The Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index recently stated that small business borrowing has reached it’s highest point in four years.

But what does this mean? For starters, it means that businesses can afford to grow. It could also mean that businesses are showing improvement with their debt management.

This may seem counterintuitive at first. After all, how could having to borrow money indicate strength in a business? Well, in general, a business isn’t going to borrow unless they’re confident they can pay it back. This shows that the growth they expect the borrowed money to help with is pretty much a certainty.

So how can your business help its chances of getting a loan? Here are five tips ChicagoBusiness.com:

1. Keep your personal credit score high. This may be a given, but you can never stress it enough. Banks want to see a a history of financial reliability before they’re willing to send money your way.

2. It’s still all about people. The people who give you loans are exactly that: people. They’re much more willing to help you out if you go out of your way to make a connection with them. Keep in touch with them, even when you don’t need anything. These relationships can be very beneficial to you and the bank!

3. Know your statements. The best way to impress someone with your business is by knowing EVERYTHING about your business. Don’t just let someone else take care of it all– become involved, and be active in presenting this information to the bank. It shows dedication to your work and business savvy.

4. Be able to forecast the future. If you can prove that you consistently know what’s going to happen for your business, the bank is going to be more inclined to trust you when your future predictions.

5. Borrow when you don’t need it. You don’t want to take this one too far, but it can be a great credit builder. It shows that you know when to play it safe and when to take a risk.

(source)