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Small Business Funding: A Complete Guide to All Your Options

When it comes to small business funding, there are way more options than you probably imagine. While not every option is an option for everyone, there is usually some version of each that will work on some level. 

Your Definitive Guide to Small Business Funding Options

Most think of loans when they think of small business funding.  Term loans, lines-of-credit, invoice financing, and merchant cash advances all have their place.  The question is, do you use a traditional lender, look into SBA partners, or veer more toward private lenders?  

Also, loans are not the only players in the small business funding game.  Other, lesser known players include angel investors, crowdfunding, and grants.  You need to know about each one, and your options for each one, to make an informed decision. 

Small Business Funding: Types of Loans

There are a number of differ types of loans available.  In general, these types of financing can be found with both traditional and private lenders. Typically, if you go the traditional route, small community banks are more small business funding friendly than big banks. 

Traditional

These are the standard loans that disperse a set amount of funds, with the borrower repaying over a certain period of time.  The payment is the same each month, and they can be either secured or unsecured.  Unsecured small business loan options usually have higher interest rates. 

Find out why so many companies use our proven methods to get business loans. 

Line of Credit 

This is revolving debt similar to credit cards.  Borrowers are given a maximum limit of the amount of funds they can use, but only pay back the amount that they actually use.  For example, a borrower may have a $5,000 line of credit and use $2,000 to buy a new printer.  They will only pay back $2,000, until the time comes that they choose to use more. Lines of credit can also be secured or unsecured. 

Invoice Factoring

If you  have receivables, invoice factoring is an option.   The lender buys unpaid invoices from you at a premium, meaning you do not get full value.  However, you then have cash in hand for those open invoices.  The lender collects from the consumer directly at full value.  The older the invoice, the higher the premium.

Merchant Cash Advance

If you accept credit card payments, a merchant cash advance can help you out in a cash pinch.  It is basically just what is says.  It’s a cash advance on predicted credit card sales. They base the amount of the loan off of average daily credit card sales. Then, payment is taken from future credit card sales. This usually happens electronically. Most often, the process is automatic.  The benefits are that you get the funds fast, and there are usually more flexible options for repayment terms depending on your eligibility.

The Small Business Administrationbiz money Credit Suite

SBA loans are small-business loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration.  Participating lenders, mostly banks, distribute the funds. They can guarantee up to 85% of loans of $150,000 or less, and loans that are more than $150,000 they will guarantee up to 75%. The maximum loan amount they offer is $5 million. 

Since they have a government guarantee, financial institutions are able to offer these loans at lower interest rates. 

How Do You Qualify SBA Loans? 

To be eligible for SBA Government Loans, you must meet certain qualifications. These include:

  • Your business must be for profit.
  • Your business must be inside the US.
  • Business owners must invest equity.
  • You must have exhausted all other financing options.
  • Your business must qualify as a small business.
  • Your business must be in an eligible industry.

What About Repaying SBA Loans? 

One perk of SBA government loans is that you can take longer to pay them back than you would otherwise. According to the SBA, the terms depend on how you intend to use the funds. 

For example, working capital loans, or funds you intend to use for daily operation, have a repayment terms of seven years. However, funds for new equipment purchase have a term of 10 years. Real estate loan terms extend even longer to 25 years. Of course, the longer the term the lower the interest.  As a result, regular payments are lower. 

How Do SBA Loans Work?  

With little exception, the SBA does not actually provide the funds for the loans they guarantee. The lenders that partner with them provide the funds, but the agency guarantees a portion. Currently, they will guarantee up to $3.75 million. 

Find out why so many companies use our proven methods to get business loans. 

What does that mean? It means that lenders are able to offer better interest rates and terms than they would otherwise be able too. This is because there is a reduced risk with the SBA guarantee. If the borrower defaults on the loan, the Small Business Administration will pay out their guarantee amount. 

Find out more about the SBA and the programs they offer here. 

Small business Funding: Private Lenders

Private lenders are also known as alternative lenders.  Generally, they can be a little more relaxed with requirements.  The drawback is that they also tend to have higher interest rates and less favorable terms. 

They usually have options for all types of financings at varying rates.  There are a ton out there, but here are a few to get you started if you need to go this route for small business funding. 

Upstart

Upstart is a fairly new online lender that is using cutting edge technology.  They question whether financial information and FICO alone can really determine the risk associated with a specific borrower.  Instead, they are using a combination of machine learning and AI to gather alternative data.  They then use this data to make credit decisions.

Alternative data includes such things as phone bills, rent, deposits, withdrawals, and even other information less directly tied to finances.  Software from the company learns and improves based on this data. 

They offer various types of financing products to fit a broad range of needs. From credit card refinancing to student loans, and pretty much anything in-between, there is something for everyone.  Debt consolidation and personal loans are included. Business loans are also an option.

You can get a quote on a loan to start or expand a business.  Get a quote online in minutes.  Learn more in this comprehensive review. 

StreetShares

StreetShares started as a service to veterans.  Now, they offer term loans, lines of credit, and contract financing. They also offer small business loan investment options. The maximum loan amount is $250,000.  Pre-Approval only takes a few minutes. They use a soft pull on your credit so it doesn’t affect your score. 

To be eligible, you must be in business for at least 12 months with annual revenue of $25,000. Exceptions are possible also.  Loans to companies in business for at least 6 months that have higher earnings can get approval on a case by case basis. The borrower’s credit score must be at least 620. For more on StreetShares, see our in-depth review.

Kabbage

Kabbage is a well know online lender. They offer a small business line of credit that can help businesses accomplish business goals quickly. The minimum loan amount is $500 and the maximum is $250,000. They require you to be in business for at least one year and have $50,000 or more in annual revenue, or $4,200 or more per month in the previous 3 month period. 

They are great if you need cash quickly. Also, their non-traditional approach puts less weight on your credit score, so they may work better for some borrowers than other lenders.

Fundation

Fundation provides both term business loans online and lines of credit. It is most known for its working capital funding options. These are funds meant to help cover the day-to-day costs of running a business rather than larger projects. Typically, these funds come in the form of a line-of-credit.

Find out why so many companies use our proven methods to get business loans. 

Their minimum loan amount is $20,000 while the maximum loan amount they offer is $500,000. They require you to be in business for at least 12 months and have annual revenue of at least $100,000. To be eligible, your personal credit score must be no less than 600. Additionally, you must have at least 3 full time employees.  That number can include yourself.  Business owners cannot live or operate their business in North Dakota, South Dakota, or Nevada. 

SmartBiz

If you want the convenience of online lending but need to look toward products offered by the SBA, then SmartBiz is for you. 

With the help of the Small Business Administration, SmartBiz offers loans that are government backed. While SBA loans typically take a lot of time and paperwork, SmartBiz found a way to streamline the process.  It makes getting loans through the Small Business Administration easier than ever. The minimum loan amount is $30,000 and the maximum is $5,000,000.  

As stated, SBA loans are government-backed business term loans for business owners who’ve had difficulty qualifying for other types of financing.  As a result, the requirements are a little stricter. Your credit score has to be 650, and you have to be in business for 2 years or more. In addition, annual revenue has to be $50,000 at least, and there can be no outstanding liens, bankruptcies, or foreclosures in the past 3 years. 

Small Business Funding: Investors

Of course, the standard investor option is always available. However, often the better option for small business funding is to find an angel investor. 

According to Investopedia, angel investors “… invest in small startups or entrepreneurs. Often, angel investors are among an entrepreneur’s family and friends. The capital angel investors provide may be a one-time investment to help the business propel or an ongoing injection of money to support and carry the company through its difficult early stages.”

Most often, they are in it for a one-time contribution.  Typically, they do not lend to the same person twice. That is even if that person pays them as agreed.

They like to spread their risk over a lot of people and businesses to make sure they get a good return on their investment.  They are also usually a lot more informal than most types of funding. An angel investor can be anyone, from your mom to someone you met through networking.  

How to Find Angel Investors

The best way to find these kinds of angel investors is to ask people you know.  Likewise, you can try an angel investors website or network. Also, Gust keeps a database of investors, companies, and programs. Startups can search for business plan competitions and other opportunities.

Small business Funding: Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is an increasingly popular option for small business funding.  Many business owners find this is their best option for independence. With crowdfunding, they can start a new business without taking on debt or taking out equity.  This is rare startups. However, a little planning and creative marketing can go a long way. 

What is Crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding is a type of investment option really.  The thing is, you get a lot of smaller investments from a lot of people, a crowd if you will.  This is in contrast to getting the bulk of your small business funding from one or two larger investors. The problem is, not everyone with a campaign on a crowdfunding site is successful.   In fact, it is kind of rare to get your business fully funded through crowdfunding.

How to Use Crowdfunding to Fund Your Small Business

You’ll have to figure out which crowdfunding platform is best to use for your business. Kickstarter and Indiegogo are two of the most popular. 

Trying to get investors will take time. You’ll need the perfect pitch to get investors interested.  It helps to learn more about crowdfunding and how to get started. 

Small Business Funding: Grants

Another option for funding your small business is grants.  They are sometimes overlooked because they tend to be highly competitive.  Also, many business owners do not know what’s out there. Take some time to look around and see what’s available.  

Many grants are available that are specific to minorities, females, or veterans. There are some grants opportunities that are open to everyone however.  One example is the FedEx grant. The FedEx grant is open to any business that has been in operation for at least 6 months and has 99 employees or less. They award eight $7,500 grants, one $15,000 grant, and one $25,000 grant to winners each year. LendingTree is another example.  It offers a grant annually of $50,000. 

Small Business Funding: The Big Picture

The truth is, there are a lot of options out there that can be used instead of, or in addition to, loans.  Don’t forget too, you can always use some version of self-funding. Savings and retirement accounts are sometimes the best options.  This is especially true of retirement accounts that offer lending options. Sure, you have to pay the funds back, but you are paying yourself back.  

In the end, you’ll have to figure out which option or combination of options will work best for you and your business. This should get you started. 

The post Small Business Funding: A Complete Guide to All Your Options appeared first on Credit Suite.

Exactly how To Choose The Best Remortgage And Not Get Financially Stung

Exactly how To Choose The Best Remortgage And Not Get Financially Stung

The trick to picking the finest remortgage is just contrasting the rate of interest prices of various lending institutions. They can discuss with their lending institution to obtain a great bargain.

The initial component of arrangement for the very best remortgage is obtaining a beginning suggestion from the present lending institution. The property owner must review their remortgage choices with their loan provider as well as ask what they need to provide. At this moment the resident informs the loan provider many thanks for the quote and afterwards begins to look around.

The resident need to consider different other lending institutions and also collect quotes for their ideal remortgage. They are trying to find the most affordable quote, ideally reduced after that their present loan provider. Once they have actually discovered the most affordable price feasible they are mosting likely to return to their present lending institution.

Their loan provider does not desire to shed their organisation as well as they understand the only method to maintain it is to match or defeat the least expensive quote they obtained. They comprehend the residence proprietor is just attempting to conserve cash.

The loan provider might provide various other bargains, so it is essential that the homeowner makes it clear that the bargain breaker is the rate of interest. As long as the various other quotes adhere to the very same basic lines of the initial home loan this is the very best action.

If the various other quotes tack of charges or various other prices after that the loan provider will certainly order onto that and also attempt to win the bargain that method. That is why it is essential to obtain quotes that are specifically the like what the resident is attempting to bargain with the existing lending institution.

Throughout the arrangements the loan provider will certainly either cavern and also provide the resident the rates of interest he desires or they will certainly claim they can refrain it. After that the remortgage can continue, if they concur. If they can not fulfill the cheapest price after that the residence proprietor requires to go to that lending institution to begin the remortgage procedure.

Obtaining the very best remortgage is done in the hands of the property owner. Lenders are not going to leap at the possibility to supply rock lower rate of interest prices at. By bargaining as well as looking around, however, the homeowner obtains the top hand and also they can compel their existing lending institution right into opting for a reduced price.

Since the present loan provider does not desire to shed the residence proprietors organisation, the factor this functions is. Various other lending institutions are extra than eager to provide reduced price to get the residence proprietors service.

Remaining with the initial lending institution, however, has its benefits. Plus the residence proprietor currently has a recognized connection with this lending institution.

The residence proprietor need to review their remortgage alternatives with their lending institution and also ask what they have to provide. The house proprietor need to look at different other lending institutions and also collect quotes for their ideal remortgage. Throughout the arrangements the lending institution will certainly either cavern and also offer the residence proprietor the passion price he desires or they will certainly state they can not do it. If they can not fulfill the least expensive price after that the house proprietor requires to go to that loan provider to begin the remortgage procedure.

By working out and also going shopping about, however, the residence proprietor obtains the top hand as well as they can compel their present loan provider right into going with a reduced price.

The post Exactly how To Choose The Best Remortgage And Not Get Financially Stung appeared first on ROI Credit Builders.

Global investing under water? – Climate change could leave equities exposed

As impending global changes brought about by climate change loom, one issue in particular threatens to cause massive losses to institutional investors – rising sea levels. David Lunsford and Boris Prahl, of MSCI, explore where, despite the efforts of initiatives such as the Paris Agreement on climate change, institutional investors must protect their portfolios from physical climate risk, and why, when it comes to facing up to climate risk, inaction could prove catastrophic

The post Global investing under water? – Climate change could leave equities exposed appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain – Deals And Reviews.

Ep. #432: Former Vice President Al Gore, Ralph Reed, Jr.

Bill’s guests are Former Vice President Al Gore, Ralph Reed, Jr., Kristen Soltis Anderson, Joshua Green, and Michael Weiss. (Originally aired 8/4/17)

The post Ep. #432: Former Vice President Al Gore, Ralph Reed, Jr. appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain – Deals And Reviews.

Jerry (YC S17) Is Hiring Full Stack Engineers (Toronto, SF Bay Area, Remote)

Article URL: https://getjerry.com/careers

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22728768

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

DreamCraft (YC S18) Is Hiring Full-Stack Engineers (SF Bay Area, Remote)

Article URL: https://www.dreamcraft.com/software-engineer-ui

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22731005

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

The New Way to Chat With Your Visitors

Marketing has evolved into an omnichannel approach. This means you can no longer just go after one channel to succeed.

Back in the day, companies like Facebook grew into billion-dollar businesses through one channel.

Facebook used email to grow and they did it by having you invite all your contacts to join Facebook.

Yelp was also similar. They grew into a multi-million dollar business through one channel… SEO.

Dropbox grew through social media. If you tweeted about Dropbox, they would give you more space.

These marketing approaches worked well for all of these well-known
companies, but what’s wrong with them?

The law of shitty click-throughs

What worked for Facebook, Yelp, and Dropbox were all great strategies, but over time, all good marketing channels got saturated and stopped working like they used to.

As Andrew Chen puts it, first it works
and then it doesn’t.

It really is that simple. Sure, those channels can still
drive traffic and always will, but as people get used to them, they won’t work
as well.

Just check out this image below.

Can you guess what that is?

That was the first banner ad. AT&T created that banner ad and placed it on HotWired.com in 1994. And here’s what’s really crazy… out of all the people who saw it, a whopping 44% clicked on it.

Just think about that… that banner ad had a 44% click-through rate.

We can all agree it’s not an amazing banner ad or design, it
just so happens that it was new and novel at the time, so it generated massive amounts
of clicks.

Just like how SEO was more effective earlier on, or paid ads were more affordable and produced a higher ROI, or referral marketing was much more effective. There are a lot of single-channel case studies that worked in the past.

Again, it doesn’t mean any of these channels don’t work, it
just means that they don’t work as well as they used to work.

So how do you survive in a competitive market?

You take an omnichannel approach. You don’t have a choice other than to use all of the marketing channels out there.

Yes, they will be competitive and saturated, but they still
work.

It’s a game of papercuts… papercuts are small and don’t do much damage, but if you have tons of these small papercuts, they will add up and can do some damage.

The same goes with your marketing. If you add up all of these channels that produce a small amount of ROI, it will add up to a big number at the end. But when you look at each channel individually, the results aren’t that sexy. But when you combine them, it looks great.

Start with chat

What do you check more, your text messages or your email
inbox?

I bet you are going to say text messages because you look at
your phone more often than logging into your email inbox.

But here is an interesting stat for you… did you know that
over 6
billion SMS messages are sent daily?

Now can you guess how many emails are sent daily?

269
billion!

That’s a big difference.

And do you know how many people visit Facebook each day?

1.62
billion.

Now the point of me sharing those stats isn’t to try and
tell you that email is better than text. Or that Facebook isn’t as valuable as
text messaging.

It’s more so to show you that they are all massive channels
that people are using each and every day.

So why wouldn’t you try and leverage all of them?

And you can easily do so through free chat marketing tools like Manychat that allow you to communicate to your visitors using text messaging, email marketing, and Facebook Messenger.

Once you have created your Manychat account, go here to watch how to set it up. They have tons of very helpful videos that teach you how to do things like setting up Facebook Messenger bots and connecting your Facebook page so you can start sending out messages.

Now that you are all set up, I want you to use the following templates for your business as I know they convert…

Templates that convert

My team and I have tested out tons of different messaging
for all channels, such as email, messenger and text messaging.

Here are the ones that have worked the best for us…

Text messaging templates

My favorite text message to send someone is:

[first name]?

When someone sends you a text with just your first name and a “?” what do you do? Chances are you respond with… “who is this?”.

Once someone responds with who is this, our sales reps typically
respond with…

This is John from Neil Patel’s team. I just wanted to follow up to see if you have any questions or if we can help you with anything.

It’s simple and it works well and it has boosted our sales
by 4.69%.

Another one that works well is a “flash sales” text message…

Flash Sale: All product on [yoursite] are [x]% off for the next 24 hours. [insert URL]

This one works really well during holidays or anytime you
want to run a promotion. Depending on the size of the business you run and how
big your list is, you will usually see an additional 2 to 3% in revenue for
that month.

And my favorite text campaign is…

Check out this new blog post, [subject of the blog post] [URL]

An example would be… “Check out this new blog post on doubling
your SEO traffic [URL]”

When I send out text message alerts for new posts, it usually increases the traffic to that blog post by another 4%.

Email templates

You’re probably familiar with this email template as you get
it from me every week. 😉

Subject: How to Generate Leads When You Have Little to No Traffic

If you have a ton of traffic, it’s easy to generate leads.

But what if you have a new website or one with little to no traffic?

What if you don’t have any money to spend on paid ads?

What should you do?

Well, there is a solution. Here’s how you generate leads when you have no traffic.

Cheers,

Neil Patel

I send out an email every Tuesday and Saturday that looks
something like that.

It’s a simple text-based email where the subject line is the title of your blog post and the text of the email states a problem and solution, with the solution being a link to the blog post.

To give you a rough idea, that email format has been getting me 29% to 33% open rates and 4% to 7% click-through rates.

And if you are selling info products through webinars, there are 8 types of emails I use to generate sales (check out that post if you want to learn how to make good money selling info products):

  1. Invite sequence – these are a series
    of emails that invite people to watch your webinar. (here
    are my invite emails    )
  2. Indoctrination – you need to build a
    connection with people. People are more likely to convert if they know more
    about you and trust you. (here
    are my indoctrination emails    )
  3. No shows – just because someone
    signs up to watch your webinar, it doesn’t mean they will attend. For everyone
    who doesn’t attend, you’ll want to email them and get them to watch the replay.
    (here
    are my no show emails    )
  4. Encore – not everyone will watch
    your whole webinar. If they don’t stick to the end they won’t see your offer.
    You’ll want a few emails that push the replay. (here are my
    encore emails    )
  5. Objection handler – there are a
    handful of reasons someone may not buy. You’ll want to answer each of those
    objections through email. (here
    are my objection handler emails    )
  6. Countdown sequence – you’ll want to
    close off your course. Letting people know that they only have a few days left
    to buy is a really effective way to generate sales. These emails will roughly
    make up 1/3 to half of your sales. (here
    are my countdown emails    )
  7. Last chance email – on the last day
    you’ll want to send a few emails letting people know it is about to close. (here
    are my last chance emails    )
  8. Free trial offer – the majority of
    people won’t buy from you. Offering the last chance free trial offer is a great
    way to roughly get 15% more sales. (here
    are my free trial emails    )

If you are selling products, there are 3 main emails that I’ve found to work well. The first 2 are for cart abandonment.

Subject: Did you forget something?

We noticed that you left something behind. Don’t worry though, we saved the items in your cart so you can easily complete your purchase.

[insert picture of products]

CTA button: Return to cart

This simple abandonment email typically increases sales by 1.73%. I know it’s not a lot, but it’s all about the papercuts as I mentioned above. 😉

Subject: Still thinking about it?

If you can’t decide on whether [insert product name] is right for you, here are some of the benefits:

[insert benefit 1]

[insert benefit 2]

[insert benefit 3]

[insert benefit 4]

[insert benefit 5]

[insert benefit 6]

So, what are you waiting for? You have nothing to lose with our 30 day no questions asked money back guarantee.

CTA: Complete my purchase

On average this email has provided our customers an increase of
1.44% in sales.

Subject: Who doesn’t love 15% off?

Explore new [type of products you sell] that will help you with [insert benefit].

Sale ends at [insert date and time].

CTA: Claim my discount

Now with the discount/coupon code email, we’ve found the results to vary a lot. The bigger the discount, the more sales you will typically receive. The biggest gains are when companies offer over 30% or greater discount.

Facebook Messenger templates

Unlike email and text, you can’t just easily just message people
on Facebook Messenger and do whatever you want. There
are rules…

  • You can message a subscriber within the last 24 hours of your last interaction.
  • Within that 24-hour time period, you can send promotional material.
  • After the 24 hour period, messages must contain one of these 4 tags: confirmed event update, post-purchase update, account update, or a human agent.
  • For users who opt-in to receive messages after 24 hours, you can, of course, message them.

As for templates that work, because Facebook is continually changing Messenger rules, follow these templates over at Manychat as they constantly change based on real-time data of what is working or what isn’t.

Conclusion

You have no choice but to take an omnichannel approach with
your marketing.

Sure, all good channels eventually get crowded and click-throughs will decrease over time, but if you go after all of the main channels the marginal gains will add up.

And the easiest way to start with going omnichannel is with chat. I know you are probably using email, but I bet you aren’t using text messaging or even Facebook Messenger bots. And I bet you aren’t using push notifications either.

So, how many marketing channels are you using?

The post The New Way to Chat With Your Visitors appeared first on Neil Patel.

New comment by nmoy89 in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired right now?"

Hello! I’m a Software Engineer looking for junior dev positions.

Location: New York City area

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: yes

Technologies: Ruby, Rails, Redux, JavaScript, React, React Native, Bootstrap

Resume: https://ohnickmoy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Moy_Resume_…
email: nicksmoy@gmail.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ohnickmoy/

github: https://github.com/ohnickmoy

Leveraging the Use of Content for Your Personal Brand

It can be great to use the content for your personal brand, and after all, we are all content machines. To make this post less one-sided, let’s do an exercise together: When was the last … The post Leveraging the Use of Content for Your Personal Brand appeared first on Paper.li blog.

Mercedes F1 team helps create breathing aid for coronavirus patients

UCL and the Mercedes’ F1 engine department have reverse-engineered a breathing aid. The post Mercedes F1 team helps create breathing aid for coronavirus patients appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain – Deals And Reviews.