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Because the market for start up businesses is a particularly stingy one (start up businesses provide high amounts of risk and low returns to lenders, so there is little incentive to provide a comparable amount of service as there would be to an established business), and because some groups are at distinct disability for borrowing, there is a government option for providing small business loans for credit challenged people, and that option is the Small Business Administration (SBA).

The SBA provides federally-guaranteed loans to women, minorities, veterans, the disabled, and a number of others who qualify for their programs. They provide aid in the form of Microloans, which are typically less than $35,000, and make these programs available through lending agencies. SBA loans are exceedingly useful not only to the targeted groups in question but, due to the sheer number of their programs, virtually anyone. In fact one of the best strategies for getting a large loan sum is to simply apply for a large number of Microloans within a short period of time; this accomplishes the same end, and doesn’t hurt your credit score any more than one credit pull would.

Another good place to find small business loans for credit challenged individuals would be Newhorizon, a database of business advisors that catalogs various options you want to explore depending on your credit criteria; for example, it enables you to search a list of which credit cards are best for different levels of credit, as well as business and personal loan options along the same lines. It is an excellent tool for helping you find the credit options you need.

P2P lending is another good (though more uncommon) way to find small business loans for credit challenged folk. P2P lending has evolved since the advent of the information age to provide complex networks and databases to help borrowers find more advantageous money lending solutions. Check out prosper.com and virginmoney.com, both of which will help provide you with the resources, networks and tools you need to find a lender that is suitable to your needs.


This Business article was written by Mark Karavan on 12/21/2009