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A Newbie's Guide to Starting a Loan Company

starting a loan company guide loans startup business

Consumer debt in the United States is at $13.1 trillion – an all-time high. Clearly, Americans love taking out loans!

As an entrepreneur, this tells you one thing, opportunity! If you want to start a profitable business right now, nothing can be better than a loan company. Americans are borrowing left, right and center.

Sold on the idea?

Good! But starting a loan company that will be profitable isn’t an easy task. Just because loans are in strong demand doesn’t necessarily mean your company will flourish. You need to get the business basics right.

How so, you ask?

In this article, we’re handing out the key to starting a successful loan company.


Understand How the Lending Industry Works

As a layman, you might not know that there’s much more to running a loan company than issuing out loans.

Well, while making loans is what matters at the end of the day, there’s a lot more behind the scenes. You need to have a good understanding of the different types of credit facilities and the risks they present. You also need to know how consumers qualify for loans, credit risk management, regulatory issues, and whatnot.

As such, the first step to starting a lending company is to have a detailed understanding of how the market works. You could do this by conducting in-depth market research, but the best way to have a good understanding of the industry is to start out as a credit officer.


Draw a Detailed Business Plan

If there’s any business that absolutely requires a business plan, it’s a loan company. The financial risks involved are just too great.

Your business plan fleshes out important details about your business, including:


  • Name and ownership of the loan company
  • Mission and vision
  • Organizational structure
  • Types of loans offered
  • Capital requirements
  • Income projections
  • Sales and marketing strategy

If you’ve got no experience drawing a business plan, it’s advisable to hire a professional to help you do it. This is especially important when it comes to establishing the capital needs of the business. 

Loan companies are capital-intensive businesses, so you need to get your figures right. 

You'll also need dependable business credit card processing capabilities from https://www.northamericanbancard.com/ to process payments and generate some cash flow, as well as PAAY chargeback protection for additional payment protection.


Raise Capital

You already know loan companies need a lot of money to get off the ground. We are talking about north of a million dollars. The question is, do you have it?

If you don’t, embark on a fundraising mission. This isn’t the kind of money you borrow from friends and family. You need an equity investor or venture capitalist on your side.

Don’t make the mistake of starting the business without adequate capital at hand.


Build a Team of Employees

A loan company isn’t the type of business you can run on your own. You need to build a team of sales reps, credit specialists, and risk managers.

And after building the team, take steps to create a positive work environment. Enforce policies that support fairness and use memos to communicate important information. Check out the Adobe Spark memo template if you need help creating a memo.


Starting a Loan Company Takes Effort

Starting a loan company is a sound business decision. The demand for personal loans is strong and is forecast to get stronger. If you’re looking to capitalize on this demand, you now know how to start a loan company that will be successful.

Need more business startup tips? Keep reading our blog for more insights on small businesses, startups, and loan! Visit the Startups and Loan sections of the Bootstrap Business Blog right now! Also, learn more about building a successful business here.