business plan / business loan advice wanted

[hives]

Hi all, im new to this forum but it looks good! Bassicly im going to begin a business plan in the next few weeks for a cyber cafe I plan on opening.

The main aim of my business plan is so i can eventually get a business loan from a bank or anywhere willing to offer me, but my main concern is, as my credit rating is quite low will this affect the banks decision on if they offer me a loan or not? bassicly... does there descision go on your business plan or your credit rating? becuase if it does go on your credit rating then a business plan seems pretty pointless for trying to get you the loan. any advice on this would be much appreciated and thanks in advance for any replys. hives

[MikeD]

Hi Hives,
A business plan fulfills a number of functions:-
1. It helps you to think through the detail of setting up your business
2. It provide you with goals / targets against which you can monitor your progress
3. It demonstrates credibility to banks and other sources of finance.

When a bank reviews your business plan they use CAMPARI as their check list. The first C refers to Character in that they are interested in you as a person, your abilities, history, experience.
Your credit history will certainly be important but you need to answer all the CAMPARI requirements in your business plan. If you do not the bank manager will make his own file notes and you will not have used the chance to make your point.
Your business plan is also a sales document, you are going to use it to persuade someone to give you money. The rules are the same with any document you write - before you start writing decide who is the intended audience and what is your desired outcome

[nisha]

Hi,

I have the same problem but if you have a very good business plan. You will not have a problem to get a loan from the bank.
The bank manager will ask you first what's your unique selling point. what's the difference between ur shop and others. You should do a very good market research. You need to know how much will be ur expenses and how much will be ur profit per month ie cashflow.
You can go and see a business advisor from business link in your area. They will give you some advice. It's free. You can go to Inland Revenue, they run some workshop for free on how to be self employed, paying ur employees etc..
u can dowload a business plan from this website, it quite good. they tell you how to write a business plan , how to do ur cash flow etc..
If you are a student you can get advice from the career centre at ur university.

hope this helps!!

[Peter Bowen]

Up to a certain amount (varies by bank and by manager) the loan will be granted on the strength of the plan, beyond that it on both the plan and on your credit worthiness

[mark611]

i think it depends more on your business plan, if you can't get the loan because of your credit rating but your business idea is good, you can try business angels; they'll take a chank of your equity but you'll have the money you need.