At the exact time you really need money, your banker is understandably unlikely to lend it to you. Within your own personal affairs, if you have been seasoned by the experience of lending to friends or family, you probably know that in case a friend or family member asks for a loan, the wisest thing, if able to give a loan, is to think of it as money you probably won't get back. But at least it's family. If the number is small enough, CALL it is gift and that family member or friend may not disappear when they find themselves unable to pay you back.
There's a problem from the banker's standpoint. They're not in your family. They're not really in your friendship group. But if you've been honest and open with a representative of your bank, and given them before, you may be eligible for a loan. Stick with a bank for a time, try to stay in touch with the finance or loan officer, be open and honest about your income, expenses, assets and liabilities, be willing to sign your assets as collateral for a loan, and take out loans when you don't really need them. Thus, when everything is going well is one of the best times to go through all the steps necessary to get loan committee approval of a loan request. Once you get it, you can leave it sitting in the account and pay back within the terms of the loan agreement.
To get a bank loan for your business, you'll need your personal and business income tax returns for at least the past four years, maybe more. You'll need to provide income statements for the same period of time, and a balance sheet showing assets and liabilities at the present time. For the current year period, very importantly, you'll need some documentation of income earned and expenses since the start of the tax year. The loan amount requested has to be reasonable, and should have a business purpose which is reasonable. A reasonable amount for your first loan might be $5,000.00 to $15,000.00, depending on whether your financial state is clear, or not.
Yes, loans and credit can be a trap. If you haven't learned that from credit cards
and then caught up, again, you don't want to learn it from your first business loan. Be
aware of it. Pay it back according to it's own terms, and eventually ask for another loan,
ultimately there may be some big, worthwhile project that you will actually NEED financing
for.