Get Business Credit Cards with no Personal Guarantee in a Business Recession

Get Business Credit Cards with no Personal Guarantee and Beat the Business Recession

Do you know how to beat the business recession? You get business credit cards with no personal guarantee? We do, and we are here to show you how. This method will work no matter what is happening with COVID-19.

Normally, getting credit isn’t easy.

You know what I’m talking about. You looked around the big banks, and then the medium-sized banks and then the small ones. And you tried the banks where you do business. And you also tried the others suggested by your friends or business associates. But after your long quest, you were unable to acquire any kind of a small business credit card without a personal guarantee.

Recession Period Funding

The number of American banks as well as thrifts has been decreasing slowly for 25 years. This is from consolidation in the marketplace as well as deregulation in the 1990s, lowering barriers to interstate banking. See: https://www.fundera.com/blog/happened-americas-small-businesses-financial-crisis-six-years-start-crisis-look-back-10-charts

Assets focused in ever‐larger banks is problematic for small business proprietors. Big financial institutions are much less likely to make small loans. Economic declines mean banks become extra careful with lending. Fortunately, business credit does not count on financial institutions.

The Baddish News – in the Business Recession and Beyond

There are over 500 distinct business credit cards around but less than fifty of them grant credit to companies in the absence of a personal guarantee. Complicating matters, these cards are not marketed or granted to all interested clients.

You can identify with the banks’ viewpoint. They don’t like risk so they attempt to diminish it by securing a business credit card. They accomplish this by asking you, the business owner, to guarantee payments from your private finances. So, this is in the event of business default.

If worst comes to worst, and as a guarantor or co-signer you are not able to pay the financial obligation, then your individual assets will be executed. If you provide a personal guarantee and don’t pay your business credit card bills, the bank can seize your accounts, your vehicle, your residential property, and your stocks.

And they can seize whatever else you may have used to guarantee that card.

But your standpoint, of course, is that you need to have this card to run your company better.

Get Business Credit Cards with no Personal Guarantee in a Business Recession: What You Can Do

The first thing you can do, and it’s easier said than done, is to have patience, and grow creditworthiness for your small business in the same manner that you have established your personal credit history. For most companies, this means paying your debts punctually, plus staying in business for a while, to develop a record of creditworthiness.

To get rid of the sticking point of a personal guarantee, you will have to demonstrate to the bank that your small business is solid. And you have to show that it can produce consistent earnings, and it has a substantial cash flow.

And the business needs to have a flawless payment history. If all the above can be shown, it will be a lot easier to find small business credit cards with no personal guarantee.

This is how to start establishing business credit without personal guarantee.

Get Business Credit Cards with no Personal Guarantee in a Business Recession: Here are Measures You Can Take:

Get Business Credit Cards with no Personal Guarantee in a Business Recession: Step 1

Set apart yourself from your company. This means you can help your cause by incorporating or becoming a limited liability company (LLC). This is a separate entity from the owner(s). And it means you must register for a separate identification number with Internal Revenue Service.

If your business is already an LLC you can skip this step altogether.

Find out why so many companies are using our proven methods to improve their business credit scores, even during a recession.

Get Business Credit Cards with no Personal Guarantee in a Business Recession: Step 2

Get several company credit cards with personal guarantees. The ones with high spending limits will be better. This is because they are the only ones reported to the business credit agencies. And you definitely want business credit cards that do not report to personal credit.

Make sure when you buy these products, they have the personal guarantee removal feature baked right in. Keep your credit utilization at one third of your credit limit or less. Pay in a timely manner every time.

Make sure to use these small business credit cards to make your business’s large orders. These purchases, in combination with a low revolving debt and of course on time payment will all help.

These actions will demonstrate to the bank that your company can control its financial resources well. It will also persuasively show that the profit your business yields is enough to take care of financial obligations and more.

This can lead to an unsecured business credit card no personal guarantee.

Details

Make certain that your personal credit history stays spotless. Eventually, you can file a personal guarantee removal request for these preexisting business credit cards. So, this is normally six months to one year.

The financial institution will hold an account review. But they could also consider your private credit report. If the bank approves your request then you have met your goal. If the bank says no, don’t lose hope. Just go to the next step.

No personal guarantee business credit cards can be yours.

Get Business Credit Cards with no Personal Guarantee in a Business Recession: Step 3

You can elect to make an application for third-party guaranteed lending. For example, this could be an SBA loan, for financing. Settling such a loan will help you develop your business credit score.

You can also make an application for a small business credit card from a particular retailer. These retail credit cards often do not require a personal guarantee. Chose a store where your company makes purchases often. And by all means do not forget about those prompt payments!

These retail credit cards, along with an SBA loan will raise your PAYDEX score from Dun and Bradstreet. If you are unfamiliar with the term, the quick version is that PAYDEX is for businesses what FICO is for people.

Retail credit cards will give you an extra advantage from the start. This is because they will decrease your personal liability for your company debt. These are business credit cards for new businesses without personal guarantee.

Ask the financial institution again to take off the personal guarantee clause. Or apply for new business credit cards without any personal guarantee. Yes, new business credit cards without personal guarantee are possible.

You can try this once you have gotten an 80 PAYDEX score under the above conditions. This is when your opportunity to get such credit cards will increase exponentially.

Another Technique to Get a Business Credit Card with no Personal Guarantee in a Business Recession

You can instead apply directly for those very few small business credit cards with no personal guarantees. You should apply for business credit card no personal guarantee. For example you can opt for Sam’s Club® Business MasterCard®  or the Bremer Bank Visa® Signature Business Company Card.

Each specific card of this type asks you, the business owner, to satisfy a set of conditions. But these conditions will differ from one card to another. For a Sam’s Club ® Business MasterCard ® you need your business to bring in over $5 million in yearly sales.

The Bremer Bank Visa ® Signature Business Company Card is available for businesses with annual revenues between $1 million and $10 million. But at the same time other company credit cards with no personal guarantee attached call for an open Dun & Bradstreet file. Plus there can be other requirements to be met.

Be sure to consult the card issuer. And read through all the specifics of the promotion carefully.

Business Credit Cards with no Personal Guarantee in a Business Recession: Build Business Credit

Increase your chances big time by building business credit!

Small business credit is credit in a business’s name. It doesn’t link to an owner’s individual credit, not even if the owner is a sole proprietor and the solitary employee of the company.

Accordingly, a business owner’s business and consumer credit scores can be very different.

The Advantages

Considering that small business credit is distinct from individual, it helps to protect a small business owner’s personal assets, in case of legal action or business insolvency.

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

Another benefit is that even new ventures can do this. Visiting a bank for a business loan can be a formula for frustration. But building company credit, when done properly, is a plan for success.

Individual credit scores rely on payments but also additional components like credit usage percentages.

But for business credit, the scores actually only hinge on whether a small business pays its debts promptly.

Get Biz Credit in an Economic Downturn Credit Suite

The Process

Establishing business credit is a process, and it does not happen automatically. A small business will need to actively work to develop small business credit.

Having said that, it can be done easily and quickly, and it is much speedier than establishing personal credit scores.

Merchants are a big part of this process.

Carrying out the steps out of sequence will cause repetitive denials. Nobody can start at the top with small business credit. For example, you can’t start with retail or cash credit from your bank. If you do, you’ll get a denial 100% of the time.

Starting with vendors is how to get easy business credit cards no personal guarantee.

Company Fundability

A business must be fundable to loan providers and merchants.

Hence, a company will need a professional-looking website and e-mail address. And it needs to have website hosting from a company like GoDaddy.

Plus, company telephone and fax numbers ought to have a listing on 411.com.

In addition, the company telephone number should be toll-free (800 exchange or the like).

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

Licenses

These licenses all must be in the correct, appropriate name of the small business. And they need to have the same business address and phone numbers.

So keep in mind, that this means not just state licenses, but potentially also city licenses.

Working with the Internal Revenue Service

Visit the Internal Revenue Service website and obtain an EIN for the small business. They’re totally free. Select a business entity like corporation, LLC, etc.

A company can start off as a sole proprietor. But they will probably wish to switch to a kind of corporation or an LLC.

This is in order to minimize risk. And it will make the most of tax benefits.

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

A corporate business card will be in the corporate name. Yes, that even includes corporate credit cards without personal guarantee. And it can even mean start up business credit cards without personal guarantee. This is how to get a credit card without credit.

Setting off the Business Credit Reporting Process

Begin at the D&B website and obtain a cost-free D-U-N-S number. A D-U-N-S number is how D&B gets a business in 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 small business. You can do this at www.creditsuite.com/reports. If there is a record with them, check it for correctness and completeness. If there are no records with them, go to the next step in the process.

In this way, Experian and Equifax will have something to report on.

Start with business credit cards without personal credit.

Vendor Credit

First you ought to build trade lines that report. This is also referred to as vendor credit. Then you will 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 to get retail and cash credit.

These kinds of accounts have the tendency to be for the things bought all the time, like marketing materials, 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 often Net 30, instead of revolving.

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

Soon, these will be business credit cards that do not require a personal guarantee.

Find out why so many companies are using our proven methods to improve their business credit scores, even during a recession.

Accounts That Don’t Report

Non-Reporting Trade Accounts can also be helpful. While you do want trade accounts to report to a minimum of one of the CRAs, a trade account which does not report can still be of some worth.

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

These won’t start out as small business credit cards without personal guarantee. But in time, they can be credit cards for businesses with no personal guarantee.

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.

Fleet Credit

Are there more accounts reporting? Then move onto fleet credit. These are companies such as BP and Conoco. Use this credit to purchase fuel, and to fix, and maintain vehicles. Only use your SSN and date of birth on these applications for verification purposes. For credit checks and guarantees, make sure to apply for business credit card no personal guarantee using the small business’s EIN.

By now, you’ll get a business credit card no personal credit check.

Find out why so many companies are using our proven methods to improve their business credit scores, even during a recession.

Cash Credit

Have you been responsibly handling the credit you’ve up to this point? Then move onto more universal cash credit. These are companies like Visa and MasterCard. Just use your Social Security Number and date of birth on these applications for verification purposes. For credit checks and guarantees, use your EIN instead.

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

Make sure to use the business EIN to apply for business credit card without personal guarantee. Then you will get a business credit card no personal guarantee.

A Word about Business Credit Building in a Business Recession

Always use credit sensibly! Never borrow beyond what you can pay off. Monitor balances and deadlines for repayments. Paying in a timely manner and fully will do more to boost business credit scores than almost anything else.

Establishing small business credit pays off. Excellent business credit scores can help a business get a business loan no personal guarantee. Your lending institution knows the business can pay its financial obligations. They recognize the small business is authentic.

The company’s EIN links to high scores and loan providers won’t feel the need to request a personal guarantee.

Business credit is an asset which can help your business for many years to come. It’s really the only way to get a business credit card no personal guarantee required.

Get Business Credit Cards with no Personal Guarantee in a Business Recession – These Could be Yours

With patience and over time, you can get business credit cards with no personal guarantee. All you need to have is what the banks ask. That is, a dependable small business generating consistent profit, with a strong cash flow. And then, you will have what it takes.

This is how to get business credit card without personal guarantee. The COVID-19 situation will not last forever!

The post Get Business Credit Cards with no Personal Guarantee in a Business Recession appeared first on Credit Suite.

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Don’t Let Bad Credit Sink Your Business: Recession Vendor Credit Can Pull You Out of the Quicksand

How Recession Vendor Credit Can Be a Lifeline Out of Mud and Muck

You’re trying to sleep but anxiety is creeping in.  You can’t shake the cold feeling in the pit of your stomach.  The recession hit and you are about to start sinking fast.  What can you do?  Is there any hope?  Your personal credit can only hold so much, and it won’t last for long the way things are going.  The business credit situation isn’t great either.  You need to find a vine so you can pull yourself out of this mess.  That is exactly what recession vendor credit can do, if you know how to use it.

Bad business credit is like quicksand.  It can pull you down and choke the life out of your business before you can think.  The more you struggle the deeper you sink.  How can you possibly pull your business out of this sticky situation?  Reach for the vine of recession business credit.  Not only can it help rebuild and repair damaged business credit, it can start you on the path to stronger business credit than you have ever had.  If you don’t have business credit, then recession vendor credit can help you establish it.

Learn more here and get started toward building business credit attached to your company’s EIN and not your SSN. Get money even in a recession! 

The vendor credit tier of business financing offers terms that count as credit, and reports payments to credit agencies.  This allows you to establish and build business credit that will get you out and keep you away from more business finance quicksand.

To fully understand the vendor credit tier however, you need to know what it is, and how it fits in to the other business financing tiers.

The Recession Vendor Credit Vine Hangs Low

If you are sinking in quicksand the first thing you have to do is stop struggling.  The more you struggle the faster you sink.  You do not reach for vines and branches that are too high.  The low hanging vine that is easy to get to is really the only option you have.  Recession vendor credit is easy to recognize because, unlike the other credit tiers, it is going to be easy to grab a hold of from right where you are.

Start Vendors

This is a low hanging vine that you need to grab to build your business credit. Even if you do not have business credit at all when you first start, it will still work. In fact, it may work better from the beginning.  However, this vine can pull you out of a bad credit mess as well.

Starter vendors are the businesses from which you purchase the things you use day to day in your own business. It may be inventory, raw materials, office supplies, or any number of things. They offer terms such as net 30, meaning you get 30 days from the date of purchase to pay for the items purchased.  Some vendors offer net 15, net 60, or even net 90.

In the end, they report your payments, or lack thereof, to credit agencies. The beauty is they do not require a credit check typically, meaning if you handle things properly, they offer an opportunity to build business credit from the ground up.

Store Credit

Once there are 3 or more vendor trade accounts reporting to at least one of the CRAs, you can start to reach for some of the higher vines, like store credit. These are service providers like Office Depot and Staples.

Only use your SSN and date of birth on these applications for verification purposes. For credit checks and guarantees, use the company’s EIN on these credit applications.

There are several options that report to various credit reporting agencies.  For example, Lowe’s reports to D&B, Equifax and Business Experian. They want to see a D-U-N-S and a PAYDEX score of 78 or more.  If you have handled your recession vendor credit properly, this will be no problem.

Fleet Credit

Are there more accounts reporting? Then you can reach for the next higher vine, fleet credit. These are companies like BP and Conoco. Use this credit to purchase fuel and vehicle maintenance. Just use your Social Security Number and date of birth on these applications for verification purposes. For credit checks and guarantees, make sure to apply using the company’s EIN.

Shell is an example of a company in this tier.  They report to D&B and Business Experian. They want to see a PAYDEX Score of 78 or more and a 411-business phone listing.

Shell might say they want a certain amount of time in business or revenue. However, if you already have adequate recession vendor credit, that won’t be necessary. You will still be able to get approval.

General Credit Cards

Have you been responsibly handling the credit you’ve gotten up to this point? Then keep reaching for higher vines and get yourself out of the muck for good.  General credit cards include businesses such as Visa and MasterCard. Only use your Social Security Number and date of birth on these applications for verification purposes. For credit checks and guarantees, use your EIN.

 

Learn more here and get started toward building business credit attached to your company’s EIN and not your SSN. Get money even in a recession! 

Additionally, they want you to have an established company.

How to Make Starter Credit Work for Your Business

Using recession vendor credit doesn’t help you at all if you are operating under your personal credit. You have to establish your business as its own entity before it can build its own credit. It’s much easier to stay out of the quicksand, but if you do fall in, knowing what to do is essential.  It also helps if you have been working out and have a solid core to help pull yourself up.  When it comes to business credit, these are the things you must do to build your core:

  • Incorporate your business (or at least begin operating under a DBA)
  • List separate business contact information in directories
  • Obtain an EIN and D-U-N-S number
  • Open a bank account in your business name and run all business expenses through that account.

These steps will help you establish your business as an entity with finances separate from your own. That means vendors will report credit information in your business name. Thus, your business credit will be born. This is the foundation of your strong core and what will help you begin the process of pulling yourself out of a sticky credit situation.

Now, who are these vendors that can save you?   We picked a few of the best to highlight, but the list isn’t exhaustive by any means.

Grainger Industrial Supply

Grainger sells power tools, pumps, hardware and other things. In addition, they can handle maintenance of your auto fleet. You need a business license and EIN number to quality, as well as a D-U-N-S number from Dun & Bradstreet.

Quill Office Supplies

Quill is the ultimate starter vendor . They sell office supplies as well as cleaning and packaging supplies. Products range from office furniture and printer ink to snacks and coffee.

Uline Shipping Supplies

Uline reports to Dun & Bradstreet and carries shipping boxes, trucks, dollies, janitorial supplies, and more. Initially, you may need to prepay. After that, they are likely to approve you for Net 30 terms.

Behalf.com

Behalf is way of getting paid through an app, but they also offer funding. The more you have your customers pay you through Behalf, the more likely they are to offer you favorable terms when it comes to funding.

Avoid the Quicksand All Together

Once you are out of muck and safe, don’t jump right back in. Stay on solid ground and on top of your business credit. How do you do this when quicksand can sneak up on you so quickly?  It’s not as hard as it sounds.

If you are working with recession vendor credit, be certain to make payments on time or early. Then, monitor your credit. When you see things moving in the right direction, keep moving up the vines and building strong business credit.

Don’t become a victim of credit agency mistakes. If you see a problem on your report, signal for help. Let them know about the mistake in writing, give them the correct information, and provide documentation. Don’t send originals though. Be sure to make copies and keep the originals for yourself.

Learn more here and get started toward building business credit attached to your company’s EIN and not your SSN. Get money even in a recession! 

You should note that it is isn’t as easy to monitor business credit as it is to monitor personal credit. You can get a free personal credit report annually, and you can monitor your score and changes in your report through several free websites.  It costs money to monitor your business credit score.  There is no way around it.  However, we can help you monitor business credit at Experian and D&B for 90% less than it would cost you with the credit reporting agencies.  Find out how at www.creditsuite.com/monitoring.

Grab the Recession Vendor Credit Vine: Don’t Let Bad Business Cause Your Business to Sink

If you know it’s there and are watching out for it, quicksand is totally avoidable. Unless, of course, you find yourself in a COVID-19 situation.  Then, you may very likely be pushed in before you even know what is happening. Bad business credit is also avoidable and fixable, even in a recession. It may take some time, but you can establish and build great business credit following the process, starting with recession vendor credit.

Start with starter vendors and work your way up to traditional financing.  If you trust the process, your business can thrive. Be careful not to move too fast. Start slow. If you move to quickly you could be sinking before you know it. When it comes to building business credit, slow and steady wins the race.

What does it mean to take it slow? Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Do not take on more credit than you can handle. Know your limits, and pay attention to the market. If you move to fast when trying to get out of quicksand you are just going to sink faster.  You have to stop struggling and move with slow, controlled movements. Any progress is progress toward where you want to be, meaning you are getting closer no matter how slowly you are moving.  Just keep moving in the right direction.

The same is true of building a business. You don’t have to move quickly, you just have to keep moving in the right direction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post Don’t Let Bad Credit Sink Your Business: Recession Vendor Credit Can Pull You Out of the Quicksand appeared first on Credit Suite.

5 Warning Signs Your Business Is Failing in the Decline of the Economy

Are there warning signs your business is failing in the decline of the economy?  There could be.  By knowing the signs you can take action and help keep things running even during the worst of time.  Right now, the problem is COVID-19.  The Federal government and state governments are working hard to help small businesses, … Continue reading 5 Warning Signs Your Business Is Failing in the Decline of the Economy

5 Warning Signs Your Business Is Failing in the Decline of the Economy

Are there warning signs your business is failing in the decline of the economy?  There could be.  By knowing the signs you can take action and help keep things running even during the worst of time.  Right now, the problem is COVID-19.  The Federal government and state governments are working hard to help small businesses, but you can do something for yourself as well.

There are Warning Signs That Your Business is Failing in the Decline of the Economy, but What You Can Do About It

You can see the impending doom on the horizon. Its building like a sand storm and you can’t promise you will not be buried in it.  The decline of the economy is inevitable, and you cannot promise your business will survive.

Our economy runs in cycles, with waves of good times and bad coming in like clockwork.  The fact that a rise or decline will come is pretty much the only predictable part however.  No one knows when the economy tide will change, only that it will. If things are good, you can bet eventually the decline of the economy will come.  If your business is to make it through the sandstorm of hard times, you have to know the warning signs.

You may think you are safe if your business is already established. While it is true that it is much harder for a new business to stay afloat during the decline of the economy, research shows that 50% of small businesses fail in the 5th year, and as many as 30% go belly up in the 10th year.

The news is depressing, but if you can spot the warning signs you have a fighting chance.  You may not be able to stop the storm, but if you can see it coming, you can at least board up the windows and ride it out with as little damage as possible.

COVID-19 and the Decline of the Economy

The federal government is working to try to stem the tide of business failures. This includes SBA Paycheck Protection Program funding. But you’re going to need to be in business to take advantage of the financing.

Demolish your funding problems with our rock-solid guide about 27 killer ways to get cash for your business. Get money even during the worst of a recession.

How do you keep your business from failing? If you are already sinking, how do you reverse the damage? Sometimes you can’t. Sometimes the decline of the economy is too much.  Don’t give up though.  If you’re taking on water, we can help you do more than scoop it out with a plastic cup.

Set Yourself Up for Success

Wherever you are in the life of your business, now is the time to set yourself up for success.  Don’t wait another day.  In order to protect your personal finances and build business credit, you need to separate your business from yourself. Doing so on the front end is easiest, but many business owners do not know the importance of this when they first start.  Building business credit is vital for the survival of your business, and protecting your own personal liability is a necessity at all times. Here are some ways to make it happen:

  • Incorporate as an LLC, S-corp, or corporation. Do not operate as a sole proprietor or partnership. If you do, you and your business appear to be one in the same.
  • Get an EIN. They are free at gov and act as an identifying number for your business, similar to your personal SSN.
  • Open a business bank account. It should be used exclusively for business expenses. This is another tip that also helps at tax time.
  • Go to the Dun & Bradstreet website and get a DUNS
  • Make sure your business has its own telephone number and address that is not your personal telephone number and address.
  • Have a professional website created that does not use a free service. The web address needs to be paid for, and you need a dedicated email address that uses the same URL as the website.  It can’t be Yahoo or Gmail or some other free email service.

These things will help you not only when it comes to taxes and liability, but also when you are trying to establish and build business credit, which is essential for the growth of a business.

Prepare for the Unknown Known

While that sounds crazy at first, there really is an unknown known out there.  The economy will take a dive.  It is a fact of life just like birth and death.  That is the known.  The unknowns are the how, why, and when.  How do you prepare for something like that?  You cover all your bases.  Here are some things that can cause a business to go down during the decline of the economy along with some tips on how to prepare for them.

Cash Gap

Prepare for this by getting your business credit in order on the front end. Establish and build business credit so you can access the cash you need to bridge the gaps that are bound to show up.  Setting up your business as a separate entity is the first step in the business credit building process.

Gaps happen for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they are temporary timing issues, and sometimes you are leaking cash faster than a dam with a hole in it. If your business credit is strong, you can access credit cards or a business line of credit to help you shore up the leak while you look for a more permanent fix.

Without a solid business credit foundation, you will have a hard time finding the cash you need to fill the shortage, even short-term. Without access to cash a business cannot survive.

Growing Too Fast

You have to start slow. If you dive in before you are ready, you’ll cramp up and never make it to the other side. Take things one step at a time and research everything before you take the leap. Want to expand? Make sure you can handle the financing. Want to open a new location? Double check demand to make sure it’s there.

Demolish your funding problems with our rock-solid guide about 27 killer ways to get cash for your business. Get money even during the worst of a recession.

Trying to grow too much too fast is a sure plan for disaster, especially if the economy is in decline.

You Don’t Have a Plan

You had to write a business plan to get a business loan in the beginning. Even if you were solely founded on the backs of investors, they probably wanted to see a plan. It should already be there, in writing. Use it!

Work the plan you started with, tweaking as needed. It was good enough to get you started, and with minor adjustments for growth, it should be good enough to keep you going even in a decline of the economy.

Working without a plan is like heading into the dust storm naked.  If you survive, you will have much damage to repair.

Not Focusing on the Endgame

While branching out is a great thing in many cases, you can diversify too much. For example, if your specialty is pizza, and you want to add other entrees to the mix, that may be a great idea.

However, if you are a pizza shop and you decided to sell hunting equipment also, you may run into problems.

Find what you are good at and stick to it. Before you make any decisions on diversifying product lines, do the necessary research to determine whether or not that is the best plan of action.  It may sound good in theory, but will it create profit?  This is where good market research and a healthy dose of reality comes in handy.

Not Retaining Good Employees

If you have great employees, treat them right. Offer benefits, time off, fair payment, and appreciation as much as is in your power. Showing appreciation for a job well done is crucial to keeping good employees, and keeping good employees is vital to the success of a business.  This is especially true in a decline of the economy.  Starting over with new workers in hard times is not an easy task. Keeping the people that already know your business and do their jobs well is a much better recipe for success.

Is Your Business Failing in the Decline of the Economy?

Maybe it’s too late for prevention. Maybe you are already going down and you need a rescue plan. How do you know? What does it look like when a business starts to fail?

There are many warning signs, but these seem to be the most common.

  • You consistently can’t pay your bills.
  • Sales are steady but you have a ton of old receivables on the books.
  • Inventory is too high.
  • Your employees keep leaving.
  • There’s no chatter about your business.

While these aren’t always bad signs, they usually are. It might not be too late though. Let’s look at each one and see what can be done.

decline of the economy Credit Suite2

Inability to Meet Financial Obligations

If you have that business credit foundation we mentioned before, you can buy yourself some time here. Figure out a way to pay now, or ask creditors for more time. Then set to work figuring out the problem. Is it a timing issue? Look at getting a credit card or line of credit to bridge that gap.

Are your customers not paying? We’ll hit that in a minute. Are sales simply lagging? Find a way to increase sales! Have a sale, work harder at marketing, and improve the quality of your product or service.

Collect on Old Receivables

First, sell old invoices. Invoice factoring is a great way to get some cash fast, and if this is why you are short, it’s a suitable temporary fix. Get those accounts off the books and the cash in the bank.

Then, reconsider your credit strategy. Do you need to offer an incentive for early payment? Does there need to be tighter regulations when it comes to extending credit?

Slow Inventory Turnover

What’s up? Did you order too much? Maybe you need to have a sale to clear some of it out. Do you have too many different types of inventory? Go back to your first love, your original product, and off load the rest at a deep discount if you need to.

Employees Keep Leaving

This one is hard to fix on the back end. They aren’t happy, and trying to make them happy after the fact is almost impossible. If you have good workers, show your appreciation. They have plenty of options when it comes to places to work. Increase pay where possible and warranted. Offer as much flexibility as you can. Most of all, just show appreciation. Courtesy goes a long way. It may not be too late.

Demolish your funding problems with our rock-solid guide about 27 killer ways to get cash for your business. Get money even during the worst of a recession.

There is No Word of Mouth

Word of mouth is a powerful thing. If you have no reviews and no recommendations, that is a bad sign. Try offering incentives to those willing to leave a review. They can send you a link to the review in exchange for a discount or trinket.

Create social media chatter in a similar way. Incentives to like, share, or retweet sometimes take off like wildfire.

Even better, hire someone who specializes in this type of publicity.

Sometimes it Really is Too Late

The fact is, once a business is already failing, it is sometimes too far gone to save it. If you see the warning signs early enough and take big enough action, you may be able to make it through a decline in the economy.

Stay Aware of Your Surroundings

Keep your eyes open. At the first sign of trouble, take action. Follow these tips, do your own research, and start working to save your business. It is yours to save. You can enlist others if you need to however. Consultants and specialists may be able to help, and certainly in many cases professionals such as accountants and those trained in marketing research can be of tremendous value.

The most important thing is to not stand by and watch. You may still become a statistic, but you don’t have to go

down without a fight. Prepare for the inevitable and be ready to act when they come.

Have an Armory of Weapons Ready for the Fight During the Decline of the Economy and Any Other Time

No one starts a business planning to fail, but if you do end up in trouble, you can at least give yourself a fighting chance during the decline of the economy.   The best time to start is now.  Establish your business as separate from yourself so you can begin to build strong business credit.

If your business does actually fail, remember those mistakes you made, learn your lessons well, and start anew. Your next business venture will only be stronger for what you learned on the last one.

 

The post 5 Warning Signs Your Business Is Failing in the Decline of the Economy appeared first on Credit Suite.

Placing Your Money Where Your Small Business Mouth Is With Secured Lending

Placing Your Money Where Your Small Business Mouth Is With Secured Lending Protected financing is almost take the chance of totally free financing and also a lot the chosen kind of finance for the banks or home mortgage business. For many personal people, the most significant car loan they will certainly obtain is their residence …

Placing Your Money Where Your Small Business Mouth Is With Secured Lending

Placing Your Money Where Your Small Business Mouth Is With Secured Lending

Protected financing is almost take the chance of totally free financing and also a lot the chosen kind of finance for the banks or home mortgage business. For many personal people, the most significant car loan they will certainly obtain is their residence mortgage as well as for that protected borrowing they utilize their residence as security.

Security is specified as the possession or property that you promise to acquire debt, such as a little or individual service finance. Not just your residence, however your cars and truck, your service devices, a villa, a watercraft or various other building can be utilized as security when you require safe loaning.

The main benefit of these protected fundings, rather than unsafe car loans (additionally called very first cost fundings in the UK, or trademark lendings) are that the rates of interest for them are reduced.

For those that want beginning a local business, nonetheless, protected borrowing could be difficult or tough. A lot of local business individuals, particularly the expanding variety of netpreneurs and also business owners that are beginning a service out of their house, they just do not have the security to obtain that guaranteed borrowing cash.

Their residence might currently be mortgaged, they may be occupants or they might not have adequate equity in their houses. For these start-up service hopefuls protected providing hopes need to be changed by the fact of equity funding.

When we discuss equity funding, in contrast to guaranteed loaning from the typical banks, we’re speaking about cash that originates from the local business proprietors’ personal funds or from various other private or firm capitalists.

A firm that goes public and also obtains a mixture of cash via the sale of supply is getting equity funding. Investor or angel business are normal equity financers for tiny launch companies.

A business owner that moneys in her 401(k) to acquire a brand-new service computer system as well as printer, that invests his inheritance on making setting up components, that utilizes his financial savings to get small company tools, or offers his classic automobile collection to rent a store front area, are all utilizing equity funding to money their organisation.
Normally, regarding feasible, equity funding is the liked for a local business launch fund. It is much better to go this path than to start with safe borrowing alternatives that leave you in the red straight off.

The various other vital consider utilizing your very own cash to launch your very own firm is that anybody else or any kind of various other company taking into consideration buying you will certainly intend to see that you are greatly bought a functional in addition to psychological means. Absolutely nothing reveals this greater than wagering your very own life cost savings on your brand-new endeavor.

Also when you search for safe financing sources quickly after or further down the local business roadway any type of loan provider will certainly wish to see that someplace in between one 4th and also one fifty percent of the monetary launch for your firm originated from your very own funds.

That informs them not just that you are really dedicated yet that you believed this with as well as ready well beforehand. If you’re not going to think much of the danger, why, claim these investor, angel capitalists and also banks, should we?

The post Placing Your Money Where Your Small Business Mouth Is With Secured Lending appeared first on ROI Credit Builders.

Placing Your Money Where Your Small Business Mouth Is With Secured Lending

Placing Your Money Where Your Small Business Mouth Is With Secured Lending

Protected financing is almost take the chance of totally free financing and also a lot the chosen kind of finance for the banks or home mortgage business. For many personal people, the most significant car loan they will certainly obtain is their residence mortgage as well as for that protected borrowing they utilize their residence as security.

Security is specified as the possession or property that you promise to acquire debt, such as a little or individual service finance. Not just your residence, however your cars and truck, your service devices, a villa, a watercraft or various other building can be utilized as security when you require safe loaning.

The main benefit of these protected fundings, rather than unsafe car loans (additionally called very first cost fundings in the UK, or trademark lendings) are that the rates of interest for them are reduced.

For those that want beginning a local business, nonetheless, protected borrowing could be difficult or tough. A lot of local business individuals, particularly the expanding variety of netpreneurs and also business owners that are beginning a service out of their house, they just do not have the security to obtain that guaranteed borrowing cash.

Their residence might currently be mortgaged, they may be occupants or they might not have adequate equity in their houses. For these start-up service hopefuls protected providing hopes need to be changed by the fact of equity funding.

When we discuss equity funding, in contrast to guaranteed loaning from the typical banks, we’re speaking about cash that originates from the local business proprietors’ personal funds or from various other private or firm capitalists.

A firm that goes public and also obtains a mixture of cash via the sale of supply is getting equity funding. Investor or angel business are normal equity financers for tiny launch companies.

A business owner that moneys in her 401(k) to acquire a brand-new service computer system as well as printer, that invests his inheritance on making setting up components, that utilizes his financial savings to get small company tools, or offers his classic automobile collection to rent a store front area, are all utilizing equity funding to money their organisation.
Normally, regarding feasible, equity funding is the liked for a local business launch fund. It is much better to go this path than to start with safe borrowing alternatives that leave you in the red straight off.

The various other vital consider utilizing your very own cash to launch your very own firm is that anybody else or any kind of various other company taking into consideration buying you will certainly intend to see that you are greatly bought a functional in addition to psychological means. Absolutely nothing reveals this greater than wagering your very own life cost savings on your brand-new endeavor.

Also when you search for safe financing sources quickly after or further down the local business roadway any type of loan provider will certainly wish to see that someplace in between one 4th and also one fifty percent of the monetary launch for your firm originated from your very own funds.

That informs them not just that you are really dedicated yet that you believed this with as well as ready well beforehand. If you’re not going to think much of the danger, why, claim these investor, angel capitalists and also banks, should we?

The post Placing Your Money Where Your Small Business Mouth Is With Secured Lending appeared first on ROI Credit Builders.

How to Check Business Credit Score: Know What’s Going On

It is important to know how to check business credit score for a few reasons.  First, you just need to know what is going on with your business credit. Why does it matter?  Because business credit is one of many things that can affect the fundability of your business.  Do you know how to check business credit score reports? 

How to Check Business Credit Score: Your Fundability Will Thank You

Here’s the thing.  While a lot of things affect the fundability of your business, not all the things affect it equally.  Truly, there are many pieces to the puzzle. Business credit is like one big piece that fits right in the middle.  As a result, you have to know how to check it to get a feel for what is happening with your fundability.

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How to Check Business Credit Score: What You Need to Know

How to Check Biz Credit Score Credit SuiteHowever, before we dive into how to check business credit, there are a few things you need to know.  For example, there are a lot of companies that issue a credit score for your business.  Next, each company offers more than one report.  Lastly, these reports contain much more information than just the credit score.  

Furthermore, there is no way to know which company a lender will use to check your business credit.  It could be all, one, or any combination. In addition, lenders actually apply their own formula to the information in the report to calculate a score that they feel is most useful to them.  As a result, they may not even use the score you see after you figure out how to check it.  

Honestly, all of these things are out of your control.  What you can control, to a point, is the information on the report.  Like, does it contain positive information?  Is the information on it accurate?  See, these are things you can work with. If the information lenders are seeing is both positive and accurate, you should be in good shape. Still, you cannot do anything about the information on the reports unless you know how to check your business credit score.  Then, you need to understand what it means, how it is calculated, and how lenders use it.  So here we go. 

How to Check Business Credit Score: Dun & Bradstreet

Basically, Dun & Bradstreet offers six different reports. For sure, the one utilized most often by lenders is the PAYDEX. Likely, this is due to the fact that it is the one most like the consumer FICO score. Similarly, it measures how quickly a company pays its debt on a scale of 1 to 100. Mostly, lenders like to see a score of 70 or higher.  To put it in perspective, a score of 100 reveals the firm makes payments ahead of time. A rating of 1 shows they pay 120 days late, or more.

Together with PAYDEX, they offer the following.

Delinquency Predictor Score

This rating determines the likelihood the company will not pay, will be late paying, or will come under bankruptcy. For scoring, the range is 1 to 5, with 2 being a good score.

Financial Stress Score

As you might imagine, this is a measurement of the stress on a firm’s balance sheet. It shows the possibility of shutting down within a year. The range is 1 to 5, and a 2 is good.

Supplier Evaluation Risk Rating

In contrast, this is a ranking that predicts odds of a firm surviving one year.  It ranges from 1 to 9, with a 5 being a good score.

Credit Limit Recommendation

As the name implies, this is a recommendation for the amount of debt a company can handle. Financial institutions usually use it to establish how much credit to extend.

D&B Credit Rating

This is an estimation of overall business risk on a scale of 4 to 1, where a 2 is considered good.  The smaller the number the better.  The rating is given in conjunction with letters, the combination of which shows a company’s net worth. 

Consequently, if there isn’t enough data on a company to give it  a rating, an alternative score is assigned. This is called a credit approval score.  It is based on the number of employees. They will use any data they have available to calculate this alternative rating.  That means, a company can control this to a point by ensuring D&B has all of the information they need.

Keep your business protected with our professional business credit monitoring.

Commercial Credit Score

Along with the PAYDEX, Dun & Bradstreet releases a commercial credit report.  It has three parts. Each shows how likely the business is to default on expenses or become seriously late on payments.

Commercial Credit Score

On a range of 101 to 670, the commercial credit score anticipates the likelihood of a firm making late payments. A rating of 101 indicates it is very likely that this will happen. Likewise, a score of around 500 is good.

Commercial Credit Percentile

For this, the scale goes from 0 to 100. It shows the chance of delinquency too. However, it determines this versus other companies in the Dun & Bradstreet system. A rating of 1 is the highest possible probability versus other companies. The majority of loan providers believe a rating of 80 or higher is good.

Commercial Credit Class

Basically, this is an way of dividing businesses into classes based on the chance of delinquency. Firms in class 1 are the least likely to be overdue. Likewise, if you are in class 2, that’s great.

How to Check Business Credit Score: Experian Business Credit Scores

Experian gathers data from a lot of the same sources as Dun & Bradstreet. As a result, their reports are similar.  There are a few key differences in sources, calculation, and also presentation however.

Intelliscore Plus

For example, Experian uses the Intelliscore Plus credit score.  It shows statistics-based credit risk. As a result, it is a highly predictive score that can help users make well-informed credit decisions. 

The Intelliscore scores range from 1 to 100, with a higher score indicating a lower risk class. 

Score Range Risk Class

Low Risk 76-100
Low-Medium Risk 51-75
Medium Risk 26-50
High-Medium Risk 11-25
High Risk 1-10

 

Experian’s Blended Score

The blended score is a one-page report.  It provides a summary of the business and its owner.  A combined business-owner credit scoring model works better than a business or consumer only model.  In fact, blended scores typically outperform consumer or business scores alone by 10 – 20%.

Experian Financial Stability Risk Score (FSR)

FSR predicts the potential of a business going bankrupt or not paying its debts.  Consequently, this score identifies the highest risk businesses by using payment and public records. They look at a number of variables, some of which include: 

  • high use of credit lines
  • severely late payments 
  • tax liens 
  • judgments 
  • collection accounts 
  • risk industries 
  • length of time in business 

How to Check Business Credit Score: The Equifax Service Credit Rating

Similarly, Equifax shows three different points on its corporate credit report. These include: 

Equifax Payment Index

Similar to PAYDEX, Equifax’s payment index is a measurement on a scale of 100. It shows how many of your small business’s payments were made on time. Like the others, it uses data from both creditors and vendors. However, it’s not meant to anticipate future behavior.  In fact, that is what the other two scores are for.

Equifax Credit Risk Score

This score shows the likelihood of your company becoming severely delinquent on payments. Scores range from 101 to 992 and include an evaluation of:

  • Available credit limit on revolving credit accounts, including credit cards
  • Company size
  • Proof of any non-financial transactions that are late or were charged off for two or more billing cycles
  • Length of time since the opening of the oldest financial account

Equifax Business Failure Score

Equifax’s business failure score takes a look at the risk of your business shutting down. It runs from 1,000 to 1,600 and bases its scoring on these factors:

  • Total balance to total current credit limit in the past three months
  • The amount of time since the opening of the oldest financial account
  • Your small business’s worst payment status on all trades in the last 24 months
  • Proof of any non-financial transactions (like merchant invoices) which are late or are on a charge off for two or more billing cycles

For the credit risk and the business failure scores, a rating of 0 means bankruptcy.

Equifax Scores

A positive Equifax score for your business is as follows:

  • Payment Index 0 to 10
  • Credit Risk score 892 to 992
  • Business Failure score 1400 to 1600

Are These the Only Agencies That Issue Business Credit Reports? 

In short, no.  Actually, there are a lot of other agencies that will issue a business credit score.  Furthermore, part of knowing how to check business credit score is knowing which company you need to check with.   These, however, are known as the big three.  If you want to view your whole report, including your score, you can pay for a credit report. Since these are the most commonly used, you need one from each of them. Still, there has been an increase in the use of another option recently.  It’s the FICO SBSS.

Keep your business protected with our professional business credit monitoring.

How to Check Business Credit Score: FICO SBSS?

First, the FICO SBSS is the business variation of your personal FICO credit report. However, unlike your personal FICO, the SBSS reports on a scale of 0 to 300. The higher the score the better. Still, the majority of loan providers demand a rating of least 160.

Exactly how is the FICO SBSS Scored?

Surprisingly, it is significantly different from other business credit scoring designs. For example, the SBSS utilizes your corporate credit score and individual credit rating. In addition, it makes use of monetary details like business assets and income. As you can see, the goal is to give an overall financial picture with one rating.

Business owners cannot access their FICO SBSS by themselves. There is a proprietary formula for score computations. FICO does not make that information public. The result is, you go into lending institutions blind as to what your FICO SBSS credit rating might be. 

Furthermore, lenders can choose how certain factors are weighted in the computation of your score.  This means your FICO SBSS could actually be different from one lender to the next. For example, one lender could put more weight on your business payment history, while another could lean more on your personal credit score. 

What does all of this mean?  It means that you actually cannot check your business credit score from FICO SBSS yourself.  The best you can do is handle your credit responsibly and make sure the other aspects of fundability are in order.  If all you put out there going forward is positive information, your FICO SBSS should follow suit and be positive as anything negative drops off over time. 

How to Check Business Credit Score: Credit Monitoring

If you want to know how to check business credit score on an ongoing basis, credit monitoring is the answer. Typically, you can check your score at any time with a credit monitoring service.  Each of the big three has one, but you certainly save money with a third-party business credit monitoring option.  Also, you may be able to see your scores from more than one agency in one place. 

How to Check Business Credit Score: What’s Important

Honestly, you have to know how to check business credit score.  However, even more importantly, you need to know how it is calculated, what it tells lenders, and how to fix it if it isn’t good.  Generally, high scores result in easier approval. So, if you do not have a high score, pay for a copy of your report and figure out why. Then, have mistakes corrected.  If the probably is payment history, then start now paying your obligations on-time, regularly.  

Of course, if you have yet to set up your business as an entity separate from you as the owner, then you likely don’t even have an actual business credit report.  That’s right. Most likely everything is simply being reporting to your personal credit report.  If you and your business share contact information and a bank account, and if you are not incorporated, this is likely the case.  Get those things taken care of, and then you’ll be able to start the process of building business credit.

The post How to Check Business Credit Score: Know What’s Going On appeared first on Credit Suite.

How to Get a Business Loan: 5 Hot Tips to Make the Process Easier

Do you know how to get a business loan?  It’s a broad topic. Probably more so than you realize.  I mean, what kind of loan do you need? What type of lender will you use?  Do you even qualify for a business loan? Are there other options? Can you afford a business loan?  Then, these days, there is the question of whether you qualify for any of the COVID-19 relief loans.

Do You Know How to Get a Business Loan? Here Are 5 Things you Can Do to Make it Easier

These are all questions that you need answer to before you can even think about how to get a business loan.  That’s because those answers affect the process. However, there are a few things that, across the board, can make getting a business loan easier.  

1. How to Get a Business Loan: Evaluate Your Fundability

When most people start thinking about how to get a business loan, they think about credit.  Sometimes they even wonder about business credit, but they usually have the wrong idea about that.  What they are really wondering is, is their business fundable? Fundability itself is often misunderstood, being confused with credit.

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How to Get a Biz Loan Credit SuiteFirst, it has to do with much more than credit, either business or personal.  Fundability includes such things as how your business is set up, what information is out there that connects you to your business, and other factors that you have probably never thought about in relation to getting a business loan. 

Fundability is essential in how to get a business loan.  The following things all affect the fundability of your business.  Take some time to consider each of them and the effect each may have on your ability to get a loan.  Basically, you need to do an analysis of fundability for your business. Doing so will help you get things in order so that it will be easier to get a business loan.

Consider Your Business Credit 

No brainer, right? Business credit definitely comes into play. But, where do business credit reports come from?  There are a lot of different places, but the main ones are Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, Equifax, and FICO SBSS.  Since you have no way of knowing which one your lender will choose, you need to make sure all of these reports are up to date and accurate. 

What Data is Coming Out of Other Business Data Agencies 

In addition to the business credit reporting agencies that directly calculate and issue credit reports, there are other business data agencies that affect those reports indirectly.  Two examples of this are LexisNexis and The Small Business Finance Exchange. You cannot see your reports from these agencies, and you cannot change the data they already have on you or your business.  What you can do, however, is ensure that any new information they collect is positive. 

Identification Numbers 

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. You must have this number to have a file with D&B, and you have to have a file with D&B to build business credit. 

Business Information

It may seem obvious that all of your business information should be the same across the board.  However, when you start changing things up, like adding a business phone number and address or incorporating, some things may slip through the cracks. Make sure all your information is updated everywhere.  Check licenses, insurances, deeds, and anything else you can think of for consistency in name and contact information. Then, be sure the same information is on your loan application. 

Financial Statements

Both your personal and business tax returns need to be in order.  Also, you need to be actually paying both. 

Bureaus

There are several other agencies that hold information related to your personal finances. For example, ChexSystems issues reports that can affect fundability.  These reports, in the simplest terms, detail bad check activity.  This affects your bank score.  If you have too many bad checks, you will not be able to open a bank account.  As you can imagine that is a big problem when it comes to fundability. 

Personal Credit History

Your personal credit score from Experian, Equifax, and Transunion all affect the overall fundability of your business.  If it isn’t great right now, get to work on it.  The number one way to get a strong personal credit score or improve a weak one is to make payments on time, consistently. 

The Application Process

Next, make sure that your business name, business address, and ownership status are all verifiable.  Lenders will check.  Then, make sure you choose the right lending product for your business and your needs. 

2. Make Sure You are Set Up Properly

How your business is set up also makes a difference in how to get a business loan.  For one, if your business isn’t set up as a separate entity from you as the owner, your ability to get a loan will rest solely on your personal credit.  You don’t want that. When you separate your business from yourself, your personal credit will still matter, but it won’t be the only thing that matters. Here is how to make sure your business set up separate from you.  

Get Your Business Its Own Contact Information

Your business needs its own phone number, fax number, and address.   You can easily get a business phone number and fax number that works over the internet instead of phone lines.  

In addition, you can use a virtual office for a business address. There are businesses that offer a physical address for a fee.  Sometimes they even offer mail service and live receptionist options.  In addition, there are some that offer meeting spaces for those times you may need to meet a client or customer in person. 

Get an EIN

The next thing you need to do is get an EIN for your business.  This is an identifying number for your business that works in a way similar to how your SSN works for you personally.  You can get one for free from the IRS.

You Have to Incorporate

Incorporating your business as an LLC, S-corp, or corporation is necessary for separation.  It also lends helps your business be seen as legitimate. In addition, it offers some protection from liability. 

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. Additionally, there are several types of funding you cannot get without a business bank account. 

Licenses

For a business to be legitimate it has to have all of the necessary licenses it needs to run.  If it doesn’t, that is a huge warning to lenders.

Check out our best webinar with its trustworthy list of seven vendors to help you build business credit.

Website

I am sure you are wondering how a business website can affect your ability to get funding.  Having a poorly put together website can be even worse than not having one at all.  It is the first impression you make, and if it appears to be unprofessional, it won’t look good. 

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.  Along these same lines, 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. 

3. Build Business Credit Now

How do you build business credit?  Well, after your business is set up to be separate from you, the owner, you have to get accounts reporting payments to the business credit reporting agencies. 

There are a few ways to do this.   The easiest way is to ask those merchants you already work with if they will extend credit and report payments.  

Another option is to ask those that you already pay each month to report your payments to the business credit reporting agencies (CRAs).  This would be things like utility payments, internet, or rent.  

The last option is what we call starter vendors.  These are vendors that will offer net terms on invoices without a credit check, and then report those payments to the business CRAs.  

Once you have several of these initial accounts reporting positive payment history for a few months, you can start to apply for cards that will check your business credit.  Start with store cards like Office Depot or Best Buy. Then, when you get a few of those, move on to fleet cards from companies like Shell and Fuelman. After that, you can apply for standard business credit cards that are not limited to where you can use them or what you can use them for, and you can get approval based on your business credit.  As you make on time payments, your business credit score will continue to get stronger. 

4. Research Lenders and Products

There are many types of loans and lenders.  You need to know which ones will work best for you and your situation.  Applying for the right product for your business from the right lender will go a long way toward approval. 

Traditional Term Loans 

These are the loans that you go to the bank to get.  As a business, your business credit score can help you get some types of funding even if your personal score isn’t awesome.  That isn’t necessarily the case with this type of funding however. 

With a traditional lender term loan, you are almost always going to have to give a personal guarantee.  This means they will check your personal credit.  If your personal credit score isn’t in order, you will likely not get approval.

What kind of personal credit score do you need to have in order to qualify for a traditional term loan? If you have at least a 750 you are in pretty good shape. Sometimes you can get approval with a score of 700+, but the terms will not be as favorable. 

If you have really great business credit, your lender might be more inclined to be a little more flexible. However, your personal credit score will still weigh heavily on the terms and interest rate. 

SBA Loans 

These are traditional bank loans, but they have a guarantee from the federal government. The Small Business Administration, or SBA, works with lenders to offer small businesses funding solutions that they may not be able to get based on their own credit history. Because of the government guarantee, lenders are able to relax a little on the personal credit score requirements. 

In fact, it is possible to get an SBA microloan with a personal credit score between 620 and 640. These are very small loans, up to $50,000.  They may require personal collateral as well. 

The trade-off with SBA loans is that the application progress is lengthy. There is a ton of red tape connected with these types of loans. 

Currently, there are some changes to some SBA loan programs related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Check out our best webinar with its trustworthy list of seven vendors to help you build business credit.

Business Line of Credit 

This is basically the traditional lender’s version of a business credit card. However, rates are typically much better than a credit card.  The application and approval process is similar to that of a traditional term loan. 

Non-Traditional Lenders 

These are lenders other than traditional banks and credit unions that offer terms loans.  The difference between these and traditional lenders is that the loans have looser approval requirements and a much faster application process. Typically, you can simply apply online, get approval in as little as 24 hours, and the funds are in your account within 24 to 48 hours after approval. They work well if your personal credit isn’t terrible and you need funding quickly.

One Way How to Get a Business Loan is to Have a Workable, Professional Business Plan

The next step in how to get a small business loan is the business plan.  You have to convince lenders that your business will be a good investment.  Honestly, it’s best to hire professional writers and researchers to help you put this together.  If you can’t, there are plenty of free resources online to help.  This includes templates. For the most part, a well put together business plan should include the following. 

  • An Executive Summary
  • Description
  • Strategies
  • Market Analysis
  • Analysis of audience
  • Competitive Analysis
  • Plan for Design and Development
  • Plan for Operation and Management
  • Financials
  • Financial Information

How to Get a Business Loan: There Are No Guarantees

The truth is, even if you do all of these things, there are no guarantees when it comes to how to get a business loan.  However, these things can increase your chances in a huge way. All of it makes a difference. Still, fundability is the number one tool lenders use to make decisions.  Business credit and personal credit are a huge part of this. If you are fundable, and you have a winning plan, you can get the funds you need to run and grow your business.

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