An In-Depth Guide to Google Analytics 4

NOTE: On June 8, 2022, Christopher Coomer, VP of Data, Analytics, and Insights at NPD, will cover the essentials of GA4 in a short presentation. This will be followed by an extensive Q&A session with webinar host Will Francis of DMI. Register here. Those who attend will receive a free follow-up guide to help them transition to GA4.

Google recently announced it is sunsetting Universal Analytics in June of 2023. This means if you’ve been holding out on switching to Google Analytics 4, your time is almost up.

I’ve heard from a lot of marketers and business owners who are not excited about the switch. Change is always hard, but I really think this switch is going to be a good thing. For starters, it provides a ton more data and is more customizable—which means you can track what matters to you, not just what Google thinks might matter to you.

This guide walks you through everything you need to know to make the switch, including what you can do with Google Analytics 4, how to make the switch, and how to get started with the new platform.

What can you expect? New report functions, enhanced features, and predictive insights make this new generation of GA more powerful than ever.

What Is Google Analytics 4?

Google Analytics 4 is the newest version of Google Analytics. This is a whole new generation of web analytics that will allow marketers to effectively analyze important customer usage metrics, not just track traffic.

Google Analytics 4 tracks the entire customer path across multiple platforms and leverages AI and machine learning to provide more detailed insights into how users interact with your website and app.

GA4 is also focused on customer privacy. This comes in the face of some of the latest privacy laws, such as GDPR and CCPA. With privacy-first tracking, cross-channel data measurement, and AI-driven predictive analytics, GA4 is an advanced tool that provides unparalleled insights.

What is the Difference Between Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics?

The most obvious difference between Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics is that GA4 enables you to report on activity that occurs on both websites and applications. There are a number of other differences, including:

Google Analytics 4 Has a New Dashboard

The first change you are likely to notice is the entirely new dashboard. It is more streamlined and many of the reports you are used to are gone or have been moved. The navigation bar to the right includes buttons for home, reports, explore, advertising, configure, and library.

At the bottom, under Insights, you’ll see predictive insights based on Google’s AI. I’ll dig more deeply into the features and what they mean in a later section, so keep reading!

All Measurements Are Events in GA4

With Universal Analytics, page views were the most important metric. With Google Analytics 4, all measurements are events. Instead of seeing generalized data, you can now gain a fuller understanding of how users interact with your app and website.

What does this mean for you? You can still view session-level reporting, but the ability to break it down by interaction means more in-depth reports and insights.

GA4 also has an array of new metrics. These include engagement metrics such as:

engaged sessions
engagement rate
engagement time

It also tracks a number of other dimensions, including attribution, demographics, events, and so forth.

This is a big change, but it’s actually going to make it easier to track customers throughout their journey. GA originally assumed page views were the most important metric—that is no longer true. The new parameters might have a learning curve, but you will have access to more data.

Gain Access to Predictive Insights With Google Analytics 4

While looking at past behaviors is helpful in understanding your audience, it doesn’t help you make proactive decisions. With GA4’s powered predictive metrics, you can make data-driven decisions on a large scale.

What does this look like? For most businesses, predictive analytics can significantly impact retargeting campaigns. AI metrics include:

purchase probability
churn probability
revenue prediction

With the above metrics, you can create audiences based on their predicted behaviors. For example, users who are likely to purchase in the next 7 days or users that are likely to spend more than $500 in one purchase.

These audiences can then be targeted using Google Ads campaigns or even on social media.

These metrics can also improve website performance. You can create custom funnels for different audiences based on their behaviors and needs. The suggestions will continue to improve as more data is collected.

GA4 Gives Marketers More Control

GA4 allows you to customize the dashboard, enabling you to see the reports that matter most to your business. It even works well in conjunction with Google Data Studio so you can create custom visualizations of the data collected.

You can also create custom segments based on trigger events which are essentially a subset of events that occurred on your website or application. This enables you to more accurately track customer interactions.

For example, you can create segments on all conversion events that occurred in a particular location. These capabilities make it possible to take a more granular view of your users and their behaviors.

Cross-Platform Tracking

What happens when users are active on more than one platform? With the old Google Analytics, tracking users across platforms was nearly impossible. The new Google Analytics 4 tracks both web and app data in one property (hence the beta name of Google Analytics App+Web).

Cross-platform tracking enables you to see the complete customer journey, including acquisition, engagement, monetization, and retention. You can use GA4 to track the user experience from start to finish—and from platform to platform.

This is done through unique user IDs assigned during app or website login.

With the appropriate gtag.js script, the user ID for each logged-in session will be sent from either the website or the application to Google Analytics. The ID will be reported to the GA4 property and any user metrics will be logged. When the user logs in again on an alternative platform, the reports will connect the user’s data to their unique ID and pick up where it left off.

This is incredibly useful information for any marketer, as it allows you to better understand the cross-platform experience of your users. The data can also be used to extrapolate information for a generalized demographic and build more accurate customer models

How to Set Up Google Analytics 4

Since Google Analytics 4 can be used for your website or application (or both), there are two separate setup processes. They are outlined below.

Alongside an Existing Property

If you currently have a Universal Analytics property for your website, then set up of a Google Analytics 4 property can be completed with the GA4 Setup Assistant.

In Google Analytics, click “Admin” on the lower left of the screen.
In the Account column, select the desired account:

How to Set Up Google Analytics 4 - Account Column

In the Property column, select the Universal Analytics property that currently collects data for your website:

How to Set Up Google Analytics 4 - Property Column

In the Property column, select GA4 Setup Assistant:

How to Set Up Google Analytics 4 - Setup Assistant

Click “Get started” under “I want to create a new Google Analytics 4 property:”

How to Set Up Google Analytics 4 - Create New GA4 Property

If your site uses the gtag.js tag, you can select “Enable data collection using your existing tags.”
Click “Create Property.”

How to Set Up Google Analytics 4 - Create a new Google Analytics 4 Property

If you are unable to “Enable data collection using your existing tags,” it’s for one of three reasons:

Your website builder/CMS doesn’t yet support the gtag.js tag.
You use Google Tag Manager.
Your website is tagged with analytics.js.

In all three cases, you’ll need to add the tag yourself.

Google Analytics for Firebase

To upgrade your Firebase account to Google Analytics 4, follow these steps:

Log in to the Firebase console.
Go to Analytics > Dashboard on the left panel.
Click “Begin upgrade” in the banner at the top of the page.
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the upgrade.

Once upgraded, you can find app analytics in both the Firebase console and Google Analytics.

How Do I Use Google Analytics 4?

Now that you understand the power of the new Google Analytics platform, I’ll walk you through how to use it. I will say there is a learning curve for the platform, and that can definitely be frustrating.

Start by following the steps below. This will help you understand the basics and how to navigate the new platform. If you still aren’t seeing the data you need, consider signing up for a longer-form course or reaching out to my team for more help.

Test The New Search Bar

The search bar in GA4 lets you access more than ever, including instant answers for specific queries (such as “how many users this month vs last year”), specific reports or insights, property configuration, or to access the help content.

Try a few queries to see what you can access, such as “how to create a report” or “top users by city.” As you learn the new dashboard, the search board will be invaluable.

Get To Know The New Dashboard

Now let’s look at the new dashboard. At first glance, it might look pretty familiar. Take a look around, however, and you’ll see most of the reports you’re used to are not where they used to be.

Here’s an annotated version of the dashboard. I’ve labeled the navigation bar on the left as well as the different displays. For this walk-through, I’m using GA’s demo account (Which you can access here), so it may look a bit different than your version, especially if you’ve already started customizing it.

NOTE: A few of the navigation menu items including Audience and Library aren’t in this screenshot, but should be accessible in your dashboard if you have editor access.

Explore The Reports Dashboard

From the dashboard, click on the second icon on the left nav bar, the one that looks like a graph: . This will take you to the reports dashboard, which shows you snapshots of different reports. Most of the reports you are used to seeing are in this tab, though they may look a bit different.

There’s a ton of data here. I won’t walk through all of it because different sites will track different metrics, so yours might look different.

But let’s say you want to see how many people viewed a specific page. In this dashboard, you’d click “engagement” and then look at the “Views by page title and screen class” chart.

You can also view acquisition, monetization, and user demographics here. If you want to compare different metrics, select the + icon at the top (next to Engagement Overview.)

Customize Your Reports Snapshot

One of my favorite features is the ability to customize the reports snapshot so you can see the data that matters most to you at a glance. This will also help you get to know GA4 a bit better so you are more comfortable using it.

First, let’s create a new report.

To start, click Library at the bottom of the left navigation bar. Note, if you don’t see this option (It’s not in the demo account), it means you don’t have admin access.

Then, scroll down to the Reports table and click Create a new report. Then, select Create an Overview Report. You’ll be asked to provide the data source and GA will walk you through creating the report. (This part changes based on the type of report.)

If you want to change the layout of your overview, click the six dotsdrag indicator. This will let you drag and drop the cards. To remove cards, click the X icon. If you want to add new cards, select +Add Cards.

Create A New Event

Events are crucial in the new Google Analytics—in fact, this is how you’ll track just about everything. You will need an editor role in GA to make these changes, so if you don’t see the options I mention, that may be the issue.

To create a new event, head to Configure > Events.
Then click Create Event.
Choose the data stream (If you have more than one property in GA)
Tap Create.
Give your report a name. I suggest creating a naming convention and sticking to it. For example, using <audience location, acquisition channel>, a report might be named “US visitors from social” or similar. Creating a standard naming convention will help keep you organized.
In the “Matching Conditions” field, enter the existing event this will be based on, such as “click.”
If you want to use the same parameters as the original event, select “copy parameters from the source event.” For example, if you want your new event to be triggered when a click occurs and already have an event for that, you’d check this box.
Specify any changes you want to make to the new event. For example, if you want to track when someone clicks and then takes another action, you’d add it here.

See Suggested Audiences

Google Analytics 4 now suggests new audiences. If you’re looking to expand your user base or break into new markets, this can be crucial information. When you create a GA4 property, you’ll tell Google about your business, including your industry category.

Google uses that information to generate new audiences that may be a good fit for your business. To view this data head to Audiences, under the Library. You’ll see suggested audiences listed under Build a New Audience.

Frequently Asked Questions About Google Analytics 4

What is Google Analytics 4?

Google Analytics 4 is a new analytics property offered by Google. It enables users to analyze data from websites, apps, or both websites and apps. It is a complete redesign of GA, so there is a bit of a learning curve.

What is the difference between Google Analytics 4 and the old GA?

The main difference between Google Analytics 4 and the old GA is in what the two different property types track. Google Analytics 4 can track the analytics of both websites and applications, while the old GA can track only website analytics.

Is Google Analytics 4 free?

Similar to Universal Analytics, Google Analytics 4 is a free property type. There are no costs associated with using one (or more) GA4 properties on your account.

Can you run Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics at the same time?

Yes, you can currently run both platforms parallel to each other. UA will stop gathering data in the summer of 2023, so make sure you’ve installed GA4 even if you aren’t ready for the switch quite yet.

Why is Google Analytics 4 so hard to use?

GA4 is extremely customizable, which can make it hard to learn. However, once you get a hang of it, you’ll find you have access to deeper insights you can use to grow your business.

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An In-Depth Guide to Google Analytics 4: Conclusion

Google Analytics 4 is a powerful analytics tool that provides invaluable insights into your audience. There are numerous benefits to GA4, including cross-platform tracking, more control over data, and AI-driven insights.

Fortunately, setting up a GA4 property on your website or app is easy. The steps outlined above should take you less than 10 minutes to complete, so there’s no excuse to put off the transition.

Have you made the switch to Google Analytics 4? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

The Fundability™ Roadmap: Your Business Credit Guide

Business credit is a journey, not a destination. The destination is Fundability, and business credit is just one of many tools you need along the way. If you’re interested, our business credit guide can help any user ensure their toolbox is well stocked.

Making this trip isn’t easy, but some routes are easier than others. We have the roadmap to starting Fundability, but you have to trust the process.

Business Credit Guide: What is Fundability?

It might help if we first define Fundability. Fundability is the ability of any business to get the funding it needs. Obviously any business will be interested in funding for the purpose of improving and to grow. That is the way to success, and being Fundable means you have access to the money to do it.

Business Credit Guide: How Businesses Can Get Started

The first step, before you even open the roadmap, is also one of the most important steps in the journey. Think of it like choosing the most efficient and comfortable vehicle for your trip. It doesn’t take an expert to figure out some types of transportation are better than others.

Just like that, a Fundable Foundation gives you the best start not just with Fundability, but with business credit as well. It will help you avoid issues that can slow down your ability to get approved for credit.

Businesses with a Fundable

Separate business contact information
EIN
They are incorporated
Business bank account
Licenses
Website and email separate from the founder

This is the easy part, but it is vitally important.

To be successful on the road to Fundability, there is more than this to consider. The goal is to have lenders see your business and you as the owner as low risk. Here are some things to think about.

Your Business Name Makes a Difference

When developing your business name, it’s best to leave any indication of a risky industry out of it. This may not help you get financing, but it will minimize the likelihood of being turned down immediately due to being linked to a risky industry before you get a chance.

It’s also important for your company name to be consistent and in alignment everywhere. Even inconsistencies in small details, like using the word “and” sometimes and an ampersand at others, can indicate higher risk. Lenders are not interested in why there is an inconsistency. They will just deny it.

Get a D-U-N-S Number from Dun & Bradstreet

All entrepreneurs need a D-U-N-S number from Dun & Bradstreet for their organization. Set your business up for success by getting it as soon as you can. It is how Dun & Bradstreet will identify your business in their network and how your PAYDEX is linked to your business.

Business Credit Guide: Start The Journey

Once you have the foundation, or the right vehicle to make the journey, it’s time to get on the road. Making sure you are prepared is the only way to reach where you are going.

The foundation is definitely something you can control. After that, it’s time to start establishing and building strong business credit. This is only part of what makes a business Fundable, but it is a big part. It’s important for most any type of company financing if you want to run a profitable business.

Business Credit Guide: Use Vendor Credit to Fuel Your Way to Becoming a Profitable Business

Now, it’s time to fill the car up with gas. That gas is business credit accounts that report payments to your business credit reports. It all starts with vendors. Not just any vendors however. Just like any journey, you have to start at the beginning.

Starter vendors are those that will give net terms on invoices. They are not as interested in credit scores, so you can get approved with less focus on that and more on other factors. Not only that, but they will also report the positive payment experience to the business credit reporting agencies.

How Do You Get Starter Vendors to Grow Business Credit?

At Credit Suite we discuss vendors in terms of tiers. Starter vendors are those in Tier 1. Since most vendors do not classify themselves as such, how do you get them? A simple search will give you a few options. However, how do you know if those vendors work with your company marketing and growth strategies? Furthermore, the information changes without warning.

It’s Worth It to Get Help from An Expert

The answer to all of these questions is Credit Suite. Our product includes select vendors that we know report, and what they require for approval.

We also track changes with recommended vendors. So, if they change requirements or reporting standards in ways that make them no longer align with the values we have for our clients, we can adjust.

Maybe they now rely more heavily on personal finance data and need to be moved from Tier 1 to another tier. Maybe they decided to adjust their minimum business credit requirement. Perhaps they no longer report payments? All of these things will stunt business credit growth.

Credit Suite will check in with your business at each level in the process. We will discuss the risk you present to lenders, and determine what needs to be done in order to reduce that risk.

Credit Suite Can Save You Time and Money

Our processes allow us to keep our vendor database updated. Our industry experts have the skills necessary to help clients find the best vendor options for them. Whatever stage of the journey our clients are in when they come to us, we can help them find the vendors that can best help them be successful, with confidence.

Working with Credit Suite to find starter vendors and to figure out which vendors to apply for when is kind of like using help to find a gas station that’s open in the middle of the night. It lets you avoid paying more money than you have to for gasoline.

Our resources get you where you are going faster. Team recommended strategies save you both time and money, and one of the best benefits is your business can grow and transform along the way. Our team uses best practices to add value.

Business Credit Guide: Refill Your Fuel Tanks and Get Financing to Grow

Starter vendors are just the first fill-up a company makes to get on the road, but it will only get you so far before your check engine light comes on. As you move further into the process, you’ll need to get credit with more vendors and apply for business credit cards to continue to operate. You can’t just sit back and read a good book, you have to keep moving.

If you handle your approved credit responsibly, you’ll soon have enough accounts reporting to more easily get business credit cards. Even better, you should be able to get higher limits, better rates, and less if any personal guarantee. This is the best way to grow and increase earnings. There are no shortcuts.

Other Factors that Support Fundability

Of course there are parts of the car you cannot see. There are curves and bumps in the road you may not be able to predict. As a result, things happen that you cannot control, making the trip quite uncomfortable at times. However, you can do your best to be prepared.

Here are a few things that can affect Fundability, and thus your ability to get money for your company easily, that you have less control over.

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. This can throw a kink in your business journey if you aren’t careful.

Two clear examples of this are LexisNexis and The Small Business Finance Exchange. These two agencies gather data on businesses from a variety of sources, including public records. This means they could even have access to data relating to automobile accidents and liens. They share this information with their partners, some of which are business credit bureaus.

Fight Back With Positive Data

While you may not be able to access or change the data these agencies have on your business, you can be making sure you always use strategies to guarantee any new information they receive is positive.

Enough positive data can help counteract any negative data from the past and reduce those risks over time. Consequently, your personal risk tolerance with underwriters will be easier to overcome. This is how you start to see your company success grow.

Financial Statements

Lenders are going to ask for both personal and business financials. They want to see income and profit. They need to know you have the money to pay back any financing you get. The numbers are what they are, and underwriters will verify them. Don’t try to create a false idea about money, whether personal or business. It is not worth the risk.

Bureaus

There are other agencies that hold data related to your personal money as well. Take ChexSystems for example . This agency keeps up with bad check activity. That makes a difference when it comes to your bank score, your ability to open a checking account, and definitely Fundability.

Personal Credit History

Personal credit can affect business credit. Not only do many lenders consider owner credit background alongside business credit, but some business credit reporting agencies use your personal credit score in their business credit score calculation.

Business Credit Guide: The Road Goes on Forever

You never stop building business credit. But, after a point you will want to keep your progress at a steady pace. Just don’t stop. That’s where many businesses go wrong. Business credit that isn’t growing is doing nothing. They do not understand that, the only option if you want to stay successful, is to continue to use it. Then, be sure to let it keep growing.

Business Credit Guide: Credit Suite Can Be One of Your Best Resources

Interested in business credit and want to explore more about how Credit Suite can help you? We love to share how to utilize our products to launch your own business credit journey. We want to help businesses understand what we do and how we can help them.

Check out our free business finance assessment now. We will discuss and explore where your business is currently, so we can best learn how to help you. We’ll work to understand what you need, and help you determine what your next steps should be.

The post The Fundability™ Roadmap: Your Business Credit Guide appeared first on Credit Suite.

Website Design: The Complete Guide

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Website design used to be very hard, but that is no longer true.

Years ago, when I first started designing my websites, there weren’t a ton of resources. There were basically two options—learn the basics of website programming languages or hire a designer. The first choice is difficult and time-consuming. The latter is expensive.

After a brief attempt of trying to design everything on my own, I ended up spending top dollar on a designer. It was more than I wanted to spend, but I didn’t really have much choice.

Today, new website owners have more resources at their disposal. It’s possible to design a professional website without hiring a designer or learning how to code.

Whether you’re a complete beginner or just looking for an alternative way to design websites, you’ve come to the right place. I’ll explain how to design a website below in this step-by-step guide.

My Favorite Tool For Website Design

Wix is my favorite tool for website design. It’s essentially an alternative method to sidestep web design altogether.

As a free website builder, Wix makes it easy for anyone to build and design a website from scratch—no experience, development skills, or design knowledge required.

The reason I love Wix so much is that it’s just so effortless. Even for such a simple tool, the final design always looks professionally made. People will just assume you hired a designer—it’s that good.

That effortlessness extends to important things you don’t want to deal with on your own, like security and reliability.

Wix manages optimization for both on their end, so your site is always protected and their servers are always able to deliver your website to visitors.

Plus, they go the extra mile with automated site data backups that make sure you’re never left starting from scratch should something terrible happen.

Another reason why I recommend Wix so highly is because of its versatility. It can accommodate the design needs of virtually every type of website under the sun.

From simple blogs to portfolio sites, online stores, restaurant websites, small business sites, and more, Wix can do it all. Other website builders on the market just don’t have the same versatility.

Continue below, and I’ll teach you how to design a website for free using Wix.

Step #1: Create a Wix Account

The first thing you need to do is sign up for Wix. So head over to Wix.com and create an account. This is 100% free to do, and you don’t even have to give your credit card information.

Just click one of the many “Get Started” buttons on the homepage or anywhere else on the site.

Unlike other platforms, the Wix sign-up process can be completed in a matter of seconds. There aren’t any complex form fields to fill out. They just need your email and a password.

You can even bypass typing anything and sign-up with a single click using Google or Facebook.

Once you’re signed up, Wix will automatically walk you through the website design process.

Step #2: Choose Your Website Type

Next, you’ll need to figure out what type of website you want to design. Your answer will have a significant impact on your design choices.

For example, a personal blog and an ecommerce website will have major differences in design choices. A portfolio site used to showcase photography or custom art won’t have the same design as a local restaurant website.

Wix makes this step easy for you. You’ll be prompted to select your website type from a wide range of potential options.

Based on your answer, Wix will automatically present you with applicable templates in that category. For example, if you select “online store,” then the layout will accommodate product pages, product categories and make it easy for you to design a checkout process.

Once you choose a website type, Wix presents you with two options for your design:

Let the Wix ADI create a website for you.
Create your website with the editor.

The first option is straightforward and is excellent for people who are in a rush. You’ll just answer a few simple questions, and Wix will design a site for you based on your responses. It’s impressive how quickly the process takes.

You’ll have a brand new custom website design in less than a minute. The design comes out beautiful, and aside from customizing the pages with your own content, you’re done.

For the purposes of this tutorial, we’re going to stick with the second option—creating a site with the Wix editor. This will give you more freedom and control over every aspect of the design choices.

Step #3: Select a Template

Rather than trying to design a website with a blank canvas, it’s much easier to start with a template.

Take a few minutes to browse through the different options. What styles do you like? Which templates emulate your brand image? Wix has thousands of templates to choose from. It can be a bit overwhelming at first. But narrow your focus based on your specific type of website.

For this example, I choose a “business” website. But that’s a really broad category. If you look to the left side of the screen, you can narrow your focus further into types of businesses.

Wix has specific templates for consultants, real estate companies, professional services like finance and law, marketing, and so much more. Every website type has different subcategories with templates.

For example, if you select “online store,” then you’ll see templates for clothing, jewelry, electronics, home decor, beauty supplies, sports equipment, and more. If you’re designing a blog website, Wix has templates for personal blogs, travel blogs, fashion blogs, podcasts, etc.

Your template will become the foundation for the rest of your website design. So it’s important to take your time and not rush through this step. You’ll still be able to customize different design elements to your liking, but that’s much easier with the right template.

Step #4: Edit Your Layout

Website visitors will form an opinion about your website in less than one second of landing on the home page. That’s why the design is so important, and it all starts with the right layout.

Wix templates have already been optimized for a user-friendly design. But you have the freedom and flexibility to make some changes here.

In this example, I’m editing the “Business Consultant” template. Let’s say I wanted to move the positioning of the headline on this homepage. I’d simply click the box in the Wix editor and drag it somewhere else on the page.

Or maybe I want to reposition that “Learn More” call-to-action on the right half of the screen. I can click on it and drag the button anywhere I want.

I encourage you to move a few things around when you’re first getting started. This will introduce you to the Wix editor, so you’re comfortable down the road. If you ultimately don’t want to make any layout changes, you can always revert back to the original design.

Step #5: Prepare Your Content

Content is a significant component of your site’s design. You can’t completely finalize the design without understanding exactly what materials will be featured on the website.

Gather images, videos, GIFs, logos, slogans, text (copy), and whatever else you want to display on your site.

Let me show you an example to illustrate my point.

I’m still editing that same business consultant template. One of the first things I’d do on this part of the page is swap the image with a picture of myself. But before I do that, I’d also need to think about the corresponding text copy on the screen’s bottom left side.

By default, the template has some blank space here, as I’ve highlighted above. While blank space is an important web design feature, I don’t love how it’s used in this instance.

So these are my options:

Use a full-length photo (like the one above) and add a paragraph in the blank space.
Use a smaller photo (like a headshot) and just use a single paragraph of text.

Both will achieve my goal of eliminating that empty section of the page. Do you see how one component impacts another? All of this is related to the design, and it’s much easier if you have your content prepared ahead of time.

Step #6: Define Your Branding Strategy

Start to think about how visitors will perceive your website. Things like the color scheme, fonts, and other design components will directly impact your brand image.

Click the “Theme Manager” on the left side of your Wix editor. This is the button with an “A” and what looks like a raindrop or paint drop.

From here, you can change your site’s theme colors. You’ll also have the ability to edit your default text themes for headers and paragraphs.

In this case, the current color scheme works well for a business consultant. It’s modern and professional. But let’s say you were designing a website for kids. You could have a bit more fun with bright colors and big, bold fonts.

If you added your company logos and other materials back in step #5, you’ll want to make sure that the color scheme flows well with the rest of your content.

Step #7: Add Landing Pages

Your landing pages will each have unique designs. While they should all follow the same branding principles and theme of your home page, the design choices will have some variations.

To add a page, click the top icon on the left side of your Wix editor. Then click “add page,” as I’ve highlighted below.

New pages will essentially be a blank canvas, except for your header and footer. But rather than starting from scratch, you can “add a strip” to any page based on what content it will contain.

Just click the “+” button on the editor to browse through some options.

Think of this as a mini template. Apply the same principles you used back in step #3 when you first chose your overall site template.

This is just an easier way to design new landing pages. Wix already has so many great options that it’s not worth trying to build your pages from scratch.

Step #8: Focus on Usability

Sometimes during the design process, you can start to lose focus on how visitors will engage with your site. But user experience (UX) can’t be overlooked.

There are certain design best practices people expect when they visit a website. For example, they expect the navigation menu to be at the top of the page. They expect the footer to contain contact information. They expect the logo to take them back to the home page.

Let’s look at something simple, like a navigation menu:

In this example, there are only four pages in the menu. You could maybe get away with adding one or two more. But beyond that, it’s too much.

Imagine if this website had 10 or 20 pages in the menu. It would be a disaster. The top of the page would be too cluttered, and visitors would never find what they’re looking for. Overall, that would be a poor design choice.

Think about usability with every design choice you make, from CTA placement to scroll effects, white space, architecture, and everything in between.

Don’t try to reinvent the wheel here. Follow web design best practices, and the UX will be fine.

Step #9: Optimize the Design For Mobile Devices

According to Statista, roughly half of all global web traffic comes from mobile devices. So there’s a coin-flip chance that each visitor on your site will be browsing from a smartphone or tablet.

You need to make sure your website design is mobile-friendly. Otherwise, visitors will bounce, and you’ll never get mobile conversions.

Fortunately, Wix makes this process easy for you.

From the editor or previewer page, simply click the mobile icon to switch away from the desktop view of your website.

Wix will automatically optimize your website for mobile. But it’s still a good idea to check everything out for yourself to see if you want to make any changes. If you see something you’d like to change, you can edit your site’s mobile design without changing the desktop version.

Step #10: Publish Your Website

Once you’ve finalized the design, it’s time to get your site live on the web.

It’s worth noting that your site doesn’t have to be 100% finished to publish it. You can always go back and add pages at a later time. But once you have a homepage, about page, contact page, and a handful of site elements, get it published so you can start generating some traffic. Just be sure you don’t publish any incomplete pages.

Click the blue “Publish” button at the top right of your Wix dashboard to continue.

As I said before, you can design and publish a site with Wix 100% for free. But there’s a catch.

Free Wix users won’t get to customize their domain. All domains include your Wix account name, followed by Wix’s branding, and then your site’s name. As you can see from the example above, the domain here would be:

http://neilpatelsample.wixsite.com/mysite-1

This is not a viable option for any business-related website. It’s okay if you’re just using the site to play around with web design principles. But if you want a legitimate site with real visitors, you’ll need to upgrade to a premium Wix plan.

Now you’ll be able to use a custom domain name, either purchased directly through Wix or from a third-party domain registrar. If you don’t already have a domain, just get it from Wix. It’s easier to manage everything through a single platform.

Conclusion

Website design has really evolved over the years. What was once a major challenge or expensive venture for new site owners can now be accomplished with ease.

Website builders like Wix essentially eliminate the need to design websites from scratch.

Non-technical users and people with zero design experience can choose a template and populate their site with custom content. There’s no need to learn any web programming languages or hire a designer.

Sign up for Wix, follow the step-by-step process listed above, and you’ll have a professionally designed website in a matter of minutes. It’s that simple!

Complete House Flipping Guide: Practical Tips From A Seasoned Investor

So you’re thinking about getting into house flipping.

That’s understandable, especially since the nationwide median net margin on flips is around $32,371.

How many of these paychecks do you need per year to replace your current income?

That’s one of the benefits of house flipping over most other real estate investment strategies. Instead of providing gradual income like rent, flipping houses quickly generates large chunks of capital.

But don’t go and grab a sledgehammer and put in an offer on a dilapidated house just yet. There are several skills needed to flip houses – much more than being able to pick out color combinations or lay flooring.

While these are excellent skills to have, you also need to consider these questions:

Where will you find houses to flip?
How will you fund the purchase and rehab expenses?
How much work do you plan to do yourself?
Will you hire an agent to sell your flip or sell it yourself?

We’ve covered all of these questions as well as house flipping terms in this article so that you can learn what sets successful flippers apart from beginners.

Let’s get into it!

A House Flipping Definition

First off, what is house flipping exactly, and what does it entail? In its most traditional sense, flipping involves purchasing a house that needs repairs or updates, making renovations, and then selling it for a profit.

Each of these three stages of the flipping process must be approached thoughtfully in order to maximize profits. A mistake on one of them could eat into your return, or worse, jeopardize your profit completely.

Do You Need A License To Flip Houses?

Absolutely not. In fact, most real estate investors don’t have a real estate license.

Think about the three major steps of flipping houses.

While you will not have direct access to the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) without a real estate license, you can easily team up with an agent in your market to keep you up to date on the newest listings. Also, in a seller’s market, your best bet for finding profitable house flipping deals will be to look outside of the MLS (more on this later).

You definitely don’t need a real estate license to renovate a house. The only license relevant at this step is a general contractor’s license. Many counties require a contractor to pull permits before making significant modifications to a house. To determine what is needed, contact your local building and permit office. Even if they require a contractor’s license to obtain the necessary permits, it is almost always best to hire a contractor and allow them to handle all of the paperwork.

Once you’ve renovated a house and are ready to sell it, you are most likely to get top-dollar by listing it on the MLS. While doing this requires a real estate license, it is not necessary for you to be the one that lists it. Even though you can save thousands of dollars in agent commissions by handling this yourself, you must evaluate what you want to spend your time on. Most house flippers focus on the buying and renovating side and then pair up with a skilled real estate agent to sell their houses once they are remodeled.

What You Need to Do to Buy a Foreclosed House

There is a common saying in real estate investing, “You make your money when you buy.”

And there is a lot of truth to this saying. It is tough to come back from paying too much for a flip house. Conversely, buying a home with plenty of margin for renovation and profit will make the entire process go much smoother.

But how do you find houses with enough margin to flip?

One of the best ways is foreclosures.

A foreclosure occurs when a homeowner falls behind on their mortgage payments. Once the payments stack up to a certain amount, their lender decides to foreclose and sell the house to recover their money.

Because these sales often involve someone that is motivated to sell the house, whether it be the lender or the homeowner, they can often be purchased at a significant discount.

But to be successful, you must know where to buy a foreclosed home. Here are the three main methods.

Buying Houses in Pre-Foreclosure

The period between when the lender files a Notice of Default on a homeowner behind on payments and when the house is sold at a foreclosure auction is known as pre-foreclosure. This is often the best time for real estate investors to the house because discussions are typically solely between the buyer and seller. The only communication needed with the lender is to request a payoff statement. This will tell you how much it will take to satisfy the loan entirely, and in these cases, it often includes the principal balance, accrued interest from missed payments, and attorney fees from beginning the foreclosure process. Another perk to buying a house in pre-foreclosure is that this is the only time you can buy it without competing with other investors. When it goes to auction, anyone that wants it can come and bid on it.

Buying A House At A Foreclosure Auction

If the homeowner in foreclosure does not resolve the issue before the auction date, the house will be auctioned off to recoup the money owed to the lender. These auctions typically take place at the county courthouse. Sometimes they are held in a conference room, but they are often held on the courthouse steps. The bidding typically starts around the payoff amount. This is why it is better to buy the house before this point, because it can only be bid up from there. And that almost always happens.

There are three reasons why buying a house at a foreclosure auction is not recommended for a beginner investor.

It is often difficult to see the house before the auction, so you will usually be buying it sight unseen.
Prices often get bid to high prices, and rookie investors often get caught up in the hype and end up paying too much.
The attorney handling the auction will often require you to provide the funds for the purchase very quickly – usually the next day at the latest. This requires you to have cash available or access to another source of liquid capital.

Buying Bank-Owned Houses (REO)

Sometimes a house goes to a foreclosure auction, but no one is willing to pay what the bank is asking for it. In these cases, the house goes back to the bank, and it becomes what is known as an REO (Real Estate Owned). Banks do not want these properties on their books, so they will often turn around and list them with an agent shortly after the auction. If you are interested in trying to purchase an REO for your flip project, it is best to work with an agent that has experience with these transactions since negotiating with the bank can often be tricky.

House Flipping Tips and Strategies

There are several skills you must master to become a successful house flipper. Beyond that, there is a tremendous amount of knowledge that is only gained through experience and hard work. Here are the top house flipping tips and tricks that will significantly increase your success rate.

Market Research

Understanding your market is vital when running a house-flipping business. Are home prices increasing, or are they projected to fall soon? Is it more of a buyer’s or seller’s market? Only data can give you these answers. Here is the most critical information to gather when researching your market:

Number of houses on the market
Average number of homes sold per month
Average Days On Market (DOM)
Median Sales Price

Marketing For Deals

If your market is like most markets across the nation right now, it is a hot seller’s market, and finding a good deal is extremely difficult. But that doesn’t mean you should give up on your goal of flipping houses. It just means that you need to develop creative ways to locate profitable deals. This usually means finding houses to buy outside the traditional route of going through a buyer’s agent. Here are some ways to find off-market houses to buy:

Connect with wholesalers in your market
Direct mail – sending postcards to homeowners
Cold calling
Driving for dollars – Driving neighborhoods in search of distressed houses
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – Building a website that ranks on Google for search terms like “We Buy Houses [Your City]”

Negotiating With Sellers

Many people hear the word “negotiation,” and their heart begins racing. But you’ll be relieved to know that most real estate deals do not involve quite the level of bare-knuckle bargaining that you’re thinking.

Here is the number one secret to negotiating a profitable real estate deal: Help the seller with their problem.

Any successful real estate investor will tell you that in order to strike up a profitable deal, there must be some underlying motivation causing them to need to sell. This could be the condition of the house itself, financial stress, or any other number of life issues.

If you can solve these issues for someone by purchasing their house, it is much more likely that you will be able to get it for a reasonable price, and they will be happy that you were able to help them!

Evaluating Properties

Determining the right price to pay for a flip house has two components: Calculating what it will be worth after renovations and properly estimating the rehab expenses.

After Repair Value (ARV)

The After Repair Value, or ARV, is the estimated price the home will sell for after it is fixed up. It is calculated by figuring out the average price per square foot of nearby, similar homes that have recently sold and multiplying that value by the square footage of the house in consideration.

Estimating Rehab Expenses

The ARV and the repair expenses will be the two most significant factors in determining the appropriate purchase price to make your flipping project successful. To correctly estimate the costs to renovate a flip house, you must take special care when viewing it. This takes a very attentive eye. Even though issues aren’t glaringly obvious on your walkthrough, they will begin to show themselves once you start the project. Having a realistic rehab budget upfront will allow you to set the right purchase price and make the entire process go much more smoothly.

Two professionals who can help you estimate repair costs when starting out are a contractor and a home inspector. A contractor will be able to pick out things that need to be fixed and give you an estimate on how much it will all cost. A home inspector will perform a detailed inspection and find issues that are not detectable on a cursory walkthrough. Having these two professionals on your team is vital.

Finding Reliable Contractors

If you plan to complete one or two flip houses per year, you can probably get by doing the bulk of the renovations yourself. However, if you want to do much more than that, you will need to build a solid team of contractors. Even when doing a flip yourself, there will often be times that you must call in a contractor because the project is too complicated or it requires a permit. Here is a list of the most common contractors that you will need:

Roofer
HVAC Contractor
Plumber
Electrician
Painter
Drywall Contractor
Framer
Handyman

Where To Buy Inexpensive Materials

Although you will undoubtedly make many purchases at the big box stores during your flipping project, you should not solely depend on them for materials. There are likely other stores in your area that offer materials at much lower prices. Some ideas to look for are salvage warehouses and local building supplies. The most critical time to find these discounts is when you make large purchases, such as flooring for a large section of the house or kitchen cabinets. One discount you can often get from the big box stores is on appliances. They often mark down returned appliances significantly. Just be sure that there is nothing major wrong with them before buying them for your flip house.

Working With A Listing Agent

Although you could try to list the house yourself and save the money typically spent on agent commissions, it is generally not advised. Like with the rehab projects on a flip house, you must determine what is worth your time and what is better to delegate. The time you spend marketing your home and showing it to prospective buyers could be spent generating more deals.

Not only that, but juggling all of the queries and offers from potential buyers can be complicated. Mishandling this process could result in you leaving a significant amount of money on the table – much more than you would have paid an agent to sell your house. Finding an agent that knows your market well and is experienced in selling homes will result in a much smoother sales process and more money in your pocket.

What are the Most Helpful Skills Needed to Flip Houses?

To be a successful house flipper, you will need to develop quite a few skills. And don’t worry, they don’t all have to be perfected upfront. It will be more of a process where they improve as you complete more projects. But here are the skills you should be working on.

People Skills

Most people thinking about getting into house flipping immediately think they need to start watching HGTV shows to get design ideas and find the latest trends, but success in real estate investing is largely due to how you interact with people. If you can’t effectively communicate with a homeowner to diagnose the problems they are facing and present a solution that involves you buying their house, you will be hard-pressed to get started on your house-flipping journey. But if you can refine this skill and learn the right questions to ask, your possibilities as a house flipper are endless.

Must Be Organized

Once you purchase a house to begin renovating, keeping everything organized is vital. The first step is to lay out a detailed scope of work upfront. This will give you a clear path forward instead of your project evolving as you go. Having a scope of work will also allow you to determine the proper order of your renovations.

Secondly, you must maintain constant communication with your contractors to ensure they are on schedule. Many home improvement projects happen in series, meaning one task can’t begin until another is completed. For example, if your drywall guy is behind and takes an extra week to get to your project, your painter won’t be able to start on time and will have to fit you into the next opening in his schedule.

Lastly, you must keep a watchful eye on materials to ensure you and your contractors have everything needed for the project. Many items may need to be ordered, so it is unwise to wait until something is needed to go to the store and buy it.

Home Renovation Knowledge

Eventually, a house-flipping project comes down to making design decisions based on what is practical, affordable, and will improve the house’s value. It would be difficult to make these decisions and have intelligent conversations with contractors without basic knowledge of how houses are constructed. If you don’t have much experience with home renovation tasks, your best options will be to begin on smaller projects that only require cosmetic updates or partner with someone with more experience with construction.

Handyman Skills

Even if you decide to hire contractors for the bulk of the renovation tasks on your house, there will likely be some times when it makes the most sense for you to do something yourself. Here are the some of the most common handyman tasks when flipping a house:

Caulking and touch-up painting
Patching drywall
Changing light switches and outlets
Changing light fixtures
Laying flooring
Installing trim
Changing doors and door hardware
Installing a new toilet

Are You Ready To Get Started Flipping Houses?

House flipping can be a fantastic way to supplement your income or start a new career. However, as you’ve seen in this article, there is more to it than most people think. And these house flipping tips and tricks are just the tip of the iceberg. For more information on how to get started, check out this complete guide to flipping houses written by a professional house flipper. In addition to the topics we’ve covered here, his guide covers more info on funding deals, marketing, running numbers, and selecting appropriate upgrades for your project.

What are your favorite tips and tricks for successfully flipping a house? Let us know in the comments!

Jordan Fulmer is the owner of Momentum Property Solutions, a house buying company in Huntsville, AL. They specialize in buying houses in tough situations and renovating them to either sell or rent. Jordan also runs the SEO side of their business and regularly writes content about real estate investing, home improvement, SEO, and general real estate topics.

The post Complete House Flipping Guide: Practical Tips From A Seasoned Investor appeared first on Credit Suite.

5 Year Business Credit & Funding for House Flipping Guide

What is Our 5 Year Business Credit & Funding for House Flipping Guide All About?

It’s about finding business credit—and funding for house flipping. Your business has stages, and they all correspond to types of financing and business credit. We’ll get to those later.

Where Do You See Your House Flipping Business in Five Years or More?

Do you double your revenue? Replace your equipment? Hire people, or more people? Retire and pass your house flipping business along to a family member or sell the company? Something else?

Your House Flipping Business’s Plans and Future

All these scenarios for house flippers will require funding! Even going concerns with stable, steady revenue can experience emergencies, or need to seize a business opportunity quickly and before they have the funds. All businesses can use business credit to achieve their aims – whatever they are. But instead of year by year, let’s go phase by phase since there is some overlap in time. So even if you’ve already been through some phases, checking out the earlier phases could help you see if you missed anything. And if you’re just starting out, checking out the later phases could show you how to start flipping houses with financing in the future so you can be ready.

Phase 1: Setup and Launch

We have liftoff! Setting up a business is a task with a lot of moving parts. It’s a lot more than just saying you’re in business. The way the business is set up can directly affect the ability of your house flipping business to succeed. This first phase covers your first six to twelve months of existence.

Fundability

Fundability is a business’s ability to get funding. A lot of the power to get business money is in the hands of house flippers. A business starts with no credit profile. As a result, what’s on an application is all that’s reviewed for approvals. So your application must be very strong. Nearly half of all companies fail in their first 5 years, and about 2/3 in the first 10. As a result, new businesses don’t seem fundable to lenders. You can change that by building for fundability from the very start and get more funding for house flipping.

Business Name

Check with your Secretary of State –a business name may have to be unique. Make sure your SOS has all the necessary, up to date, and correct information for your company. Make sure that you are in good standing with them and that your entity is active. You will have to file annual reports and pay an annual fee to stay active.

Keep the name of a high-risk or restricted industry out of your business name. Your flipping business can be Amy’s rather than Amy’s Fix and Flip. There is nothing underhanded about this; it is completely legitimate and honest.

A common reason for loan and credit card application denials is the lender can’t easily locate a business offline or online. So make it painfully easy for lenders and credit providers to find your flipping business. Make sure the business name is exactly the same on corporation papers, licenses, utility statements, and bank statements. Also make sure the business name and all other information is the same on every online listing you can find.

Business Address

This must be a real brick and mortar building, a deliverable physical address. This can never be a UPS box or a PO Box. Some lenders will not approve and fund unless this criterion is met. A virtual address can also be a good idea if you need to hold a meeting or an interview, and it’s a lot more professional than doing this at your kitchen table. We like Regus, Davinci, and Alliance Virtual Offices. But keep in mind that we know of at least one credit issuer that will not accept virtual addresses.

Business Entity and EIN

Get a free EIN for your flipping business and choose your business entity at IRS.gov. Use your EIN to open a bank account and to build a business credit profile. To truly separate business credit from personal credit your business must be a separate legal entity, not a sole proprietor or partnership. Only incorporating creates a new and separate entity which by default will reduce your personal liability. Other entities (like partnerships) don’t. File this with the Secretary of State for your state. Make sure to set your entity up in the same state as your business address.

NAICS Codes

The IRS website is also where you choose NAICS codes, which are for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data on the US business economy. Per the NAICS, the 236118 code covers Residential Remodelers. This code also covers general contractors for home improvement.

The good news is, 236118 is not on the NAICS list of high risk and cash-intensive businesses. But that list is from 2014 and does not appear to have to been updated. It makes sense to err on the side of caution. Hence, to be on the safe side, it makes sense to keep the words like ‘flipping’ and ‘fix and flip’ out of the business name, as any industry with a low barrier to entry is bound to have higher risks than the norm.

Business Licenses

Contact State, County, and City Government offices to see if there are any necessary licenses and permits to operate your flipping business. Licensing requirements differ depending on state, town, and industry. Always make sure you have the proper licensing for your corporation. Being fully licensed builds credibility in your house flipping business, and that can help you get more customers.

Business Phone and 411 Listing

It’s quite easy and inexpensive to set up a virtual local phone number or a toll free 800 number. A cell or home phone number as your main business line could get you flagged as un-established – but VOIP is okay. If you don’t want customers calling you all day, do not use a personal cell phone as the business phone number.

It also helps with fundability to have a dedicated business phone number. Your number must have a listing with 411 for most credit issuers and lenders to approve you. Check for your record to see if you’re listed and your information is accurate. No record? Then use ListYourself.net to get a listing.

Web Domain and Professional Website

Lenders and credit providers will research your corporation on the internet. It is best if they learned everything directly from your corporate website. Not having a professional website can hurt your chances of getting corporate credit. Buy web hosting from a hosting company like GoDaddy or HostGator.

Your domain should be your business name, if possible. Add a company email address for your flipping business on the same domain as your website. This often comes with a website domain provider. This is not just professional; it also greatly helps your chances of getting approval from a credit provider. Do not use Yahoo, AOL, Gmail, Hotmail, or similar kinds of email.

Business Bank Account in the House Flipping Business’s Name

You must have a bank account devoted strictly to your flipping business. The IRS does not want you commingling funds. Make accounting easier and reduce the risk of audit at tax time. Keep personal and business funds separate. Having a business-only bank account makes that easy.

Get Set Up With the Business Credit Reporting Agencies

Go to D&B’s website and look for your business. Can’t find it? Then get a free D-U-N-S number on the D&B site. A D-U-N-S number plus 3 payment experiences leads to a PAYDEX score. You need a D-U-N-S number to start building business credit. Once you are in D&B’s system, search Experian and Equifax’s sites for your business.

Business Credit History

Get the most favorable funding by paying all bills on time. This way, you get:

A PAYDEX score of 80
Equifax Credit Risk Score of 90 or better
A good FICO SBSS score, which is driven (in part) by on-time payments and business credit history

For Experian, historical behavior (payment history) is 5-10% of the total score

Business Credit Building from the Ground Up

Start with vendor accounts, a proven way to start building business credit. Vendor credit is generally not attached to a bank. So under federal law a Social Security number is not necessary. When not attached to a bank, there is no Social Security requirement for starter vendor credit. This is unlike bank loans and bank cards. You can legitimately leave the SSN field blank, to force them to pull your business credit under your EIN.

Using Business Credit Vendors

Check out four of our favorite starter vendors for the house flipping industry:

Grainger
Marathon
Uline
Home Depot Pro Institutional

Grainger

They report to D&B. They work with more than 1,300 suppliers. Grainger sells electrical products, fleet maintenance, HVACR, hardware, janitorial, power tools, pumps, and more. If a business doesn’t have an established credit, they will require additional documents. like accounts payable, income statement, balance sheets, etc. There is no minimum order amount necessary to report but Grainger does prefer for a business to have at least a $50 payment history. Apply online or over the phone. Terms: Net 30.

To qualify, you need:

Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
EIN number with IRS
Business address (matching everywhere)
D-U-N-S number
Flipping business license(s), if applicable
Business Bank account
Business registered with the Secretary of State for at least 60 days

Marathon

Marathon Petroleum Company provides transportation fuels, asphalt, and specialty products throughout the United States. Their product line supports commercial, industrial, and retail operations. Marathon is under the Wex umbrella. This card reports to Dun & Bradstreet and Experian. Before applying for multiple accounts with WEX Fleet cards, make sure to have enough time in between applying so they don’t red-flag your account for fraud.

To qualify, you need:

Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
EIN number with IRS
Business address- matching everywhere.
D-U-N-S number
Flipping business license(s), if necessary
And a business bank account
Business phone number with a listing in 411
Good D&B PAYDEX score of 80 or higher

Must also have a good Experian business credit score. Your SSN is necessary for informational purposes. If concerned they will pull your personal credit talk to their credit department before applying. You can provide a $500 deposit instead of using a personal guarantee if you’ve been in business less than a year. Apply online or over the phone. Also, their terms are Net 15.

Uline

Uline is a distributor of shipping, industrial, and packing materials, and industrial and janitorial products. 99.5% of Uline’s orders ship the same day, with no backorders. This card reports to: D&B and Experian.

To qualify, you need the following:

Corporate entity must be in good standing with the applicable Secretary of State
An EIN
Company address matching everywhere
D-U-N-S number from Dun & Bradstreet
Your Flipping business license(s), if necessary
A business bank account
Business phone number with a listing in 411

Uline prefers that a business has a good credit profile with D&B, but this is not necessary. Your application may get approval for net 30 at the time of order. But upon final review, their credit department may change to a few prepaid orders before granting a net 30. Apply by creating an account first, then place an order and select Net 30 terms. Their credit department will then review the account. Also, their terms are Net 30.

Home Depot Pro Institutional

Home Depot Pro is a single-source supplier for facilities maintenance supplies, including everything from cleaning and janitorial supplies and PPE to plumbing parts and lighting products. If in business for less than 1 year, they require at least 2 prepaid orders using their credit cards over the course of 90 days. Must be an active web customer for 90 days to apply for Net 30. No minimum order necessary.

They will not accept virtual addresses. You should be in business at least 1 year to qualify. Reports to Experian. Also, their terms are Net 30.

To qualify, you need the following:

Your corporate entity must be in good standing with the applicable Secretary of State
An EIN
Company address matching everywhere
D-U-N-S number from Dun & Bradstreet
Your Flipping business license(s), if necessary
A business bank account
Trade and bank references

Business Credit Building with Credit Cards with a PG

Every step and every credit provider is designed to help your house flipping business. It’s meant to help you qualify for business credit cards that you will actually use. As you continue building, your time in business will help. But to get started, you may need to give a PG. That’s okay; that’s a part of the strategy.

PG (Personal Guarantee) Financing

According to Investopedia, a personal guarantee is:

“an individual’s legal promise to repay credit issued to a business for which they serve as an executive or partner. Providing a personal guarantee means that if the business becomes unable to repay the debt, the individual assumes personal responsibility for the balance. Personal guarantees provide an extra level of protection to credit issuers who want to make sure they will be repaid.”

When you provide a PG, you are adding your Social Security number to the application. You should expect a hard inquiry. You’re also adding the details of your personal income to the application.

Good Personal Credit and Funding for House Flipping

If you already have good personal credit, then you’re all set. But if not, you can work with a credit partner or guarantor. And never stop working to improve your personal credit, no matter what shape it’s in.

Phase 1 Funding for House Flipping Option: Our Credit Line Hybrid

A credit line hybrid is a form of unsecured funding. Our credit line hybrid has an even better interest rate than a secured loan. Get some of the highest loan amounts and credit lines for businesses. Get 0% business credit cards with stated income. These report to business CRAs so you can build business credit at the same time. This will get you access to even more cash with no PG. You need a FICO credit score of at least 680 or a guarantor with good credit to get an approval. No financials necessary.

Phase 1 Funding for House Flipping Option: 401(k) Financing

This is not a loan, and you will not have to pay an early withdrawal fee or a tax penalty. You put the money back by contributing, just like with any 401(k) program so you won’t lose your retirement funds. The IRS calls this a Rollover for Business Startups (ROBS), which is a separate entity with its own set of requirements. The plan, through its company stock investments, rather than the individual owns the trade or business.

This financing isn’t a loan against, your 401(k), so there’s no interest to pay and does not use the 401(k) or stocks as collateral. Instead, this is simply a movement or change of custodian. our 401(k) must have more than $35,000 in it and cannot be from a business where you are currently employed. You can get 401(k) financing even with severely challenged personal credit.

Phase 1 Funding for House Flipping Option: Stocks Financing

Some lenders will make loans using securities as collateral. Securities-based lending provides ready access to capital. The only restrictions to this kind of lending are other securities-based transactions, like buying shares or repaying a margin loan. You continue to earn interest on stocks pledged as collateral. But you will have challenged personal credit.

Phase 1 Funding for House Flipping Option: Sell Part of Your Flipping Business’s Equity

Your fix and flip business and its potential are assets. Talk to people you know about angel investing. Angels buy a smallish stake in your company. They usually don’t expect as big a return as venture capitalists do. VCs might also buy a stake, but they generally just want paradigm-changing businesses. Most house flipping companies won’t fill the bill unless your take on the industry is utterly unique. Another way to sell a part of your equity is to take on another founder or partner.

Phase 1 Funding for House Flipping Option: Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding success has no guarantees. Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter will take a percentage of any money you raise. But it can still be a way to get a cash infusion without having to give up equity. If you’re particularly good online and have a compelling service and story, then you’re more likely to succeed than most people. And it can be a way to start flipping houses with no money.

Phase 1 Funding for House Flipping Option: Grants

Grants can come from the government or private businesses. Expect a lot of competition, difficult entry requirements, and not a lot of money. But it’s another way to get some cash without having to sell a chunk of your flipping business. You may find there are few grants for the flipping industry, but you may be able to score grants based on the kind of entrepreneur you are, e. g. female, disabled, LGBTQ+, etc. Also check under terms like gentrification and rehabilitation.

Phase 1 Goals for Credit and Funding for House Flipping

Right now, you have minimal Growth Monthly Revenue (GMR). This is a fast paced growth house flipping business plan, throw it against the wall and take what you can get right now. Look at some short sighted daily and weekly goals for quick cash and growth. During this phase, your focus is on the bare essentials to create a viable business. Your goal is to build your consistent revenue to $10,000 per month and continue to work to improve your personal credit.

Phase 2 Development: $1,000 to $10,000 GMR

In Phase 2, start developing marketing Now you’re at an aggressive sales pace adding nurture and longer sales cycles. Use medium term monthly growth planning (campaign to campaign). It’s time for software implementation and system development. You’re building the blocks of how your flipping business is going to be, now and in the future. This phase should run somewhere between the first six to 24 months from launch.

Phase 2 Credit Options

Your credit options will increase once you get to Phase 2, including:

Business credit cards (No PG)
Advanced vendors
Vehicle financing
Tier 2 business credit
Cash flow management with providers like Brex and Divvy

Business Credit Cards With No Personal Guarantee

As you continue to build exceptional business credit and pay your bills on time, credit providers trust you even more. You can get higher limits and better terms. And you can start to get business credit cards with no PG.

No PG Financing

With no PG financing, you can get higher limits and better terms. Continue building exceptional business credit and pay your bills on time. In general, the following will reduce the need to provide a PG for this type of house flipping financing:

Good business credit
A decent amount of time in business or
Good personal credit

Much like with any other kind of business borrowing, the more assurances you can give the lender, the better.

Advanced Vendors

There are many vendors who do not report to the business credit reporting agencies unless you default. But they’re still a good idea, because credit can help you beyond business credit building. Not having to put up 100% of the costs of equipment or a building or anything else can help with budgeting. Credit can sometimes be the only way to take advantage of a limited time opportunity if you don’t have the money right now. And if your business credit cards offer rewards, cash back, or points, then using them is to your advantage.

Vehicle Financing for Funding for House Flipping

Vehicle financing is a great way to get a pickup truck or other business vehicle without having to wait until you can just pay cash and drive it off the lot. Note: it may be necessary for business owners to personally guarantee vehicle loans. If you are a co-borrower, the loan will most likely report to your personal credit report. Some loans have a prepayment penalty and charge you for paying ahead. It is a good idea to have a loan proposal. A loan proposal should detail your flipping business, loan needs, and financial statements. Here are a couple of vehicle financing choices from us.

Ford Commercial Vehicle Financing Through Credit Suite

Ford offers several commercial vehicle financing options. These include loans, lines, and leases to actual business entities. This is not for sole proprietorships. Get a loan or a lease.

Ford may ask for a PG if you don’t get approval on the merit of your application. Apply at the dealership. Ford will report to D&B, Experian, and Equifax.

To qualify, you need:

Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
EIN number with IRS
Business address- matching everywhere
D-U-N-S number
Flipping business license(s), if necessary
And a business bank account
Strong business credit history
At least 1 year in business
Must have a good Experian business credit score, good Equifax business credit score, and PAYDEX of 80+

Ally Car Financing Through Credit Suite

Ally provides personal financing. But they will also report to business credit bureaus. If your flipping business qualifies for financing without the owner’s guarantee, you can get financing in the business name only. Ally will report to D&B, Experian, and Equifax.

Ally Commercial Line of Credit

To qualify, you need:

Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
EIN number with IRS
Business address- matching everywhere
D-U-N-S number
Flipping business license(s), if necessary
And a business bank account
Bank reference
Fleet financing references
Good PAYDEX of 80+

If you provide a PG, Ally will not report to the personal credit bureaus unless the account defaults.

Ally Commercial Vehicle Financing

Get a lease or a loan. To qualify, you need most of the same things as you need for an Ally Commercial Line of Credit, except for a bank reference and fleet financing references. There is no minimum time in business requirement. Apply in person only, dealer will advise if you’ll get approval or if a PG is necessary.

Tier 2 Business Credit

With at least 3 Tier 1 vendors reporting, Tier 2 starts to open up. Here are five of our favorite Tier 2 vendors to help you with your house flipping business:

Quill
United Rentals
Home Depot
Northern Tool
Amazon

Quill

Quill sells office supplies, cleaning supplies, handheld computers, and more. If not given a Net 30 they will ask for prepaid orders of $100. Normally any prepaid order will not report but you need them to get a Net 30 account. Net 30 accounts require a $50 purchase to report. Sometimes an order is shipped, and the customer thinks they have approval, but this may not be the case.

New businesses or businesses with no credit history with D&B may need to prepay purchases for 3 consecutive months until Net 30 approval. It can take Quill’s credit department approximately 3 hours to process an application. Reports to D&B. Also, their terms are Net 30. Apply over the phone.

To qualify, you need:

Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
EIN number with IRS
Business address- matching everywhere
D-U-N-S number
Flipping business license(s), if necessary
And a business bank account
At least 3 trade or credit references
PAYDEX of 80+
At least 3-5 trade accounts reporting on D&B credit report
At least 6 months in business

United Rentals

United is the largest equipment rental company in the world. Reports to Equifax. Apply online or at a local store. Also, their terms are Net 30 or Net 45.

No minimum time in business is necessary. No minimum purchase to report. Need an established business credit history (good Equifax business credit score) to have the option to apply without a PG. If Equifax business score is low, a PG is necessary.

To qualify, you need:

Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
EIN number with IRS
Business address- matching everywhere
D-U-N-S number
Flipping business license(s), if necessary
And a business bank account

Home Depot

Home Depot offers a wide range of home improvement products. They offer both a pay in full and a revolving option. Reports to D&B, Experian, and Equifax. Apply online or at the store. Terms: Commercial Account (Pay In Full Terms) -Net 30 or Net 60; Commercial Revolving Charge Account -Revolving.

To qualify for either option, you need:

Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
EIN number with IRS
Business address- matching everywhere
D-U-N-S number
Flipping business license(s), if necessary
And a business bank account
Business phone number with a listing in 411
Must have a good Experian business credit score and PAYDEX score of 80 or higher

Additional Terms Specific to Each Option

For pay in full terms, you also need:

They like to see at least 2 accounts reporting, but will look at the merit of your overall application
At least 3 years in the business
You can request Net 60 after account is established. If not enough business credit history or you have been in business for less than 3 years, a PG is necessary

For revolving terms, you also need:

No minimum time in business is necessary
But a PG is necessary

Northern Tool

Offers a wide selection of products—from consumer goods to industrial and construction equipment—to do-it-yourselfers, contractors, and professional shops. Reports to D&B and Experian. Apply online or at a branch. Also, their terms are Net 30.

To qualify, you need:

Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
EIN number with IRS
Business address- matching everywhere
D-U-N-S number
Flipping business license(s), if necessary
And a business bank account
Business phone number with a listing in 411
Bank references
Trade/credit references
PAYDEX score of 80 or higher and good business Experian credit score
At least 3 years in business
If you don’t get approval based on business credit history or in business for less than 3 years, they may ask for a PG.

Amazon

You can get nearly anything at Amazon—including materials to stage finished homes for sale. Reports to D&B and Equifax. Apply online. Also, their terms are Net 55.

No minimum time in business if strong business credit history. You should have at least 2 years in business. Amazon will pull business credit reports to make sure there is some established business credit history. Must have a good PAYDEX score of 80 or higher and a good Equifax business credit score. If a company has been in business for more than 2 years but does not have an established business credit history, a PG is recommended but not necessary. It may increase the likelihood of approval and is recommended if you have a young or small business, and not enough business credit history.

To qualify, you need:

Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
EIN number with IRS
Business address- matching everywhere
D-U-N-S number
Flipping business license(s), if necessary
And a business bank account
Business phone number with a listing in 411

Cash Flow Management

Managing small business finances can be overwhelming. There are several tools that can help streamline the process. Options like Brex, Divvy, Expensify, Lola, and more are growing in popularity. Which one is right for your fix and flip business?

Brex and Divvy

Brex and Divvy are business money management systems that integrate with your accounting software. You can track expenses and, depending on the level of service you choose, can also help with paying bills and controlling spending. Also, Brex has a partnership with the FDIC and your funds are secure.

Virtually everyone that opens a Brex cash account gets a corporate card. Brex reports any payments to Dun & Bradstreet. Divvy reports to the Small Business Finance Exchange, which in turn provides data to all SBFE partners, including business credit bureaus.

Phase 2 Options for Funding for House Flipping

In Phase 2, your funding options also multiply, to add:

Merchant cash advances
Revenue lending
Lines of credit (Fundbox)
Equipment financing/leasing
Invoice factoring

Merchant Cash Advances

MCAs technically aren’t fix and flip loans; it’s a cash advance based on the credit card sales of a business. A small business can apply for an MCA, and have an advance deposited into its account quickly. So you can offer Net 30 terms but not have to wait a month to get paid. With an MCA you get funding based strictly on cash flow as verifiable per business bank statements. A lender mainly just wants to see consistent deposits.

Business Revenue Lending for Funding for House Flipping

You can technically qualify with only one year in business, but the annual revenue requirement is high enough that phase 2 may make more sense. You can raise capital from investors who get a percentage of the enterprise’s ongoing gross revenues in exchange for money invested until a predetermined amount is paid. Often this predetermined amount is between 3 – 5 times the original amount invested. Monthly payments will fluctuate with revenue highs and lows and will continue until you’ve paid back the loan to flip a house in full.

Fundbox

Fundbox will connect directly to your online accounting software when deciding whether to fund your flipping business. They will auto debit your weekly payment from your bank account. But Fundbox does not report to the business credit reporting agencies.

You need to have:

Accounting software you have used for at least 2 months with at least 6 invoices
A business checking account
Active business checking account for 3+ months with 30+ transactions
Annual Revenue of $100,000 or more
A FICO score of 600 and up with Experian

Equipment Financing

Use a loan or lease to purchase or borrow hard assets for your flipping business. Physical assets can include items such as a pickup truck or a laptop. Pay predictable amounts every month. You can build business credit on a program like this.

Equipment Leasing

Or lease equipment, rather than buy it outright. You will often put down less money than you would if you were buying the equipment. You may be able to negotiate flexible terms with an equipment lease, and it’s easy to upgrade equipment after your lease ends. This is helpful if your equipment is something like a computer which quickly becomes obsolete.

Equipment Sale-Leaseback

If you already own your equipment free and clear you can use that as collateral for financing. Sell equipment to a lender for cash. Then lease it back from them. You can unlock Section 179 tax savings, and depreciate your entire equipment purchase in the first year. You’ll need at least one larger piece of higher value equipment to qualify. A pickup truck should do nicely.

Invoice Factoring

If you have open invoices and are extending credit to customers in some form, then you can get paid faster with factoring. Usually this involves invoices with net terms, like net 30, 60, or 90. To be paid faster, you turn those invoices over to a factoring company. They immediately give you an agreed upon percentage of the total of the invoices, like 80%. When your customer pays, the factoring company keeps their fee, and they send you the rest. But keep in mind – factoring only works if your customers pay.

Phase 2 Goals for Credit and Funding

Strong business credit (10 to 12 Accounts). Good personal credit will always help. Build consistent revenue to $10,000 or more a month. Always develop business connections in your community and with potential lenders.

Phase 3: Growth: $10,000 to $2 Million GMR

Successful growth…it’s working! It’s time to start optimizing systems and operations. So, you’ll be undergoing massive team and infrastructure development, and long term growth and planning for semi-annual to annual focus lifetime customer value. You’ll need to make some high level strategic hires (Managers, VP’s, Essential C levels). This phase will happen at about 24 months or more from launch.

Phase 3 Credit Options

Your Phase 3 credit options put your Phase 1 and Phase 2 options on steroids, with:

Team access to vendors and cards
Continue to buy pickup trucks and other vehicles with vehicle financing
Vendor Portfolio Growth

Phase 3 Options for Funding for House Flipping

Phase 3 opens your funding options up to:

All Alternative options available
SBA Loans
Bank Loans
Tier 3 and Tier 4 Business Credit

Alternative Options

Alternative lending can mean online lending. For certain industries, online lending is one of the only ways to get money. Before you dip into your savings, investigate house flipping business lending. Because lenders that specialize in the fix and flip industry lending are out there.

SBA Loans

More time in business will make SBA loans a real possibility for your flipping business. It’ll be easier to get an SBA loan in Phase 3 versus earlier. This is because you can more readily show your fix and flip business is established and making money. Demonstrated profitability and responsible credit and bank account management will improve your chances of getting an approval for an SBA loan. SBA loans have great terms. There’s a reason why you should be striving to be eligible for one.

Bank Loans for Funding for House Flipping

Banks are often the first place we think of when we think of financing. But big banks only sign off on about 25% of the small business loan applications that come their way. Term loans often have lower interest rates than many other funding options. Also, they also tend to be for higher loan amounts. But you will most likely have to undergo a personal credit check and/or provide collateral.

Phase 3 Goals for Credit and Funding for House Flipping

In Phase 3, your mission is to take your flipping business to the next financial level, so your goals are:

Profitability (to calculate loans for flipping houses)
Maintaining good personal and business credit
Build up to $2,000,000 in annual gross revenue
Maximizing leverage of cash flow with vendors and business credit

Grow Your Vendor Portfolio with Tier 3 Business Credit

Buy everything from office supplies to power tools. Vendors will check whether your business information is uniform everywhere. They will also check if your flipping business is properly and thoroughly licensed (if necessary). Also, terms can be revolving. You will need at least 6 (more is always better) accounts reporting to the business CRAs.

Here are two Tier 3 vendors we love:

TSC Tractor Supply
Kleer Card

You will generally need some time in business before you can get approval.

TSC Tractor Supply

Buy tools and hardware, home goods, and more. Reports to D&B and Equifax. Apply online or at the store. Also, their terms are revolving.

You must have trade accounts reporting to all 3 major business credit bureaus for at least 3 years. Must have a good Experian business score and a good PAYDEX score of 80 or higher. Also, you must have a good Equifax business credit score. If any above criteria is not met, a PG may be necessary. Providing a guarantee may increase the likelihood of approval and is recommended if you have a young or small business.

To qualify, you need:

Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
EIN number with IRS
Business address (matching everywhere)
D-U-N-S number
Flipping business license(s), if applicable
Business Bank account
At least 3 years in business

Kleer Card

Kleer Card helps with expense tracking, controls and issuing of credit cards all on one platform. Get accounting solutions for your flipping business. No PG necessary. Reports to D&B, Experian, and Equifax. Apply online or over the phone. Also, their terms are Net 7.

To qualify, you need:

Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
Business credit history
EIN number with IRS
Business address (matching everywhere)
D-U-N-S number
Flipping business license(s), if applicable
Business Bank account
Bank references
Average bank balance of at least $15,000

Grow Your Vendor Portfolio with Tier 4 Business Credit

To get to Tier 4 means you have at least 9 accounts reporting. Terms can be revolving. To ensure that your vendor’s report your payments, make a purchase of $50 or more. Also, there may be a minimal time in business requirement.

Here are 3 Tier 4 vendors we love:

Sam’s Club
Sutherlands
Menards

Sam’s Club

Sam’s Club offers office supplies, business furniture, janitorial/cleaning supplies, paper products, computers, and more. Reports to D&B, Experian, and Equifax. Apply at the store. Also, terms are revolving.

To get approval without a PG, it helps to have $5 million in annual sales or revenues and/or at least 2 years in business, and/or more than 10 employees. A PG is necessary if your company is a sole proprietorship or partnership. Cash advance available with business credit card approval, amount of cash advance depends upon approval amount.

To qualify, you need:

Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
EIN number with IRS
Business address (matching everywhere)
D-U-N-S number
Flipping business license(s), if applicable
Business Bank account
Business phone number with a listing in 411
Must have club membership
Must have a good PAYDEX score of 80 or higher

Sutherlands

The Sutherland Lumber Company specializes in complete building packages, including storage sheds, garages, post frame buildings and pole barns, and entire houses. You have the option to apply with business liability only, Sutherlands will advise if you get approval, or a PG is necessary. Also, if you don’t get approval based on business credit history, a PG is necessary. Reports to D&B. Apply online or at the store. Also, their terms are revolving.

To qualify, you need:

Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
EIN number with IRS
Business address (matching everywhere)
D-U-N-S number
Flipping business license(s), if applicable
Business bank account
Business phone number with a listing in 411
Good PAYDEX of 80+

Menards

Menards offers a complete selection of name brand merchandise, tools, materials and supplies for all home improvement needs. Their Commercial Credit card has no annual fee and its own line of credit. You will need strong business credit history with good PAYDEX score of 80 or higher and a good Experian business credit score. You must have at least 3 years in business. If your business is a nonprofit corporation, corporation or LLC, a PG is necessary if the business is less than 3 years old. Reports to D&B and Experian. Apply online or at the store. Also, their terms are Net 30 or Net 50.

To qualify, you need:

Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
EIN number with IRS
Business address (matching everywhere)
D-U-N-S number
Flipping business license(s), if applicable
Business Bank account
Business phone number with a listing in 411
Trade/credit references

Phase 4: Maturity: $2M to 5M+ Annual Income

Consistent growth is key. You’re aiming for long term consistent and stable growth and moving toward market domination (Competitor Buyouts and Acquisitions). Product development and expansion becomes critical for longevity. Now it’s time for the big hire. You’re going to fill out C Level, Directors, and middle management. Yes, your flipping business can become this big! This phase will happen at around four to five years from launch.

Phase 4 Credit Options

By Phase 4, the sky is pretty much the limit! You should be able to get:

Most major credit cards with no PG
All vendors should be accessible

And you should be able to leverage reports for specific vendors. This also includes asking for a credit line.

Phase 4 Options for Funding for House Flipping

In addition to everything we’ve already talked about, your house flipping business can potentially take full advantage of private equity and/or investors. You might even sell shares in your corporation or go public!

Phase 4 Goals for Credit and Funding for House Flipping

Now you’re playing the long game. Your mission is to look to the future and help your flipping business for decades to come. Therefore, you need to balance your costs vs your cash flow vs your business’s profit. And you need to leverage funding for expansions and buyouts. Also, you should be maximizing leverage of cash flow with vendors and business credit.

Phase 5: Exit

By this time, your business should be very well established. At this phase, you want to cash in on all the work you have invested. This is where the funding and credit has the long game return. A Business Credit Portfolio is transferable and increases the value of your fix and flip business.

Your proven track record with merchant cash advances or revenue lending pays off big time, since it can keep business cash flow moving through the ups and downs. Having a proven track record with the SBA, and a profitable banking relationship, will improve the value of your flipping business as well. People want to buy something they can lend against if they need to.

Phase 5 Options for Funding for House Flipping

Selling can mean you’re retiring, or maybe you’re exchanging one form of entrepreneurship for another and want to change industries yet remain an entrepreneur. In Phase 5, you can:

Self-fund the sale in structured buy outs
Go to the SBA for acquisition money

In essence, you should be prepared to sign for your own buyout. A profitable, seasoned flipping business can be an exceptionally valuable legacy.

Your 5 Year Business Credit and Funding for House Flipping Guide: Takeaways

Your financing and credit options will change, from your startup to your exit. It may be tricky to navigate the nuances. Let us work with you–we’ve got the design!

The post 5 Year Business Credit & Funding for House Flipping Guide appeared first on Credit Suite.

Your Guide to Small Business Lending Trends In 2022

It’s no secret the past two years have wrought havoc on the economy. Workers were laid off in droves. Small businesses suffered. Now, with things starting to get back on track, many displaced employees have found their own entrepreneurial spirit. As a result, they are looking to start their own business. In fact, it’s being dubbed “The Great Resignation,” and it’s going to turn small business lending on its head.

What’s Ahead for Business Lending

Many of these displaced employees are in the 30—45 age range. While some are looking for other employment, many are considering starting a business. Of course, this age range typically does not yet have a huge retirement plan, or a lot of savings at all for that matter. As a result, the demand for small business financing is going to increase greatly.

Whether you are ready to start a business or already own one, there are some things you need to know about small business lending in the new year.

Interest Rates Are On the Rise

Everyone is saying it, and they’re right. Sadly, interest rates are rising. Thankfully, throughout the pandemic the Fed kept the rate low. Obviously, it was an effort to counteract all the other crazy things happening in the economy. Now, it’s becoming obvious that a correction will be needed.

It’s time to pay the piper, and the Fed is considering rate hikes as early as this year. What does that mean for small business lending? If you need business funding, or think you may need it in the future, now’s the time to jump on a loan or a line of credit.

Inflation is Coming Fast and Furious

Here is another reason to make sure you secure funding as soon as possible. Inflation is imminent. In fact, according to comments made to CNBC by Fed President James Bullard, it’s coming sooner than expected:

“… we were expecting a good year, a good reopening. But this is a bigger year than we w

ere expecting, more inflation than we were expecting.”

It’s already started, and it always gets worse before it gets better. Make sure you have access to funds now, before it costs you more to get them. Then, when you start to feel the squeeze of inflation, you have what you need.

Regulations Aren’t Likely to Change Much

Even though small business funding options are increasing, it’s not likely the industry will see tighter regulations soon. Business owners will still have to find their own reliable and affordable funding.

This is where the services of one of the business credit specialists at Credit Suite can be especially helpful. These specialists have their finger on the pulse of the small business lending industry. They can help borrowers make informed decisions based on that knowledge.

The SBA Will Likely Play a Much Smaller Role

The Small Business Administration has had a tough couple of years as well. This is due mostly to the fiasco that ensued with the Paycheck Protection Program. A good idea that must be rushed is virtually guaranteed to have problems. The SBA was directly in the line of fire.

They are working to rectify it, but their role in small business lending will likely be smaller in 2022 than it has been in the past.

Online Lenders Aren’t Going Anywhere

Not only are online lenders sticking around, but they will continue to offer more options as their role in business lending continues to grow.

The demand for business funding services that are less stringent when it comes to approval processes is stronger than ever. There are plenty of alternative small business lenders standing ready to fill the gap.

According to the 2019 Small Business Credit Survey 32% of small business applicants used online lenders, and that was before the pandemic. That number is very likely to grow in the coming year for a number of reasons. First, online lenders are typically more flexible. Also, they tend to offer a wider range of funding solutions, including:

Furthermore, they are usually faster and more efficient. Not only do borrowers get faster approval, but they typically gain access to funds faster as well. Not to mention, you can apply for funding with just a few taps on a keyboard.

It’s likely that this year and in the years to come, online lenders and other fintech companies will continue to provide lending solutions to small businesses.

Online Lender Examples

There are a lot of well established online lenders out there, and new ones are popping up everyday. Be sure to vet each one carefully, and double check details before you apply, because they can change often. We have reviews on a number of them to help.

Here are a few you can start with:

With all of these choices, we highly recommend that you check their websites directly for the most recent qualifying and term details, as these can change over time.

Credit Line Hybrid

If you need more of an alternative loan option rather than an alternative lender, a credit line hybrid may be a good option. This is a form of unsecured funding, and the Credit Suite Credit Line Hybrid has an even better interest rate than a secured loan. In fact, it can sometimes be as low as 0% for the first few months.

It’s a credit card stacking program, and many of the cards report to business CRAs. That means, you can build business credit and access cash for your business with no personal guarantee.

You do need a good credit score, or a guarantor with good credit, to get an approval. The minimum FICO is 680. There are no financials required, and you can often get up to $150,000. It is important to note also, some cards may report on your personal credit.

Fundability, Including Business Credit, Will Be As Important as Ever

With increasing demand and competition for all types of business lending, building strong fundability will be increasingly important. Part of strong fundability is having a good business credit score. There are many ways to build your business credit score.

You need help from someone with inside knowledge of the industry and relationships with the vendors and lenders that can help you build your business credit. This makes the whole process go faster and keeps frustration to a minimum. A free consultation with a Credit Suite Business Credit Specialist is a great place to start.

The post Your Guide to Small Business Lending Trends In 2022 appeared first on Credit Suite.

2022 Guide to Fundability and a Fundable Definition

The new year is a great time to review fundability. To do that, it’s important to have a fundable definition that you understand. Essentially, fundability is the current ability of your business to get funding. There are 125 factors that affect fundability. Some of them you can control, and some of them you can’t. Having a fundable business means you can get the funding you need for your business, when you need it.

Fundable Definition: A Fundable Business Has a Foundation of Fundability

The way your business is set up lays down the foundation for fundability. This includes a number of factors.

Business Name

First, keep the name of a high-risk industry out of your business name. Maybe try Bobby’s instead of Bobby’s Gas Station. This will help prevent early denial from a lender that only sees the “gas station” part.

Another common reason for credit denials is that the lender can’t easily locate a business. So, name your business in a way that makes it easy to find both online and offline. The name on your application should be exactly the same as what is online and on your Secretary of State paperwork.

It also needs to be the same everywhere else. This includes corporation papers, licenses, utility statements, and bank statements. In fact, all business information needs to be consistent. That means, if you change your business name, you have to be sure to change it everywhere.

Even the smallest details make a difference. If you use an ampersand in one place and the word “and” in another, you are going to run into issues. If you hyphenate your last name on one document, then you do not on another, a red flag will go up.

Business Address

Next, your business address needs to be a physical address where you can receive mail. Do not use a UPS box or a PO Box. A virtual address may work if you need to hold a meeting or an interview. In fact, it’s a lot more professional than meeting at your kitchen table. Still, not all credit providers will accept a virtual address.

EIN

Get a free EIN for your business at IRS.gov. This is an identifying number for your business similar to your personal SSN. Use your EIN to open a bank account and to build a business credit profile.

Business Entity

It’s important to incorporate. Incorporating creates a separate business entity, thereby adding a layer of protection between your business’s debts and actions and you. It doesn’t matter if you choose to do so as an S-corp, LLC, or C corporation when it comes to fundability. Work with an attorney or tax professional to figure out which option will work best for your budget and need for liability protection.

Business Phone and 411 Listing

For fundability purposes, you need a separate, dedicated business phone number. A separate number keeps your family from accidentally answering a business call, and it means your listing will have the name of your business and not your own. It should be listed with 411. Many credit providers actually require this.

Toll-free phone numbers are best. Lenders see them as a sign of business credibility. Thankfully, it’s very easy and inexpensive to set up a virtual local phone number or a toll free 800 number. Don’t use your personal cell or home number. Instead, have your business number forward to your personal number. It’s also easy, and perfectly fine, to use VoIP.

Business Licenses

Make sure you know what the licensing requirements are for your business at both the state and local levels.

Web Domain and Professional Website

Lenders and credit providers will research your corporation on the internet. Consequently, it is best if they learn everything directly from your business website. Not having a website can hurt your chances of getting business credit.

The website needs to be well put together and user friendly. If you can’t make it look professional, pay to have it professionally designed. It’s also important to pay for web hosting. Do not use a free service.

Along the same lines, you need a company email address for your business that has the same domain as your website. This is more professional than a free service URL such as Gmail or Yahoo. It also greatly helps your chances of getting approval from a credit provider.

Business Bank Account

You must have a separate business bank account. The IRS frowns on mixing business funds and personal funds anyway. Separate accounts make it easier to keep funds separate. Beyond that, the date you open your business bank account is the day that lenders consider your first day of business.

As a result, if you opened a business bank account yesterday, your business started yesterday. That’s the case regardless of how long you have actually been in business. Time in business is a major factor for credit providers when it comes to approvals, so this is important.

A separate business bank account also means you can sign up for a merchant account, so you can take credit cards. Study upon study has shown that people will spend more if they are using credit rather than cash.

Get Set Up With the Business Credit Reporting Agencies

You’ll need a D-U-N-S number. You can get one for free on the Dun & Bradstreet website. You cannot have a business credit score with D&B without this number. Since they are the largest and most commonly used business credit reporting agency, a D-U-N-S number is essential.

Once you are in D&B’s system, search Experian and Equifax’s sites for your business as well. You’ll have an identification number from Experian as well. It’s called a BIN, but Experian assigns that number. You do not have to apply.

The Foundation is What You Can Control

You can control the way your business is set up. That’s good, because it is a huge piece of fundability. In contrast, the rest of the factors that affect fundability are not quite as controllable.

Still, you have to understand exactly what else affects the fundability of your business if you hope to get a handle on it.

Fundable Definition of Other Business Data Agencies

There are other business data agencies that affect reports indirectly. This is in addition to the business credit reporting agencies that directly calculate and issue credit reports.

Two examples of this are LexisNexis and The Small Business Finance Exchange. These agencies gather data from a variety of sources, including public records. They even have access to information relating to automobile accidents and liens. You cannot access or change the data the agencies have on your business. However, you can ensure that any new information they receive is positive. Enough positive information can help counteract any negative information from the past.

Fundable Definition: Personal and Business Credit History

Your credit history has everything to do with your credit score, a huge factor in fundability. Personal credit history consists of a number of things including:

How many accounts are reporting payments?
How long have you had each account?
What type of accounts are they?
How much credit are you using on each account versus how much is available?
Are you making your payments on these accounts consistently on-time?

But with business credit, the main issue is whether you’re paying your bills on time.

The point is, the more accounts you have reporting on-time payments to the business credit reporting agencies, the stronger your business credit score will be.

Fundable Definition: Financial Statements

Both your personal and business tax returns need to be in order. It is best to have an accounting professional prepare regular financial statements for your business. Having an accountant’s name on financial statements lends credence to the legitimacy of your business.

Often tax returns for the previous three years will suffice for personal financials. Honestly, it’s best to have a tax professional prepare them. Now, this is the bare minimum you will need. Other information lenders may ask for include check stubs and bank statements, among other things.

Fundable Definition: Bureaus

There are other agencies with data relating to your personal finances as well. For example, FICO is where most traditional lenders will look for personal credit. Your personal FICO score needs to be as strong as possible.

ChexSystems is another example. They track bad check activity and their report makes a difference when it comes to your bank score. If you have too many bad checks, you will not be able to open a bank account. That will cause serious fundability issues.

There are other bureaus with all sorts of information on you, like:

Have you ever been convicted of a crime?
Do you have a bankruptcy or short sale on your record?
Do you have any liens or UCC filings?

All of this can and will play into the fundability of your business.

Personal Credit Scores and Reports

Your personal credit scores from Experian, Equifax, and Transunion affect fundability as well. If your scores aren’t great right now, work on them. The number one way to get a strong personal credit score or improve a weak one is to make payments consistently on time.

Monitor personal credit reports frequently to make sure the information is correct and current.

Application Process

Did you know that even the process of applying for a loan can affect fundability? For example, consider the timing of the application. Maybe you paid off a large account recently. The payoff will increase your score. However, that may not be reflected on your credit reports immediately. It may be best to wait to apply until after the account shows as paid.

Also, your business name, business address, and ownership status need to be verifiable. Lastly, make sure you choose the right lending product for your business and your needs. For example, do you need a traditional loan or a line of credit? Would a working capital loan or expansion loan work best for your needs? Choosing the right product to apply for can make all the difference.

Get a Handle on a Fundable Definition

Obviously It can be difficult to get a handle on a fundable definition. This is mostly because the entire idea of fundability is so overwhelming.

Imagine, it is affected not only by the decisions you make today, but also decisions you made in the past. Not to mention, there are things that affect fundability that you do not have any control over. Understanding exactly what fundability is and what affects it is a great start to getting your business in a good position.

The post 2022 Guide to Fundability and a Fundable Definition appeared first on Credit Suite.

A Brief Guide to Blazor for HTTP and C# Applications

Behind every great website or application is a lot of coding. When that code is heavy or overly complex, it can slow down website speed and increase bounce rates. This is why a lot of marketers are excited about a new user interface from .NET called Blazor.

The name is a combination of “browser” and the .NET markup syntax Razor, for those familiar with it.

What is Blazor, and what do you need to know about it? Here’s a quick run-down that even non-developers can understand.

What Is Blazor?

Blazor is a user interface that allows developers to build front-end applications using C#, HTML, and Razor templates. You can build components and pages that then run on a server or directly on a browser. It was built by the .NET team and is completely open-source and free for anyone to use.

The use of templates, C#, and HTML makes developing easier and, in many cases, faster.

What Are Blazor Apps?

One of the platform’s key components is Blazor apps, which allow devs to add features without coding every single step. It is a bit similar to the way a WYSIWYG website builder allows users to build a website without coding at all.

In this case, however, it lets devs code without JavaScript.

You can also run Razor apps on Blazor.

How to Run Blazor: Server or WebAssembly

Blazor can be run in two ways—on the server or using WebAssembly, which allows you to run it directly on most browsers.

There are pros and cons to both. Using WebAssembly, you’ll enjoy a fast UX that is supported offline and can use a CDN. However, the initial load time can be slow, and you may need to call the API, which can slow things down.

If you choose to go with the server route, you’ll find onboarding is a bit easier, and load and render times are faster. However, your app won’t work offline, and changes can cause major latency issues. Also, it can be difficult to scale apps because each user has their connection to the server.

Why You Should Use Blazor

Blazor allows developers to write the client-side of code in C# or HTML, which means you don’t have to know JavaScript or other languages. This makes it easier for a single developer to work on a project. It can also make it more manageable to delegate tasks to team members since they only need to know one coding language.

Since the same code is used on the client and server side of an application, the code only needs to be written once—which can save you tons of time.

There are also several benefits for marketers.

Blazor can help developers create sites that generate more traffic.

Server-side rendering comes standard, which is great for SEO. This allows bots from search engines to easily crawl your code and your site. Server-side rendering improves load time, so when a website loads, it takes a few seconds to show up on-screen. This duration can be reduced if the server sends all the data needed to render the page to the browser before it loads.

Using HTML and C# also reduces the amount of JavaScript on an application, which can increase load times and reduce bounce rates.

How Does Blazor Work?

Blazor works by combining C#, HTML, and apps to make application development easier. It can do nearly everything JavaScript can do, but you don’t have to know JavaScript.

It uses Razor templates to create components that produce browser-renderable HTML and CSS. It’s the same as any other browser content: pure, semantic, and accessible HTML and CSS.

This means you can use all CSS features, including media queries for responsive design, and CSS custom properties.

This video from dotNETConf walks you through how to build a full-stack web app:

I’ll also go through how to set it up in a further section.

What Is Blazor Used For?

Blazor is used to build web-based applications. This can include mobile apps, webpages, and anything else you can build with JavaScript.

The framework allows you to complete a number of common development tasks, such as rendering components and HTML, fetching data over HTTP, and client-side routing.

When used on a browser, it has full access to the browser’s JavaScript APIs. As a result, Blazor apps can use JavaScript functions from .NET methods and also .NET methods from JavaScript functions.

For cases where the framework doesn’t have a specific API or component, or if developers want to work with the JavaScript ecosystem, then JavaScript interop is used.

How to Setup a Blazor Project

Now that you understand the basics of Blazor, let’s talk about how to use the program. As I mentioned above, it is a free, open-source program, so you won’t need to pay to use it. You also have access to the source code through GitHub, if that’s your thing.

You’ll need two things to create a project: the platform and Visual Studio 2019 or above.

Here’s how to get started:

Step 1: Download and install Blazor from the Microsoft page. Click the “Get started” button.

Step 2: Install Visual Studio, if you don’t already have it. This will let you do that actual coding. This may take a few minutes to install and load.

Step 3: Run a command prompt and run > dotnet command. This will verify everything is installed correctly. If it is ready to use, you will get a response like this:

How to Setup a Blazor Project - Command Prompt Check

Step 4: Next, open Visual Studio and select “Create a new project.”

Step 5: Select ASP.NET. If you don’t already have the ASP.NET Core Web Application installed in Visual Studio, you’ll need to add it.

How to Setup a Blazor Project - Create a New Project

Step 5: In “Configure new project” add a name, then select “Create.”

Step 6: In the “Create a new ASP.NET Core web application” box, choose “.NET Core and ASP.NET Core 5.0” in the dropdown menu, then “Web Application” and “Create.”

You now have a project set up. Now you can start using Blazor apps to see how they work. While the actual coding is beyond the scope of this article, I highly recommend this tutorial from Microsoft.

If you want to play around with without downloading a ton of stuff, you can use this browser-based tutorial.

Frequently Asked Questions About Blazor

Is Blazor Worth Using?

It depends on your needs. It is ideal for programmers who don’t like JavaScript, don’t know JavaScript, or don’t want to slow down their site with tons of JavaScript. However, it does require the whole runtime to be shipped and may not work with non-standard browsers in some cases.

Is the Blazor Server Fast?

In general, yes. However, all users have a persistent bi-directional connection to the server, which can cause issues for larger applications.

Is Blazor Easy to Learn?

If you already know C#, you’ll have an easy time picking up Blazor. It’s easy, fast, and integrates well with the .NET ecosystem

How Much Does Blazor Cost?

Blazor is part of the open-source .NET platform, which means there are no fees or costs, even if you use it commercially. It was built and is maintained by a community of contributors.

Does Blazor Matter for Marketing?

Blazor is unlikely to have a daily impact for the average marketer, but there are some benefits marketers should be aware of.

It may make it easier (and faster) for development teams to create new pages or applications. It also makes it easier for search engine bots to crawl, which is a bonus for digital marketing.

What Is the Difference Between Blazor and Razor?

Razor is a template markup syntax for .NET. Blazor (which combines the word “browser” and Razor) is a framework that can run multiple types of code and deliver it to servers or browsers. Essentially, it is an evolution of Razor.

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The user-friendly platform helps streamline workflows, reduces coding language limitations, and makes it easier for dev teams to get work done.

Have you tried Blazor yet? What do you like best about it?

How to Vlog: A Complete Guide to Start Vlogging in 2021

If I told you that you could become a successful YouTuber/vlogger, would you believe me?

YouTube is certainly saturated; 500 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. There are dozens of million-dollar YouTubers and bloggers creating thousands of hours of video a year.

How could you possibly break through the noise?

Well, I’m here to tell you that video blogging still has huge potential.

The Potential of Vlogging and Why You Should Do It

Just look at the growth of video ad investment among brands and agencies and where it’s predicted to go:

average video spend and its impact on successful vloggers

It might not be as easy as it was several years ago to break onto the vlogging scene, but video is more important than ever to build a successful online marketing strategy.

Why?

First, video remains one of the best and most effective ways for people to get to know you.

When leads see you, their brain develops an impression of you that helps to build trust. You’re not just an anonymous content creator trying to drive your business. You’re a real person.

Second, video is a preferred method people have for gaining information. The stats don’t lie. People spend 2.6 times longer on pages with video than those without.

Third, the cost of good equipment keeps on falling, and the cameras in our phones keep getting better.

Fourth, video has a strong impact on the user experience, and therefore SEO. A video on your site can increase organic traffic by 157%. Check out this infographic:

why to invest in video how to become a successful vlogger

Finally, video blogging can be lucrative in itself. The top YouTubers and vloggers make between $14 and $22 million dollars a year.

The power of video is undeniable.

All of this brings up the question: how can you become a successful YouTuber?

Below are the steps you need to take to become a successful YouTuber, from starting a vlog and coming up with concepts for a video series to making a quality video and making sure people find your videos.

How to Come up With a Concept for a Series of Videos

Many people start by coming up with one idea for one video. That would be like starting a blog with an idea for only one article. As you probably know, that wouldn’t get you very far.

I explain how long content marketing takes in this video:

Video, like any other form of content marketing, needs a long-term strategy defined by a subject, tone of voice, and approach.

Here’s a question to ask yourself:

“What am I trying to convey to my audience?”

Once you know what you’re trying to do, you can define your vlogging content concept:

What should the format be? Should I do screen capture demos of step-by-step instructions? Should I be out and about talking to people? Should I talk into the camera?
What can I do with video that I can’t do in other formats like the written word?
How often am I going to make videos? How much time can I dedicate to them?

You have to document your plan to determine if it’s going to be feasible for long enough to achieve your goals.

The reality is people need to see consistency in order to understand why they should subscribe to your channel.

If you are making random, sporadic videos, it’s going to be harder to convince people to follow you.

The content of your video will be what determines your success.

That is, of course, only if you make quality videos.

How to Create Quality Video Content for Your Vlog

Video making is a complicated profession. When you see all of the elements that go into shooting a television broadcast or feature film, you will worry you’ll never be able to create anything like that.

The truth is, you probably can’t- and that’s okay.

People who are going to watch your video on your blog are not expecting a Steven Spielberg production.

People understand what vlogging is.

But that doesn’t mean that you should not care about quality. Quality is still super important.

Luckily, the cost of creating quality videos has been steadily dropping and continues to drop. There are more and more types of equipment available that can make your video go from amateur to professional-looking.

Step 1. Get a Camera and Tripod

You might be tempted to use your iPhone.

And honestly, cameras on smartphones have gotten amazing over the years. You have probably taken some great photos and videos on your phone already.

But smartphone cameras are difficult for serious video blogging for the following reasons:

they are hard to mount properly
they have very limited field of depth
they have very limited exposure options
the sound sucks

Selfie videos are best used for things like Instagram Stories.

They can be a part of your video strategy but shouldn’t be the foundation of it.

Cameras range in quality a lot, from basic models that run in the low hundreds to professional gear that can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Most DSLR cameras also have video modes, though the options can be just as limited as on smartphones.

If you don’t know, DSLR cameras look like this:

build a successful vlog with camera equipement

The good news is that if you’re not chasing snow leopards in the wild, you won’t need all of those fancy settings.

What you need is a camera with a good lens that’s can take high-quality video. Not 4K necessarily, but enough quality to be able to work with if you want to add any extras.

You can find refurbished HD digital video cameras like this one for under $200.

build a successful vlog with a better video camera

Then, mount that camera onto a tripod. Nothing is worse than shaky video.

You could always place your camera on a table or shelf, but tripods are very affordable and give you 100% control of your filming.

Full-size tripods can go for less than $20, so there’s really no excuse not to have one.

Step 2. Get a Microphone

You can either get a camera with a mic-in jack to plug in an external microphone (something you can also do when filming with your smartphone), or you can buy a USB microphone and record the sound directly to your computer.

It depends on the type of conditions you’re filming in, but you usually don’t want to capture sound directly from the camera.

Separating the recording between two devices adds the challenge of having to sync up sound and image later.

You can overcome this by creating a clap sound that spikes up your audio visualizer for each syncing, then you line that up with the audio from the video.

video editing software for a successful vlog

I can’t stress the importance of having great sound in your videos. Sound is one of our fundamental senses and it should be a part of your marketing strategy.

Here are a few ways to leverage the power of sound:

Simply put, poorly recorded audio can turn people off and get in the way of you getting your message across.

Step 3. Create Your Lighting Setup

Lighting videos is an art all unto itself. But it’s surprisingly easy to get a great effect since there are normally only three primary lights in a video setup.

The important thing is to separate yourself or your subject from the background. You can do this with the focus and depth of field, of course. But it really looks professional when there is a difference in lighting as well.

You don’t even need a professional lighting setup.

You can create a fairly decent lighting setup from lamps that you might have around the house.

You can also buy LED board lights that diffuse really well without getting hot — one of the drawbacks of using incandescent bulbs. You can buy versions that you can mount on your camera if you aren’t shooting in a controlled environment.

successful vlog how to light your videos

As a general rule, it’s better to be brighter. The image is clearer since the camera captures more light and therefore more detail.

Step 4. Get a Teleprompter

It’s great to be able to speak off the cuff effortlessly. There are some YouTubers with a natural style that works really well. Take the beauty YouTuber Freddy My Love. Her effortless and natural style has been honed from years of practice.

Chances are, you will need help to deliver content in a clear and structured way.

You could memorize talking points and do a couple of takes. Then you can splice together the best parts.

That’s a longer process, though, than using a teleprompter.

A teleprompter makes it easier to hit all of the important points without memorizing or awkwardly transitioning between them. You could even write a script to follow verbatim.

But it’s more than a time saver. It drastically improves the way that you interact with your viewers.

Having notes or something written off screen causes you to break eye contact when you’re addressing your audience directly.

According to a study by Cornell University, humans will naturally increase eye contact with people that we admire or like.

Conversely, we tend to break eye contact when talking about embarrassing or uncomfortable subjects.

Viewers will subscribe to YouTubers and vloggers they respect. You can look directly into the eyes of your viewers while still reading your script or bullet points.

A teleprompter might seem complicated, but it’s actually pretty simple.

Teleprompting uses a slanted piece of glass to reflect the words so you can read them.

As long as there is darkness between the glass and the camera lens, the camera won’t pick up the light reflecting from the text on the glass. The camera will only see you.

You, however, will be able to clearly read the text as it scrolls. It looks like this:

You can buy a teleprompting setup and use your iPad or tablet with a teleprompting app.

There are also more advanced models that hook up to pedals for your feet that control how quickly the text scrolls.

If all that sounds like way too much, you can always try to build one yourself with a CD case and your smartphone to see if you like it.

Step 5. Do Your Makeup

This might sound a bit controversial – and I’m OK with that because I want you to have all of the options available to becoming successful – but people like watching videos with people who are put together.

(This explains why so many movie stars can be bad at acting.)

You don’t need to be Brad Pitt, and you definitely shouldn’t go overboard, but make an effort.

You’ve got an HD camera and a lighting setup. People have never seen you as clearly as right now.

For example, when you light yourself there will almost certainly be shiny parts of your skin. That’s your natural skin oil.

The most common makeup is a powder that absorbs oil so that your skin appears smooth without reflecting too much light.

Try testing your lighting setup and seeing where your skin is a bit too shiny.

Just to be clear, this goes for men as much as women.

Then, apply a powder if needed. Your video (and you) will look a whole lot more professional.

Step 6. Edit — A Lot

Making videos is like any other skill. You will get better at it the more you do it.

Video editing makes your life a lot easier by making it easier to cut between the best takes to more rapidly built your content.

Video editing software is easy to find — and use. iMovie comes on all macs and is available as an app on iOS.

The drag-and-drop interface makes it a snap to use.

how to successfully vlog editing tips imovie screenshot

If you are ever wondering how to do something, like shorten a transition or overlay an image, there are tons of tutorials on YouTube.

The bottom line is that you should be creating a lot of content. The majority of it you might not even use. But you get better and better each time you try something new.

And you should be careful to avoid oversharing. Instead, you should focus on a more qualitative approach.

Even if you think you did something great the first time through, force yourself to try it again.

You never know when you’re going to stumble onto something great.

OK, you’ve got the keys to actually making your videos to execute your strategy, now comes the hard part.

How to Get People to See Your Vlogs

When you make a video, you are in control of everything.

You decide how much you can invest time and money into creating your video. You decide who you work with and what you want the outcome to be.

Then, you decide when you put it online.

You don’t decide when other people watch it.

You can only try to grab their attention.

Getting people to watch your video can be difficult, but there are many steps that you can take to maximize your potential audience and get more people to click play.

Step 1. Create an Awesome Thumbnail

The first thing that many people will see is the thumbnail on the player before they start the video.

In fact, this is the piece of communication that reaches all the people that come across your video but don’t play it.

That digital real estate is your little promo box and can drive engagement. Take the time to make it great.

Here are two examples from Gary Vaynerchuk. He varies the style of the thumbnail from a photo collage with the title in a fun YouTube-style:

1 gary vee YouTube 1 how to vlog successfully

To a more elegant and serious tone when his subject matter is more inspirational:

There’s one thing you will always see in the thumbnail though: the title.

It’s crucial real estate that you can entirely personalize to get people to click.

You will have to abide by the brand values and guidelines, but you should create something custom to make sure you are putting your best foot forward.

To add a thumbnail to your video, click on the video in your video manager.

Then, in the middle of the screen next to the player, you will see a few images that come from your video that you can select as your thumbnail.

Click on upload image to add your own custom image. The best size is 1280 x 720 pixels. A 16:9 ratio works best since that’s the format of the layout.

Remember, though, that you have to keep your thumbnail under 2 MB.

Step 2. Optimize Your Video for Search

I’m not just talking about Google search here.

YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine by itself. All of those searches are powering an insane amount of views.

To optimize for search, you need to work on your descriptions. YouTube can’t crawl through your videos like Googlebot crawls through your website.

You need to lend a helping hand to get YouTube SEO right. Here are a couple of things you can do:

Write a description of at least 250 words that outlines the subjects of the video.
Get your keywords in the description in the first few sentences, and use it at least 3 or 4 times in the body of the description.
Start the title of your video with your keywords.
Add tags. Tags help you show up in the related videos column when people are watching other videos.

vlogging - adding a description and basic info for your video

There are also a few of the advanced settings that are helpful to turn on. These features are mostly located under the “Tags” box as seen in the image above.

If your video is focused on a local area, you should add a localization to the video.

Then, you want to drive as many views as possible so you should make sure that the two options are enabled: allow embedding and notify subscribers.

This way people can share your video on their websites, and you can benefit from their traffic to drive views.

And wouldn’t it be silly if your subscribers didn’t know you had a new video? It’s checked on by default but just double-check.

Step 3. Use End Screens to Promote Other Videos

Anyone who has watched your video to its completion is probably very interested in what you have to say. That is the best time of all to catch them.

YouTube developed end screens to keep people’s attention at the end of your video.

20 seconds before the end of your video, and/or for a bit afterward, you can present related or featured videos to your viewers.

To do that, go to your YouTube Studio account and click on Content (the red box with a “play” icon on the left-hand side). This will open your videos. Select the video you want to add an end screen to. The video will open along with data boxes. On the right-hand side, there is an “end screen” box.

The end screen adds extra time to the end of your video where you can do two key things: promote your other videos and get people to subscribe to your channel.

Click on the Add element button.

vlogging - finding and using the end screen

You’ll see a dropdown menu with a few different options. All of them are great for driving traffic.

YouTube provides three options for promoting your other videos and playlists that are pretty great.

You can choose to feature your most recently uploaded videos, or you can choose a specific video that you want to promote.

Or you can let YouTube do the work and automatically recommend videos from your channel that would be the most relevant for each viewer.

You could even link out to other people’s videos if you want.

When you add a video, it will display the thumbnail plus the title and the duration of the video:

You can reposition and resize the video.

You can add up to four elements to expose people to as many of your videos as possible.

Step 4. Get People to Subscribe to Your YouTube Channel

If you want to create a successful vlog, you need to increase your subscribers.

Views come and go.

Subscribers are more than people that happened to see your video.

They are people who were so happy with that video that they want to see more. They are anticipating that you will give them something great again.

What’s more, media outlets and brands looking to partner with YouTubers will use subscribers as their key metric when evaluating opportunities.

The most important is adding the subscribe action. When you do you will see your channel’s avatar in a round circle.

You can position this button wherever you want on the screen.

You can also use the end screen we discussed above to increase subscribers.

Don’t forget to add a link to subscribe to your website, email signature, and Instagram bio. It’s not just enough to add the YouTube link. You should tell people something clear like “Subscribe to see more videos.”

Step 6. Go Live

Live video is the new wild west in digital marketing. It represents a lot of opportunities. It’s much easier to be featured on the Live home page than the regular YouTube homepage.

I’ve written all about how you go live on YouTube and why it’s important.

Live also gives you the opportunity to interact directly with people while they watch you.

You can instantaneously respond to people’s questions that come up in the chat. This creates a real-time relationship.

How to Vlog Frequently Asked Questions

How do I start a vlog?

Start by choosing a platform. YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and many other platforms host videos. Then you’ll want to decide on the content you want to share and start researching your audience.

How much money can I make vlogging?

It varies by industry and how successful you are at reaching your audience. Most channels only pay a few cents per thousand views. However, you can use your vlog to promote other products or services.

Do I need expensive equipement to start a vlog?

No. You can start a vlog with a webcam or even a smartphone. There are also free and affordable editing tools.

How can I use a vlog to market my business?

Vlogging can be part of your overall content marketing strategy or you can use video content to push subscribers to paid products or services. People watch videos to learn and be entertained, so make sure to offer value if you want to use a vlog to market your business.

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How to Vlog Successfully Conclusion

Video blogging is becoming more and more important for content marketing.

And there’s no time like right now to get started in video marketing.

Organize your thoughts, sit down, and create a concept for a video series.

Like all content marketing, your video needs to give the viewer something of value, whether that be informative or educational or entertainment.

Then, make that video with the highest quality that your time and budget allows.

If it’s helpful, read some books about cinematography. I recommend Gustavo Mercado’s The Filmmaker’s Eye. You can skim through to get the basics about things like shot composition.

Finally, whatever you do, don’t forget to get your video in front of people.

You could make the best video the world has ever seen, but that won’t make you a successful YouTuber.

What are your experiences with YouTube and vlogging?

A Guide to Using Power BI for Marketers

From sales targets to conversion rates, chances are you track a range of valuable analytics data. After all, this data allows you to create a winning marketing strategy and grow your business.

The problem? It’s not always easy to make sense of the data, especially if it’s held across a bunch of different files on your hard drive.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could bring these data sources together and view, at a glance, exactly how your marketing strategies are performing? If you could visualize your data and share your findings with key team members?

Well, I’ve got great news for you. Power BI (short for business intelligence), a Microsoft tool, makes all of this (and more!) possible.

Let me introduce you to what’s awesome about Power BI and give you some ideas for how to use it as part of a wider marketing strategy.

What Is Power BI?

Think of Power BI as a connectivity tool. The interface allows you to bring unconnected sources together, like data from spreadsheets or online services, and turn them into rich, interactive reports.

With Microsoft’s Power BI, you can visualize your marketing data and gain insights you might not access otherwise. Visual reports may help give you a better sense of what’s working across your organization:

Whether you need a report for a presentation or a new marketing strategy, Power BI can help.

There are three parts to Power BI:

Power BI Desktop: Power BI Desktop is an application for creating and exporting reports.
Power BI service: With the Power BI cloud service, you can view reports created in the Power BI Desktop service and share them across the company.
Power BI mobile app: The Power BI mobile app is a portable tool for monitoring reports and acting on real-time data.

There are also free different subscription levels, depending on your needs:

Power BI Free: With Power BI Free, you can access the Power BI Desktop app to create and manage reports.
Power BI Pro: Starting at $9.99 per user per month, Power BI Pro gives you access to the cloud-based service.
Power BI Premium: This powerful, enterprise-level analytics tool starts at $20 per user per month.

You can use the Power BI Desktop app on the free tier, but you can’t use the cloud-based service without a paid subscription. This means you can generate reports in the free app, but you can’t share them on the cloud.

If you’re unsure whether a Pro or Premium subscription meets your needs, you can sign up for a free Power BI Pro trial.

Getting Started With Power BI for Marketing

Microsoft has made Power BI as straightforward as possible, but let’s walk through some of the key steps for getting started.

Choose Pricing Structure

First, decide which plan you want. As mentioned, you can sign up for the free plan, which uses the Power BI Desktop app, a free Pro or Premium trial, or a paid monthly subscription.

To find out more about the tiers, check out the pricing page.

Open an Account

Next, you need a Power BI account.

Click “Try free” or “Buy now” on the pricing page, depending on which plan you choose. Then, follow the onscreen instructions to create your Power BI account:

Once you’re set up, you can start using the Power BI suite.

Download and Install Power BI Desktop

Then, download and install the Power BI Desktop app.

Many marketers use Power BI Desktop to import datasets, create reports, and then switch to the cloud-based Power BI service to share their findings and collaborate.

However, you might only need Power BI Desktop if you work alone or share data very occasionally.

With that in mind, here’s how to get Power BI Desktop.

Go to the “Power BI Desktop” page.
Click the “Download free” button.
Follow the instructions to install the program on your device.

Getting Started With Power BI for Marketing - Download and Install Power BI Desktop

If you’re going for a paid tier, you can then sign up for the cloud-based Power BI service.

Import Your Data

To get started with Power BI Desktop, you need to import data. You can import data from multiple sources, including the web, Excel spreadsheets, and existing Power BI datasets.

First, select “Get data” from Power BI’s home ribbon, and pick your data source:

Getting Started With Power BI for Marketing - Import Your Data

To see all available data sources, click the “More” option at the bottom of the menu.

Next, open the relevant file.

Remember, you’re not restricted to importing just one dataset.

Model Your Core Marketing Data

To create a visual report, you must first create relationships between your data sources. You do this by modeling your data.

Microsoft has a whole tutorial on this, but essentially, “modeling” is how you decide what type of report you want to create.

For example, maybe you want a report showing conversion rates for different paid ads for A/B testing purposes. As long as you have the data, you can make it visually usable with Power BI.

Visualize the Data

Next, choose your visualization. Your visualization is the format for reviewing your report, such as pie chart, bar chart, and so on:

You can also segment the data further by adding custom on-screen filters for your team members to interact with.

Export Your Work

Ready to share your work? If you’re using the Power BI service, simply access your desired report from the workspace and click the “Share” option:

Once shared, your recipients can interact with the report based on whatever permissions you give them.

Want to export a report from the Power BI Desktop app?

One option is to convert it to a PDF. You can then share the report with others or move it over to the Power BI service.

To create a PDF from the Power BI Desktop side menu bar, click on options in the following order:

file
export
export to PDF

Getting Started With Power BI for Marketing - Export the report

The document then loads onto your standard PDF viewer, and you can share it easily from there.

How to Use Power BI to Improve Your Marketing

OK, so that’s how Power BI works.

How can you use the tool to improve your marketing strategy, though?

While there are many ways you can use the interface, here are four ways you can employ Power BI as a marketing professional.

1. Measure Organic Data

Organic data is hugely important to any marketer because it shows how many people engage with your content and buy your services without clicking on paid ads.

Power BI makes it simple to track organic data. For example, say you want to track your most popular keywords. With Power BI, you can easily import keyword data from a spreadsheet or platform like Google Analytics and analyze the results.

What’s more, you can use the report you generate to impress prospective clients with your SEO knowledge and, in turn, potentially secure new business.

2. Measure Paid Ad Results

Want to measure your paid ad performance?

Simply import your relevant data, such as keyword research, cost-per-click (CPC) analysis, and conversion rates into Power BI. This may help you better understand the strengths and weaknesses of your paid ad campaigns.

You can also create reports combining your paid and organic data. In this sense, Power BI offers you a unique insight into your overall marketing performance by combining highly valuable datasets in a clear, visually appealing way.

3. Analyze and Monitor Your Social Media Marketing Strategy

Is social media integral to your marketing strategy? With Power BI, you can create a dedicated dashboard to help you track key performance metrics, such as:

audience reach
number of impressions
social media mentions
content shares
influencer marketing performance
most popular posts

How to Use Power BI to Improve Your Marketing - Analyze Your Social Media Marketing Strategy

Power BI is a helpful tool for helping marketers visualize their campaigns and monitor social media performance. It’s compatible with platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, so it’s flexible enough to handle cross-channel marketing campaigns.

4. Present Marketing Reports

Maybe you want to impress a key client with marketing insights. Or, perhaps you’re meeting with senior management, and they want a detailed performance overview. In any case, Power BI lets you generate clear, engaging, user-friendly reports to share with others.

You could also use Power BI reports to identify trends and growth opportunities in the marketplace or as part of a business startup modeling plan.

Power BI for Marketing: Frequently Asked Questions

What is Power BI?

Microsoft’s Power BI lets you turn datasets into visual analytics reports. You can then visualize critical marketing data and share the results across your organization.

What Are the pros and cons of Power BI for marketers?

Power BI is an affordable, scalable tool for transforming raw data into visual reports. It’s customizable, flexible, and fosters collaboration within your team.

On the other hand, the dashboard may seem crowded. It also takes a fair amount of time to process high volumes of data, and it can take a while to master the interface.

All things considered, though, it’s worth giving it a shot.

How much does Power BI cost?

There’s a free tool for developing reports and viewing them privately. However, if you plan to share reports in the cloud or need an enterprise-level solution, monthly subscription packages are available.

Can I connect Power BI to Facebook?

You can import Facebook data to Power BI. Request a copy of your Facebook page information, download the report, and import your chosen files or datasets into Power BI. The process is similar for Instagram and Twitter data.

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Power BI for Marketers: Conclusion

With Power BI, visualizing your core marketing data just got a whole lot easier. You can view everything from sales targets to paid ad performance from a single dashboard, which could help you pivot your marketing efforts to suit your goals and objectives.

What’s more, there’s a subscription to suit every budget, whether you need a free data visualization tool or a scalable enterprise-level solution.

All that said, Power BI is not the only data visualization tool out there, so before you commit to a paid plan, you might want to explore all your options. If you need more help reaching your marketing goals or identifying which metrics to track, you can check out my consulting services.

Have you tried Power BI yet? How’s it working for you?