Expert advice on getting approved for SBA lending assistance

Expert Advice:

Linda Nelson, district director, U.S. Small Business Administration Arkansas District Office

If you’re planning on getting approved for SBA lending assistance, what should you do?

There’s one key question. "Do you do SBA lending?" If you make it past that, and the banks say yes to everything else, but you’re still turned down, be sure to find out why.

Do your homework beforehand. Have a business plan. Somewhere in that plan should be a what-if plan, a plan B. Then do some research about the lenders. You want that lender to be a relationship lender. It’s ongoing. It’s not, "I got the money. Thanks. Don’t call me. I’ll call you." They don’t like surprises. If you’re not doing as well as you expected, they would like to hear sooner than later. There are some things they can do if they hear from you sooner.