Online business financing workshops can be very helpful to potential borrowers, and some are available for free. Some workshops feature a PowerPoint presentation with voice-over, and each covers a unique topic with a "how to" approach. For example, one free workshop is all about how to develop and write a business plan.

It's a two-part presentation that steps viewers through all facets of the process. Another useful workshop is on the topic of creating a P&L statement. This presentation guides viewers through the process and provides insight into your company's finances. A workshop on the topic of preparing a balance sheet teaches viewers how to make a professional balance sheet, and another workshop on market analysis demonstrates how to gauge the potential demand for your business idea. These are just some of the useful free workshops for business owners online.

Prosper is the largest P2P business financing marketplace in the world. There are currently over 1 million members of Prosper and the site has been used to arrange over $230,000,000 in loans. Prosper empowers individuals to invest in one another for both financial and social benefit.

Borrowers can list their loan requests on Prosper for amounts between $2,000 and $25,000, and then individual lenders can choose to invest $25 or more in individual loan listings. Investors have access to loan descriptions, endorsements, and other borrower information to help them make informed decisions. Prosper then handles all the funding and servicing of the loan on behalf of both the borrowers and the investors. Prosper has so far raised over $50 million in venture capital, and is backed by several luminary businessmen from the worlds of finance and technology.

If you have bad credit, getting a loan for a startup business or existing company can be very difficult. In general, banks will only finance those which they consider to be the lowest credit risks, but there are some other sources of business financing to consider as a more realistic solution. You should be sure to keep your business credit and personal credit lines as separate as possible.

However, some specialty lenders will want to review both personal and business credit scores in making a decision. Your business credit score is not linked to your social security number, so this may help you in obtaining a needed loan if you have personal credit history problems. Once you have a business that is established as a legal entity with a tax ID number, you can begin to establish a credit history for the business and qualify for credit lines from vendors and suppliers.