BellaOnline Forums Career Business Coach Finance question

My husband and I would like to start our own business. It's a laboratory-type service which would require some expensive equipment and a facility in which to house it.

Here's the sticky part.....Five years ago, we went through a personal bankruptcy. We haven't aquired any more debt since then. Credit scores are average (~700).

Would we stand a chance of getting a small business loan?

Michele - I know several people who went through bankruptcy and who then could get loans. That being said, the more you can do up front to prove you will be successful, the better. Is there anything at all you can do now to get things rolling, to start to get clients lined up?

The rough part about this type of lab (DNA analyis) is that it takes about 2 years to earn the needed accreditations and it's hard to get contracts if you're not accredited. It's kind of a "catch 22".

I asked this question to my cousin, who's in commercial banking, and he said that I would not be able to get an SBA loan because they are government-backed and the government won't back you once you've filed for bankruptcy. He said we might just have to partner with someone who could secure such a loan or find an angel investor.

That's interesting, surely there are other kinds of loans that don't require that government backing?

What if you did other types of related work while you were building up the accreditation? I used to work for biotech companies so I've been around the expensive machines and scientists and all of that. I do know it's pricey. But maybe you can start with cheaper tests that don't require DNA, to build your market recognition and client base and ad contacts ... that will then give you the income stream to expand and buy the more expensive equipment.

Yeah, that's what we're thinking too. Buy a used or referbished instrument and start small doing work that doesn't necessarily require the accreditation. My husband is a pro at building websites and we should be able to get customers that way.

We'll just see what we can do.

Thanks for the response!