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Written by: Carolyn Young
Carolyn Young is a business writer who focuses on entrepreneurial concepts and the business formation. She has over 25 years of experience in business roles, and has authored several entrepreneurship textbooks.
Edited by: David Lepeska
David has been writing and learning about business, finance and globalization for a quarter-century, starting with a small New York consulting firm in the 1990s.
Published on June 15, 2022
Investment range
$8,550 - $18,100
Revenue potential
$72,000 - $300,000 p.a.
Time to build
3 – 6 months
Profit potential
$58,000 - $120,000 p.a.
Industry trend
Declining
Commitment
Full-time
Starting your money lending business? Here are the most vital considerations:
Before we get into the details, it’s important to clarify the type of business under discussion. Money lending businesses provide capital to individuals, generally those who cannot qualify for traditional bank loans. Money lending businesses can be structured in a number of ways:
This article will focus mainly on a hard money lending business, which requires much less capital to start. Even so, starting a money lending business has pros and cons to consider before deciding if it’s right for you.
Trends in the money lending industry include:
Challenges in the money lending industry include:
If you decide to start a hard money lending business, your startup costs will range from $8,000 to $18,000. The largest cost will be attorney fees. You will need a prospectus to give to potential investors detailing how you will do business and how they will get a return on their investments. Such documents are complicated and costly. You’ll also need a website and a marketing budget.
| Start-up Costs | Ballpark Range | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Setting up a business name and corporation | $150 - $200 | $175 |
| Business licenses and permits | $100 - $300 | $200 |
| Insurance | $100-$300 | $200 |
| Business cards and brochures | $200 - $300 | $250 |
| Website setup | $1,000 - $3,000 | $2,000 |
| Legal fees | $5,000 - $10,000 | $7,500 |
| Marketing budget | $2,000 - $4,000 | $3,000 |
| Total | $8,550 - $18,100 | $13,325 |
Hard money lenders typically take a 3% to 5% fee of the total loan amount. Since a large portion of the loans you make will be for homes, these calculations will assume an average loan amount of $150,000, which would give you an average fee of $6,000 per loan.
The interest paid on the loans will go to the investors. Your profit margin should be high, at around 80%. In your first year or two, you could do 12 loans a year, bringing in $72,000 in annual revenue. This would mean $57,600 in profit, assuming that 80% margin.
As you build a reputation, you could increase that number to 50 loans a year. At this stage, you’d rent a commercial space and hire staff, reducing your profit margin to around 40%. With annual revenue of $300,000, you’d make a handsome profit of $120,000.
The only barrier to entry for a money lending business is building relationships with investors, which often takes a lot of networking and leg work.
Now that you know what’s involved in starting a money lending business, it’s a good idea to hone your concept in preparation to enter a competitive market.
Market research will give you the upper hand, even if you’re already positive that you have a perfect product or service. Conducting market research is important, because it can help you understand your customers better, who your competitors are, and your business landscape.
Research money lending businesses in your area to examine their products and services, price points, and customer reviews. You’re looking for a market gap to fill. For instance, maybe the local market is missing a micro lending company or a money lender that will provide a business line of credit.
You might consider targeting a niche market by specializing in a certain aspect of your industry, such as term loans for those with bad credit, or hard money startup loans.
This could jumpstart your word-of-mouth marketing and attract clients right away.
You’ll need to determine what types of loans to offer, and how you will evaluate credit scores to determine whether to make the loans. You’ll need to lay out specific lending criteria in your investor prospectus.
As far as the types of loans, you can offer mortgage loans, business loans, personal unsecured loans, car loans, or lines of credit.
Hard money lenders typically take a 3% to 5% fee of the total loan amount. The interest paid on the loans will go to the investors. The interest rates you charge will depend on the interest rate limits in your state. Working alone, your profit margin should be high, at around 80%.
Once you know your costs, you can use this Step By Step profit margin calculator to determine your mark-up and final price points. Remember, the prices you use at launch should be subject to change if warranted by the market.
Your target market will generally be anyone with bad credit who needs a loan. You should market on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and even LinkedIn, which is also a good way to connect with potential investors.
In the early stages, you may want to run your business from home to keep costs low. But as your business grows, you’ll likely need to hire workers for various roles and may need to rent out an office. You can find commercial space to rent in your area on sites such as Craigslist, Crexi, and Instant Offices.
When choosing a commercial space, you may want to follow these rules of thumb:
Here are some ideas for brainstorming your business name:
Once you’ve got a list of potential names, visit the website of the US Patent and Trademark Office to make sure they are available for registration and check the availability of related domain names using our Domain Name Search tool below. Using “.com” or “.org” sharply increases credibility, so it’s best to focus on these.
Finally, make your choice among the names that pass this screening and go ahead with domain registration and social media account creation. Your business name is one of the key differentiators that sets your business apart. Once you pick your company name, and start with the branding, it is hard to change the business name. Therefore, it’s important to carefully consider your choice before you start a business entity.
Here are the key components of a business plan:
If you’ve never created a business plan, it can be an intimidating task. You might consider hiring a business plan specialist to create a top-notch business plan for you.
Registering your business is an absolutely crucial step — it’s the prerequisite to paying taxes, raising capital, opening a bank account, and other guideposts on the road to getting a business up and running.
Plus, registration is exciting because it makes the entire process official. Once it’s complete, you’ll have your own business!
Your business location is important because it can affect taxes, legal requirements, and revenue. Most people will register their business in the state where they live, but if you’re planning to expand, you might consider looking elsewhere, as some states could offer real advantages when it comes to money lenders.
If you’re willing to move, you could really maximize your business! Keep in mind, it’s relatively easy to transfer your business to another state.
Business entities come in several varieties, each with its pros and cons. The legal structure you choose for your money lending business will shape your taxes, personal liability, and business registration requirements, so choose wisely.
Here are the main options:
We recommend that new business owners choose LLC as it offers liability protection and pass-through taxation while being simpler to form than a corporation. You can form an LLC in as little as five minutes using an online LLC formation service. They will check that your business name is available before filing, submit your articles of organization, and answer any questions you might have.
Choose Your State
The final step before you’re able to pay taxes is getting an Employer Identification Number, or EIN. You can file for your EIN online or by mail or fax: visit the IRS website to learn more. Keep in mind, if you’ve chosen to be a sole proprietorship you can simply use your social security number as your EIN.
Once you have your EIN, you’ll need to choose your tax year. Financially speaking, your business will operate in a calendar year (January–December) or a fiscal year, a 12-month period that can start in any month. This will determine your tax cycle, while your business structure will determine which taxes you’ll pay.
The IRS website also offers a tax-payers checklist, and taxes can be filed online.
It is important to consult an accountant or other professional to help you with your taxes to ensure you’re completing them correctly.
Securing financing is your next step and there are plenty of ways to raise capital:
Bank and SBA loans are probably the best option, other than friends and family, for funding a money lending business. You might also try crowdfunding if you have an innovative concept.
Starting a money lending business requires obtaining a number of licenses and permits from local, state, and federal governments.
You’ll need to meet the requirements to be a licensed money lender in your state. You’ll also need to follow federal and state regulations on lending practices.
Federal regulations, licenses, and permits associated with starting your business include doing business as (DBA), health licenses and permits from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other intellectual properties, as well as industry-specific licenses and permits.
You may also need state-level and local county or city-based licenses and permits. The license requirements and how to obtain them vary, so check the websites of your state, city, and county governments or contact the appropriate person to learn more.
You could also check this SBA guide for your state’s requirements, but we recommend using MyCorporation’s Business License Compliance Package. They will research the exact forms you need for your business and state and provide them to ensure you’re fully compliant.
This is not a step to be taken lightly, as failing to comply with legal requirements can result in hefty penalties.
If you feel overwhelmed by this step or don’t know how to begin, it might be a good idea to hire a professional to help you check all the legal boxes.
Before you start making money, you’ll need a place to keep it, and that requires opening a bank account.
Keeping your business finances separate from your personal account makes it easy to file taxes and track your company’s income, so it’s worth doing even if you’re running your money lending business as a sole proprietorship. Opening a business bank account is quite simple, and similar to opening a personal one. Most major banks offer accounts tailored for businesses — just inquire at your preferred bank to learn about their rates and features.
Banks vary in terms of offerings, so it’s a good idea to examine your options and select the best plan for you. Once you choose your bank, bring in your EIN (or Social Security Number if you decide on a sole proprietorship), articles of incorporation, and other legal documents and open your new account.
Business insurance is an area that often gets overlooked yet it can be vital to your success as an entrepreneur. Insurance protects you from unexpected events that can have a devastating impact on your business.
Here are some types of insurance to consider:
As opening day nears, prepare for launch by reviewing and improving some key elements of your business.
Being an entrepreneur often means wearing many hats, from marketing to sales to accounting, which can be overwhelming. Fortunately, many websites and digital tools are available to help simplify many business tasks.
You may want to use industry-specific software, such as HES, Black Knight, or Moneylender, to manage your loan processes, accounts, credit checks, and fees.
Website development is crucial because your site is your online presence and needs to convince prospective clients of your expertise and professionalism.
You can create your own website using services like WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace. This route is very affordable, but figuring out how to build a website can be time-consuming. If you lack tech-savvy, you can hire a web designer or developer to create a custom website for your business.
They are unlikely to find your website, however, unless you follow Search Engine Optimization (SEO) practices. These are steps that help pages rank higher in the results of top search engines like Google.
Here are some powerful marketing strategies for your future business:
Unique selling propositions, or USPs, are the characteristics of a product or service that sets it apart from the competition. Customers today are inundated with buying options, so you’ll have a real advantage if they are able to quickly grasp how your money lending business meets their needs or wishes. It’s wise to do all you can to ensure your USPs stand out on your website and in your marketing and promotional materials, stimulating buyer desire.
Global pizza chain Domino’s is renowned for its USP: “Hot pizza in 30 minutes or less, guaranteed.” Signature USPs for your money lending business could be:
You may not like to network or use personal connections for business gain. But your personal and professional networks likely offer considerable untapped business potential. Maybe that Facebook friend you met in college is now running a money lending business, or a LinkedIn contact of yours is connected to dozens of potential clients. Maybe your cousin or neighbor has been working in money lending for years and can offer invaluable insight and industry connections.
The possibilities are endless, so it’s a good idea to review your personal and professional networks and reach out to those with possible links to or interest in money lending businesses. You’ll probably generate new customers or find companies with which you could establish a partnership.
If you’re starting out small from a home office, you may not need any employees. But as your business grows, you will likely need workers to fill various roles. Potential positions for a money lending business include:
At some point, you may need to hire all of these positions or simply a few, depending on the size and needs of your business. You might also hire multiple workers for a single role or a single worker for multiple roles, again depending on need.
Free-of-charge methods to recruit employees include posting ads on popular platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, or Jobs.com. You might also consider a premium recruitment option, such as advertising on Indeed, Glassdoor, or ZipRecruiter. Further, if you have the resources, you could consider hiring a recruitment agency to help you find talent.
Money lenders provide a valuable service to people unable to obtain loans, which is why it’s big business. If you can build solid relationships with investors and are committed to helping people, you could build a lucrative lending operation, even starting from your own home!
Now that you know what’s involved from a business perspective, it’s time to launch your successful money lending business.
You can make a 3% to 5% fee on each loan amount, so it can be very profitable. The key is to build relationships with investors who will fund your loans.
To differentiate your money lending business, focus on providing competitive interest rates, flexible repayment terms, exceptional customer service, quick loan processing, transparency in fees and charges, and personalized financial solutions tailored to individual borrower needs.
Yes, you can start a money lending business on the side, but it requires careful consideration of legal and regulatory requirements, managing risk effectively, and ensuring proper time management and resources to handle both your main job and the lending business.
Assess the creditworthiness of potential borrowers by conducting thorough credit checks, verifying their income and employment stability, reviewing their credit history and repayment patterns, and considering any collateral or guarantors provided. Additionally, evaluate their debt-to-income ratio and analyze their financial statements to gauge their ability to repay the loan.
Expand your money lending business by partnering with local businesses, using digital marketing, offering referral incentives, exploring new regions, providing online loan applications, and improving your reputation with positive reviews.
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This was a good guide for me , Thank you