Hi there,
I've run a small animation studio on my own for the last 12 years. We create animation and images for attorneys and architects. We're a small studio consisting of just my wife and I but we've done pretty well without ever having to finance anything from the start.
I'm interested in expanding my company this year by upgrading all of our computers to be extreme powerhouses, add more computers and expand our services into render farming (it's an animation thing). I need to do this in order to compete and produce our work quicker on tighter deadlines. Without it, we're sort of stuck at a glass ceiling that notches lower and lower.
Our annual sales have run between $80,000-$110,000. Both my wife and I have credit scores over 800. I've gone to 3 big, well-recognized banks that are SBA preferred lenders asking for a total of $50,000 for computers/software. We get turned down every time because they all say that no matter how good your credit is, how long I've been in business, they only loan businesses up to about 20% of their annual sales, maximum. Each time, they offer a line of credit for about $20,000 but I can't find any source that will provide a lending solution for what we need, despite the fact that we've been around for 12 years, have been profitable every year and have excellent credit.
I've never had trouble getting credit with the best rates at all in my life and so I'm a little deflated as to why this is. If I've been around for 12 years with excellent credit, a business plan and profitability and can't get $50K for computers, then how on earth to people get $100K or higher for new start ups that don't show ANY income yet?
I've talked with my SCORE counselor after the fact and asked him, "hey I thought this was the SBA loan programs were for, guys like me", and $50K seems like a small sum for an average business loan. He said to me, "ya banks work that way, it's tough."
So, has anyone out there in a similar situation experienced this and how did you overcome it? Or didn't you?
Best of luck all,
Dan
I've run a small animation studio on my own for the last 12 years. We create animation and images for attorneys and architects. We're a small studio consisting of just my wife and I but we've done pretty well without ever having to finance anything from the start.
I'm interested in expanding my company this year by upgrading all of our computers to be extreme powerhouses, add more computers and expand our services into render farming (it's an animation thing). I need to do this in order to compete and produce our work quicker on tighter deadlines. Without it, we're sort of stuck at a glass ceiling that notches lower and lower.
Our annual sales have run between $80,000-$110,000. Both my wife and I have credit scores over 800. I've gone to 3 big, well-recognized banks that are SBA preferred lenders asking for a total of $50,000 for computers/software. We get turned down every time because they all say that no matter how good your credit is, how long I've been in business, they only loan businesses up to about 20% of their annual sales, maximum. Each time, they offer a line of credit for about $20,000 but I can't find any source that will provide a lending solution for what we need, despite the fact that we've been around for 12 years, have been profitable every year and have excellent credit.
I've never had trouble getting credit with the best rates at all in my life and so I'm a little deflated as to why this is. If I've been around for 12 years with excellent credit, a business plan and profitability and can't get $50K for computers, then how on earth to people get $100K or higher for new start ups that don't show ANY income yet?
I've talked with my SCORE counselor after the fact and asked him, "hey I thought this was the SBA loan programs were for, guys like me", and $50K seems like a small sum for an average business loan. He said to me, "ya banks work that way, it's tough."
So, has anyone out there in a similar situation experienced this and how did you overcome it? Or didn't you?
Best of luck all,
Dan
Tags:
Report as inappropriate
