Jets quarterback Zach Wilson has a bone bruise and a meniscus tear in his right knee and is set to miss two to four weeks, sources confirmed to ESPN.
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The Atlanta Hawks are trading Danilo Gallinari and three first-round picks to the San Antonio Spurs for All-Star guard Dejounte Murray, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
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Are you just getting started? The thrill of chasing a new business dream will always lead you to one rude awakening, you need money! But how are you going to get it? Here’s where secret startup financing comes into play. C’mon in, and we’ll show you.
If you know people who’ve started businesses, often their financing came from places like:
All these can work. But they all risk personal assets. But there are a lot of OTHER ways of getting startup money, where you don’t put your home or savings on the line.
You will need to give up something to get these kinds of startup financing. It can be:
If these are acceptable to you, then check out these 10 secret ways to get startup financing!
We start with venture capital funding. But keep in mind it won’t be a workable option for most businesses and industries. Venture capitalists give money to help build new startups. But only if the VCs believe a company has both high-growth and high-risk potential. These tend to be fast-growth companies with an exit strategy already in place. Venture capitalists often look to recover their investment in 3—5 years.
VCs will also, often, want to own a large piece of a company if not a controlling stake. This means in exchange for their money, they could be calling the shots. They want game-changing businesses. So straightforward businesses won’t be on their radar unless they’re shifting the paradigm. Never forget, you are giving up a part of your ownership in your business. VCs often want a larger share of your business than angel investors do. More on angel investors later.
Venture capitalists are much more formal investors than angels. So a valuation of your business is often going to be necessary. Specific terms will be spelled out in your agreement with them. The Securities and Exchange Commission will also have requirements. It is best practices to consult with a lawyer well-versed in business law before you sign anything.
We continue with a kind of private investor loan, also called private lending. Private lenders tend to be funded by investors, or by banks, or both. Private lenders are in the business of taking funds from private investors. They make private business purpose loans with those funds. This often involves real estate. These can be hard money loans.
Private lenders will be more creative, and investigative in qualifying income. They may be willing to overlook background flaws upon explanation. But hard money loans are often short term. Terms tend to be 6—36 months. They have a higher interest rate than traditional bank loans. So account for the higher interest rate when determining if a private investor loan is right for your business.
If you don’t mind giving up some of your business, then consider equity crowdfunding. Equity crowdfunding is a stock offering from a company not listed on stock exchanges. Equity crowdfunding has been around for less than 10 years. It’s not the same as rewards-based (which comes from places like GoFundMe).
Potential investors visit a funding portal website. There, they can explore different equity crowdfunding investment opportunities. Note: there are limits on how much capital an individual can invest based on their income and net worth. Equity crowdfunding gives investors a stake in your business.
Equity crowdfunding tends to be covered by federal laws like the Securities Act of 1933, Regulation Crowdfunding (17 CFR Part 227), Regulation D Rule 506 (17 CFR § 230.506), and Regulation A+ (17 CFR § 227.100). Federal law can be complex. It’s not something you’ll learn just with a little Googling.
It is always best practices to consult with an attorney well-versed in federal law, specifically, securities and corporations when it comes to interpreting terms and qualifications. This includes any changes made to these aspects of the law in the future. Therefore, factor in the cost of a lawyer if you decide to go for equity crowdfunding.
And, it’s entirely possible that more regulation will hit this industry in the future.
This is the type of crowdfunding you’re a lot more likely to have heard of. You can get money from the crowd for your business. Start with a service like Kickstarter. But make sure you read the fine print (always a good idea!). Many crowdfunding platforms make you give all the funding back if you do not make your goal by the end of the campaign. But Indiegogo has a flexible funding option.
Crowdfunding platforms will take a percentage of the donations. That’s how they make their money. Crowdfunding platforms may push to have you deliver on your promises. So you’ll have to manufacture a product or do whatever else your business is supposed to be doing.
Given how much social media we’re all bombarded with these days, it should come as no surprise, donors can become weary of crowdfunding pitches. You will do better if you start off with a substantial (as in, over 1,000 connections) social media following.
Crowdfunding tends to work best when donors can personally connect with a product or service. Straightforward businesses may not do so well. The kinds of businesses which do the best often associate with:
Standard widgets or service-based businesses do not tend to attract brand ambassadors. They won’t tend to get donors too fired up. Because crowdfunding campaigns are time-consuming, it doesn’t make sense to try this form of funding unless you realistically feel your chance of success is better than 50%
Terms will differ depending on which platform you use. Check and make sure your platform of choice will allow your industry to work with them. For example, recreational cannabis use is legal in Massachusetts. But Kickstarter (for example) doesn’t allow fundraising for drugs and related paraphernalia.
Any major crowdfunding platform has a rules section, a FAQ, or ‘how it works’. Be sure to read such a section thoroughly so you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into.
If you don’t mind investing time and potentially effort, then try Peer-to-peer lending. Peer-to-peer lending allows people to borrow and lend money without a financial institution. P2P platforms connect borrowers to investors faster and cheaper than any bank. These platforms check risk carefully and report on them to peer lenders. Hence your business might be listed on a P2P platform, but show a high risk. It would therefore not attract many lenders.
Terms vary, not only from platform to platform, but also among risk levels. The number of P2P platforms has changed in the past few years. Always check the specifics on any P2P platform’s website before committing yourself. Checking the Better Business Bureau or maybe Yelp reviews before getting started is a good idea.
If you’re okay with paying potentially higher interest rates, and an investment of time investigating your options, online lending could work for you. For certain industries, online lending is one of the only ways to get money.
For example, medical cannabis is legal is most of the country, yet more traditional lenders are still less likely to approve a loan. But lenders that specialize in the cannabis industry (and similar hard to fund industries) are out there.
There are online lenders with over a decade in business. OnDeck dates back to 2006. And Quicken Loans goes back to 1985! As with many industries, a longer time in business is more likely to inspire confidence in a lender.
Terms and qualifications will vary. Read all the fine print with care. Check all companies with the Better Business Bureau or your local Chamber of Commerce. Always treat deals that seem ‘too good to be true’ with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Grants will always require an investment of time. There are businesses which offer grant money. You can also check with your alma mater, or even the alumni division of your fraternity or sorority. That is, if you participated in Greek life during school. Check other organizations where you or a family member is a member of a fraternal organization like the Elks or the Moose. They may have grants IF your business is a nonprofit.
If you are a member of a protected class, like LGBTQ+, Asian, disabled, female, etc., then check Google but be mindful that there are scammers out there. Again, be sure to check the Better Business Bureau or ask your local Chamber of Commerce if you’re unsure. Terms and qualifications will vary from provider to provider and potentially from year to year.
Federal grants generally do not have to be paid back. For urban projects, try HUD (Housing and Urban Development). For rural projects, try the USDA (Department of Agriculture). Federal funding means paperwork . You often must show experience in what you are proposing.
Grants have varying qualifications. They are VERY COMPETITIVE. Be sure to check information thoroughly! This includes due dates and any necessary paperwork. So beyond spending time, often you will also be gathering paperwork.
Some grants may offer preferences to businesses with minority, female, veteran, or disabled ownership. Grants often aren’t for a lot of money. So don’t use them as your sole/principle source of funding. But they can supplement other funding you get.
Make sure to do a rough cost-benefit analysis to see if it’s worth your time to apply to any particular grant.
Your local government also provides grants. Also try city and state websites. They’re often less restrictive than federal grants. Show you will help the community. Try to partner with a local business.
Just like with federal grants, check all requirements and other information with care. You may need to be a resident of the state or city or county in question, or your business may need to be headquartered there. It never hurts to ask. Again, they tend to not be for a lot of money. A lot of effort for very little money may not be the best use of your time and attention.
Our #1 secret startup financing tactic is to use angel investing. In this instance, you’re giving up some of the equity in your business. But it’s often not control over basic decisions. Angel investors invest in small startups or entrepreneurs. Often, angel investors are among an entrepreneur’s family and friends. Yes, that can be Mom and Dad. The capital they provide may be a one-time investment to help the business get started. Or it can be an ongoing injection of money to support and carry the company through its early stages.
Angels are not covered by SEC standards for accredited investors. Angels could be friends or colleagues sitting on home equity. Or local professionals who are looking to invest. Consider people you know well and people you don’t know so well. Keep in mind, like with venture capital, you’re giving up part of your ownership in your business.
Angels are informal investors so there aren’t any real terms. So technically, you do nothing to qualify. Although investors may (probably should) insist on a valuation of your business. No matter what, it’s always a good practice to get everything in writing.
Less conventional and not so well-known startup financing is out there. But you will have to give up something to get it, like time or business equity. No one but you can decide what will work best for you. And contact us today for information on startup financing sources that might not ask quite so much from you and your business.
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Denzel Perryman wasn’t penalized for his hit on Eagles QB Jalen Hurts in Week 7, but he was fined $55,000 for an unnecessary roughness/use of helmet infraction, sources told ESPN.
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Are you struggling to get funding for your business? Never fear, alternative loans for businesses are here. They tend to get a bad rap. This is mostly due to the fact that predatory lending runs rampant in today’s world, and it’s hard to know who to trust and who is scamming you. However, not all sources of alternative business financing are created equal.
Nothing is guaranteed and things change every day. Still, at the moment, these 10 alternative lenders for small business tend to work well for many. They also offer a wide range of alternative business financing options to fit a variety of needs.
Learn business loan secrets and get money for your business.
When it comes to alternative loans for businesses, Fundation provides both term business loans and lines of credit. It is most known for its working capital financing options. These are funds meant to help cover the day-to-day costs of running a business rather than larger projects.
StreetShares has its roots in lending to veterans. They still hold true to that mission, but now offer term loans, lines of credit, and contract financing to all types of business owners. The maximum loan amount is $250,000, and preapproval only takes a few minutes. They use a soft pull on your credit so it doesn’t affect your score.
There are two options for small business financing with BlueVine. They include lines of credit and invoice factoring. Minimum loan amount is $5,000 and maximum loan amount is $100,000. Annual revenue must be $120,000 or more and the borrower must be in business at least 6 months. Personal credit score has to be 600 or above.
With Fundbox, you get an online lender that offers a super-fast automated process. Originally, they only had invoice financing. Yet, now they offer a line of credit service as well. Repayments are automatic on a weekly basis. So,be sure you have enough funds in whatever account you let them draft from to cover your payment each week.
Kiva is an online lender that is a little different. For example, the interest rate is 0%. That means even though you have to pay it back, it is absolutely free money. They don’t even check your credit. There is one catch though. You have to get at least 5 family members or friends to throw some money in the pot as well. In addition, you have to pitch in a $25 loan to another business on the platform.
Learn business loan secrets and get money for your business.
Fora Financial was founded in 2008 by college roommates. It now funds more than $1.3 million in working capital around the United States. There is no minimum credit score, and there is an early repayment discount if you qualify.
Obtaining financing from OnDeck is quick and easy. First, you apply online. If you receive approval, your loan funds will go directly to your bank account.
The secret to Lendio’s success is excellent customer service and a short, easy application process. The loan-connections service it offers slashes the time it takes to find the right alternative loans for businesses. This is due to its heavily vetted network of lenders.
Credibly is a specialized lender offering unsecured business loans online. The application process and funding can be complete in as little as two days, sometimes less. They offer daily and weekly repayment options.
Upstart uses a completely innovative platform for loans. They choose to use a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to gather alternative data for use in making credit decisions.
This may include such things as mobile phone bills, rent, deposits, withdrawals, and even other information less directly tied to finances. The software they use learns and improves on its own. You can use their online quote tool to play with different amounts and terms to see the various interest rate possibilities.
Learn business loan secrets and get money for your business.
Despite the fact that these alternative lending companies tend to offer alternative loans for businesses with less stringent requirements, they won’t work for everyone. Alternative financing methods are just not always a good fit. Here is another other option. Keep reading to the end for a sure-fire way to ensure you can always qualify for the business funding you need when you need it.
What if there were alternative financing options that allowed you to have an even better interest rate than a secured loan, and yet get the money faster and easier than any type of traditional funding. What if you could get business funding without having to supply bank statements or check stubs? This is exactly what the Credit Line Hybrid offers.
This is alternative funding for small business that allows you to fund your business without putting up collateral. You only pay back what you use. You do need good personal credit however. That is, your personal credit score should be at least 680. In addition, you can’t have any liens, judgments, bankruptcies or late payments. Furthermore, in the past 6 months, you should have less than 6 credit inquiries. Also, you should have less than a 45% balance on all business and personal credit cards. In addition, you need at least 2 credit cards with at least 2 years credit history.
If you don’t meet all those requirements, you can still qualify. You can take on a credit partner that meets each of these requirements. Many business owners work with a friend or relative to fund their business. If a relative or a friend meets all of these requirements, they can partner with you to allow you to tap into their credit to access funding.
To be eligible for the highest limits and best rates when it comes to business credit, your business has to be fundable. There are over 100 factors that impact the fundability of a business. It is a complicated web to weave through. Things from decades ago, long before you ever imagined owning a business, can affect fundability.
The key to having a strong, fundable business that can qualify for any funding is to work with a business credit expert. What can a business credit expert do for you?
It’s common for a borrower to call a lender or vendor credit department directly and not be able to find out if they report to the business credit reporting agencies, or exactly what they are looking for when it comes to credit approval.
A business credit expert already knows a lot of this information, and what they don’t know, they know how to get. They also know their way around alternative sources of financing for business, so they can offer guidance in this area as well.
This is your number one top-secret weapon to getting your business to a point where you know you can get funding when you need it. Try a free consultation with a Credit Suite business credit expert to get started now.
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Are you struggling to get funding for your business? Never fear, alternative loans for businesses are here. They tend to get a bad rap. This is mostly due to the fact that predatory lending runs rampant in today’s world, and it’s hard to know who to trust and who is scamming you. However, not all … Continue reading Use This Secret Weapon to Slay Your Funding Foes and Find the Best Sources of Alternative Loans for Businesses
There’s no shortage of amazing images online, but that doesn’t mean you’re always going to find the original. So many images you find on blogs and other websites originated from somewhere else. While it may not seem like a big deal, it seriously pays to know how to find the original.
Here’s how to find an image source quickly and easily.
It’s always handy to know how to find proper image sources online. It won’t just make your life easier when it comes to finding high-quality photos; it could also help you avoid legal trouble.
Is there anything more annoying than seeing a cool image online, saving it to your desktop, and then forgetting where you found it in the first place? Worse still, you then have to waste hours trawling through your browser history to find it.
All of this wasted time and effort can be avoided when you know how to find image sources quickly.
Images are vital when writing blog posts. Research shows articles with photos get 94 percent more views than those without them. That’s because nothing puts readers off more than huge blocks of text. Images help break your writing up, make points clearly and improve the reading experience.
However, you can’t just use any old photo you find on the internet in your blog. You have to make sure you are legally allowed to use it and that you can attribute it properly. You’ll need to find the original image source for both of these tasks.
Once you’ve found the image source, you’ll be able to work out whether you’re allowed to use the image (I help you with this below if you’re still not sure), and you can attribute it correctly if you need to.
While it’s very rare for small sites to get into legal trouble for using copyrighted images or not abiding by Creative Commons, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Low-resolution images suck. They look bad on your blog, and they look even worse when you scale them up for printed marketing materials — but pixelated images are exactly what you’ll get if you don’t find the original image source.
Why? Because reposted images are usually shrunk to reduce the file size and increase website load times. This is great for the website in question, but it’s not great for you. The original image, on the other hand, is usually much larger in size. Whether you want to use an image in a piece of marketing collateral or edit it yourself, it pays to be able to find the source.
Finding an image source isn’t difficult. Here are five different ways you can use to find any image source today.
Google Images Search is the de-facto place to find images online. You probably don’t need me to tell you that, though. What you may need me to explain, however, is how to use Google Images to find the source of an image.
You can do that easily using Reverse Image Search. Head over to image.google.com, but instead of typing in a keyword, upload your image. Google will show a link to every page on the web with that picture, and it shouldn’t be too hard to find the original.
You can even use Google’s Reverse Image Search on your iPhone by requesting the desktop version of the site in Safari.
Ever found an image on Twitter or Facebook and wondered where to find the original image? While it sounds like a tall order, reverse image search tools actually make finding original sources using just the image far easier than you’d think.
All you need to do is upload or copy and paste the image into the tool, and the search engine will find every instance of that image online. In most cases, it won’t be hard to find the original image.
There are plenty of reverse image search tools out there, but here are a couple of my favorites.
TinEye is a great reverse image search tool that helps locate an image source in seconds. You can search by uploading a URL if you have one or the image itself.
You can also use TinEye’s Chrome extension to right-click on any image while browsing and instantly get access to the platform’s data.
Search By Image is an Android app that lets you reverse search for images on Google TinEye or Yandex. Search by uploading images from your phone or opening images from Facebook, Twitter and other apps.
You can find a surprising amount of information about an image in the file’s metadata. Sometimes it will even include the image’s source.
You don’t need to be a technical whiz, either. First, download an image. For the purposes of this example, I’ll be downloading this image from the Good Housekeeping website.
On a mac, you can find the image’s metadata simply by right-clicking on the image and selecting “Get Info.” You’ll be served up a load of data that probably won’t make much sense, but you’ll clearly be able to see the image’s source.
On Windows, just right-click the image and select “Properties.”
If you use Chrome, you don’t need to visit Google Images to do a reverse image search. Instead, right-click on the image when you find one you want to search and click “Search Google for Image.”
You’ll be shown the full reverse image search results as usual.
Bing has its own image search functionality called Visual Search that makes reverse image searches a breeze.
You can drag your saved image into the search bar or upload it, and Bing will show every location it can find it online. You’ll also get a pretty in-depth rundown of the image’s attributes and any text that Bing can find in the image.
How you attribute images depends on the type of image and where you found it. Most sites will be very clear about what you need to do when it comes to attribution, but it can help to know the following terminology.
This nonprofit organization allows the use and sharing of images and other creative materials through a series of licenses. Some won’t require attribution at all, some will let you edit images, and some will be incredibly strict.
Attribution is a legal requirement of Creative Commons images unless the image has been published under a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license. The Creative Commons outlines clearly what it classes an “appropriate credit” using the TASL method. You’ll need to include the following details:
Here’s an example from Creative Commons that shows exactly what they mean.
“Creative Commons 10th Birthday Celebration San Francisco” by tvol is licensed under CC BY 2.0”
If you alter a Creative Commons image, you must include the changes in the attribution.
When work is listed in the public domain, it means the copyrights to it have expired. It is free to use, share, and edit. You don’t need to attribute the image at all or ever reference the original source.
Royalty-free images usually aren’t free. Rather, you have to pay a fee to use the image once, but are then free to use it again as many times as you like without paying royalties. That’s what the royalty-free part means.
Royalty-free images usually don’t require attribution, but be sure to check the licensing agreements of the site you downloaded them from. There may be other restrictions, too, like not using them for a certain purpose or in a certain niche.
The costs of paying for images every time you use them quickly adds up for small businesses. It simply isn’t a sustainable practice. That doesn’t mean you have to go without images, however.
There are plenty of places online to find high-quality royalty-free images. Here are a few of my favorites.
Unsplash is probably the best stock photo platform in the world. You can use the images for free in almost any way you like.
Pexels is another large, free stock photo platform like Unsplash. It has its own license that governs what you can and cannot do with photos.
Burst is Shopify’s stock photo platform. You can download photos for free without being a Shopify customer.
Flickr is a fantastic image repository where you can find thousands of images to use for commercial purposes for free.
You may have used Canva to create a new logo or poster, but did you know it also has hundreds of free stock images you can use, too? You don’t even have to edit them to download them.
Finding an image source can seem like a lot of work, but it’s well worth it to find a high-quality image or protect your site from legal issues. Use any one of the five strategies I list above, and you’ll be sure to find the original source of just about any image you can find online.
Once you’ve found your image, make sure you are using it in the best possible way on your blog or are using the best editing tools if you want to make the image even better.
Where do you find your favorite images?
There’s no shortage of amazing images online, but that doesn’t mean you’re always going to find the original. So many images you find on blogs and other websites originated from somewhere else. While it may not seem like a big deal, it seriously pays to know how to find the original. Here’s how to find … Continue reading How to Find Image Sources For Proper Attribution or Research
SEC football coaches expressed anger and frustration on a conference call Friday over the conference’s lack of clarity surrounding the process to determine each team’s two additional opponents.
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If you own a new business, one that is less than two years old, you likely need funding. Who are we kidding? Everyone needs funding of some sort right now. COVID-19 has made sure of that. It is also just as likely that you will have trouble finding funding that you qualify for. Maybe your personal credit isn’t great. Maybe you are still working on building business credit. While there are a ton of new initiatives to help businesses survive in these unprecedented times, they are mostly for existing businesses. Still, there are many options for new business funding as well. Here, we’ve broken them down in a list to help get you started. They are divided into the categories of SBA loans, private lenders, grants, and crowdfunding.
While it isn’t always wise to stack new business funding of the same type, it isn’t a bad idea to stack different types of funding. For example, you could apply for a grant and take out a loan at the same time. You could even run a crowdfunding campaign simultaneously. However, it is important to be careful of having too many loans out at once.
Establish business credit fast with our research-backed guide to 12 business credit cards and lines.
These are traditional bank loans, but they have a government guarantee. The Small Business Administration, or SBA, works with financial institutions, like banks, to offer small businesses funding solutions that businesses may not be able to get based on their own credit history. 
Because of the guarantee from the government, lenders are able to relax a little on the personal credit score requirements.
In fact, you can get an SBA microloan with a credit score between 620 and 640. They are small loans, only going up to $50,000. Also, they may require personal collateral.
The trade-off with SBA loans is that the application progress is lengthy. There is a ton of red tape connected with these types of loans.
This is the Small Business Administration’s main program. It offers term loans up to $5 million. Funds can be used for expansion, purchasing equipment, working capital and more. Banks, credit unions, and other specialized institutions in partnership with the SBA process these loans and disburse the funds.
The minimum credit score to qualify is 680, and there is also a required down payment of at least 10% for the purchase of a business, commercial real estate, or equipment. The minimum time in business is 2 years. In the case of startups, business experience of at least two years will work.
These loans are also available up to $5 million and can buy machinery, facilities, or land. They are generally used for expansion, and private sector lenders or nonprofits process and disburse them. They work especially well for commercial real estate purchases.
Terms for 504 Loans range from 10 to 20 years, and funding can take from 30 to 90 days. They require a minimum credit score of 680. In addition, they use the asset being financed as collateral. There is also a down payment requirement of 10%, which can increase to 15% for a new business.
The 2 years in business, or 2 years management experience in the case of startups, remains.
As mentioned, microloans go up to $50,000. They are good for starting a business, purchasing equipment, buying inventory, or for working capital. Community non-profits handle the administration of microloan programs. In contrast to their other programs, financing comes directly from the Small Business Administration.
Interest rates on these loans are 7.75% to 8% above the lender’s cost to fund. The terms go up to 6 years. They can take up to 90 days to fund. For these, the minimum credit score is 640. Furthermore, collateral and down payment requirements vary by lender.
Private business loans are loans from companies other than banks. They are sometimes also called alternative lenders. There are a few benefits to using private business loans over traditional loans.
First, they often have more flexible credit score minimums. Even though they still use your personal credit, they will usually accept a score much lower than traditional lenders. Also, they will often report to the business credit reporting agencies. This helps build or improve business credit.
Unfortunately, private business loans tend to have higher interest rates and less favorable terms. Still, the ability to get funding and the potential increase in business credit score can make it well worth it. Here are a few alternative, or private, lenders to consider.
Establish business credit fast with our research-backed guide to 12 business credit cards and lines.
Fundation offers loans for as little as $100 and as high as up to $100,000. The maximum first draw is $50,000. They do have some products that go up to $500,000. Though there is no minimum credit score requirement, they do require at least 3 months in business, $50,000 or more in annual revenue, and a business checking account with a minimum balance of $500.
One thing to remember is that you could have a repayment as high as 5 to 7% of the amount you have drawn, as the repayment period is comparatively short.
Also, Fundation reports to Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax, SBFE, PayNet, and Experian, making them a great option if you are looking to build or improve business credit.
The minimum loan amount available from BlueVine is $5,000 and the maximum is $100,000. Annual revenue must be $120,000 or more. In addition, the borrower must be in business for at least 6 months. They require a personal credit score of at least 600. In addition, BlueVine does not offer a line of credit in all states.
They report to Experian. They are one of the few invoice factoring companies that will report any business credit bureau.
With OnDeck, applying for financing is quick and easy. Apply online, and you will receive your decision once application processing is complete. Loan funds will go directly to your bank account. The minimum loan amount is $5,000 and the maximum is $500,000.
The personal credit score requirement is 600 or more. In addition, you must be in business at least 3 years and have gross yearly earnings of at least $250,000. Also, there can be no bankruptcy on file in the past 2 years and no unresolved liens or judgements.
OnDeck reports to the standard business credit bureaus.
The Business Backer offers a product they call FlexFund Line of Credit. Funds range in amount from $5,000 to $240,000, and draws can be repaid on either a daily or weekly basis.
They report to Dun & Bradstreet and Equifax.
StreetShares started as a service to veterans, but now offers term loans, lines of credit, and contract financing. They also offer small business loan investment options. The maximum loan amount is $250,000, and preapproval only takes a few minutes.
To be eligible for a StreetShares loan, you must be in business at least 12 months with annual revenue of $25,000. There have been cases where they made exceptions and made loans to companies in business at least 6 months with higher earnings. The borrower’s credit score must be at least 620.
When Fundbox offers an automated process that is super-fast. Originally, they only had invoice financing. However, now they offer a line of credit service as well. Repayments are automatic on a weekly basis, so be sure you have enough funds in whatever account you connect them to cover your payment each week.
Fundbox loans come as low as $100 and as high as up to $100,000. There are no revenue or time in business requirements, but your accounting or invoice software must be compatible and must be in use for at least 3 months. Furthermore, there is also no specific credit score requirement. You simply have to be an established business with regular monthly revenue.
Founded in 2008 by college roommates, they now fund more than $1.3 million in working capital around the country. There is no minimum credit score, and there is an early repayment discount if you qualify.
The minimum loan amount is $5,000 and the maximum is $500,000. The business must be at least 6 months in operation and the monthly revenue has to be $12,000 or more. There can be no open bankruptcies.
The secret to Lendio’s success is customer service and a short, easy application process. This is due to its heavily vetted network of lenders. Sometimes, funding happens in as little as 24 hours.
One easy application can result in offers from as many as 75 lenders to choose from. The minimum loan amount is $500 and the maximum is $5,000,000. You must operate your business in the US or Canada. In addition, you must have a business bank account, and your personal credit score must be at least 560.
Credibly’s specialty is unsecured business loans. The application process and funding can be completed in as little as two days. Sometimes even less than that. They offer daily and weekly repayment options.
The minimum loan amount is $5,000 and the maximum is $250,000. First, they require a personal credit score of at least 500. Next, there is a 6 months or more in business requirement. At least $15,000 plus in average monthly deposits is also required.
Kabbage offers a small business line of credit that can help accomplish your business goals quickly. The minimum loan amount is $500 and the maximum is $250,000. They require you to be in business at least one year and have $50,000 or more in annual revenue or $4,200 or more in monthly revenue over the last 3 months.
They are great if you need cash quickly. Also, their non-traditional approach puts less weight on your credit score.
New business funding in the form of grants are available from a number of sources. A lot of these are designed specifically to help those business owners that are minorities, females, or veterans. Be sure to check out local organization options as well.
Here are a couple of options that are open to everyone.
FedEx uses this grant as a way to strengthen small business innovation. The company awards 10 grants. They range from $15,000 to $50,000 every year.
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You have to submit an entry via the FedEx website. There are a few questions about your business. An elevator pitch about what makes your business stand out is also required. In addition, you have to explain how you would use the grant funds. A 90-second video submission is optional.
The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) has small business Growth Grants that go up to $4,000. Grant recipients must be micro-businesses. Funds can be used for marketing, expansion, and to hire employees. These grants are open to everyone. However, you have to be a NASE member to apply. Cost of membership depends on the member level you choose.
This is not all that is out there. Do your research, and remember additional grant options are available to women and minority business owners.
Crowdfunding sites allow you to tell thousands of micro investors about your business. Anyone who wants to donate, or invest, can do so.
Investors offer amounts depending on the campaign and the platform you use. They may give $50, they may give $150, or they may give over $500. It might just be $5. Truly, any amount helps, right?
Though not always necessary, most entrepreneurs offer rewards to investors for their generosity. Usually, this comes in the form of the product the business will be selling. Different levels of giving result in different rewards. For example, a $50 gift may get you product A, and a $150 gift will get you an upgraded version of product A.
There are a lot of crowdfunding platforms out there. Here are a few to consider.
They are the largest crowdfunding platform. They have over 14 million backers and over 130,000 funded projects. Campaigns are for products and services such as:
A prototype is necessary. Projects cannot be for charity, although nonprofits can use Kickstarter. Equity cannot be offered as an incentive.
Taboo projects and perks include anything to do with:
There is a 5% fee on all funds which creators collect. The payment processor also applies payment processing fees, which are roughly 3-5%. If your campaign is not successful you do not pay a fee. There are also fees of 3% + $0.20 per pledge. Pledges under $10 have to pay a discounted micro pledge fee of 5% + $0.05 per pledge.
Indiegogo has over 9 million backers. Their minimum goal amount is $500. They charge 5% platform fees and 3% + 30¢ third-party credit card fees. Fees are deducted from the amount raised, not the goal you set. As a result, if you raise more than your goal, you will pay more in fees. They also offer a flexible funding option. This allows campaigns to keep any money they receive even if they do not reach their goal.
RocketHub is more for entrepreneurs who want venture capital. They give you an ELEQUITY Funding Room. This is where you can pitch your idea and see if it stirs up any interest from potential investors.
The platform is specifically for business owners working on projects in these categories:
If you reach your fundraising goal, there will be a 4% fee. In addition, you’ll pay a 4% credit card handling fee. But if you do not reach your goal, that fee jumps up to 8% plus the credit card handling fee.
CircleUp aims to help emerging brands and companies raise capital to grow. However, companies must apply and show revenue of at least $1 million to get a listing on the site. Still, they will sometimes make exceptions.
Due to its more thorough process, CircleUp can be good for entrepreneurs who already have a somewhat established business. These are business owners who want both funding and guidance in order to take their businesses to the next level.
This really comes from yourself. It’s not an outside source. Of course, there are many things that affect fundability, but one you can work on while you are using personal credit or investors for new business funding is business credit.
Whichever type or types of new business funding you choose to use, be sure to work on building business credit at the same time. This is a major part over overall fundability. Without strong fundability, it is hard to get any type of funding really. Personal credit will only get you so far when it comes to building and running a business.
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