Brookmont Funding, a small-business funding broker in Terre Haute, Indiana, works in four steps: a first conversation about the purpose, choosing a funding structure, a lending partner's review and decision, and your comparison of any offer. This page explains each step, what a broker does compared with a lender, and the red flags Vigo County owners should watch for.
Broker versus lender
A lender advances its own money (or its investors'), decides who qualifies and sets the price. A broker does neither. What a business funding broker does is help an owner work out what kind of funding fits, prepare the request and introduce it to lenders and funders that offer that kind. Brookmont Funding is a broker, not a lender.
Step 1: a call about the job
You call (812) 286-1851 or leave your contact details on the short form, and we ring back. The first questions are practical: what the money will pay for, when you need it, how the business earns its revenue and how it would repay. There is nothing to upload at this stage.
Expect us to ask how long the business has operated, roughly what it brings in, and whether any existing loans or advances are still being repaid. These shape which structures are realistic.
Step 2: the job picks the structure
What the money buys normally settles which structure applies. A one-off timing gap points to working capital. The rest follow the same logic:
- A long-lived project points to a term loan.
- Recurring, uneven costs point to a line of credit.
- Shelves stocked ahead of Vigo County sales points to inventory financing.
- A machine or vehicle points to equipment financing.
- A card-heavy business seeking speed may be offered a merchant cash advance, which is not a loan.
With your agreement, the request then goes only to partners that offer the chosen structure.
Step 3: a partner looks at the business
The partner sets its own requirements. Commonly requested items include recent business bank statements, tax returns, a list of existing debts, identification for the owners and details of the purchase or project. The partner may check credit, search for existing liens and ask follow-up questions. It then approves, declines or makes a counter-offer. Brookmont Funding cannot change that decision.
If the business trades under a name different from its registered name, sort that out before the review; the Indiana assumed name guide explains why it matters.
Can a sole proprietor get business funding?
Often, yes. Partners consider sole proprietors, though they lean more heavily on the owner's personal credit and personal tax returns because there is no separate entity. Keeping business money in a separate account makes the review far easier. Owners about to hire for the first time may find our first-employee article useful.
Step 4: lining offers up against each other
Put each offer in the same terms before choosing:
- Total of all payments, or total remitted for an advance, in dollars
- Payment frequency: monthly, weekly or daily
- APR for a loan; factor and estimated run time for an advance
- Every charge deducted from the amount you receive
- What is pledged, what gets filed, and who guarantees it
- Prepayment terms: does paying early save anything?
Not every product states an APR, so compare dollar totals and timing side by side.
Red flags in any funding search
- Someone promising approval before any partner has seen your file
- A request for money up front before an offer exists
- A push to sign before you have slept on the agreement
- An advance labeled as a loan, or a loan with no dollar total of payments
- Blank spaces in a contract you are asked to sign
Questions? Our FAQ covers the common ones, and the disclosures set out our role formally. Free, independent advising is listed in the Wabash Valley resource list.
By Brookmont Funding ยท Updated