Business Loans Pt. 1 -- GO Loan Program

My next two posts are going to be discussing the financial aspects of starting up a bar, in particular, loans and financing options for coming up with the money needed to start such an expensive venture. One interesting idea, although I doubt I would venture this far south, is the GO Loan Program. You can check their main page out here.

The GO Loan Program is a government funded loan given out by 32 banks in 4 different states (Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi) that awards up to $150,000 to potential small business owners who want to start their small business in any area affected by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita. The program is a one year program and is awarded to 85 percent of the applicants, meaning that most who apply will get their award. The program offers a prime interest rate of only 2.25% for loans of 7 years or less, and 2.75% for loans of 7 years or more. You'd be hard pressed to find any rates this good for amounts of loan capital this high.

I can't even imagine the tough life of running a bar downtown New Orleans around Bourbon Street, but I would think that if you would want to start one, and get easy funding, that this would be the easiest way I can imagine. With the huge boom coming back to New Orleans, it seems like a perfect time -- and a very good business venture. With both the national government and the city of New Orleans practically begging businesses to come back to the city, I'm sure there is more programs out there just like this one that offer funding and special offers for potential business owners.