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DID YOU KNOW?

	Loan Proposal Applying for a small business loan can be exciting and yet stressful at the same time. For the best results and to heighten your level of confidence, be prepared when you visit the lender you've chosen for your business loan interview. After you have your business plan prepared, start preparing for the loan by writing a loan proposal to present to the lender. The loan proposal should state some crucial information, and many details, about both yourself and your business or business idea. It should state who you are, how much money you need and where the money will be spent, how you intend to repay the loan, and what you plan on doing in the even that you cannot repay the loan. The following are key elements to include in your loan proposal. 1. Summary. This should be listed first in your proposal, but will be written last. It should contain clear, concise, accurate, inviting information about your business or your business ideas. It should summarize how the proposed loan will be used, how it will be repaid, and how it will benefit your business. Remember your competition in the summary of your loan proposal, and point out features of your business that are different from your competitors. 2. Management Profiles. The management profile section of the loan proposal should explain, most importantly, who you are. Be prepared to reveal everything about yourself and your experience. Have a current resumŽ included as part of the loan proposal, as well as a summary of your skills, qualifications, and other credentials for yourself, as well as for all other owners and key members of your management team. 3. Business Description. It's not necessary to state the same information mentioned in your business plan as in your loan proposal. However, you do need to present a solid description of the business. Include a brief history of the business in your loan proposal, and detail the current activities. If it's a new business, explain the details of the business that will be developed. Your goal will to be to clearly demonstrate that you fully understand your markets, your competitors, and the industry, including current trends or risks and how you plan to overcome those potential dilemmas. If the loan is for an existing business, include literature that details your products or services, such as current sales sheets, brochures, or catalogs. Include attachments to your loan proposal for this section, such as letters from suppliers, customers, or other business references. Demonstrate through these letters that you provide excellent customer service, and that you pay back your creditors. 4. Business Projections. Create at least two years' worth of projected income statements and cash flow statements. Your projections should be clearly stated and, most importantly, realistic in nature. Generally, you probably won't need to present the "worst case" or "best case" scenario unless the lender asks for you to write the projections that way. You should, however, be prepared to answer questions pertaining to what you'll do if some of your projections don't work out as planned. For example, if you anticipate obtaining a large, new contract or customer based on improvements made with the business loan, and that contract never goes through, it could change your loan proposal projections drastically. 5. Financial Statements. Your loan proposal should include both business and personal financial statements. Be aware that the lender will fully analyze the history of your financial statements, calculating all ratios. Be prepared to point out any significant trends you've shown in an introductory paragraph. 6. Loan Purpose. One of the most important parts of your loan proposal is a detailed description of how you will use the loan proceeds. Have a good understanding of the type of loan that you need, and remember to include the proceeds of the loan in your cash flow projections, as well as the interest in your projected income statement. 7. Repayment Plans. Repayment plans should also be stated in your financial projections section of the loan proposal, but details of repayment plans should be detailed separately. Propose the terms you want, and prepare for negotiations with the financial institution. The lender will consider a number of factors as they review the overall risk of lending you the money. Understandably, this will impact the repayment terms that they are willing to offer for your business. Especially if your credit is good, and even if your credit is not so good, remember that in your loan proposal, you are offering the bank a deal that will make them money. Don't go in asking the lender for an "allowance." Instead, enter the interview with your loan proposal objective in mind; namely, focusing on how much money you'll need, and remove the idea of going into the meeting wondering how much they're willing to lend. Never go into a meeting asking for a loan, wondering whether or not they'll lend to you. If this first lender won't approve your loan proposal, have confidence that a different will.

What is a leads group? Leads groups seem to be the most popular form of networking judging that comment by the fact that there are more leads groups in existence that have been around for a long time than most other types of groups.

Leads groups are often referred to as closed groups. This means that there can only be one type of a business represented in a group. Lets say that I am a web designer. In a closed group I would be the only web designer represented in the group. Other web designers would be allowed to visit, but if they wanted to join the organization they would have to find a group that did not have a web designer. If there was no opening in an existing group for a web designer, the person would have to go on a waiting list until an opening became available, or a new group was formed.

Most leads groups meet once a week. There are some that only meet once a month. Leads groups offer something that a lot of people need. Structure and discipline. What do I mean by this?

Structure - In a leads group you do not have to be a master net worker. As a matter of fact, you can be a shy person and still have success in a leads group. Most leads groups allow a given amount of time to tell other members about your business. This usually ranges from one to five minutes. In this allotted amount of time you can go into great detail about your business including describing what type of leads you are looking for. The format is usually accomplished by sitting around a large table, and a leader moderates the time and asks questions. The meetings are generally held early in the morning or at lunchtime.

Discipline - In a leads group you are expected to show up for the meetings. Theoretically, if a leads group had only 15 members and several people did not show up, it would be difficult to have a reasonable meeting. To insure against this happening most groups require that you assign a substitute when you can not attend. This substitute should be a person in the same industry as you so that the balance of the group is not affected. In this situation, if you have a tendency to miss a lot of meetings, it would not be good to join a leads group. If you miss a lot of meetings without a sub, you will be ejected from the group.

The upside? In a leads group you will get to know people very well over time and get an idea of their abilities to fulfill the needs of a referral. This is good if you do not have time during the week to meet with people one-on-one in order to get to know them. A dedicated group will provide you with a steady stream of leads that you can utilize to expand your business.

The downside? Well, sometimes the leads become a paramount obligation and people feel pressured to pass them. If they are passing leads that are just names and numbers without a true expressed need, the leads generally lead you nowhere. Another issue is a member of the group whose quality of product or service does not meet the standards that you would want to refer to someone. It is difficult to pass a solid qualified lead to someone who will not provide the kind of service that you would expect them to.

There are also a few groups in existence that are in essence leads groups. They allow freedom to go to any meeting you wish as long as you are a member. The format is the same, seated at a table, and there is usually a time limit. The problem with these groups is that people wander in and out and without a lot of time to talk individually, you still have to set appointments outside of the group to really get to know someone. Without the discipline, the freeform leads group usually does not last for a long period of time. Often these groups open and close with great regularity leaving the members to search for another meeting to attend.

In closing, I would like to add that there is no wrong or right group to belong to. Visit groups and you will find the ones that are right for you. It is often beneficial to belong to three types of groups to get the most out of your networking efforts.