Business Loans in Houston
Houston is the largest city in Texas, a state that knows a little something about superlatives – after all, everything is bigger in Texas, as the slogan goes.
The United States’ fourth-largest city has long been an economic powerhouse, with its strategic location near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico enabling a large volume of goods to flow in and out of Houston.
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While Houston may be most synonymous with its petroleum and chemical industrial sectors, the modern economy is fairly well-diversified, with aerospace, healthcare, biomedical research, the broader energy sector, manufacturing, and education playing large roles, too.
In addition, Houston has the distinction of repeatedly winning awards for being one of the best cities for both businesses and careers, as well as for relative paycheck worth.
With a thriving cultural scene to boot, Houston has become a popular destination for established and new businesses alike to set up shop. Even with an exceptional business environment, however, Houston-area businesses are no strangers to needing financial help and funding.
It’s simply a fact that many businesses, especially newer small and medium-sized businesses, don’t have the massive bank accounts of socked-away cash, or the ability to sell stock and rapidly raise cash, that larger corporations do.
As a result, in order to fund their operations, buy inventory, hire personnel, take on leases and rent expenses, purchase equipment, and so much more, they often need small business financing help, such as small business loans in Houston.
Of course, business loans in Houston may take a number of different forms – not all are loans in the classic sense, with a variety of small business financing options available for most companies.
Banks and private lenders, the two major sources of small business financing and business loans in Houston, often have a full portfolio of loan and credit products.
These typically have different qualification requirements, pros and cons, different terms or durations, and different intended uses. Business owners can choose which option(s) they want to apply for, and mix and match the best kind of funding options to meet their particular business needs.
Depending on those needs, and other details about your business, you may be more inclined to seek small business loans in Houston from a private lender rather than a bank.
In fact, most small business owners who have experienced bank lending and private lending tend to recommend private lending as the best choice for small business funding.
While there’s no shortage of banks and traditional financial institutions in Houston, there are a number of reasons why they are not the go-to source for small business loans, which we’ll discuss in further detail later in this guide.
In general terms, we want to highlight the key information and decision-making process involved in obtaining business loans in Houston for your small business or entrepreneurial venture.
In our guide, we’ll look at some of the different kinds of small business funding options that are available today, both from banks and private lenders.
Then, we’ll talk more about the choice between banks and private lenders for small business loans in Houston, and the pros and cons associated with each.
Finally, we’ll highlight details about one of the leading private lenders in the US, BizFly Funding, who are a great source of small business loans in Texas and, indeed, in all 50 states.
Different Kinds of Business Loans in Houston, TX
First, it’s important to understand the different kinds of options available for your small business funding needs. Small business loans in Houston are one of the most common types of small business funding, but are by no means the only kind of loan or credit product available.
There are several types of products targeted at small businesses, both from banks and private lenders. Each of these different loans and credit products offers certain pros and cons, and some are meant for a shorter term of use than others.
Qualifications for these small business loans and other products vary from lender to lender, as do the interest rates, maximum loan amounts, and other details.
Still, with all of that said, small business owners should seek to understand the basics of these different small business funding options, in order to make the decision on which option(s) make the most sense for particular funding needs.
Some of the main kinds of small business financing available – including small business loans – in Houston are highlighted below.
- Small business loans, typically offered over a term of years, provide a lump sum of cash, which is repaid with interest over time, usually via monthly payments.
- Short-term business loans, like small business loans but over a period of months to a year or so in duration, with a more frequent (often weekly) repayment cadence.
- Small business lines of credit, which are not dissimilar to credit cards, but provide a way to draw cash from the credit line on-demand when you need it, and repay and re-borrow indefinitely, so long as your outstanding balance is below the credit limit.
- Merchant cash advances, effectively selling your future debit or credit card sales at a discount, giving you a lump sum of cash and then repaying it not based on a calendar schedule, but rather dynamically based on sales.
- Debt consolidation loans, to help businesses tackle other debts, putting them into a single debt instrument, usually at a lower average interest rate than existing debts.
- Small business loans for women entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses, to help level the playing field for this traditionally-slighted group of borrowers.
- Bad credit business loans, with lower credit score and other qualification requirements, to ensure that even businesses with bad credit or a limited credit history can access the small business financing they need.
How to Get a Business Line of Credit or Small Business Loan in Texas
Next, once you have a handle on the kinds of small business loans in Texas (and other funding products) you may require, your key decision becomes what kind of lender to choose – a bank or a private lender.
Of course, you can choose both options, and apply for small business funding from both sources, get comparative rate data, and see what you qualify for in both realms.
That can take considerable time and effort, and spoiler alert: most small businesses find private lenders as the more desirable option for business loans in Houston.
There are obviously plenty of banks in the Houston area, including some that are focused on business needs rather than general consumer banking services.
However, what may come as a surprise to many business owners is that banks are often not thrilled with small business lending. Many don’t offer small business loans in Houston at all! Banks are very hesitant to take on risk, and many see small business lending as a risky venture.
Given the statistics – often repeated – that half of all new small businesses fail within the first five years – it is hard to blame them for their hesitancy.
After all, most banks offer depositor services in addition to lending, and therefore need to meet ever-stricter requirements for capitalization and risk management.
This means many banks don’t offer the kind of small business funding tools that small business owners need, and even when they do, they can be extremely hard to obtain, with relatively high-level qualification requirements (high credit scores, a long time in business, and large monthly revenue, for example).
In addition, banks tend to only offer secured loans and credit products, whereas private lenders may offer secured or unsecured products. What this means is that bank loans often come with a requirement for collateral, and that collateral is a risk on behalf of the borrower.
If the borrower defaults on the loan, the collateral is forfeit. For many small business owners looking for business loans in Houston, the prospect of putting up collateral – often several times’ worth the value of the loan being taken out – is simply an unacceptable risk.
It’s true that banks offer somewhat lower interest rates as a result of this guarantee that they will be repaid, but for most small business owners, that doesn’t square with the tremendously increased risk it presents to their business operations and finances.
By contrast, private lenders don’t have those same restrictions on capital and risk, and can take on whatever kind of risk they like. They often offer unsecured small business loans and credit products, including unsecured business lines of credit, with no collateral required.
Most private lenders are perfectly happy to have small businesses as customers – indeed, some lenders specialize in only providing small business loans and funding products, like BizFly Funding.
Typically, private lenders offer a full range of unsecured business loans for Houston, Texas customers, and customers all around the country.
There are a lot of benefits to choosing a private lender for your small business financing needs, including:
- Minimum eligibility requirements which are easier to meet, especially for newer small businesses. This can include lower credit score minimums, lower monthly revenue requirements, and fewer months or years in business.
- A focus on service, with an emphasis on the needs of the small business community.
- Simple and quick online application processes, which can often allow small business owners to get business loans in Houston and have their funds within 1 business day.
- Less risk for borrowers, due to the unsecured nature of the loans and credit products offered.
- Greater access to a wider range of financing options, making private lenders one of the best choices for business loans in Houston or in any other city or state in the US.
With all of these benefits, it should be clear why more and more small business owners prefer private lenders as their source of small business financing in Houston. They make it easier and quicker to get the funding small business owners need in order to fund their operations, expand, and be successful.
BizFly Funding: A Leader in Small Business Loans for Houston and Beyond
When you are considering a private lender for your business loans in Houston, Texas, and parts beyond, we highly recommend you consider BizFly Funding as your source.
BizFly Funding is one of the leading private lenders in the US, and focuses on serving the needs of the small business community exclusively.
They offer a wide range of small business funding choices, including all of the aforementioned types of small business loans, business lines of credit, merchant cash advances, and more.
Small business owners looking for business loans in Houston can borrow up to $1 million from many of the products available at BizFly Funding.
BizFly Funding, like many private lenders, offers unsecured funding products with no collateral requirements, and makes it easy to qualify for most of the products available.
While requirements can always vary over time, and are subject to application (with larger loan amounts usually having somewhat higher requirements), the basic eligibility requirements for most small business funding options at BizFly Funding are highlighted below.
- Loan term of 2 to 36 months
- Minimum 6 months in business
- Credit score of at least 500
- $10,000 minimum monthly revenue
- Loan amounts of $5,000 to $1 million
- Interest rates of 9 to 45%
- Loan term of 6 to 24 months
- Minimum 12 months in business
- Credit score of at least 600
- $10,000 minimum monthly revenue
- Loan amounts of $15,000 to $1 million
- Interest rates of 9 to 45%
- Loan term is variable (repayment is based on sales and not tied to the calendar)
- Minimum 2 months in business
- Credit score of at least 500
- $8,000 minimum monthly revenue
- Loan amounts of $8,000 to $250,000
- Factor rates of 24 to 49%
- Credit line term is variable
- Minimum 6 months in business
- Credit score of at least 650
- $10,000 minimum monthly revenue
- Credit line amounts of $5,000 to $250,000
- Interest rates of 5 to 10%
In addition to these easily-met requirements for most small businesses, there are several other advantages to choosing BizFly Funding. BizFly Funding offers exceptional customer service, and an easy and fast online application.
For most small business owners, the application can be completed online in as little as 30 minutes, with review and contact from a team member in just a few hours.
If approved, most funding products offer small businesses their cash in as little as 1 business day, meaning you can get the money you need for your business operations now, not weeks or months from now.
Time is a critical consideration for many small businesses, especially in fast-moving and dynamic industries. With BizFly Funding, your time is valued and respected.
For all these reasons and more, you shouldn’t hesitate to contact BizFly Funding and see how much you can qualify for on your business loan in Houston today. You’re under no obligation, and the application takes only about a half-hour of your time.
With nothing to lose, and valuable small business funding to gain, it might be one of the best decisions you ever make, setting your business up for long-term success. To learn more or to start the application process, visit BizFly Funding online at https://bizflyfunding.com.
