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If you need some credit for your business, you may want to consider the wide, wide variety of credit options that are available to business before you simply decide that you need a small business loan in the conventional sense. The different avenues that are available include credit cards, lines of credit, conventional loans, and most fun of all, unconventional loans.
Credit cards are, of course, a well understood way of getting easy credit (no wonder they often carry such a stigma, as they have a propensity to get people in trouble!). Credit cards are usually the first method of building business credit, and the first form of credit that entrepreneurs apply for when they enter the system. With a little hunting, you will not have much difficulty finding a credit card that can help you with your credit needs to some degree, or can at least help you build credit so that you can later get a bigger loan that can really do the job for when you need a small business loan.
You can also get a line of credit from a small bank or credit union. Lines of credit operate very similarly to credit cards, with the primary exception that they are issued by banks and exist in the form of personal paper checks that link directly to your line of credit account.
The conventional amortized loan is another such useful tool, but because the types and sources vary greatly, it is a more complex thing. Mortgages can come from large banks, small banks, the government, good lenders and predatory lenders. Large banks are going to be ideal for large established businesses, as they are built primarily upon the business of these very stable customers. Small banks are more competitive, and much better for the layperson, start up businesses and other more casual situations. Government agencies like the SBA are ideal for offering exceptionally useful help to certain demographics, like women, minorities and veterans. You can also take the avenue of P2P lending if you need a small business loan, and will probably be surprised by just how incredibly useful it is.
