Preparing Your Credit for Business Funding

For most small-business funding — cards, lines of credit, SBA loans — the owner's personal credit is underwritten first. A strong business with a weak personal profile gets declined or priced up.

The review typically covers score, utilization, recent inquiries, and any negative items. Each one is fixable with enough lead time.

Start at least 90 days before you plan to apply. Pull all three reports, dispute inaccuracies, and push utilization under 10% across every card.

Avoid new inquiries during the window. Each application can cost points and signals urgency to underwriters.

Lenders price on risk. The same business can see dramatically different rates and limits based on the owner's profile at the moment of application.

A clean, seasoned, low-utilization profile doesn't just get approved — it negotiates from strength.