Lending to the Entrepreneur

In today’s Wall Street Journal there is a piece of interest to entrepreneurs regarding financing of new ventures…and by financing I am writing about bank financing. The article by Emily Maltby is Entrepreneurs Find Success with Specialty Lenders. In thinking of conversations with entrepreneurs who have had success with banks, the notion of leaving no stone unturned should apply. And while we’re on the subject, while it’s fashionable to take shots at the bankers for not lending, in many cases the reason they are not lending is that they’re hands are tied based on what the federal government and the regulators will allow them to do. Talk to your local banker, talk to a specialty lender and most especially, have your act together before you make the ask for the loan.