This guy wasn’t aiming at election fraud, but that’s small comfort.
The post About Those 300 Stolen Ballots… appeared first on #1 SEO FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.
The post About Those 300 Stolen Ballots… appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain – Deals And Reviews.
It’s no secret the past two years have wrought havoc on the economy. Workers were laid off in droves. Small businesses suffered. Now, with things starting to get back on track, many displaced employees have found their own entrepreneurial spirit. As a result, they are looking to start their own business. In fact, it’s being dubbed “The Great Resignation,” and it’s going to turn small business lending on its head.
Many of these displaced employees are in the 30—45 age range. While some are looking for other employment, many are considering starting a business. Of course, this age range typically does not yet have a huge retirement plan, or a lot of savings at all for that matter. As a result, the demand for small business financing is going to increase greatly.
Whether you are ready to start a business or already own one, there are some things you need to know about small business lending in the new year.
Everyone is saying it, and they’re right. Sadly, interest rates are rising. Thankfully, throughout the pandemic the Fed kept the rate low. Obviously, it was an effort to counteract all the other crazy things happening in the economy. Now, it’s becoming obvious that a correction will be needed.
It’s time to pay the piper, and the Fed is considering rate hikes as early as this year. What does that mean for small business lending? If you need business funding, or think you may need it in the future, now’s the time to jump on a loan or a line of credit.
Here is another reason to make sure you secure funding as soon as possible. Inflation is imminent. In fact, according to comments made to CNBC by Fed President James Bullard, it’s coming sooner than expected:
“… we were expecting a good year, a good reopening. But this is a bigger year than we w
ere expecting, more inflation than we were expecting.”
It’s already started, and it always gets worse before it gets better. Make sure you have access to funds now, before it costs you more to get them. Then, when you start to feel the squeeze of inflation, you have what you need.
Even though small business funding options are increasing, it’s not likely the industry will see tighter regulations soon. Business owners will still have to find their own reliable and affordable funding.
This is where the services of one of the business credit specialists at Credit Suite can be especially helpful. These specialists have their finger on the pulse of the small business lending industry. They can help borrowers make informed decisions based on that knowledge.
The Small Business Administration has had a tough couple of years as well. This is due mostly to the fiasco that ensued with the Paycheck Protection Program. A good idea that must be rushed is virtually guaranteed to have problems. The SBA was directly in the line of fire.
They are working to rectify it, but their role in small business lending will likely be smaller in 2022 than it has been in the past.
Not only are online lenders sticking around, but they will continue to offer more options as their role in business lending continues to grow.
The demand for business funding services that are less stringent when it comes to approval processes is stronger than ever. There are plenty of alternative small business lenders standing ready to fill the gap.
According to the 2019 Small Business Credit Survey 32% of small business applicants used online lenders, and that was before the pandemic. That number is very likely to grow in the coming year for a number of reasons. First, online lenders are typically more flexible. Also, they tend to offer a wider range of funding solutions, including:
Furthermore, they are usually faster and more efficient. Not only do borrowers get faster approval, but they typically gain access to funds faster as well. Not to mention, you can apply for funding with just a few taps on a keyboard.
It’s likely that this year and in the years to come, online lenders and other fintech companies will continue to provide lending solutions to small businesses.
There are a lot of well established online lenders out there, and new ones are popping up everyday. Be sure to vet each one carefully, and double check details before you apply, because they can change often. We have reviews on a number of them to help.
Here are a few you can start with:
With all of these choices, we highly recommend that you check their websites directly for the most recent qualifying and term details, as these can change over time.
If you need more of an alternative loan option rather than an alternative lender, a credit line hybrid may be a good option. This is a form of unsecured funding, and the Credit Suite Credit Line Hybrid has an even better interest rate than a secured loan. In fact, it can sometimes be as low as 0% for the first few months.
It’s a credit card stacking program, and many of the cards report to business CRAs. That means, you can build business credit and access cash for your business with no personal guarantee.
You do need a good credit score, or a guarantor with good credit, to get an approval. The minimum FICO is 680. There are no financials required, and you can often get up to $150,000. It is important to note also, some cards may report on your personal credit.
With increasing demand and competition for all types of business lending, building strong fundability will be increasingly important. Part of strong fundability is having a good business credit score. There are many ways to build your business credit score.
You need help from someone with inside knowledge of the industry and relationships with the vendors and lenders that can help you build your business credit. This makes the whole process go faster and keeps frustration to a minimum. A free consultation with a Credit Suite Business Credit Specialist is a great place to start.
The post Your Guide to Small Business Lending Trends In 2022 appeared first on Credit Suite.
Etsy is the global marketplace for unique and creative goods. With more than 100 million buyers, and over 5 million sellers, we are an ecommerce company at scale. As part of our mission to offer a best in class personalized search experience, our Search Engineering teams continue to grow. I include links to a couple of our live roles, and we welcome applicants from all across the US & Canada for these positions.
Engineering Manager, Search Platform: https://careers.etsy.com/global/en/job/JR1042/Engineering-Ma…
Senior Software Engineer II, Search Indexing: https://careers.etsy.com/global/en/job/JR605/Senior-Software…
More positions to go live soon, and these will be posted here at the next available opportunity!
For more information on our mission for search here at Etsy, please see this post from our engineering blog, Code as Craft: https://codeascraft.com/2020/10/29/bringing-personalized-sea…
Location: Los Angeles, California
Remote: Yes
Willing to relocate: No
Technologies: JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, Kotlin, Python, Nodejs, React, Express, Nextjs, Spring Boot, Flask, Redis, Postgres, MongoDb
Resume: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NbwrILs-zlD7J8s8xnJ_c75W…
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nsuarez22
Email: nathaniel(dot)lee002(at)gmail(dot)com
Article URL: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/great-question/jobs/AokShrj-full-stack-engineer Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29819615 Points: 1 # Comments: 0
Generally Intelligent is an AI research company. Our mission is to build human-like general intelligence and make it safely accessible in order to foster a more abundant, unconstrained, and equitable society. We take a first-principles approach, starting from simple self-supervised architectures and evolving them to tackle human developmental milestones of increasing complexity. Systems Engineer role … Continue reading Generally Intelligent (YC S17) Is Hiring Systems Engineers (Remote, SF)
Here’s the political back story on the wireless-airline feud.
The post Buttigieg's FAA and 5G Mid-Air Collision appeared first on #1 SEO FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.
The post Buttigieg's FAA and 5G Mid-Air Collision appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain – Deals And Reviews.
If the concern is stealing the Presidency, fix the Electoral Count Act.
The post Overturning the Next Election appeared first on #1 SEO FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.
The post Overturning the Next Election appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain – Deals And Reviews.
The new year is a great time to review fundability. To do that, it’s important to have a fundable definition that you understand. Essentially, fundability is the current ability of your business to get funding. There are 125 factors that affect fundability. Some of them you can control, and some of them you can’t. Having a fundable business means you can get the funding you need for your business, when you need it.
The way your business is set up lays down the foundation for fundability. This includes a number of factors.
First, keep the name of a high-risk industry out of your business name. Maybe try Bobby’s instead of Bobby’s Gas Station. This will help prevent early denial from a lender that only sees the “gas station” part.
Another common reason for credit denials is that the lender can’t easily locate a business. So, name your business in a way that makes it easy to find both online and offline. The name on your application should be exactly the same as what is online and on your Secretary of State paperwork.
It also needs to be the same everywhere else. This includes corporation papers, licenses, utility statements, and bank statements. In fact, all business information needs to be consistent. That means, if you change your business name, you have to be sure to change it everywhere.
Even the smallest details make a difference. If you use an ampersand in one place and the word “and” in another, you are going to run into issues. If you hyphenate your last name on one document, then you do not on another, a red flag will go up.
Next, your business address needs to be a physical address where you can receive mail. Do not use a UPS box or a PO Box. A virtual address may work if you need to hold a meeting or an interview. In fact, it’s a lot more professional than meeting at your kitchen table. Still, not all credit providers will accept a virtual address.
Get a free EIN for your business at IRS.gov. This is an identifying number for your business similar to your personal SSN. Use your EIN to open a bank account and to build a business credit profile.
It’s important to incorporate. Incorporating creates a separate business entity, thereby adding a layer of protection between your business’s debts and actions and you. It doesn’t matter if you choose to do so as an S-corp, LLC, or C corporation when it comes to fundability. Work with an attorney or tax professional to figure out which option will work best for your budget and need for liability protection.
For fundability purposes, you need a separate, dedicated business phone number. A separate number keeps your family from accidentally answering a business call, and it means your listing will have the name of your business and not your own. It should be listed with 411. Many credit providers actually require this.
Toll-free phone numbers are best. Lenders see them as a sign of business credibility. Thankfully, it’s very easy and inexpensive to set up a virtual local phone number or a toll free 800 number. Don’t use your personal cell or home number. Instead, have your business number forward to your personal number. It’s also easy, and perfectly fine, to use VoIP.
Make sure you know what the licensing requirements are for your business at both the state and local levels.
Lenders and credit providers will research your corporation on the internet. Consequently, it is best if they learn everything directly from your business website. Not having a website can hurt your chances of getting business credit.
The website needs to be well put together and user friendly. If you can’t make it look professional, pay to have it professionally designed. It’s also important to pay for web hosting. Do not use a free service.
Along the same lines, you need a company email address for your business that has the same domain as your website. This is more professional than a free service URL such as Gmail or Yahoo. It also greatly helps your chances of getting approval from a credit provider.
You must have a separate business bank account. The IRS frowns on mixing business funds and personal funds anyway. Separate accounts make it easier to keep funds separate. Beyond that, the date you open your business bank account is the day that lenders consider your first day of business.
As a result, if you opened a business bank account yesterday, your business started yesterday. That’s the case regardless of how long you have actually been in business. Time in business is a major factor for credit providers when it comes to approvals, so this is important.
A separate business bank account also means you can sign up for a merchant account, so you can take credit cards. Study upon study has shown that people will spend more if they are using credit rather than cash.
You’ll need a D-U-N-S number. You can get one for free on the Dun & Bradstreet website. You cannot have a business credit score with D&B without this number. Since they are the largest and most commonly used business credit reporting agency, a D-U-N-S number is essential.
Once you are in D&B’s system, search Experian and Equifax’s sites for your business as well. You’ll have an identification number from Experian as well. It’s called a BIN, but Experian assigns that number. You do not have to apply.
You can control the way your business is set up. That’s good, because it is a huge piece of fundability. In contrast, the rest of the factors that affect fundability are not quite as controllable.
Still, you have to understand exactly what else affects the fundability of your business if you hope to get a handle on it.
There are other business data agencies that affect reports indirectly. This is in addition to the business credit reporting agencies that directly calculate and issue credit reports.
Two examples of this are LexisNexis and The Small Business Finance Exchange. These agencies gather data from a variety of sources, including public records. They even have access to information relating to automobile accidents and liens. You cannot access or change the data the agencies have on your business. However, you can ensure that any new information they receive is positive. Enough positive information can help counteract any negative information from the past.
Your credit history has everything to do with your credit score, a huge factor in fundability. Personal credit history consists of a number of things including:
But with business credit, the main issue is whether you’re paying your bills on time.
The point is, the more accounts you have reporting on-time payments to the business credit reporting agencies, the stronger your business credit score will be.
Both your personal and business tax returns need to be in order. It is best to have an accounting professional prepare regular financial statements for your business. Having an accountant’s name on financial statements lends credence to the legitimacy of your business.
Often tax returns for the previous three years will suffice for personal financials. Honestly, it’s best to have a tax professional prepare them. Now, this is the bare minimum you will need. Other information lenders may ask for include check stubs and bank statements, among other things.
There are other agencies with data relating to your personal finances as well. For example, FICO is where most traditional lenders will look for personal credit. Your personal FICO score needs to be as strong as possible.
ChexSystems is another example. They track bad check activity and their report makes a difference when it comes to your bank score. If you have too many bad checks, you will not be able to open a bank account. That will cause serious fundability issues.
There are other bureaus with all sorts of information on you, like:
All of this can and will play into the fundability of your business.
Your personal credit scores from Experian, Equifax, and Transunion affect fundability as well. If your scores aren’t great right now, work on them. The number one way to get a strong personal credit score or improve a weak one is to make payments consistently on time.
Monitor personal credit reports frequently to make sure the information is correct and current.
Did you know that even the process of applying for a loan can affect fundability? For example, consider the timing of the application. Maybe you paid off a large account recently. The payoff will increase your score. However, that may not be reflected on your credit reports immediately. It may be best to wait to apply until after the account shows as paid.
Also, your business name, business address, and ownership status need to be verifiable. Lastly, make sure you choose the right lending product for your business and your needs. For example, do you need a traditional loan or a line of credit? Would a working capital loan or expansion loan work best for your needs? Choosing the right product to apply for can make all the difference.
Obviously It can be difficult to get a handle on a fundable definition. This is mostly because the entire idea of fundability is so overwhelming.
Imagine, it is affected not only by the decisions you make today, but also decisions you made in the past. Not to mention, there are things that affect fundability that you do not have any control over. Understanding exactly what fundability is and what affects it is a great start to getting your business in a good position.
The post 2022 Guide to Fundability and a Fundable Definition appeared first on Credit Suite.
Article URL: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/hudu/jobs/2L2oFZn-javascript-engineer-at-hudu
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29800421
Points: 1
# Comments: 0