The lender will look at a number of factors, including your time in business, your annual revenue, and your personal credit history and business credit profiles. Building and maintaining a strong personal and business credit history is the first step. Just a few points can be the difference between premium rates and something that will make your monthly payments unaffordable. If your score is lower than you’d like, consider holding off on getting a loan until you’ve hit the good to excellent credit range. The better your score, the less likely the lender will be to look to your personal assets or business assets as collateral. A strong credit profile might not be a guarantee that you'll qualify for a loan, but it will increase the number of options you'll have to choose from.