Starting a small business venture calls for the use of funds. The funds are required for many purposes like setting up the premises, which can be done by either leasing or renting. Other logistics involved in setting up the venture also call for use of more money, for example, registration and business plan development. One of the most common source of these funds is a loan, be it from a bank or from private lenders.
The loans from these sources are normally charged at a high interest rate. To help upcoming enterprises establish themselves properly, the government has set up the Small Business Administration agency which sees to it that people are extended these loans at far much cheaper repayment rates. The SBA may not be a direct lender, but what it does is to guarantee these loans, such that if your enterprise is unable to repay, the agency will pay part of it for you.
Loans take two different forms. They could either be secured or unsecured. For the secured ones, you get to provide collateral, this is an asset that the lender can sell off to recover their money if you are unable to repay them. The secured loans attract lower interest rates and they are in the form of home equity loans and mortgage loans. Unsecured ones require no collateral and they charge higher interest rates.
Getting approved for these loans takes less time if you apply online. The information you supply the lenders with is kept confidential. The problem with online application is that there are too many lenders and it may take you a while before you can consider the interest rates and terms of the loan so that you only settle for that which suits your financial position.