Tag: Build

How to Build Links Using Google Alerts

Link building is hard. But did you know that Google makes it easier for you?

Seriously… they do make it easier because they provide you with free tools.

No, I’m not talking about the ones you already use like Google Search Console and Google Analytics…

They actually have tons of other tools. Some you may have heard of, but I bet you don’t use them.

And today I am going to show you how you can build links using Google Alerts.

What is Google Alerts?

As the saying goes, if it isn’t on Google, it doesn’t exist.

Google is the most popular search engine in the world. Their database contains hundreds of billions of web pages and is over 100,000,000 gigabytes in size.

Because of their massive size, they are able to crawl web pages more frequently than any SEO tool including my own, Ubersuggest. This is precisely why you want to start using Google Alerts to build links.

So, what is Google Alerts?

As I mentioned above, they have a bigger database of web pages than any other link building or SEO tool. So, you’ll want to use their database to find easy link opportunities and ideally without wasting time digging through billions or even thousands of web pages.

Google Alerts allows you to create notifications on any subject, topic, or keyword.

So, when a new web page talks about anything that could be an easy link opportunity, you’ll get notified in an email.

Just like this one…

So, let’s set it all up step by step so you can get some backlinks.

How to set up Google Alerts

First, I want you to go here.

You’ll see a screen that looks like this (make sure you sign in at the top right).

I want you to type in your domain name without the www or the https part.

In my case, I would type in: neilpatel.com

You may see an alert preview like the one above, but if you have a newer site you probably won’t see any results, which is fine.

Then I want you to click on the “Show Options” link next to the “Create Alert” button.

Your settings should match mine:

  • How often – at most once a day
  • Sources – Blogs, Web (select those 2 options, you don’t want news as an option as it tends to create more irrelevant results and we’ve found that it is harder to get news sites to link back to you)
  • Language – English (or the language you are targeting)
  • Region – any region (or you can select the country you are targeting although I recommend picking “any region”)
  • How many – all results
  • Deliver to – should be your email.

And then click “Create Alert.”

Up to once a day, you’ll get an email with a list of pages that mentions your website or domain.

I want you to repeat the process and create an alert for the following items:

  • Your domain – you should have just done this.
  • Brand name – in my case I would create an alert for “Neil Patel.”
  • Product names – if you are selling any services or products you can create an alert around that. In my case, I would create an alert for “Ubersuggest.”
  • Industry terms – create alerts for anything related to your industry. When people are talking about your space, it is an easy link opportunity. In my case, I would create alerts for the terms: digital marketing, online marketing, and SEO.
  • Your email address – create an alert anytime someone gives out your email. Again, another easy link opportunity.

Here’s what mine looks like:

You’ll also notice for all of my two-word phrases I have quotation marks around them.

For example, I would not create an alert for: Neil Patel

But, I would create an alert for: “Neil Patel”

The reason being is that alerts for two-word phrases without quotes aren’t as relevant. For example, here are some alerts from the term: online marketing.

When I use quotes, here are the results.

See the difference?

Getting links

Now that you have alerts set up, it is time to get links.

Keep in mind that when you get an alert email, someone could have already linked to you. So, not every alert will be a link building opportunity, but many will be.

Typically, more than half will be opportunities.

Depending on the alert type, some will be easier than others. So, let’s go over how to convert each opportunity into a link.

Your domain

You’ll find that a good portion of the mentions of your domain will contain a link back to your site.

For those, you don’t have to do anything as you’ve already got a link. 🙂

For the ones that aren’t linking to you, I want you to send the following email to the webmaster…

Subject: Did you make a mistake?

Hey [insert first name],

First off, I just wanted to say thanks for mentioning [insert your domain] in this article [insert a link to the URL that mentions your domain].

I know you are busy so I will just cut to the chase.

Would you mind hotlinking my domain to my website? I know it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but that extra traffic really helps small companies like mine.

Cheers,

[insert your name]

PS: Let me know if I can do anything for you.

Brand name

When it comes to brand names, it is a 50/50 shot. Roughly half the people will link to you when they mention your brand and the other half won’t.

For the ones that didn’t, send them this email:

Subject: You forgot to do this

Hey [insert first name],

I’m flattered.

Thank you for mentioning [insert your brand name] in your article on [insert the title of their article].

[insert the URL of their article]

You really made my day with that.

Again, thank you!

I feel bad doing this because you already mentioned us, but it would mean the world to me if you also linked our name to our site.

Would you mind doing that?

Sorry to bug you.

[insert your name]

PS: Let me know if I can do anything for you.

Product names

With product names, usually 70% to 80% of the websites will be linking back to you and the rest not. For the ones that don’t, send them an email similar to this:

Subject: Did you mean to do this?

Hey [insert their first name],

I just wanted to take a minute to tell you how much I appreciate that you mentioned [insert your brand name] here [insert the URL of the webpage that mentions your product].

Seriously, thank you!

Now, I feel bad doing this, but would you mind hotlinking [insert your product name] to this page on our website where people can find the product [insert the URL on your site that covers the product]?

Sorry to bug you.

And again, thank you for mentioning us. It really means a lot.

[insert your name]

PS: Let me know if I can do anything for you.

Your email address

Now this one is rare as most people won’t be publishing your email address.

And when they do, they usually aren’t linking to you.

If you try to get them to link the email address, you will find it hard. But what’s easier is to get them to remove your email address and link to your contact page instead.

Here’s the email template I use for this.

Subject: Privacy issue

Hey [insert their first name],

I noticed you mentioned our email address, [insert your email address], on this page [insert the page they mentioned your email on].

Would you mind mentioning and linking to our contact page instead [insert your contact page URL]?

For privacy reasons, I would rather have people get in touch with us through that page instead of our email.

Thanks for your time.

[insert your name]

You also notice that in this template I didn’t include the PS at the bottom. The PS typically helps boost your success ratio, but when it comes to this email, you want to be a bit more firm as it is related to your privacy.

You ideally want the link and fewer people sharing your email because then you’ll have to deal with a ton of spam messages.

Industry terms

In almost all cases, alerts that contain industry terms won’t be linking to you. And this group will also be the largest number of results you get with each alert email.

You’ll have to go through each alert and look at the context of the web page.

If they are talking about something that you have already covered on your website and did more in-depth than they have, there is a good chance you can convince them to link to you.

For example, if there is an article about SEO and they mention how you need to build links, but they don’t go into how to build links, I would email the site owner pointing to this article as it breaks down how to build links.

Here is the type of email I would send:

Subject: Some feedback for you

Hey [insert their first name],

Love your article on [insert the topic of their article] [insert the URL of their article].

I just have one piece of feedback for you (hope you don’t get offended), but you mention [insert the subject they mention that you go more in-depth on within your own site], but you didn’t go too in-depth on it.

I think if you adjusted that it would provide a lot more value to your readers.

Or if you don’t have the time to, I already have an article on it here [insert the URL on your site where you go in-depth on that topic] that you could just link to.

Let me know your thoughts.

[insert your name]

PS: Let me know if I can do anything for you.

How do I get in touch?

Now that you know what kind of emails to send depending on the alert you receive, you’ll have to, of course, get in touch with the site owner.

So how do you find their email address?

Well, the simplest way is to go to their contact page and see if their email is there or if they have a contact form.

You can also check out their terms of service or privacy policy.

Another option is to use tools like Hunter. Just type in a domain name into Hunter and you’ll see a list of people you can contact.

Their free plan allows 50 requests per month, which should be enough to get you started.

Conclusion

Google Alerts is an easy way to build links so I would start with that.

What’s beautiful about it is that you’ll get notified of opportunities. This will save you a lot of time.

And if you find yourself with a bit of extra time, I recommend one more strategy to build links.

Go here and put in your competition’s URL.

Once you hit “search” you’ll see a report that looks something like this:

These are all of the websites linking to your competition. What’s interesting about this list is that it is sorted.

The results at the top have more authority, in which they typically boost SEO rankings more than the ones at the bottom of the list.

You’ll want to go through the list, click on each site, and see if it makes sense to reach out to that website and ask them to link to you.

Typically, if you have similar content to your competition that is more thorough, it’s possible to convince someone to link to you. You’ll have to send them emails like the one below…

Hey [insert their first name],

Question for you…

How do you think it makes you look to your readers when you link to another site that doesn’t really help them?

It kind of makes you look bad and maybe even lose a little bit of trust with your readers, right?

In this article [insert the URL on their site], you link out to [insert the competition’s URL].

The article you are linking to doesn’t cover [insert the areas the competition missed].

I actually have an article [insert your article URL] that covers [insert what you cover that the competition doesn’t and why it benefits readers more].

If you aren’t interested in linking to us no worries. I just know that you care about your readers and you want to do the best for them.

Cheers,

[insert your name]

PS: Let me know if I can do anything for you.

If you follow the steps above, you’ll start building links.

It isn’t that hard and you can do it. You just have to be willing to put in the time and not get discouraged if you send out a handful of emails and no one links back to you.

Just think of your email as a sales pitch and it may not be perfect the first time… so you may have to modify and adjust it.

If you have any questions on the steps or are confused about anything, just leave a comment below.

The post How to Build Links Using Google Alerts appeared first on Neil Patel.

Caught in the Recession Rubble? Build Your Own Empire with a Recession-Proof Self-Employed Business

Wondering how to recession-proof, or social distance proof, your business?  These are unprecedented times. Many business owners are wondering how to get business funding. Federal funding is available, but it may not be enough.  The self-employed are perhaps taking one of the hardest hits, not even sure their business will be around when this is … Continue reading Caught in the Recession Rubble? Build Your Own Empire with a Recession-Proof Self-Employed Business

Caught in the Recession Rubble? Build Your Own Empire with a Recession-Proof Self-Employed Business

Wondering how to recession-proof, or social distance proof, your business?  These are unprecedented times. Many business owners are wondering how to get business funding. Federal funding is available, but it may not be enough.  The self-employed are perhaps taking one of the hardest hits, not even sure their business will be around when this is all over. Here’s one tip that could help.  Building business credit can help you establish a recession-proof self-employed business. 

7 Steps to Building Business Credit and Establishing a Recession-Proof Self-Employed Business

Our economy is cyclical, with almost predictable ups and downs.  Recessions come and go. While some feel it more than others, very few go unaffected.  If you are one of the ones feeling the crunch of layoffs and unemployment, try looking at it as an opportunity.  It may not feel like it now, but you can overcome the crunch by starting your own business. This is possible despite what your personal credit looks like. How do you build a recession-proof self-employed business? 

It takes time, but if you follow the steps and trust the process, you could build quite the empire out of the recession rubble.  Take that idea that you have been tossing around and make it a reality. It’s never too late to follow your dreams, and sometimes the harsh realities of a recession are just the kick in the pants needed to get started. 

Once you have your idea in place, it is time to get to work building business credit so your recession-proof self-employed business has a strong foundation. 

1. Kick Your Business Out of the Nest 

It is vitally important to remember to keep your business separate from your personal identity and financing when you want to build business credit when self-employed.  During a recession, your personal credit is even more vulnerable. This is due to the very nature of what often happens to personal finances during a recession. Protect your FICO and keep it from affecting your business fundability.  Do this by establishing your business as a separate entity. It is essential to building a recession-proof self-employed business. 

Incorporate

To have a recession-proof self-employed business, you need to organize your business as a corporation, S-Corp, or LLP. This step is not free, but it is very much worth the cost for a couple of reasons.  The first is that it makes building business credit possible by further establishing your business as its own entity.  

The second is that it offers some protection for your personal finances from the liabilities of the business.  You can choose to form as a corporation, anand S-corp, or an LLC. Choose the one that is the most cost-effectivecost effective for your purposes.  They each offer different levels of protection and have different tax regulations associated with them, but they all serve the purpose of separating your business to help build business credit when self-employed. 

When it comes to a recession-proof self-employed business, you should think harder about the cost versus the benefit of greater liability protection.  While forming a full-on corporation isn’t for everyone, during a recession the benefit of personal protection from business liabilities can be even greater. 

Get an EIN

We are a nation run on numbers. We use numbers for virtually everything, including identification. People have social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, PIN numbers, and a number of others in our daily lives. To build business credit, your business needs to have its own identifying number not attached to you. 

The IRS can issue an EIN, which is the business equivalent of an SSN. It is free via the IRS website and an important first step in separating your business from yourself. 

Recession Proof Self Employed Business Credit Suite

Hit the jackpot and weather any recession with our best webinar and its trustworthy list of seven vendors who can help you build business credit.

Contact Information

Your business needs its own telephone number, fax number, and address. A virtual address is fine, but don’t rely on a P.O. Box or UPS Box. An 800 number or some other toll-free exchange is best, and be sure to get a business listing in the directories.

Online Image

Set up a dedicated email for your business as well as a professional looking website. Even the most solid of businesses will look like a farce to creditors if they check it out and the website is poorly put together. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, but it should be free from errors, all links should work, and it should be professional in appearance. The same is true of an email address that is simply joebusinessowner@gmail.com. The business email address needs to reflect that it is specifically for the business.  Something like “businessname@businessURL.com” is more professional. 

2. Keep Up with the Numbers

Ditch the shoebox for an actual accounting system. It doesn’t have to be expensive or hard to use. QuickBooks Online is a solid go-to, and there are plenty of other options as well. This will help you when lenders need to see reports, as you can just run them from the system.

Along these same lines, be sure you have a separate bank account for your business, and use it to keep business finances separate from personal finances. Pay yourself a salary from this account, but do not use your personal account for business expenses or your business account for personal expenses. 

While this does not directly build business credit, it does further establish your business as a separate entity and allows you to offer creditors a more accurate business financial picture.  It can also help recession-proof your self-employed business by helping you to see where you stand and make adjustments if needed before you get into trouble.

3.Apply for a D-U-N-S number

Once the first two steps are complete, you need to sign up for a free D-U-N-S number from Dun & Bradstreet. While they are not the only business credit reporting game in town, they are probably the most commonly used by creditors. Building business credit with them is vital, and to do that, you must have a D-U-N-S number.

When you sign up for the number, they will try to sell you other products and services. Put on blinders and keep moving forward. None of those things are necessary, and the number is totally free. Having a credit score with Dun & Bradstreet, called a PAYDEX, requires both a D-U-N-S and at least three tradelines reporting. It is impossible to have a PAYDEX without a D-U-N-S number.

4. Get on Record

It is also impossible to have a credit score of any type, from any credit reporting agency, without creditors that will report your payments. This is where it gets dicey. You have to have credit to build your credit score. How do you do that? Can you even get credit without a credit score?  How do you get credit when creditors are holding on to their funds tighter than ever during a recession?  

If you build your recession-proof self-employed business before the downturn, you are golden in this area.  It’s hard, but not impossible.

Establish Tradelines

This is where you start.  Establish tradelines with starter vendors. These are vendors that will issue invoices with Net 30 terms or longer. While you may need to make a few initial purchases with these vendors to establish yourself as a customer before they will extend these terms, there is no personal credit check. They do sometimes want to see a certain amount of time in business, however. 

As you pay the invoices consistently and on-time, these vendors will report your payments to the credit reporting agencies, thus establishing your business credit profile. Some of the most common and easiest to start with are Uline, Quill, and Grainger. 

These are the easiest to start with simply because they sell products that most any business can use on a daily basis. Items such as paper, toner, pens, pencils, packing supplies, and even janitorial supplies. After you order from them a few times, apply for net 30 terms, pay on time, and watch your business credit score start to build like a snowball rolling downhill.

Once you have 8 to 10 tradelines reporting your on-time payments to the credit agencies, you can start to apply for various business credit cards. This is where the “recession-proof” part of a recession-proof self-employed business really starts to build.

Order Matters When Applying for Business Credit Cards

Once you start to build a good business credit foundation with starter vendors, you can apply for business credit cards.  However, you have to work in order. If you start applying for the highest limit, lowest interest rate credit cards right away, you will be denied every time. 

First, apply for store cards.  These are credit cards you get from a specific store that you can use only in that store.  They typically have low limits and higher interest rates, and they are limited to use either in the issuing store or on their website. 

Next, after you have a few of these cards reporting, try applying for fleet credit cards.  These cards can only be used for gasoline costs and automobile repair and maintenance.  

Lastly, once you have several of these reporting on-time payments to the business credit reporting agencies, you should be in good shape to apply for those cards with lower rates and higher limits that are not restricted by retailer or type of expense. 

As you can see, it all starts with building trade lines with starter vendors. Then a whole credit world opens up to you!  You just have to apply to each type of card in order.

Recession Proof Self Employed Business Credit Suite

Hit the jackpot and weather any recession with our best webinar and its trustworthy list of seven vendors who can help you build business credit.

Ask Utilities to Report

The more businesses you have reporting to the credit agencies that you make consistent, on-time payments each month, the faster you will build business credit when self-employed. Everyone has to pay utilities, even during a recession.  Creditors care about you making consistent, on-time payments, and payments to utilities count. They are an easy way to start building business credit once you have a credit profile, but you have to ask them to report. They are not required to do so.   

Remember, you will still need tradelines.  They are necessary to accomplish the task of having at least three accounts reporting and a D-U-N-S to establish your credit profile with them in the first place.  Adding utilities will just help the process move faster. 

5. Use the SBFE to Help You Build Business Credit When Self-Employed 

The SBFE, or Small Business Finance Exchange, is a not-for-profit entity. It gathers data on small businesses from lenders that are SBFE members. They then use this information to create credit products that lenders can use to make credit decisions.

One of the characteristics of a recession-proof self-employed business is that the credit information about it is positive and available to lenders.  They can help with that. 

How Does it Work? 

They use what they call a “give-to-get” model. Members release information about those they extend credit to. In return, members are able to receive information through the SBFE which can help them make future credit decisions. 

It all starts with SBFE members reporting payment history and other information about borrowers. Then, the SBFE normalizes the raw data into usable data. This data goes to partners called certified vendors.  Some credit agencies, including Dun & Bradstreet, are certified vendors.

Certified Vendors then use the information from the SBFE to create credit reporting products that only other SBFE members can access.  

Members have access to the data since they also contribute information.

How Can They Help You Build a Recession-Proof Self-Employed Business? 

When you do business with SBFE members, you know your information is being reported. This means you are building business credit. How do you know if your lender or vendor is a member? Ask them. If they are not, consider mentioning that they become a member. However, there are enough members that it should not be difficult to find plenty of them to do business with.  Just be certain you are making your payments on time, consistently. Otherwise, you will be doing more harm than good.  

6. Keep An Eye on Things

Once you have a D-U-N-S number and some accounts reporting, you will want to keep an eye on your credit report. Credit monitoring serves a couple of different purposes for your recession-proof, self-employed business. 

The first purpose is to, of course, ensure your credit report is accurate and complete. If there is missing or incorrect information on your credit report, you will need to get it corrected. Request corrections in writing, and send copies, not originals, of backup documentation. 

The other reason it is important to monitor your credit is so you know which accounts are reporting, how many accounts are reporting, and when you qualify to start applying for credit in higher tiers. You need at least 14 accounts reporting to get approval at the cash credit tier, and you will never know if you have that if you are not monitoring your credit score. 

You can also watch your score rise. This is powerful motivation and confirmation that your business may indeed be recession-proof. The easiest way to do this is with a credit monitoring service.

7. Pay on Time

None of the steps you take to build business credit when self-employed will matter at all if you do not make your payments consistently on-time. While this is not the only factor in your business credit score, it is the one with the most impact. Whether or not you make your payments each month, on-time, is the number one factor that creditors use to determine your fundability. 

Since it is a recession, you will need to be careful.  Even the most recession-proof self-employed business can get into trouble.  You need to obtain credit and use it, but do not overload yourself to the point you cannot make the payments.  Find a responsible balance. 

What Does Building Business Credit Have to Do with Building a Recession-Proof Self-Employed Business? 

There are a couple of ways building business credit can help you with both your personal finances and business finances during a recession. 

Protect Your Personal Credit

Building business credit is essential to business success. Without business credit, your ability to fund your business relies totally on your personal credit. If you have great personal credit you may not think that is such a big deal. 

It means, however, that your business financial issues can impact your personal credit as well. This is bad in the best of times but even worse during a recession.  Limits on personal credit cards are not as high as those on business cards. That means just by the nature of business transactions you may always carry a balance near your limits. 

If that happens, it will affect your debt to credit ratio negatively, which in turn negatively impacts your credit score even if you are making your payments on time. If your business has its own credit, this is not a problem. Limits are higher, so you have more credit to work with, and regardless, it doesn’t affect your personal credit. 

Recession Proof Self Employed Business Credit Suite

Hit the jackpot and weather any recession with our best webinar and its trustworthy list of seven vendors who can help you build business credit.

Access Funds to Build Your Business

Solid business credit gives you access to the funds you need to run your business. You can handle any issues that come along.  Even those that require cash outlays larger than what your cash on hand can handle comfortably. 

Imagine having access to the funds needed to not only run but also to grow your business, even during a recession.  A business that can thrive and grow during hard economic times is the very definition of a recession-proof self-employed business.   Building business credit makes that possible. 

You Can Build Business Credit with a Recession-Proof Self-Employed Business

If you are caught in the recession rubble, consider it the perfect opportunity to make all your entrepreneurial dreams come true.  If you want to build the best recession-proof business possible, these tips will help you. To get started, you simply have to separate your business from yourself. Once you have it established as a separate entity, you can get to work applying for tradelines that will report your payments to the credit agencies. From there, if you follow these steps, your business credit score will help you build your empire out of the rubble.

The post Caught in the Recession Rubble? Build Your Own Empire with a Recession-Proof Self-Employed Business appeared first on Credit Suite.

Beat any Recession: Build Business Credit in 30 Days

Beat any Recession: Build Business Credit in 30 Days

You, too, can beat any recession: build business credit in 30 days! Here’s how and why.

Building better business credit means that your small business gets chances you never felt that you would. You can get brand-new equipment, bid on buildings, and cover the company payroll. And you can do so even when times are a bit lean. This is specifically helpful in seasonal businesses. That is because you can go for calendar months with just hardly any sales.

Due to this, you need to tackle growing your company credit. Enhance and maintain your scores and you will have these chances. Do not, and either you do not get these business opportunities, or they will set you back you a lot more. And no business owner wants that.

You will need to understand what affects your small business credit before you can make it better.

Hit the jackpot and weather any recession with our best webinar and its trustworthy list of seven vendors who can help you build business credit.

Beat any Recession: Build Business Credit in 30 Days: Credit History Length Is Vital

This is in a nutshell how long your business has been making use of company credit. Obviously newer businesses will have short credit histories. While there is not too much you can specifically do about that, do not fret.

Credit reporting agencies will also look into your personal credit score and your very own background of payments. If your own personal credit is good, and in particular if you have a fairly extensive credit history, then your individual credit can come to the rescue of your company. That is, you did not just get your very first credit card not too long ago.

Obviously, the opposite is also true. Hence, if your private credit history is poor, then it will have a bearing on your business credit scores until your business and personal credit can be split.

Beat any Recession: Build Business Credit in 30 Days: Do not Let Your Credit Utilization Rate Harm Your Business

Your credit utilization rate just means the amount of cash you have on credit. So it is then divided by your total available credit. Lenders typically do not like to see this go above 30%. Therefore, for each $100 in credit, do not borrow on more than $30 of that.

If this percent is climbing, you’ll need to spend down. And work off your financial obligations prior to borrowing more.

Beat any Recession: Build Business Credit in 30 Days: Your Payment History Truly Matters

Late repayments will affect your company credit score for a good seven years. If you pay your business (and personal) debts off, as quickly as possible and as fully as possible, guess what happens? That is when you can make a very real difference when it relates to your credit scores.

Make sure to pay on schedule and you will reap the rewards of promptness.

Beat any Recession: Build Business Credit in 30 Days: Your Personal Credit Can Affect Your Business Credit

A bad business year could wind up on your personal credit score. And just in case your small business has not been around for too long, it will directly have an effect on your corporate credit.

Fortunately, you can unlink them both by taking steps to uncouple them. As an example, you can get credit cards solely for your business, or you open up business checking accounts and other bank accounts (or even get a business loan). And then the credit reporting bureaus will start to treat your private and corporate credit separately.

Also, make sure to incorporate. Or at least file a DBA (doing business as) status.

You can also pay for your company’s invoices with your business credit card or checking account. And make certain it is the company’s full name on the bill and not your own.

Hit the jackpot and weather any recession with our best webinar and its trustworthy list of seven vendors who can help you build business credit.

Beat any Recession: Build Business Credit in 30 Days: The Credit Reporting Bureaus Can Just Plain Get It Wrong

Just the same as each and every organization out there, credit reporting agencies just like Equifax and Experian are only as good as their data. If your firm’s name is similar to another’s, or your name is a lot like another company owner’s, there can potentially be some oversights.

So keep an eye on those reports, and your company report at Dun & Bradstreet, PAYDEX. Remain on top of these reports and challenge charges with records and crystal clear communications. Do not just allow them to stay wrong! You can fix this!

And while you’re at, it you should also be monitoring the credit reporting bureau which just handles personal and not company credit. So, that is TransUnion. If you do not know the way to pull a credit report, do not worry. It’s simple.

Beat any Recession: Build Business Credit in 30 Days: The Method

Business credit is credit in a small business’s name. It doesn’t attach to a business owner’s personal credit, not even if the owner is a sole proprietor and the solitary employee of the business.

Because of this, an entrepreneur’s business and personal credit scores can be very different.

The Benefits

Considering that company credit is separate from consumer, it helps to secure a small business owner’s personal assets, in the event of court action or business bankruptcy.

Also, with two distinct credit scores, a small business owner can get two separate cards from the same merchant. This effectively doubles buying power.

Another advantage is that even startup ventures can do this. Going to a bank for a business loan can be a recipe for disappointment. But building business credit, when done correctly, is a plan for success.

Personal credit scores rely on payments but also various other elements like credit usage percentages.

But for business credit, the scores actually merely depend on whether a company pays its debts punctually.

Business Credit in a Recession

This credit links to your EIN and not your SSN, and is readily available without a personal guarantee. It is readily available no matter individual credit.

Business credit establishing is an exceptional choice in an economic recession, as it isn’t based on how well the economy is doing. It additionally develops an asset which will retain worth so long as your scores stay high.

The Process

Building company credit is a process, and it does not occur automatically. A company needs to proactively work to develop business credit.

Nevertheless, it can be done easily and quickly, and it is much speedier than developing individual credit scores.

Merchants are a big aspect of this process.

Carrying out the steps out of order will result in repetitive rejections. Nobody can start at the top with business credit. For instance, you can’t start with store or cash credit from your bank. If you do you’ll get a rejection 100% of the time.

Company Legitimacy

A business needs to be reliable to lending institutions and vendors.

Therefore, a business will need a professional-looking web site and e-mail address. And it needs to have site hosting from a company such as GoDaddy.

In addition, business telephone and fax numbers ought to have a listing on ListYourself.com.

In addition, the business phone number should be toll-free (800 exchange or similar).

A company will also need a bank account dedicated only to it, and it needs to have every one of the licenses essential for running.

Licenses

Recession Build Business Credit in 30 Days Credit SuiteThese licenses all must be in the accurate, correct name of the company. And they need to have the same company address and phone numbers.

So bear in mind, that this means not just state licenses, but possibly also city licenses.

Working with the Internal Revenue Service

Visit the IRS website and get an EIN for the small business. They’re totally free. Pick a business entity like corporation, LLC, etc.

A company can begin as a sole proprietor. But they will more than likely want to switch to a sort of corporation or partnership.

This is in order to reduce risk. And it will make best use of tax benefits.

A business entity will matter when it comes to taxes and liability in case of litigation. A sole proprietorship means the business owner is it when it comes to liability and tax obligations. No one else is responsible.

Sole Proprietors Take Note

If you operate a company as a sole proprietor, then at the very least be sure to file for a DBA. This is ‘doing business as’ status.

If you do not, then your personal name is the same as the company name. As a result, you can find yourself being directly responsible for all small business financial obligations.

In addition, according to the IRS, with this arrangement there is a 1 in 7 chance of an IRS audit. There is a 1 in 50 chance for corporations! Avoid confusion and drastically reduce the odds of an IRS audit as well.

Beginning the Business Credit Reporting Process

Begin at the D&B website and get a totally free D-U-N-S number. A D-U-N-S number is how D&B gets a small business into their system, to produce a PAYDEX score. If there is no D-U-N-S number, then there is no record and no PAYDEX score.

Once in D&B’s system, search Equifax and Experian’s web sites for the company. You can do this at www.creditsuite.com/reports. If there is a record with them, check it for accuracy and completeness. If there are no records with them, go to the next step in the process.

By doing so, Experian and Equifax will have activity to report on.

Vendor Credit

First you must establish trade lines that report. This is also called vendor credit. Then you’ll have an established credit profile, and you’ll get a business credit score.

And with an established business credit profile and score you can begin obtaining retail store and cash credit.

These varieties of accounts often tend to be for the things bought all the time, like shipping boxes, outdoor work wear, ink and toner, and office furniture.

But first off, what is trade credit? These trade lines are credit issuers who will give you initial credit when you have none now. Terms are ordinarily Net 30, instead of revolving.

Hence, if you get approval for $1,000 in vendor credit and use all of it, you must pay that money back in a set term, such as within 30 days on a Net 30 account.

Details

Net 30 accounts must be paid in full within 30 days. 60 accounts need to be paid in full within 60 days. Unlike with revolving accounts, you have a set time when you have to pay back what you borrowed or the credit you made use of.

To kick off your business credit profile properly, you need to get approval for vendor accounts that report to the business credit reporting bureaus. When that’s done, you can then make use of the credit.

Then repay what you used, and the account is on report to Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, or Equifax.

Vendor Credit – It Helps

Not every vendor can help in the same way true starter credit can. These are vendors that will grant an approval with hardly any effort. You also want them to be reporting to one or more of the big three CRAs: Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax, and Experian.

You want 3 of these to move onto the next step, which is retail credit.

Uline Shipping Supplies

Uline Shipping Supplies is a true starter vendor. You can find them online at www.uline.com. They offer shipping, packing, and industrial supplies, and they report to D&B and Experian.

You need to have a D-U-N-S number. They will request 2 references and a bank reference. The initial few orders might need to be paid in advance to initially get approval for Net 30 terms. Also, you may have to buy some things you don’t need.

Quill

Quill is an additional true starter vendor. You can find them online at www.quill.com. They sell office, packaging, and cleaning supplies, and they report to D&B.

Since Quill reports to two separate credit reporting bureaus, you get two credit experiences with them. Place an initial order first unless the D&B score is established.

Usually they will put you on a 90-day prepayment schedule. If you order items monthly for 3 months, they will typically approve you for a Net 30 Account.

Grainger Industrial Supply

Grainger Industrial Supply is also a true starter vendor. You can find them online at www.grainger.com. They sell safety equipment, plumbing supplies, and more, and they report to D&B. You will need a business license, EIN, and a D-U-N-S number.

For under a $1000 credit limit they will approve nearly any person with a business license.

Accounts That Don’t Report

Non-Reporting Trade Accounts can also be helpful. While you do want trade accounts to report to at the very least one of the CRAs, a trade account which does not report can nonetheless be of some value.

You can always ask non-reporting accounts for trade references. And also credit accounts of any sort ought to help you to better even out business expenses, thereby making budgeting simpler. These are providers like PayPal Credit, T-Mobile, and Best Buy.

Retail Credit

Once there are 3 or more vendor trade accounts reporting to at least one of the CRAs, then move to retail credit. These are businesses like Office Depot and Staples. These companies are likelier to have goods you need.

Use the small business’s EIN on these credit applications.

Fleet Credit

Are there more accounts reporting? Then move to fleet credit. These are businesses like BP and Conoco. Use this credit to purchase fuel, and repair and maintain vehicles. Make certain to apply using the company’s EIN.

Hit the jackpot and weather any recession with our best webinar and its trustworthy list of seven vendors who can help you build business credit.

Cash Credit

Have you been responsibly handling the credit you’ve gotten up to this point? Then progress to more universal cash credit. These are businesses like Visa and MasterCard. Keep your SSN off these applications; use your EIN instead.

These are typically MasterCard credit cards. If you have more trade accounts reporting, then these are feasible.

Monitor Your Business Credit

Know what is happening with your credit. Make certain it is being reported and attend to any errors as soon as possible. Get in the practice of checking credit reports. Dig into the details, not just the scores.

We can help you monitor business credit at Experian and D&B for 90% less than it would cost you at the CRAs. 

At Equifax, you can monitor your account at: www.equifax.com/business/business-credit-monitor-small-business. 

Update Your Record

Update the details if there are mistakes or the relevant information is incomplete. At D&B, you can do this at: https://iupdate.dnb.com/iUpdate/viewiUpdateHome.htm. For Experian, go here: www.experian.com/small-business/business-credit-information.jsp. And for Equifax, go here: www.equifax.com/business/small-business.

Fix Your Business Credit

So, what’s all this monitoring for? It’s to contest any problems in your records. Errors in your credit report(s) can be taken care of. But the CRAs often want you to dispute in a particular way.

Get your small business’s PAYDEX report at: www.dnb.com/about-us/our-data.html. Get your company’s Experian report at: www.businesscreditfacts.com/pdp.aspx?pg=SearchForm. And get your Equifax business credit report at: www.equifax.com/business/credit-information.

Disputes

Disputing credit report errors commonly means you mail a paper letter with copies of any proofs of payment with it. These are documents like receipts and cancelled checks. Never send the original copies. Always send copies and keep the originals.

Fixing credit report inaccuracies also means you precisely spell out any charges you contest. Make your dispute letter as clear as possible. Be specific about the concerns with your report. Use certified mail so that you will have proof that you mailed in your dispute.

Dispute your or your company’s Equifax report by following the directions here: www.equifax.com/small-business-faqs/#Dispute-FAQs.

You can dispute inaccuracies on your or your company’s Experian report by following the instructions here: www.experian.com/small-business/business-credit-information.jsp.

And D&B’s PAYDEX Customer Service telephone number is here: www.dandb.com/glossary/paydex.

A Word about Business Credit Building

Always use credit sensibly! Don’t borrow more than what you can pay off. Monitor balances and deadlines for payments. Paying off on schedule and completely will do more to raise business credit scores than pretty much anything else.

Establishing company credit pays off. Great business credit scores help a company get loans. Your credit issuer knows the business can pay its debts. They understand the small business is bona fide.

The business’s EIN links to high scores and lenders won’t feel the need to ask for a personal guarantee.

Business credit is an asset which can help your business for years to come.

Beat any Recession: Build Business Credit in 30 Days: Takeaways

Once you learn what influences your company credit score, you can build business credit in 30 days.

Hit the jackpot and weather any recession with our best webinar and its trustworthy list of seven vendors who can help you build business credit.

The post Beat any Recession: Build Business Credit in 30 Days appeared first on Credit Suite.

Companies That Help Build Business Credit: What Should You Pay For, And What Should be Free

Regardless of whether you are an existing business or a startup, your business needs its own credit.  The problem is, a lot of owners are unsure of how to start building business credit.  There are companies that help build business credit, but if you aren’t careful you will get scammed.  You should always know what you are paying for, and if it is worth it, or not.  

Lenders are becoming more picky and there are more automatic denials than ever before.  Working with an insider familiar with the system can help tremendously. It can help everything go faster and it can minimize denials. Your time is money – working with a company to help build business credit can be a wise investment. But there are things you should know.

Check out our best webinar with its trustworthy list of seven vendors to help you build business credit, even in a recession.

Companies That Help Build Business Credit: Know What You Are Paying For

First and foremost, you should always know exactly what services you are paying for.  The truth is, some “services” just aren’t worth it.  For example, you should never pay a company to report your payments to the business credit reporting agencies.  There are plenty that will do that for free.  However, they do not usually advertise that they do that, nor do they typically make public which companies they report to.  Paying someone to help you find these companies? That is worth paying for.  

Companies that Help Build Business Credit: Why Separate Business Credit? 

companies that help build biz credit Credit SuiteThere are a few reasons why it’s a good idea for your business to have credit separate from your personal credit.  First is protection.  If your business goes south, it will not directly affect your personal credit.  You can still buy a home and a car other things you need to based on your personal credit. 

Also, business credit almost always has higher limits.  If you try to finance a business on personal credit cards, you will likely stay at or even go over the credit limits on your cards.  This will affect your debt-to-credit ratio in a bad way.  That, in turn, will negatively impact your personal credit. 

Companies That Help Build Business Credit: What NOT to Pay For

We’ve established why you should not pay anyone to have your on-time payments reported.  While no company has to do that, there are plenty that will, and they do it for free.  Here are some other things you should never pay for. 

  • An EIN
  • A Credit Protection Number (CPN) 
  • Correcting mistakes on your credit report
  • A peek at your personal credit score
  • A list of lenders from whom you may qualify for financing 
  • Trade accounts

Companies that Help Build Business Credit: What Does it Take to Build Build Business Credit

The thing is, business credit doesn’t just happen in the same way that personal credit does.  It has to be intentional, and there is a process to make it all come together.  It is a complicated web, and before you can understand why certain things are worth paying for, you have to understand little about what it takes to build business credit and make it all work. 

Of Business Credit and Fundability

 Your business needs to be set up in just the right way to be fundable.  I like to call this the foundation of fundability. If you do not have a fundable foundation, payments may be reported, but there will be no record of your business with the business credit reporting agencies so they will not know how to apply it.   Here is what it takes to have a fundable foundation.

Separate Contact Information

The first step in setting up a foundation of fundability is to ensure your business has its own phone number, fax number, and address.   That doesn’t mean you have to get a separate phone line, or even a separate location.  In fact, you can still run your business from your home or on your computer if you want.  You don’t even have to have a fax machine.  

Actually, you can get a business phone number and fax number pretty easily that will work over the internet instead of phone lines.  In addition, the phone number will forward to any phone you want it too so you can just use your personal cell phone or landline if you want.  Whenever someone calls your business number it will ring straight to you. 

Faxes can be sent to an online fax service.  That is, if anyone ever happens to actually fax you.  This part seems outdated. However, it does help your business appear legitimate to credit providers. 

You can use a virtual office for a business address unless like Supply Works, the credit issuer does not accept a virtual address.  Many do accept them though.  How do you get a virtual office?  It’s not what you may think.  This is a business that offers a physical address for a fee, and sometimes they even offer mail service and live receptionist services.  In addition, there are some that offer space for face to face meetings. 

EIN

The next thing you need to do is get an EIN.  It’s an identifying number for your business that works like your SSN works for you personally.  You can get one for free from the IRS.

D-U-N-S Number

Dun & Bradstreet is the largest and most commonly used business credit reporting agency.  Every credit file in their database has a D-U-N-S number.  To get a D-U-N-S number, you have to apply for one through the D&B website. 

Incorporation

Incorporating your business as an LLC, S-corp, or corporation is not negotiable.  It lends credibility to your business as one that is legitimate, and also offers some protection from liability. 

Which option you choose does not matter as much for getting a net 30 account with companies that help build business credit.  What it does matter for is your budget and needs for liability protection.  The best thing to do is talk to your attorney or a tax professional.  Fair warning, you’ll lose the time in business that you already have  once you incorporate.  When you incorporate, you become a new entity.  You basically have to start over.  You’ll also lose any positive payment history you may have accumulated before you incorporate. 

For this reason, you have to incorporate as soon as possible.  Not only is it necessary for fundability and for building business credit, but so is time in business.  The longer you have been in business the more fundable you appear to be.  That starts on the date of incorporation, regardless of when you actually started doing business. 

Business Bank Account

You have to open a separate, dedicated business bank account.  There are a few reasons for this.  First, it will help you keep track of business finances.  It will also help you keep them separate from personal finances for tax purposes. 

There’s more to it however.  There are several types of funding you cannot get without a business bank account.  Yu probably noticed that most of the companies above require one.  In addition, you cannot get a merchant account without a business account at a bank. That means, you cannot take credit card payments.  Studies show consumers tend to spend more when they can pay by credit card.

Check out our best webinar with its trustworthy list of seven vendors to help you build business credit, even in a recession.

Licenses

For a business to be legitimate it has to have all of the necessary licenses it needs to run.  If it doesn’t, red flags are going to fly up all over the place.  Do the research you need to do to ensure you have all of the licenses necessary to legitimately run your business at the federal, state, and local levels. 

Website

I am sure you are wondering how a business website can affect your ability to get funding.  These days, you don’t exist if you do not have a website.  Yet, having a poorly put together website can be even worse.  It is the first impression you make on many, and if it appears to be unprofessional it will not bode well for you with consumers or potential lenders. 

Spend the time and money necessary to ensure your website is professionally designed and works well.  Pay for hosting too. Don’t use a free hosting service.  Also, your business needs a dedicated business email address.  Make sure it has the same URL as your Website.  Don’t use a free service such as Yahoo or Gmail. 

Here’s another reason why a website is important.  Elsewhere on our blog, there is actually a comment about a company asking for a website to help make the decision to  extend, or not extend,  net30 terms.  

You’ll notice many of these things are listed in the requirements of our list of companies that help build business credit.  These are all things that you need for a variety of reasons, including to make your business more fundable.

Check out our best webinar with its trustworthy list of seven vendors to help you build business credit, even in a recession.

Companies that Help Business Business Credit: What You Should Pay For

This is just the start.  There are so many other factors that affect the fundability of your business and business credit that it can be completely overwhelming.  This is why it can be very profitable in the long-term to pay a company to help you through the process.  Most of the time they do not actually complete the steps for you, but they can help you get where you need to be and tell you what to do once you get there. 

This is crucial. You don’t waste time with companies that don’t report, and you know what is reported is showing up in the right place. There is so much more though. 

The lending world is changing fast since COVID-19 hit.  Lending has been cut drastically, and more changes are happening everyday.  Having someone who knows how to navigate the system and both current and future changes is priceless. 

Companies that Help Build Business Credit: 6 Things You Should Definitely Pay For

  • Guiding you through the process of setting up your business to be fundable.

All of the things mentioned above are necessary, and many of them have to happen in the right order.  If something gets out of whack, it can take even more time and money to fix it.  Paying someone to help you get it right the first time, or help untangle a mess that is already there, is well worth it.

  • Helping you find  accounts that report.

It’s more difficult than a simple Google search.  You need to know which accounts will report that you are actually eligible for.  Otherwise, you will spend a lot of time applying for accounts that you either cannot get, or that you can get but do not report.

  • Helping you apply for financing.

A lot of companies will just give you a list of lenders with products they hope you qualify for.  You have to fill out the applications on your own.  Why would you pay for that?  What’s worth paying for is a company that has a list of lenders for whom they know the underwriting requreiments.  Then, as you work through the credit building program, they cross-reference so they know exactly where you pre-qualify and fill out the applcaitons for those lenders for you!  Now that’s worth paying for!

  • Guidance for analyzing fundability.

Fundability doesn’t stop with how your business is set up.  In fact, the overall fundablity of your business actually begins before you ever have a business.  This is because a lot of personal stuff can affect your ability to get funding.  That’s true even if you have separate business credit.

  • Step-by-step guidance through the business credit building process.

Building business credit doesn’t just happen.  Unlike consumer credit, you have to intentionally work to start and build it. Having a partner come alongside you and show what to do at each step is priceless.

  • Help navigating the lending system in this post COVID-19 economy.

Lenders are buckling down and there are more automatic denials than ever before.  You are more likely to get an automatic denial rather than an automatic approval. Having someone familiar with the system, an insider if you will, can help tremendously.

  • Business credit monitoring.

Unlike consumer credit reports, there is no way to know what your business credit report says about you or what your score is without paying.  You can pay the credit reporting agencies directly, but it works much better to pay a monitoring service that can help you keep up with your business credit on an ongoing basis. We can help you monitor your credit at Experian and Dun & Bradstreet for less than it would cost you at those business CRAs.

The bottom line is, paying companies that help build business credit can be useful.  They have more time, knowledge, and experience.  It can save you a lot of time and money in the long run, if you know and understand exactly what it is you are paying them to do.

Companies That Help Build Business Credit Are a Good Idea, Just Know What You Are Paying For

As you can see, it takes a little more work than just getting accounts reporting to build business credit.  Your business has to be set up properly for the reporting to matter. Then, you have to keep a close eye on your business credit reports to ensure things are progressing.

It’s not a complicated process, but it takes time.  The best thing to do is to set your business up to be fundable before you ever get started.  Then, you should meet most of the requirements related licensure, business bank account, business address, and website.  It can be extremely helpful to have guidance and help as you go through the process.  Let us help you build business credit. Find out how.

The post Companies That Help Build Business Credit: What Should You Pay For, And What Should be Free appeared first on Credit Suite.

Beat any Recession: Build Business Credit in 30 Days

Beat any Recession: Build Business Credit in 30 Days You, too, can beat any recession: build business credit in 30 days! Here’s how and why. Building better business credit means that your small business gets chances you never felt that you would. You can get brand-new equipment, bid on buildings, and cover the company payroll. … Continue reading Beat any Recession: Build Business Credit in 30 Days