Tag: Every

A Business Loan for Every Situation

Are you a startup? Do you have a temporary cash shortage you need to cover?  Is your credit not so great, or do you need cash to purchase in bulk? Whatever is going on rest assured, there is pretty much a business loan for every situation. Yes, you can even get a business loan now. Pandemic or no pandemic, you can get business money.

Sometimes a Business Loan Is Not What You Need

Even if, somehow, there isn’t a business loan in the traditional sense to help, there are still options.  Sometimes, a traditional business loan isn’t even the right answer. Something else might actually be better. 

Going on the assumption that most folks understand what a standard term loan from a traditional lender is, we are going to discuss alternatives to this solution.  After all, if you don’t know what’s out there, you’ll never know what might work best for you.

Business Loans and Other Options for Startup

When it comes to starting a business, you can get a business loan if you qualify.  There are other options too though.

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

Investors

You probably know what investors are.  Finding traditional investors for your business involves a number of things.  First, you have to find investors with deep enough pockets that are willing to hear your pitch.  Then, you have to actually create a pitch, and hope they like it.  

Then there are angel investors.  They work a little differently.  Angels are usually more informal than other investors. They can be people you know. They can be people you connect with through networking or other means. Even your mom can be an angel investor.

Crowdfunding

While the average person that wants to start a business needs funding, it is not always possible to find one or two large investors. With crowdfunding, you can access a lot of investors to fund your business $5 and $10 at the time. 

There are many crowdfunding sites.  Still, the most popular are Kickstarter and Indiegogo. They are similar to each other.  However, there are some major differences as well. The most obvious is the timing of when you get the money that others give your company.

Kickstarter requires you to set a goal first.  You do not receive your funds until you reach your goal. For example, if you set a goal of $5,000 when you start your campaign, you will not receive any money that investors offer up until you reach that $5,000. 

Indiegogo requires a goal as well.  However, they offer the option to receive funds as you go. In addition, they have an option called InDemand. This program lets you keep raising funds even after your original campaign is over.  That means you do not have to start a whole new campaign. It’s more like an extension. 

There are other crowdfunding sites out there also. Different ones work better for certain businesses and vendors. To figure out which one might work best for your needs, you’ll have to do some research. Keep in mind your type of business and the specific business each one appeals too. 

Crowdfunding is a good starting point for a new business.  Yet, don’t put all your eggs in this basket. You need a backup plan.  Only a small percentage of campaigns are successful.  Furthermore, take into account the state of the economy before you rely too heavily on crowdfunding.  If it isn’t strong, people will not be as likely to invest. 

Business Loans and Other Options for Getting Back on Your Feet

If you are struggling for a season to keep things going, these options could help.  Remember though, none of them are a permanent solution. To be successful your business has to eventually support itself.  Be sure to use the time these funds may buy you to figure out the problem and how to fix it. 

Non-Traditional Business Loans

These are business loans from companies other than banks.  Typically, they are referred to as private lenders or alternative lenders.  A lot of them have popped up in the past decade as starting your own business has become more popular.  A need for financing options from somewhere other than traditional banks has encouraged this growth. 

There are a few benefits to using private business loans over traditional loans.  The first is that they often have more flexible credit score minimums.  Even though they still rely on your personal credit, they will usually accept a score much lower than what traditional lenders require. Another benefit is that they will sometimes report to the business credit reporting agencies.  As a result, they can help build or improve business credit if you pay them responsibly. 

The tradeoff is that private business loans tend to have higher interest rates and less favorable terms.  However, the ability to get funding and the potential increase in business credit score can make it well worth it. 

Business Credit Cards

Credit cards often get a bad rap all around.  It’s no wonder. If you are irresponsible, they can cause a lot of problems.  However, if you handle them properly, they can be an amazing business tool. The thing is, using them to get back on your feet does propose a new set of potential issues.  Since most of them come with fairly high interest rates, you need to be especially diligent to find and solve the issues that cause you to need this additional funding. 

Grants

While there are not a lot out there, grants are probably more common that you think. Usually, these are offered by professional organizations. There are some government grants available as well. Competition can be tough, but they are definitely worth trying for if you think you may qualify. 

Requirements vary from grant to grant.  Most are only awarded to a certain number of recipients.  If you fit into one of these basic categories however, they are worth considering. 

  • Businesses in low income areas

There are also some corporations that offer grants in the form of contests.   These usually don’t require much other than that you meet the corporation’s definition of a small business and win the contest. For example, FedEx offers such a context each year. 

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

Business Loans and Other Options for Bridging Cash Gaps

Sometimes you aren’t really down on your luck.  You may just have a cash gap that is obviously temporary. Seasonal businesses see this on a regular basis. Another situation that may cause this is that you have some large invoices that just do not get pain fast enough.  These things can easily be handled with some of the following tools. 

Lines of Credit

The most basic definition of a line of credit is that it is a revolving line of credit, similar to a credit card. You have a limit, but you have access to funds at all times.  You only make payments on the portion you use each month. 

For example, if you have a $10,000 line of credit, you can use however much of those funds you need each month for whatever you want.  That is, unless your lender issues some sort of restriction. Access is most typically granted through checks or a card connected to the line of credit account.

Invoice Factoring

If you are an established business with accounts receivable, invoice factoring is one of the available business funding types that you have access to. This is where the lender buys your outstanding invoices at a premium, and then collects the full amount themselves. You get cash without waiting for your customers to pay the invoices.

This is a good option if you need cash fast.  It’s also good if you don’t qualify for other available funding types. The interest rate varies based on the age of the receivables.

Merchant Cash Advance

If you accept credit cards, you may be able to get a merchant cash advance.  This is similar to invoice factoring, but instead of buying your open invoices, the lender advances cash based on average expected credit card sales.  

Business Credit Cards

Credit cards can help in this instance as well, and they work a lot better here.  In the case of a temporary cash gap, you know the money is coming. Using credit to cover a gap temporarily, and maybe collecting some rewards while you do so, isn’t terrible.  This is also useful in the discount inventory situation. If you can get a great deal on bulk inventory, you can use a credit card to take advantage and buy at the lower cost. In theory, when you sell this lower cost inventory, you will actually increase your profit.

Open the Door to Any Type of Business Loan and Other Options by Building Great Fundability

Fundability is the ability of your business to get the funding it needs.  Highly fundable businesses are able to get business loans quickly and easily.  The thing is, few businesses start out fundable. There are many, many factors that affect the fundability of a business.  This includes details ranging from something as simple as your business address to things as complicated as liens on your personal record from years ago.  

Each and every aspect of fundability is important, and you need to know where you stand with each one.  However, one specific piece of the fundability puzzle that is often neglected is business credit. This neglect typically stems from the fact that so few business owners really understand what it is. Many are under the belief that business credit is just debt that is in the business name.  That isn’t really the case however. 

About Business Credit

Credit cards and loans with your business name on them are still going on your personal credit report unless you take some very specific steps to build separate business credit.  First, you have to set up your business to be a separate entity from yourself. Coincidently, this setup process is also what needs to happen to begin building strong business fundability.

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

Set Up Your Business to Be Fundable

To set up your business to be fundable you need to ensure you have the following: 

  • Separate contact information including phone number, address, and email
  • EIN
  • D-U-N-S number
  • Separate bank account
  • Business Website

In addition, you absolutely have to incorporate.  You can choose to be an LLC, S-corp, or corporation, but you must choose one.  Any of them work when it comes to separating business from owner, so talk to your attorney or tax specialist about which option will work best for your business’s other needs. 

How to Build Business Credit to Strengthen Fundability

Once you are all set up, you can start to get accounts reporting to your business credit report. You can ask vendors that you already work with if they will extend credit and report payments.  They don’t have to, but they might.  

You can also ask those companies you already pay monthly, like utilities and rent, to report your payments.  Again, they do not have to, but they may.

Another secret to getting accounts reporting is to work with starter vendors. These are certain vendors that will extend net invoices without a credit check, and then report your payments to the business credit reporting agencies. When you get enough of these reporting, your score will be strong enough to apply for store cards like those offered by Best Buy or Office Depot.  

After you get enough of those store cards and make on time payments, you’ll be able to get fleet cards like those offered by Shell and Fuelman.  After more of those cards are reporting on-time payments, you should be able to get approval for any business cards out there. For example, those standard credit cards that are not tied to where or what you purchase will be an option.  These are the credit cards that can really help bridge a cash gap or, as a last resort, help you get back on your feet.Biz Loan Credit Suite

Get a Business Loan – Conclusion

Getting a business loan doesn’t have to be hard.  There are options to cover any situation that may come up.  The problem is being eligible for the loans that best fit your needs.  You need to be aware of non-financing options and which situations they are best suited for as well.  Then, if your work to build business credit makes your fundability stronger, you can be sure that eventually you will be able to get funding to fit any situation that may come up.

The post A Business Loan for Every Situation appeared first on Credit Suite.

Is Content Marketing Effective? Stats Every Marketer Should Consider

There is a popular buzzword popping up all over the internet that marketers and bloggers on all levels are being challenged to understand and implement as a long-term strategy to growth and success: Content Marketing. This is an industry expected to be worth 413 billion by 2021 (MTA)! There are countless sources and statistics that …

To Successfully Obtain Business Capital Every Business Needs A Coach

To Successfully Obtain Business Capital Every Business Needs A Coach

, if you are a company proprietor the job of acquiring organisation funding can be extremely overwhelming.. Since they have actually never ever been instructed exactly how to acquire funding as well as a result they have no idea where to start, the majority of organisations fall short. The Small Business Administration reports that 97% of company financing applications stop working.

The relevance of looking for specialist help when establishing up company credit rating has numerous organisation proprietors transforming to a service money trainer to aid them develop their service debt. One of the greatest errors made by service proprietors is that they try to acquire company funding utilizing their individual credit scores.

Till your company has 3 different company debt ratings, any type of funding that your organisation gets will certainly be based only on your individual debt ratings as well as your individual properties. You require to have company credit report ratings developed to also obtain looked at for an organisation car loan. Having company debt ratings developed are simply a beginning in the money procedure.

” Missing simply among the 20 things will certainly obtain your service rejected,” claims Finance Specialist James Christy. “If you comply with the action in a great service financing train you will certainly make certain that you have every one of the products finished.”

Lenders will certainly refute a company lending application if the service lawful name is not noted correctly with the 411 Directory Assistance. An additional method funding can be rejected is if your service has a financial institution score listed below a reduced 5 or if your organisation does not have credit history documents open with the 3 company debt reporting firms.

The procedure of developing organisation credit scores is a lot a lot more difficult than establishing up individual credit score. There is one organisation credit score company that will certainly attempt to bill you $500 simply to open your debt data.

A service financing instructor advises entrepreneur in a detailed style on precisely what they need to do to obtain their company all set to be authorized for funding as well as exactly how as well as why to develop business credit rating they require to obtain authorized. A trainer will certainly reveal a company exactly how to not just develop organisation debt, yet to construct great service credit scores that the financial institutions and also various other loaning firms will certainly utilize to accept your lending demand. An excellent money trainer will commonly route you to resources for company bank card, supplier credit lines and also for various other imaginative kinds of funding.

To locate an organisation financing trainer to assist your company construct exceptional service credit history you may most likely to your preferred internet search engine Google, Yahoo, or MSN and also do a look for the expression “organisation money trainer”.

The significance of looking for professional support when establishing up service credit rating has lots of service proprietors transforming to a service money trainer to aid them develop their company credit score. Till your organisation has 3 different service debt ratings, any kind of funding that your organisation obtains will certainly be based only on your individual credit report ratings as well as your individual possessions. An additional method funding can be rejected is if your organisation has a financial institution ranking listed below a reduced 5 or if your company does not have credit rating data open with the 3 service debt reporting firms. A company money train advises company proprietors in a detailed style on specifically what they should do to obtain their company all set to be authorized for funding as well as exactly how as well as why to develop the organisation debt ratings they require to obtain authorized. A train will certainly reveal a company just how to not just construct service credit report, yet to construct excellent organisation credit report that the financial institutions and also various other borrowing companies will certainly make use of to authorize your finance demand.

The post To Successfully Obtain Business Capital Every Business Needs A Coach appeared first on ROI Credit Builders.

To Successfully Obtain Business Capital Every Business Needs A Coach

To Successfully Obtain Business Capital Every Business Needs A Coach

, if you are a company proprietor the job of acquiring organisation funding can be extremely overwhelming.. Since they have actually never ever been instructed exactly how to acquire funding as well as a result they have no idea where to start, the majority of organisations fall short. The Small Business Administration reports that 97% of company financing applications stop working.

The relevance of looking for specialist help when establishing up company credit rating has numerous organisation proprietors transforming to a service money trainer to aid them develop their service debt. One of the greatest errors made by service proprietors is that they try to acquire company funding utilizing their individual credit scores.

Till your company has 3 different company debt ratings, any type of funding that your organisation gets will certainly be based only on your individual debt ratings as well as your individual properties. You require to have company credit report ratings developed to also obtain looked at for an organisation car loan. Having company debt ratings developed are simply a beginning in the money procedure.

” Missing simply among the 20 things will certainly obtain your service rejected,” claims Finance Specialist James Christy. “If you comply with the action in a great service financing train you will certainly make certain that you have every one of the products finished.”

Lenders will certainly refute a company lending application if the service lawful name is not noted correctly with the 411 Directory Assistance. An additional method funding can be rejected is if your service has a financial institution score listed below a reduced 5 or if your organisation does not have credit history documents open with the 3 company debt reporting firms.

The procedure of developing organisation credit scores is a lot a lot more difficult than establishing up individual credit score. There is one organisation credit score company that will certainly attempt to bill you $500 simply to open your debt data.

A service financing instructor advises entrepreneur in a detailed style on precisely what they need to do to obtain their company all set to be authorized for funding as well as exactly how as well as why to develop business credit rating they require to obtain authorized. A trainer will certainly reveal a company exactly how to not just develop organisation debt, yet to construct great service credit scores that the financial institutions and also various other loaning firms will certainly utilize to accept your lending demand. An excellent money trainer will commonly route you to resources for company bank card, supplier credit lines and also for various other imaginative kinds of funding.

To locate an organisation financing trainer to assist your company construct exceptional service credit history you may most likely to your preferred internet search engine Google, Yahoo, or MSN and also do a look for the expression “organisation money trainer”.

The significance of looking for professional support when establishing up service credit rating has lots of service proprietors transforming to a service money trainer to aid them develop their company credit score. Till your organisation has 3 different service debt ratings, any kind of funding that your organisation obtains will certainly be based only on your individual credit report ratings as well as your individual possessions. An additional method funding can be rejected is if your organisation has a financial institution ranking listed below a reduced 5 or if your company does not have credit rating data open with the 3 service debt reporting firms. A company money train advises company proprietors in a detailed style on specifically what they should do to obtain their company all set to be authorized for funding as well as exactly how as well as why to develop the organisation debt ratings they require to obtain authorized. A train will certainly reveal a company just how to not just construct service credit report, yet to construct excellent organisation credit report that the financial institutions and also various other borrowing companies will certainly make use of to authorize your finance demand.

The post To Successfully Obtain Business Capital Every Business Needs A Coach appeared first on ROI Credit Builders.

The One Thing Every Marketer Should Do

Marketers tend to be very reactive.

And it makes sense because every time a search engine or a social network changes their algorithm we jump as marketers.

We are conditioned to be very reactive. Whether it’s your boss who is pissed that your traffic dips or even yourself… everyone hates when sales and income drop because of something you can’t fully control.

And even when you try to be proactive, you are probably planning ahead from a 3-month period to a year max.

But that’s not how you win. You win by making bold bets that take time and can’t be done in a few months or a year… you win by doing what your competition isn’t willing to do.

So how do you come up with these bold bets?

You unplug!

Here’s how I come up with my ideas

Once a year I try to unplug. Just like right now, as I am writing this I don’t have cell reception and there is no WiFi.

I’m on a ranch in the middle of nowhere.

No matter where I look, there are no neighbors. All you have is nature in its rawest form. Just like how lightning kept going on for hours.

By unplugging and just being one with nature, you truly realize what’s important.

See, we all have problems and issues… especially in business. But how bad are your problems? Do they even matter in the grand scheme of things?

Look, I’ll be honest with you. I am not a big nature person… I’m actually quite the opposite.

I live in a modern, cold feeling house in a heavily congested city. I’m so OCD that I have a full-time cleaner come just because I’m afraid of getting dirty (seriously).

Heck, I won’t even go through airport security without having booties in my briefcase, just in the rare chance they make me take off my shoes. There is no way I can have my socks touch that dirty ground.

Yes, I am crazy when it comes to cleanliness and hygiene.

But even me, I go to places that are full of nature and wild animals… or in my case, cows, bears, deer, snakes, mountain lions, etc… being there really helps put things into perspective.

Because when you aren’t surrounded by noise caused by us humans, it allows you to clearly focus and think about what’s important.

For me, spending 3 days a year usually does the trick.

It allows me to forget about the bullshit we all have to deal with on a daily basis and come up with ideas about what I need to do over the next 5 (or even 10) years to win.

I know that sounds like a really long time… and it is. But again, to win you need to think long term and make bold bets that your competition wouldn’t dare to copy.

Just look at what I did with Ubersuggest.

I came up with that idea a few years ago by disconnecting (just like I described above).

Companies like Moz would constantly post their revenue stats and their competitors decided to also talk about their financials. So while being disconnected, I came up with an idea on how I could win and the first step was acquiring a tool like Ubersuggest.

And since then I’ve executed a few of the steps in my plan, but I still have a long way to go.

None-the-less, those steps have paid off. Just look at my traffic numbers.

So what I am going to do over the next 5 to 10 years?

I am going to turn SEO upside down again.

It hit me on this trip that we all have to go to sites like Ubersuggest, SEMrush, Ahrefs, or even Moz to get data.

But why is that?

It’s not natural in our workflow. Wouldn’t it just be easier to see this data as you browse the web?

Like when you search Google for any query sure you can use browser extensions like Keywords Everywhere to get some data or SEOquake or the Mozbar… but what you can’t get is that Ahrefs or SEMrush experience when you are just on a Google Search results page.

What will that look like? I have no clue yet, but I will figure that out over time.

Will that kill the traffic I generate to Ubersuggest over time?

Yes!!!!!!

But that is what needs to be done. I obsess about providing an amazing experience to my customers, even if that will kill off my existing business.

And no, that won’t take 5 years to do… I will probably do it over the next 6 months. I will first roll out a basic plugin like Keywords Everywhere and, eventually, I will add the functionally so you can get that type of Ubersuggest or Ahrefs experience right on Google or on your competitor’s site.

What will happen over the next 5 years though, is that I will be able to build something that gets you more traffic. Just like a light switch. Something that simple.

Why can’t we automate most of our marketing tasks? Why does SEO have to be manual when I can add a piece of JavaScript to a website and automate most of it? Why do I have to send out a blog post every time I release a new post or a push notification?

It should all be automated.

And no, I don’t mean in a templatized way. I manually send out emails every time I write a blog post because I know I can write custom copy that generates a 30% open rate and a high click rate.

But again, it should all be automated. And not just for English based sites, it should be done on a global level and work for every site in any language or country.

So how can you figure out what to focus on?

You may not be able to disconnect like me and spend the money that it costs to go to a ranch in the middle of nowhere.

And that’s fine… you don’t have to.

When I first started off, I didn’t have the resources or money, and I did just fine within my constraints.

For example, roughly 5 years ago I came up with the concept that I needed to go after global markets and compared to any of my competitors in the digital marketing realm, I’ve crushed all of them when it comes to global marketing.

Most of my competitors just translated their site or translated some of their content. Me on the other hand, I have 7 offices and teams in 18 different countries. And I’ll continue to expand so I can keep beating my competition when it comes to grabbing international attention.

But that idea didn’t come to me when I was in nature, being disconnected.

At that time, I was in my condo in the middle of Seattle and I disconnected my Internet for a few days.

Before I disconnected my Internet, I went and got food so I didn’t have to leave my house, and then I turned off all my gadgets… from my TV to phone and anything that was a distraction.

It worked well because now only 18.89% of my traffic is from the United States compared to 57% before I started to expand globally.

In other words, you can disconnect no matter where you are. You just literally have to disconnect your router, turn off your phone, and unplug your TV… it really is that simple.

If you do that for a few days, you’ll start realizing what is important and what isn’t. You’ll be able to strategize and start thinking more long term.

Conclusion

The key to winning long term isn’t by being reactive every time there is an algorithm update or even proactive and preparing for each algorithm update.

Because some of those things are simply out of your control.

Instead, you need to think long term and how you can disrupt your market to make a long-term bet that your competition isn’t willing to make.

Nike wasn’t built by SEO.

Airbnb wasn’t built through paid advertising.

American Express wasn’t built through social media marketing.

Tesla wasn’t built through content marketing.

Doing something disruptive or better than the competition is how you win.

Ubersuggest gets 1,668,233 visitors and 9,136,512 page views a month from people just coming directly. Not through SEO, marketing, or anything like that… I just focus on the future instead of being reactive.

That’s how I win.

Now, the real question is, how are you going to win?

The post The One Thing Every Marketer Should Do appeared first on Neil Patel.

Transfer hotlist: Five gamers every club desires

Craig Burley advises Matthijs de Ligt not to be lured by the big-money deals and also to pick his following club based simply on the football.
The transfer home window for the remainder of Europe&& nbsp; isn’t also open yet (the Premier League opened up on May 16), however in advance of July 1 there are a host of gamers whose names simply will not go away from the chatter columns.
Think of being a young celebrity and also having every top club in Europe after you. Below are 5 that understand just how that really feels.
– QUIZ: Which leading club should you sign up with?
– Transfer qualities: Hazard to Real Madrid (A).
– Ogden: Six insane transfers to enhance Prem leading 6.
Matthijs de Ligt.
Club: Ajax.
Age: 19.
Placement: …

The post Transfer hotlist: Five gamers every club desires appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain – Deals And Reviews.

How to Increase Business Credit: 5 Simple Steps Every Entrepreneur Can Take

And How to Get Business Credit if You Don’t Already Have It

Business credit is a vital part of your life as an entrepreneur, even if you do not know it. The fact is, it is almost impossible to run a successful business without it.  Unfortunately, many business owners do not realize this until after their business credit is in shambles.  If this is you, then you need to know how to increase business credit.

While it isn’t easy, it also isn’t impossible to improve your business credit score.  Of course, the most obvious thing to do is to pay your bills on time.  That is most definitely part of it.  There are other steps you can take to raise your business credit score as well, however.

What is Business Credit?

Before you can really understand how to increase business credit, you have to understand what it is in the first place.  It is similar to personal credit.  However, it is credit in the name of your business rather than the name of the individual.  It is used as a predictor of the ability of the business to handle debt.

The beauty of this is, if you have business credit, your business transactions will not affect your personal credit.  Your personal credit score can be protected from any mishaps with your business.  It is important to know, however, that the reverse is not always true.  In some cases, your personal credit can affect your business credit.  Some business credit reporting agencies (CRAs) use information from your personal credit report to calculate your business credit score.

Share our foolproof business credit building checklist and tell your friends about how you’re building business credit the quick and easy way.

In addition, some lenders will check both your personal and your business credit.  This means that, while business credit is essential to running a business successfully, you shouldn’t ignore your personal credit score.  It is important to both your personal and business finances.

How Do You Get Business Credit?

Growing company credit is a process. It does not occur without effort. A company must actively work to establish small business credit. This is in direct contrast to how personal credit builds, often without your knowledge that it is even happening. You do have to work the steps of the process in order however.  If you do not already have business credit, here is how to start.

A small business must exist as its own entity separate from its owner, and it must be fundable to lending institutions and merchants. This means formally incorporating as a corporation, S-corp, or LLC.  It also means getting and EIN, which is like an SSN, but for your business.  They are free on the IRS website.

Then, you need to ensure your business has its own, dedicated email address, fax number, and telephone number.  Get a listing on 411 by going to http://listyourself.net.  List the business contact information with the business name. The phone number should be toll free.

As for the email address, it can’t be from a free email service like Yahoo or Gmail.  It needs to have the same URL as the company website.  Yes, your business needs a professional, well put together website.  Don’t use a free hosting service for this.  Use a paid service like GoDaddy.

A small business also needs a bank account devoted purely to it.  All business transactions should run through the business account.

You will also have to get a D-U-N-S number.  It’s free.  Start here.

How Do You Get Credit Without Credit?

Here’s the thing.  We all know not having credit is virtually the same to lenders as having bad credit. When it comes to business credit, there is a secret to get accounts reporting on your business credit file.  This secret is the vendor credit tier.  These are beginner trade lines that will extend invoices with net terms without even checking your credit.  Then they will report your payments on these invoices to the business credit reporting agencies.

In this way, your business credit score can start to build like a snowball.  As it grows, you will become eligible for credit from more and more companies.

You want 5 to 8 of these to move onto the next step, which is the retail credit tier. Who are these vendors?  How do you find them?  Here are a few of the easiest to get started with.

Uline

Uline is a true starter vendor that offers shipping, packing, and industrial supplies.  They report to D&B.

You have to have a D-U-N-S number, and they request 2 references and a bank reference. The initial few orders may need to be prepaid before you can get approval for Net 30 terms.

Quill

Quill is another option that is easy to get started with. They sell office, packaging, and cleaning supplies and report to D&B and Experian.

Because 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 already established.

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

Grainger Industrial Supply

Grainger Industrial Supply sells safety equipment, plumbing supplies, and more.  They report to D&B. You need a business license, EIN, and a D-U-N-S number to get a net account with them.

For less than a $1000 credit limit they approve nearly anyone with a business license.

Retail Credit Tier

Once there are 8 or more accounts from the vendor credit tier reporting to at least one of the CRAs, the next step is to apply for credit from the retail credit tier. These are companies such as Office Depot and Staples.

Fleet Credit Tier

The fleet credit tier is next.  These are businesses like BP and Conoco. Use this credit to buy fuel, and to fix and maintain vehicles.

Cash Credit Tier

The final tier is the cash credit tier. These are companies such as Visa and MasterCard that are not attached to a specific store.

Share our foolproof business credit building checklist and tell your friends about how you’re building business credit the quick and easy way.

How to Increase Business Credit if You Already Have it

What if you already have a business credit score and it’s not good?  It’s easier to increase something when there is no negative information counteracting the positive.  What if you already have negative information on your business credit report.  Here is how to increase business credit in that case.

5 Steps for How to Increase Business Credit

1.      Add tradelines

Here is how you do that. You can use the starter vendors mentioned above, but if you already have established business credit, that isn’t the only way.  You can also ask the vendors you already have a relationship with about starting a credit relationship.  Ask if they will extend you credit based on the merits of the relationship you already have, and ask if they will report the payments.  Even if you only get one or two to do it, your credit score will only increase with the positive payment history being recorded.

2.      Ask to delete paid off collections.

Did you know that if you have an account that goes to collections, it will stay on your credit report even after you pay it off?  That’s right.  The negative hit stays on your report even if you pay off the account in full.  You can ask to have it removed however.  Be sure to do that.

3.      Ensure all information is correct and up to date.

Take the initiative to notify credit agencies of changes in address, phone number, email addresses, etc.  In addition, monitor your business credit reports so you can dispute any mistakes.

Update the details if there are errors or the 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. So for Equifax, go here: www.equifax.com/business/small-business.

4.      Ask for an increase to your credit limit.

Your credit utilization ratio is the amount of debt you have in relation to the amount of credit you have available to you. If you are using a ton of your available credit, your ratio will be high.  The reverse is also true. When people ask themselves how to increase business credit, they often do not realize this.  Once they do see it, the next step is usually to add accounts in an effort to increase the amount of credit available.

However, this isn’t always the best option because the average age of all reporting accounts affects your credit score as well.  If you are adding new accounts, that average age decreases, which negatively affects your account.

Another option, which works much better, is to ask your current accounts to raise your credit limit.  This way, you have more available credit, decrease your credit utilization ratio, and leave your average age of accounts unaffected.

5.      Make payments on time!

Duh, right?  It’s true though.  The number one way to answer the question of how to increase business credit is to make consistent, on-time payments.  Here’s a bonus tip too.  If you find that you need to stop carrying so many balances and have the means to pay a little extra on minimums, pick the balance with the highest interest rate and put all of your extra onto that balance.  Once it is paid off, take the total payment amount and pay that amount extra on the balance with the next highest interest rate.  As you see your balances getting paid down, you will see your business credit score increase. You’ll save money on interest also, since you are paying off the highest interest rate balances first.

Watch It Rise

While you are putting all these tips for how to increase business credit into action, pay attention to what your credit score is doing.  If you are not seeing an increase, however gradual it may be, you need to figure out what it going on.

How do you do this?  Each of the main business credit reporting agencies offer the option to purchase your credit reports. It’s not cheap.

At D&B you can monitor at: www.dandb.com/credit-builder. At Experian, you can monitor your account at: www.smartbusinessreports.com/Landing/1217/. And at Equifax, you can monitor your account at: www.equifax.com/business/business-credit-monitor-small-business. Experian and Equifax cost about $19.99; D&B ranges from $49.99 to $99.99.

We can help you monitor business credit at Experian and D&B for 90% less than it would cost you at the CRAs. See: www.creditsuite.com/monitoring.

What If You Find a Mistake?

Mistakes in your credit report(s) can be taken care of, but the CRAs usually want you to dispute in a particular way.

Disputing credit report errors normally means you mail a paper letter along with duplicates of any proofs of payment. These are documents like receipts and cancelled checks. Never send the originals.

Fixing credit report inaccuracies also means you precisely spell out any charges you contest. Make your dispute letter as understandable as possible. Be specific about the problems with your report. Use certified mail to have proof that you sent in your dispute.

Share our foolproof business credit building checklist and tell your friends about how you’re building business credit the quick and easy way.

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

You can dispute mistakes on your or your company’s Experian report by following the directions 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.

Now you Know How to Increase Business Credit

If you don’t have a business credit score at all, you will have to start from scratch.  Establish your business as separate from yourself.  Start building a score with the trade account from the vendor credit tier, then watch your score rise as you work through the rest of the credit tiers.

If you have business credit already, but it’s not great, you can still increase it.  Make sure all your information is updated.  Work on your credit utilization ratio by asking current accounts to increase limits. Establish trade lines with those vendors you are already working with, and ask the reporting agencies to remove collections that have been paid off.

More than any of that however, make your payments on-time and consistently.  If you need to take a breath, regroup, and rebudget, do it.  Not paying your bills is the number one way to ruin your credit.  Conversely, making consistent, on-time payments is the number one way to increase your score.

The post How to Increase Business Credit: 5 Simple Steps Every Entrepreneur Can Take appeared first on Credit Suite.

The Top 10 Small Business Credit Cards – Excellence for Every Entrepreneur

The Top 10 Small Business Credit Cards Can Be Yours

Do you know the top 10 small business credit cards? We did the research for you. So here are our favorites.

Per the SBA, company credit card limits are a whopping 10 – 100 times that of personal cards!

This shows you can get a lot more cash with corporate credit. And it also means you can have personal credit cards at shops. So you would now have an additional card at the same stores for your business.

And you won’t have to put up collateral, cash flow, or financials to get business credit.

Credit Card Benefits

Features vary. So make certain to pick the perk you prefer from this collection of possibilities.

Top 10 Small Business Credit Cards: 10. Ink Business Cash Credit Card for a Terrific 0% APR Period

For a 0% APR period, this card is great. You pay no yearly fee. It’s got an interest-free time period. It has flexible cash-back rewards. There are spending limits for employees. However, you will need a credit score of 690 or higher.

Get it here: https://creditcards.chase.com/credit-cards/small-business/ink-cash

Top 10 Small Business Credit Cards: 9. Ink Business Preferred from Chase for Excellent Rewards

With this card, you can get 80,000 bonus points. But this is once you spend $5,000 on purchases. And it is within your first three months from account opening.

Earn three points per dollar. But this is on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, internet, and cable and phone. It is also on advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines. But this is for each account anniversary year.

Also, earn one point for each dollar on all of the other purchases. There is no restriction to the amount you can earn.

Get it here: https://creditcards.chase.com/credit-cards/small-business/ink-business-preferred

Establish business credit fast with our research-backed guide to 12 business credit cards and lines.

Top 10 Small Business Credit Cards: 8. SimplyCash Plus Business Credit Card from American Express for Awesome Cash Back

Small Business Credit Cards Credit Suite

Check out the SimplyCash Plus Business Credit Card from American Express. So you can earn as much as $400 cash back. Get a $200 statement credit. But this is after spending $5,000.

Also, get 5% cash back at US office supply stores and on wireless phone services. So these must be bought from US service providers. But this applies to first $50,000 of yearly spending.

You also get 3% cash back on spending category of your choice. So this is from eight distinct categories. They include air travel, gas, advertising and computer purchases. But it applies to the first $50,000 of yearly spending.

Plus you get 1% cash back on all other purchases.

Get it here: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/credit-cards/simply-cash-plus-business-credit-card/44279

Top 10 Small Business Credit Cards: 7. Gold Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card from American Express for Luxurious Travel Points

If you want Delta SkyMiles, then this card is for you. Get 30,000 bonus miles. But this is after you make $1,000 in purchases on your new card. And it is during your first three months. Terms and limitations apply.

Also earn a $50 statement credit. But this is after you make a Delta purchase with your card. And it is in your first 3 months. Earn two miles per dollar spent on purchases made straight with Delta. Also, earn one mile per qualified dollar spent on purchases.

Get it here: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/credit-cards/gold-delta-skymiles/44279

Top 10 Small Business Credit Cards: 6. Spark Cash Select From Capital One for Jackpot Rewards

With this card, you get 1.5% cash back on all purchases. So this is with no restrictions.

New cardholders can also get a $200 cash bonus. But that is once they spend $3,000 on new purchases. So this is within three months of account opening.

New customers also get initial APR of 0% on purchases. But that is for nine months. Also, there is no annual fee.

Get it here: https://www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-cash-select/

Top 10 Small Business Credit Cards: 5. Blue Business Plus from American Express for a Fantastic Introductory APR Period

This card an introductory 0% APR time period, we also prefer the Blue Business ℠ Plus Credit Card from American Express. So it has an introductory 0% APR for 15 Months. Also, you can earn double points on day-to-day company expenses up to a yearly cap. But the regular APR is 12.24% – 20.24%. So this APR is variable.

Right now corporations can earn double points. But this is on the initial $50,000 in purchases each year.

Get it here: https://creditcard.americanexpress.com/blue/

Top 10 Small Business Credit Cards: 4. Bank of America Business Advantage Cash Rewards MasterCard

With this card, you can get a $200 statement credit. But this is after $500 in purchases. And that is within 60 days of account opening.

You also get 3% cash back on purchases at filling stations and office supply stores. But this is as much as $250,000 annually.

Also, you get 2% cash back on purchases at restaurants. And get 1% cash back on all purchases. Also, there is no yearly fee. But it is available to applicants with excellent credit.

But you can only redeem your cash back in $25 increments.

Get it here: https://www.bankofamerica.com/smallbusiness/credit-cards/products/cash-rewards-business-credit-card/

Establish business credit fast with our research-backed guide to 12 business credit cards and lines.

Top 10 Small Business Credit Cards: 3. Wells Fargo Business Secured Credit Card for Excellent Credit Building

This card allows cardholders to secure a credit limit of $500 – $25,000. The amount available corresponds to the amount of funding you supply to secure the line.

Your purchase APR rate can be as low as a variable 13.15%. And the yearly fee is $25. But the more cards you have, the more expensive your annual fee will be.

This card lets company owners with bad personal credit to get a card to make purchases and build business credit.

But the card will only report to the personal credit bureaus if you default or are late on payments.

Get it here: https://www.wellsfargo.com/biz/business-credit/credit-cards/secured-card/

Top 10 Small Business Credit Cards: 2. US Bank Business Edge Platinum for Low APR Bliss

For Low APR/Balance Transfers Business Credit Cards, this card is king. So you start with twelve months of 0% APR financing on new purchases and balance transfers. There is a 3% balance transfer fee.

Afterwards, the purchase APR is a variable 10.49% – 18.49%. And this depends upon creditworthiness. There is no yearly fee. But this card is just available to people with great or superb credit. But there is no rewards program for purchases.

Get it here: https://www.usbankedge.com/credit/business-edge-platinum.do

Top 10 Small Business Credit Cards: 1. Business Platinum from American Express for Amazing Travel Perks

Check out the Business Platinum Card from American Express. It is a fantastic option for travel benefits!

Travel benefits including access to these airport lounge networks:

  • Priority Pass Select
  • Delta SkyClubs
  • American Express Centurion Lounges

You also receive Gold Status when you register for the Starwood Preferred Guest program. There is also a $200 yearly air travel fee credit.

There is a $100 credit towards the Global Entry application fee, which includes access to TSA PreCheck program. And you also get one point per dollar spent on the majority of purchases.

Also, you get 1.5 times the points. But this is on charges of $5,000 or more. And it is on qualifying purchases. But this is up to one million additional points per year. Get five points per dollar. But this is for purchasing flights and prepaid hotels from the American Express Travel website.

Get it here: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/credit-cards/business-platinum/44279

Establish business credit fast with our research-backed guide to 12 business credit cards and lines.

Bonus #1: Capital One Spark Classic for Business for Fair Credit

For Fair Credit, we like the Capital One Spark Classic for Business. It has no annual fee. There are cash-back rewards. But you will need a credit score of 690 or higher.

But BEAR IN MIND: the ongoing APR is 23.99% variable APR.

Get it here: https://www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-classic/

Bonus #2: Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN for Jackpot Rewards

Take a look at the Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN. So you can earn 50,000 Membership Rewards points. But this is after $5,000 in purchases on the card within first three months.

Also, you get three points on your choice of five categories. In addition, get two times the points on the other categories.

Also, get one point per dollar on all other purchases. It has a $0 yearly fee for the first year. But then your yearly fee rises to $175.

Get it here: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/credit-cards/business-gold-rewards

Bonus #3: Business Platinum Card from American Express OPEN

Also, have a look at the Business Platinum ® Card from American Express OPEN. So you can earn as much as 75,000 Membership Rewards points upon account opening.

Also get 50,000 Membership Rewards points. But this is subsequent to spending $10,000.

In addition, get 25,000 more points. But that is after spending an additional $10,000 all on eligible purchases. But this is during the initial three months.

And also you can get five times the Membership Rewards points. So this is on flights and pre-paid hotels on amextravel.com. But it has a $450 yearly fee. Yikes!

Get it here: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/credit-cards/business-platinum/44279

The Top 10 Small Business Credit Cards for You

Your best small business credit cards will depend on your credit history and scores.

Only you can decide which rewards you want and need, so make sure to do your research.

And, as always, make sure to build credit in the established order for the best, fastest benefits.

Share this and tell your friends what you think of the best company credit cards.

The post The Top 10 Small Business Credit Cards – Excellence for Every Entrepreneur appeared first on Credit Suite.