Loan Financing Guide for Small
Business Owners
D. Neil Berdiev
Small Business Empowerment Publishing
ISBN 0-9774117-0-2
177 pages
Soft cover $27.95
www.loanfinancingguide.com
So, you have finally decided to open that cozy café on
the corner or you have been running a dry cleaning service for a year and
feel you’re ready to purchase the empty building next door to expand into a
coin laundry service. You have a business plan and financial statements at
hand and feel assured that you can convince a lender that you deserve the
loan that will take your business to the next level. Are you sure about
that? If your answer is yes, that means you can respond to the following
questions succinctly and openly without hesitation: How much money (the
exact amount, not an estimate or range) do you need to borrow? What,
specifically, will the money be used for? How quickly will your business be
able to repay the loan? Are the answers flowing freely, complete with
qualitative documentation in a clear language that any lender can quickly
grasp and translate into loan approval? No? Help is available.
Author D. Neil Berdiev, a banker who has worked for
Fidelity Investments, Fleet Bank and other financial institutions, has
written a practical, straightforward book
aimed at educating small business owners about the process of securing
financing. Loan Financing Guide for Small Business Owners
informs entrepreneurs about all aspects of financing from the types of loan
products available, the variety of bank and financing companies to approach,
as well as how to present the information that will effectively answer the
questions a lender uses to determine if a business is worth the investment
and risk required to approve a small business loan.
Berdiev suggests from the start that business owners
take an honest, realistic look at their business’ structure including the
amount of equity they hold in the company, cash flow history, management,
and the risks in their industry. This is the starting point for preparation
of a loan application. The Request for Loan Proposal (RLP) is one of the
tools the author describes that is used to effectively present a small
business in its best light. The RLP helps the business owner translate
qualitative desires into quantitative goals. Lenders need to see how a
company will handle timely repayment of a loan and Berdiev provides the
information and instruments needed to enable the business owner to do just
that.
Throughout the book, the author informs the reader
about various aspects of lending that should be a part of an owner’s
knowledge set. The primary financial statements that lenders need to see are
described as well as what the author calls the “five C’s of credit”
(character, capacity, capital, collateral, and conditions). Berdiev stresses
the importance of being ethical and forthcoming in the presentation of a
business’ strengths and weaknesses. He also makes a point of noting that
any weaknesses disclosed should be accompanied by a concrete plan to deal
with the outlined deficiencies. And it doesn’t end there. Business owners
are warned that loan approval does not constitute the end of the financing
relationship, because loan agreements include requirements that demand
ongoing contact and disclosure between the two parties: “… the moment you
sign a loan agreement, you have to play by the lender’s rules outlined in
the contract (p.105).”
Loan Financing Guide for Small Business Owners
is an essential tool for beginning or seasoned business owners who find
themselves in the position of needing debt financing to grow their
companies. The book is structured with short, to the point chapters and
accompanying appendices that make it useful as a reference book once an
initial page by page read through has been completed. To be successful in
securing loan financing, every small business owner needs this book.
Melissa Levine
For Independent Professional Book Reviewers
www.bookreviewers.org
12/26/06
