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Before you even write up your loan application, carefully consider how much money you need. Set a limit for your expenses, and stick to it! Think about the money you absolutely must spend on bare essentials (i.e. real estate, basic equipment), and avoid paying for things you don't absolutely need for opening your small business. (Remember, you can always buy them later if your start-up is successful!)

In the process of starting your own small business, the first stretch is always the busiest and most difficult. Working every day for 12 hours straight is not uncommon. Even though you may be enjoying it, you're probably wondering when the craziness will let up a little. Here are four tips to ensure that your hard work will come to fruition, and that your small business will keep growing - slowly but steadily!

The reasons for the big bank pullback, Arora says, are three-fold. First, big banks have more challenging underwriting standards and they may be waiting for 2013 tax returns from businesses. The harsh winter has also wrought havoc on business sales as customers stayed home and businesses themselves pulled in and perhaps sought fewer loans. Lastly, Arora says, banks haven't done a good job automating their loan processes, so it slows down their loan approvals

A New Year means a fresh start for many, and what better way to kick things off than by opening your own business? Startup business loans are out there waiting for savvy entrepreneurs to snatch them up and put them to good use, but how exactly does one do that? These 5 tips should help you prepare to take on the world of business ownership by storm.

Earnings and business credit scores of women-owned companies soared in 2013, according to Biz2Credit.com, the leading online credit marketplace, which analyzed more than 10,000 applications from all across the U.S. on its platform during the past year. Average earnings for women-owned businesses rose to $54,114 in 2013 from $35,135 in 2012 -- a whopping 54% jump in a year-to-year comparison. Further, the average credit score for women-owned companies rose to 610 in 2013, up from 592 in 2012.

Whenever you set up any form of debt settlement agreement with your debtor or your credit card company, your chances for obtaining reliable credit in the future from the same company is considerably reduced. In addition to this, such a step will also impact your overall credit score in a negative direction. The process of debt settlement basically calls for offering the credit card company with a negotiated settlement that aims to convince the company to accept a payment much less than the final debt payment or the total owed amount. Well though many of these processes are successful in relieving the consumer of all his or her debt obligations and also in preventing the lenders from selling any future debt to the collector, however most of them tend to leave your future financial story with a black mark for the next seven years at least.

If you're looking to start a small business and you don't have a trust fund, wealthy friends, a mega-rich godfather or haven't won the lottery, chances are you'll more than likely need a small business or bank loan. This means tons of paperwork and personal time. It's a process that can take months to get a green or red light and even longer to pick up the cash.

Banks made it easier for businesses to get loans in the first quarter, fueling increased purchases of products and equipment as well as more merger activity, the Federal Reserve said Monday.

How it grew: With a website that makes it easy for small companies to apply quickly for commercial loans online, seven-year-old Biz2Credit has positioned itself for profit. Biz2Credit's ever-expanding group of lenders, including a number of small banks, is eager to make deals with small firms at a time when bank loans under $1 million have stagnated, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey. Last year, Biz2Credit facilitated $380 million in loans, up from $200 million in 2012.

If you are applying for a loan to finance your small business, you are probably aware that lending institutions will scrutinize your credit score. But perhaps you've made a couple mistakes in your financial history that caused your credit score to lower, and you ended up with sky-high interest rates whenever you applied for loans. Or worse, you were denied loans altogether.

According to the new guidelines, a drywall and painting companies that generate up to $14 million annually are considered small businesses, as are children's clothing stores with $30 million in annual sales, convenience stores with $27 million in annual revenue, and liquor stores with $7 million in annual sales.