It takes a lot of courage to start a business but it also takes a lot of money. One entrepreneur in Minneapolis found the perfect location to realize his dream of opening an art gallery. It was a trendy, if out of the way, space that needed to be furnished and required a significant deposit to secure the lease. He had all of the connections he needed to make the business a success, so he went for it. He quit his job and set to work on opening the gallery.
To fund the initial lease deposit, furnishings, and payroll, he used his personal credit cards. By the time the business was open, he had maxed out most of his cards. In the first few years, the business was doing well. However, the interest rates on the credit cards were eating up any extra cash he made. He knew that he needed to refinance the start-up costs using a loan with a better interest rate.
Despite the high balance on his credit cards, the owner had never missed a payment and was (slowly) working down the balance. Because of this and his income, he had a mid-700 credit score. He applied for a bank term loan with a 3-year loan term. He was currently paying 15% – 20% interest rates on his credit cards on $150,000. The bank term loan was a 11% and would allow him to pay off all of the cards and have a single monthly payment. After spending two years juggling due dates and payment amounts, the single payment and fixed interest rate of the bank term loan was a relief.
To secure the loan, he had to supply bank statements showing that the gallery had enough revenue to support the loan. Additionally, he needed to provide two years of tax returns for both himself and the business. The bank also ran a credit check to ensure he had the credit score required to be approved for the loan. Once approved, he paid off all the credit cards in a single day.
After living through the stressful years of self-funding his project, the bank term loan provided him with the breathing space needed to expand his gallery. It also allowed him to focus on his clients. The lower interest rate on the loan allowed him to make progress paying down the principle much faster. He would not have been able to do so with the credit card debt.
Casey has 12 years of technical writing experience. She is also a CPA and bookkeeper. Casey graduated from the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) with a B.A. in mathematics and currently resides in San Diego, CA.
