The funding your small business requires to begin, expand, and succeed.

The funding your small business requires to begin, expand, and succeed.

Some traditional business loans can take months to close, whereas those under express programs can be funded in a matter of weeks. This means that express programs can significantly accelerate funding. Put off applying for a SBA loan if you have been afraid to do so!

2) Other Loan Options: In the past five or more years, non-bank alternative loans like revenue-based loans, factoring, and business cash advances have really taken off. Because these lenders are only interested in small businesses, they have developed products that let them approve more loans to businesses that traditional lenders won’t touch.

They do this by not using old, ineffective underwriting guidelines and instead focusing more on technology. The majority of alternative lenders, particularly the industry leaders, have seen their loan volumes (and, consequently, approval rates) rise by 150 percent or more each year. Here are a few examples: Wells Fargo, their largest lender, approved and funded just over $266 million in small business financing last year, according to the SBA. On the other hand, during the same time frame, OnDeck Capital, a major revenue-based lender, nearly doubled that amount. In addition, CAN Capital asserts that it funded more than $800 million in projects in 2013, exceeding even the top 100 SBA lenders combined. Even though these loans are expensive, they have a number of advantages, such as approvals when other lenders say “no” and quick funding (in a matter of days).

3) Fresh Faces: Peer-to-peer lending is well-known for matching regular people who need money with regular people who have extra money to lend. Most of the time, these loans are personal loans that can be used for almost anything, like starting or expanding a small business. However, Lending Club, the market leader in peer-to-peer lending, has only recently begun offering a genuine small business loan product with rates ranging from $15,000 to $100,000. In addition, their approval and funding are not based on a predetermined formula that the majority of businesses simply do not meet; rather, they come from regular people who listen to your story and decide for themselves whether or not your request for financing is worthwhile.

In conclusion, you can still borrow money for your business. Be skeptical of everything you hear. When compared to the boom times of the middle of the 2000s, small business lending is indeed limited. However, this does not preclude you from obtaining the funding your small business requires to begin, expand, and succeed.