June 26, 2008 — The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has introduced two new free online finance courses to help small business owners with the basic principles of finance and borrowing.
The new courses, Finance Primer: Guide to SBA’s Loan Guaranty Programs (http://app1.sba.gov/sbtn/registration/index.cfm?CourseId=29) and How to Prepare a Loan Package (http://app1.sba.gov/sbtn/registration/index.cfm?CourseId=28), are designed to answer questions about what debt financing is, what loan programs are available, what small businesses should know about borrowing money, how to prepare a loan package, and how loan requests are reviewed by lenders.
The Finance Primer gives an overview of the SBA’s loan guaranty programs to help small businesses understand the variety of financial resources, including those from the SBA. The courses can help entrepreneurs avoid some of the common mistakes made, such as securing the wrong type of financing, miscalculating the amount of financing required, and underestimating the cost of borrowing money.
The loan package course includes small business links to related information, and refers course participants for direct support in preparing a loan request to appropriate resources that include SBA’s district offices, SBA resource partners, and lenders.
Course participants who complete the 30-minute online training programs can earn a certificate of completion from the SBA.
Source: Small Business Administration, www.sba.gov
