Getting a business loan from a financial institution is the same for women as it is for men. One good thing that can be said for money, is that it is not gender specific.
The financial accountant or loans officer may have a bias towards one gender over another, and if that is picked up or felt when any woman applies for a small business loan, then is it an organisation that you will feel comfortable doing business with for a long period of time? I suspect not.
When you are considering applying for a loan for your small business, there are numerous things to take into consideration besides just the financial paperwork detailing how you intend to pay for the loan.
Any financial institution that you apply to for a loan, will be someone that will become an integral part of your business and daily life. It needs to be in the same vicinity or community as your business and needs to have a business philosophy that is in tune with your aspirations. There is not much point in trying to establish a long term relationship with a financial institution who will not be able to meet your long term intentions.
Some community banks or credit unions are not business friendly. Business loans are not high priority for them as they prefer to specialise in family banking and concentrate more of their business in obtaining the local families rather than small to medium sized local businesses. Nothing wrong with that but you as a business person need to know this before wasting your time and effort applying for a loan or trying to build long term rapport with a financial institution who is not interested in servicing your long term needs.
The big banks are of course, very interested in servicing every financial opportunity. Credit Unions in Australia, tend to be more focused on their members rather than any business agendas. Banks were initially set up to cover all aspects of financial services but over time, many small depositors felt that the ‘big banks’ in Australia didn’t care for their needs enough and so we got the birth of Credit Unions. Credit Unions operate under different financial guidelines to the big banks but there are some instances where small businesses can obtain an overdraft on their personal bank account for a small business loan.
Whichever financial institution you decide is right for you and your small business loan, will depend on your credit rating and your ability to repay the loan rather than whether you are a man or a woman.
As a business operator, you will need to have all the required financial records with you when you apply. One good thing that does impress bank managers and loan officers, is to ask your accountant to accompany you with all your tax records and up to date financial records. Whoever it is who will be supplying the loan whether it is an overdraft or a credit loan, will need to have the proof verifying that it is a good decision. If you remember that the person you speak to at the financial institution also has bosses to placate, you will stand a better chance of obtaining your loan or overdraft.
If you do encounter gender discrimination, this is no longer a financial problem but needs to be taken to the anti-discrimination commission.