Business, once the exclusive domain of men, has seen many women business owners coming onto the scene in recent years. Between 1992 and 1997 the growth of women-owned businesses was nearly three times the percentage of the increase of all other business enterprises. In 1997, the number of women-owned firms stood at a figure of 5.4 million. In another ten years when people are analyzing the first decade of the twenty-first century, this figure will most likely have grown.

Why Loans Are Needed

Home-based businesses run by women continue to increase, since many women prefer the convenience of looking after their children and homes in addition to running a business. Loans for running such businesses are essential as essential for women as for men. Many women have also proven they are adept at buying existing businesses and running them successfully. This necessitates loans for a variety of purposes, including buying and running a business, expansions, buying special equipment, maintaining sufficient inventory, and maintaining retail trade.

How Small Business Administration Helps

If women are unsuccessful in obtaining loans from conventional sources, the US Small Business Administration (SBA) guarantees small business loans on reasonable and convenient terms to women entrepreneurs. These loans can be used for any of the purposes mentioned above. If a lending institution does not feel confident about granting a small business loan to a particular applicant, the applicant can approach SBA for a loan guarantee, which means that if the loan recipient falters in repaying the loan the SBA will reimburse the lender.

The Criteria For Getting An SBA Loan Guarantee

Provide historical financial statements and projections to prove that the business can repay the loan. The ability to incur more debt should be exhibited. Some form of collateral should be provided, although it need not cover the full extent of the loan. A good personal credit report is essential and if it is tainted, there should be enough evidence that determined efforts were made to rectify the problem. The small business and its owner should fulfill all their tax obligations. There must be no attempt to get any loan from other sources at the same time. The loan request must demonstrate that the loan could not be obtained elsewhere and that the loan will benefit the business substantially. The business owners must prove that their personal resources are not adequate to cover the loan amount needed.

The tremendous growth of female owned firms is evident from the 1997 Economic Census, which stated that such firms constituted 26% of the nation's 20.8 million non-farm businesses and employed 7% of the 103 million workers. The growth rate has increased considerably since then and it is expected to go up even further over the years to come. Keeping in view the high economic and employment potential, it is apparent that business loans for female small business owners are a necessity.

Additional Help

There is software that can help in the starting and the running of a business. This software is reasonably priced for small business owners and much of it is geared toward the operations of small business.