a credit score and report for your proposed business before starting the application process so you will have the expectation of how it would turn up.
Where Can You Get a Business Loan Easily?
Variety of sources are providing business loans. Your current bank or credit union (or the one your forthcoming business uses) is an obvious object, but you can also shop around for the small business lenders
There are online lending platforms like Fundera that can connect small business borrowers with multiple lending sources for a range of business loans including Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, business lines of credit and term loans.
According to the Fundera’s website, borrowers with minimum $150,000 in annual revenues, the one or more years in business and credit scores 600 above have been successful in securing loans.
For many small business owners around, SBA loans will work where other lending options do not
The SBA doesn’t make loans to small businesses only; instead, it guarantees loans from lenders such as banks and credit unions, which takes the risk out of lending. As a result, SBA loans typically have great interest rates, but also have specific criteria borrowers must achieve to qualify.
Some alternative lenders also will offer small business financing and may offer business loans to entrepreneurs that have at least $50,000 in sales, have been in business for 12 months plus, never had bankruptcies or tax liens and own at least 20% of their business.
Additional Ways to Finance Buying a Business Successfully
Getting a loan to fund a business purchase is not your only one option. If you can’t find a willing lender or your hoping loan amount doesn’t cover the cost of the business, consider these other alternative funding ideas:
Negotiate with seller finance. Although some sellers are looking to cash out and never look back again, some may still be open to being paid over time
You can negotiate this type of financing into your sales agreement and skip the bank right away.
Borrow from friends or family. This is one of the useful option: The emotional cost of defaulting on your loved ones is so intense
But if you’re confident enough in your ability to repay on time and are willing to write up an ironclad loan agreement together, this can be a viable funding source you can get.
Seek out more investors or partners. Share the investment—and the equity in your business just be aware that by doing so will affect how you operate your business later, who’s in control and how profits are distributed to be fair.
Use your personal funds or saving. In addition to your main savings, you can consider using investments and cash to help pay for your new hoping business.
Just be alert of tax consequences and the risk of depleting your emergency fund even the best business opportunity represents some risk in any way
You also can also take your reserves of personal credit into account, although financing large sums of money at high credit card interest rates isn’t an ideal way to fund your business as it can easily cause your credit utilisation to shoot up coincidentally, which could have big credit implications in future.
If you’re willing to purchase a business with a minimal upfront investment—sometimes it’s described as a leveraged buyout—you can try a combination of these options.
For example, you might use personal funds to make a 10% down payment in advance, secure an SBA loan for 50% of the purchase price and ask your seller to finance the remaining 40%.
A leveraged buyout can help you get into a business which seems you don’t have the funds or borrowing power to buy outright. But also the high debt load can increase the risk, so always proceed with caution.
A Lender’s Perspective Can Bring Clarity To The Business
Seeking a loan to buy an existing business can be a lot of yo do lists, but it may have a hidden yet great benefit
It requires you to formulate the value of the forthcoming business you want to buy and your reasons for believing you can succeed
You will need to examine the detail of the business’s past financial wins—and losses—and then map out how you can make money and grow better in the future
Getting through a loan application process can help you understand your investment more clearly
You may even get a useful feedback on the risks and highlights of the opportunity you’re considering. At an investment of this size, clarity may be worth more than cash.