Location: Ukraine
Remote: Yes
Willing to relocate: No
Technologies: Linux, Bash/Shell Scripting, Ansible, Terraform, Nginx, Docker, Python, C/C++, SQL, Git
Résumé/CV: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1B98HhTju7Cgyj8s8oXKC7VNm…
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivan-tsaruk
Email: etircopyhdot at gmail.com
Linux (7+ years) user and contributor.
The Bills’ defense came up short, and now Buffalo heads into the offseason searching for answers.
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The world of business involves many risk-taking attempts. Business owners experience numerous obstacles from the moment they plan and start their business to maintain it and make sure it grows. From developing your business ideas to looking for qualified people to hop on board your venture, starting a business takes a lot of courage, patience, and knowledge. Financing via a 401k could be an avenue you haven’t thought of.
All businesses face different kinds of hurdles and challenges in the process of starting and growing their venture. The Small Business and Trade Alliance conducted the Small Business Trends survey on over 2,400 current and aspiring business owners in the United States. This survey included questions about their current biggest obstacles as business owners.
Although the pandemic, without a doubt, can be considered one of the greatest challenges of 2020, the survey also contained questions about non-pandemic-related challenges. Among these top challenges include recruiting and retaining employees, marketing and advertising, time management, administrative work, and managing and providing benefits. The number one challenge, at 23%, however, is the lack of capital or cash flow.
In the United States, around 20% of small businesses fail in their first year and 50% in their fifth year. The lack of capital is one of the numerous reasons small businesses end up throwing in the towel.
Business owners are usually thoroughly aware of and keep a close watch on how much money is needed to keep the company or the business going. It includes expenses such as daily spending, payroll funding, paying fixed and varied overhead expenses like rent and utilities, and payments for external vendors or suppliers. They also make sure to explore various and alternative investment strategies as a way to increase their funds.
On the other hand, business owners who do not closely monitor expenses and revenue generated from sales of products or services are more likely to fail than succeed. In addition, it can lead to inadequate funding, which could ultimately put the business out of operation.
With this, it is critical for aspiring and current business owners to be in tune with the financial state of their business. Financial challenges and hurdles are inevitable and are part of the business process. However, business owners must explore various ways to fund their venture. There are several ways to get financing for your business. Getting business loans is one of the most common methods to do this.
Another way to solve your business’ lack of capital is to consider 401(k) financing. What is 401(k) financing? First, this article will discuss what 401(k) financing is and how it works. Next, it will tell you more about how 401(k) financing can solve your business’ lack of capital and, lastly, the benefits and possible risks that come with it.
Demolish your funding problems with 27 killer ways to get cash for your business.
401(k) business financing is one way your small business can solve its lack of capital. Also referred to as Rollovers for Business Start-Ups (ROBS), 401(k) business financing is a small business financing method. This method allows you to withdraw money from your retirement account to start or fund your business without having to pay a tax penalty or an early withdrawal fee.
An important thing to note is that Rollovers for Business Start-Ups merely gives you access to the funds you have in your existing retirement account. This method is ideal for those aspiring and current business owners who lack capital but do not qualify for a loan, do not want to go into debt or do not have any cash-on-hand available to fund their business. This method does not consider your credit score, on-hand collateral, or past experiences to qualify for it. The main components of this method would be the retirement account you have. Such as a 401(k) or an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), and the amount of money you have in it.
Demolish your funding problems with 27 killer ways to get cash for your business.
In 401(k) business financing, your retirement plan serves as your investor. To access these funds without having to pay a tax penalty for early withdrawal fees, it is critical to, first and foremost, establish a ROBS (Rollover Business Start-Ups). This structure consists of several components which must adhere to certain requirements for compliance with the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS—the federal agency responsible for overseeing, administering, and collecting taxes.
The first step would be to establish a C corporation, also known as a regular corporation. It is the only entity type allowed to sell shares to a retirement account and within the ROBS structure. In this way, it will help release your business’s funds.
Next, put together a retirement plan for your new business. Although there are other options such as profit sharing and defined benefits, most business owners opt for the standard 401k. You will need a custodian to manage the investments in the plan and have the responsibility to keep records, administer the plan, and modify its investments the way you deem fit.
After this, roll your existing retirement funds from your plan into the new retirement plan under the C corporation. Since the funds have already been rolled over to the company retirement plan, the plan then buys stock in the C corporation through a QES transaction or a Qualified Employer Securities transaction. Thus, it is the step wherein the money is rolled over and made available for the business to use.
The first step is essential since you would not be able to do a QES transaction without it. Finally, once the QES transaction is finished, your retirement funds can now be accessed by the corporation. You can use them to solve your business’s lack of capital. Or you can pay off the pending expenses you may have.
401(k) financing, also known as ROBS or Rollover Business Start-Ups, offers numerous benefits for aspiring and current business owners alike. This financing technique may come off as complex. Still, it is one of the ways to solve your business’ lack of capital. Here are some of the benefits of 401(k) business financing:
In 401(k) financing, you have control over your retirement funds. It allows you to support your business and make it grow financially. Through this, your business has the potential to earn a significant return with tax-deferred growth.
Most loans require monthly payments, which may eventually turn into debt. Unlike most loans, 401(k) financing gives you the ability to use the funds you already have. In addition, since 401(k) financing does not require you to pay interest, it helps reduce your day-to-day costs and other operating expenses you may have.
The only requirement of 401(k) financing is a qualified retirement account. You will not need to put up a down payment or sign over a property to receive the funds. This is unlike most financing methods that will require you to do so.
Since 401(k) financing is not considered a loan, a credit check is not included in its requirements. With this, no evaluation will occur, and you can proceed with 401(k) business financing even if you have a low credit score, as long as you have a retirement plan.
The funds in your 401(k) plan may also be used as a down payment for your small business loan (SBA). Reducing debt is considered to be one of the top benefits of 401(k) business financing.
Demolish your funding problems with 27 killer ways to get cash for your business.
Aspiring and current business owners are no strangers to the challenges and obstacles of starting up and growing a business. Although these hurdles may be intimidating and sometimes overwhelming, you can overcome them.
One of the top challenges small business owners face, aside from the impact and effects of the pandemic, is the lack of capital. However, this is a matter that you can solve through 401(k) business financing. When done correctly, it helps business owners fund their venture. And it does so without worrying about tax penalties, early withdrawal fees, and falling into debt.
Navigating 401k business financing and how it can help solve your business’ lack of capital can seem intimidating if it is new and unfamiliar to you. However, finding the right company that offers a 401(k) financing program can help ease your worries.
Let Credit Suite help you with that! Credit Suite offers a wide range of programs, from their 401(k) financing program to other business loans and business credit programs. So whether it be a 401(k) financing plan or other business loan and credit programs, Credit Suite has got you and your business covered!
Jill Santos is an early childhood educator and a freelance content writer for The Stock Dork. She is passionate about serving others through research, education, and the arts.
The post How to Solve Your Business’s Lack of Capital with 401k Business Financing appeared first on Credit Suite.
Did you know there are more than 30 million small businesses in the United States alone?
With a number like this, small business owners need a competitive edge. If you are building a business, chances are you’re looking for ways to get your leg up on the competition. To accomplish this, you’ll need a good marketing strategy and access to the best digital marketing tools.
In this post, I’m going to outline 21 digital marketing tools you need when starting a business. You may be familiar with a marketing tool or two in here; others might be new to you.
From simplifying your social media marketing efforts and project management to finding freelancers, each of these tools will help you get the competitive edge you’re after.
Are you ready to grow your business with digital marketing?
Then let’s begin.
Get this: email marketing is used by eight out of ten marketers.
This isn’t something you should wait on. Instead, you should implement an email marketing strategy on day one.
With more than 12 million customers, MailChimp has claimed its spot as one of the top email marketing providers and digital marketing tools in the world.
While there are alternatives, this tool remains one of the best, for many reasons:
When starting a business, it’s not likely that you will have more than 2,000 subscribers. For this reason, you can get started with MailChimp early using the tool for free as you get your feet wet with email marketing and then move to a paid plan as you scale.
When it comes to marketing, sales, and CRM software, HubSpot has become one of the top players.
For the sake of this post, let’s focus on its marketing software solutions. The company has this to say about this digital marketing tool:
From attracting visitors to closing customers, HubSpot brings your entire marketing funnel together.
You know just how important it is for your marketing funnel to be in good working order. With this software, you have access to tools that help with:
There is no stone left unturned, when you rely on HubSpot’s all-in-one marketing software.That’s why it’s a top choice for those who are starting a business.
With everything you need in one place, you don’t have to pull yourself in many different directions. This will help you to find success in the early days and help you as you grow.
Trello is a digital marketing tool that helps you to manage projects and stay on the same page as your team–a sound digital marketing practice if you want to save time and frustration.
For example, you can share blog posts on Trello before you publish them. This gives others on your team the opportunity to review the post, weigh in with their thoughts and make changes that could strengthen the piece before it goes live.
In the past, before the days of Trello and similar programs, email was the best way to collaborate with your team. While this is still helpful, to a certain degree, it can lead to confusion, missed messages, and frustration.
With Trello, everything related to your online marketing strategy can be shared in the same place. It only takes a few minutes to set up a board. Even better, you can quickly invite your entire staff, all of whom can jump in on the action without delay.
Trello isn’t the only digital marketing tool of its kind, but it’s, by far, one of the best. When it comes to collaborating with others regarding marketing tasks, this tool is hard to beat.
Social media plays a big part in the success of any company, regardless of size, age, or industry. In fact, I’d argue that social media marketing is a must to thrive in this digital era.
Digital marketing tools like Hootsuite allow you to schedule social media posts in advance, thus saving you loads of time.
Hootsuite offers tons of features to help you grow your business. For example, you can:
Social media marketing is not as difficult as it sounds, especially when you rely on tools like Hootsuite. With this particular tool, you can schedule and manage social media profiles for more than 30 platforms.
Imagine doing this by hand, without a central dashboard to guide you. It would be enough to frustrate even the most experienced entrepreneur, let alone a new business owner. Let Hootsuite take over like the social media marketing manager it is.
As one of the top free tools from Google, Analytics should be part of your digital marketing strategy from the very start. In fact, I’d argue it’s one of the most powerful digital marketing tools out there.
It only takes a couple of minutes to add the Analytics code to your website, giving you the ability to track every action by every visitor.
This is considered by many to be nothing more than a traffic tool, but it can actually have a big impact on your marketing strategy, if you know what you’re doing.
Take, for example, the ability to see where your traffic comes from:
Maybe you realize that a particular social media campaign is driving tons of traffic to your website. With this data, you can adjust your future strategy, in an attempt to capture the same results.
Or, maybe you find that a particular set of keywords is doing wonders for your organic traffic. Again, you can turn your attention to these keywords, ensuring that you keep these in mind as you create content down the road.
Google Analytics isn’t one of those digital marketing tools you can ignore. Installing this early on is a key decision, in regards to your digital marketing strategy. The data you can collect is extremely valuable.
The tagline of this digital marketing tool says it all:
Track, analyze and optimize your digital marketing performance. See what’s working and what’s not, across all campaigns, mobile and web.
It’s good that you want to spend so much time on digital marketing in the early days of your business. But, do you really want to make decisions that aren’t having an impact?
You need to track and analyze every move that you make, as this is the only way to focus on the tactics that are providing the best return on investment (ROI).
With KISSmetrics, you can easily see what’s working and what’s not, across all of your campaigns.
Take, for example, its Analytics products. With a funnel report, you can see if there are any “leaks” in your business. Here’s a screenshot of what to expect:
Starting at $120/month, KISSmetrics isn’t the cheapest digital marketing tool on this list. Even so, it’s one that you’ll want to think about, as your business gets up and running.
With a variety of products at your fingertips, the insights you receive will be invaluable to your company’s growth.
Do you plan on spending a lot of time on social media marketing?
While this is a great way to engage your audience and send traffic to your website, it’ll only work in your favor if you have a solid plan in place.
Tools, such as Followerwonk, are designed to help you improve your social media marketing strategy, such as by digging into your Twitter analytics data.
I included this digital marketing tool on the list for two reasons: it’s easy to use and it’s extremely effective.
Followerwonk breaks down its service into three distinct categories:
The only downside of Followerwonk is that it can’t be used with other social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. However, if you have big plans for Twitter, this is a digital marketing tool you should use often.
Even though you may not use it on a daily basis, it can come in handy from time to time. After all, it’s imperative that you understand your audience.
If WordPress is your content management system (CMS) of choice, you shouldn’t hesitate to install the All in One SEO Pack plugin.
A big part of your digital marketing strategy should be based around search engine optimization (SEO) and this digital marketing tool will ensure that you always make good decisions regarding your content and its appeal to search engines.
Some of the top features of the plugin include:
Even though all of these features are exciting, it’s something else that has made it one of the most popular WordPress plugins of all time: its ease of use.
Here’s a screenshot, showing a small portion of the tool’s back end:
You don’t have to make many decisions in order to get started. And, if you’re ever confused as to what you should be doing, there is help to be had. All you have to do is click the “?” symbol and you’re provided with more information and advice.
The All in One SEO Pack plugin has more than a million active installs. You won’t have to look far to find competitors, but there’s a reason why so many people use this digital marketing tool.
Not only is it free and simple, but it’s results can’t be denied. It will definitely help your website from an SEO perspective, which is something all new businesses need.
BuzzSumo is a big deal for people who need to learn more about their market.
When you start a business, it’s safe to say you know a thing or two about your industry and primary competitors. But, once you dig around more, you’ll find that there is tons of data you can use to your advantage.
If you want to better understand your competition or if you want to learn what type of content performs best with search engines and your audience, you don’t need any other digital marketing tool by your side.
A BuzzSumo search results page looks something like this:
Additionally, there is high level data associated with each result:
This information can come in handy at many times, such as when you are creating content for your blog.
Why guess as to what is performing best in your niche? You can use BuzzSumo to answer this question with 100 percent accuracy.
With this search, you see that the top result has approximately 20k social shares. You now know what to strive for, if you want to achieve the same level of success.
As a big fan of BuzzSumo, this is a ditial marketing tool that I use on a regular basis. Even if you don’t do much with the data at first, each search will help you to better understand your competition and target audience.
Do you ever find yourself asking this question: what’s working and what’s not about my website?
This is where Crazy Egg can step in and provide assistance.
There are two keys here:
When you’re new to your business, you don’t want to spend countless hours dealing with IT issues. Unfortunately, this often happens when it comes to split testing. Unless you use Crazy Egg, of course.
The tool is packed with features, such as:
A tool that helps you understand what your website visitors like and don’t like, so you can maximize your sales and leads, means that you have to give Crazy Egg a try. It’s one of those digital marketing tools that you don’t know you need, until you use it one time.
Not only is keyword research a challenging task, but it can also get expensive with the price of premium keyword research tools. Your typical free software won’t offer you much but UberSuggest isn’t your typical free software.
As a whole, this digital marketing tool is easy for beginners because the dashboard is simple to navigate so you can quickly find the data you want. You’ll start by entering a root keyword or domain that you want to research. You get up to three free searches per day on the free version and you can upgrade to a paid software as well.
UberSuggest provides useful keyword information such as total search volume, difficulty, and paid difficulty if you’re thinking of running an ad campaign around that keyword.
As you work your way down you’ll see historical data that will show you how that keyword has trended over time. This is helpful for determining seasonal keywords or ones that are popular now but may die off over time.
You also get keyword ideas and suggestions that are relevant to the one you’re searching for so you can update older content or develop a content marketing plan.
Overall, UberSuggest is an amazing free keyword research tool that is a great choice for beginners and has enough value as a paid tool for those who are scaling as well.
CoFoundersLab is a great digital marketing tool for small businesses that are growing but need a little help to take things to the next level. It uses AI to help you find a cofounder, additional member, or advisor based on a certain set of criteria.
The best digital marketing tools make life easier. CoFoundersLab intends on helping to create a large ecosystem of business owners, entrepreneurs, consultants, and advisors so it’s that much easier to find whatever you need at the current stage in your business.
For example, you can search for someone with a specific skill and find them instantly without having to post on job boards, conduct interviews, and do onboarding. If you’re looking for an SEO content creator, you’ll simply fill out that set of criteria and be instantly connected to someone who can fill that role.
It’s similar to other freelancing platforms out there, but what separates CoFoundersLab is you can find someone who is on the same level. If you’re looking for someone to financially back your business or simply support you equally in your venture, this might be the place to do it.
When it comes to must-have digital marketing tools, Adobe Sign more than makes the cut. It’s a cloud-based e-signature service that helps you use less paper, save time, and get signatures using an automated signature system. You can send documents, sign, and manage the whole process via desktop or mobile device.
There are also integrations to keep records of all the signatures you’ve received so you can reference back if you lose something important.
This simple but useful tool solves a major problem that a lot of businesses have. More and more people are working remotely and may not have access to printers and scanners. This creates delays in your workflow and can frustrate customers if you’re unable to get them what they want because you’re waiting on signatures and approvals.
Adobe Sign is also usable from anywhere on any device. Someone can be on their way to a meeting in the car and sign on their mobile device using their fingertip. No need to print anything, scan, fax, anything. It’s completely digital, safe, and secure.
DropBox is an essential piece of the modern digital business. It allows all the working pieces of your business to come together in one place to eliminate clutter and save time looking for things.
Organization is the key to a successful business, and downloading and sharing files simply doesn’t cut it anymore. With people working from home, you can’t have everyone downloading personal company files onto their computers, misplacing them, or potentially abusing them.
DropBox prevents this from happening by being a totally cloud-based document sharing platform that allows you to set permission levels so certain people can only see what they need to.
You can also connect other tools like Slack and Zoom to DropBox so you have everything in one place. All company data stays in one place so it’s organized, safe, and accounted for.
If you’re still manually downloading files to your computer, attaching them to emails, and sending them off into space, you’ll find DropBox is a much more efficient and safer way to keep track of documents and document sharing in your business.
I don’t know where I would be without the full line of Gmail products. There used to be a time when we’d create pieces of content in Word platform, download it, and then attach it to an email and send it off.
The next person would mark it up with notes and adjustments, send it back, and the process would start over.
Thankfully, those days are long gone.
With Google Docs and Sheets, you can share documents in real-time and actually mark them up with the writer looking at them so you can see what they’re doing. There’s a chat feature and a suggestion area, too where you can ask questions and provide responses as to why a certain adjustment was made.
There’s a level of security and protection here, as well. Different permission levels ranging from “view” to “edit” give you complete control over your documents. If you’re sending a document off as a reference to something, you might not want that person to make any changes to it without making a copy for themselves, the Gmail Suite of products can do that.
Plus, everything syncs with your Google Calendar. If you’re talking in an email about setting up a call in three days, you can instantly set that appointment on your calendar and you’ll receive reminders across all your devices.
oDeskWork is a freelancer platform that connects you with the right virtual assistant or freelancer to support your business. At some point, every business needs to start hiring. No matter what business you’re in, to grow and scale, you need a support system because you can’t do everything.
This is where digital marketing tools like oDeskWork come into play. You can upload current projects that you need completed, browse profiles, and start communicating with potential candidates.
The platform also offers payment protection, so you ensure you get the services you anticipated. Payments are only released to the freelancer when you’re satisfied with the work they completed.
oDeskWork has experts and freelancers in all different kinds of niches including digital marketing, virtual assisting, transcribing, proofreading, writing, editing, SEO, WordPress, and more.
Upwork is a freelancer platform that connects you with qualified candidates who can help your business grow, making it a must-have digital marketing tool. What I like most about Upwork is the transparency you get and the fact that you can see all types of work that the freelancers have completed.
For example, if you’re browsing for someone to build you a WordPress website, you wouldn’t hire someone without first seeing what type of work they do, right?
The platform will show you examples of their work, their job success rating, a description of their skills, their rate per hour, as well as any badges they’ve earned for continuous performance.
When you’re searching for tools for digital marketing agencies, the last thing you need is to waste time with people who can’t deliver. Upwork ensures that doesn’t happen with their escrow protection as well. None of the money you pay for a job will be released until you are happy with it.
I also find that Upwork is a great place to find long-term working relationships with freelancers that you can use on an ongoing basis versus a one-off job.
I like to think of Fiverr as Upwork’s little brother. When you’re looking to create long-term working relationships and hire someone who can really provide you with a premium service, you should turn to Upwork.
Sometimes though, you’re just looking for a quick job that someone can turn around fast for an affordable price. For example, if you need someone to do up a quick logo for an affiliate site for five dollars, Fiverr is the way to go.
One thing I really like about Fiverr is you can quickly sift through freelancers using the search feature. Type in the service you’re interested in, and you’ll find information such as overall rating and average starting cost.
Fiverr also provides certain freelancers with titles like “top-rated seller” and “level 2 seller.” These will help you determine what level of experience you’re looking for in the job you need to be completed. The best digital marketing tools offer this kind of trust.
This tool is best for one-off jobs that are lower budget and not as difficult, but I wouldn’t recommend hiring off Fiverr for anything too involved such as link building or content creation.
Need to stay on task? This digital marketing tool can help.
OmniFocus is a task management tool that helps you manage all your operations in one place. You can keep track of everything that’s going on all from your browser or mobile device.
You can tag certain projects, assign them to the individual you want to complete them, and set due dates so you can lay out your week in the most productive way possible. As work comes in, you can assign support workers to handle the task and close it out when it’s complete.
One of my favorite things about OmniFocus is the forecast feature where you can get an overall snapshot of what you have coming up in the future including recurring tasks that might only happen once per quarter, bi-annually, or even every few years. This ensures that no one forgets anything.
The main downside is that this tool is only available for Apple users at this point. For all the Windows and Android people out there, you’ll have to go with something else like Trello or ClickUp for now.
We all know Zoom as the video conferencing software used to bring people together no matter where they are on the planet. We’re all facing our own unique remote working situation but we still need to connect sometimes and Zoom allows that to happen. The best digital marketing tools help bring businesses together.
You can share your screen, draw on the screen, record meetings, and invite others to join in as well. Zoom offers free video conferencing for up to 100 participants for up to 40 minutes.
If you’re holding a one-on-one meeting that runs longer than 40 minutes, I’ve found in the past that Zoom will often extend the meeting for free with no time limit.
Toggl helps bring this list of digital marketing tools together. For all the work you’re doing, freelancers you’re managing, and documents you’re sharing; you need to have an idea of how long everything takes.
This tool does that with time tracking, reporting, and project planning. You can use Toggl to get an accurate representation of how long a task or project will take so you can know how many resources you need to allot for next time.
Toggl offers a few different tools for time tracking, project planning, and candidate-screening so it’s an all-inclusive tool for businesses that manage a remote team.
Starting or growing a business isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming, either.
The first step is to create a strong digital marketing strategy–one that incorporates social media marketing, search engine optimization, email marketing, and consistent, valuable content that truly speaks to your audience.
Ensuring your business succeeds means using the right digital marketing tools at the right time. It’s my hope that this list will help you in your digital marketing efforts and bring you the success you seek.
Would you add any other tools to this list? Did you use any of these as you launched your small business? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
The tech-heavy index entered correction territory as stimulus hopes and brightening economic prospects sapped investors’ appetite for government bonds and the once highflying shares.
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Every entrepreneur asks themselves “How do I fund my business?” Some times it’s “What is the best way to fund my business?” The answers to each are many and varied, and they depend on a number of variables. Specifically, the question right now may be “How do I fund my business during a global pandemic?” We have the answers you seek.
When asking yourself how do I fund my business, you are likely only thinking of traditional loans and investors. First, it’s important to know that there are other options. That said, loans are the easiest and most reliable, despite the many pitfalls and barriers. This is true even if you have one of the best recession proof businesses around. The need for business funding never goes away. No doubt you are asking yourself what other options you have however, especially if loans are not currently an option.
Truthfully, taking on debt during the course of running a business is virtually unavoidable. However, there are debt free funding options that you can use to reduce the amount of debt you have to take on. Aside from investors, there are grants and crowdfunding options out there.
Learn bank rating secrets with our free, sure-fire guide.
Crowdfunding
With crowdfunding, you don’t have to find just one or two investors that have large sums of money. In fact, you can find a lot of investors to fund your business a few bucks at the time. Honestly, some may kick in as little as $5.
There are many crowdfunding platforms. Yet, they aren’t all the same. You have to check them each out and figure out which one will work best for your business. Here are a few to start with.
Of course, there are other platforms out there, but this is a good list to start with.
There are not a ton of grants out there compared to other funding options, and competition is stiff. Still, they are an option if you are wondering how to fund my business without debt.
Also, requirements vary from grant to grant. Furthermore, most are only awarded to a certain number of recipients. Despite this, they are still worth looking into if you fall into one of these basic categories.
There are also some corporations that offer grants in a contest format that do not require much other than that you meet the corporation’s definition of a small business and win the contest.
Companies like FedEx and LendingTree have grant contests each year.
Consequently, If traditional loans are not an option due to bad credit, you might look into private lender options. There are a lot of them, but they aren’t all created equal. You will have to do your research to avoid scams. Also, though all private lender rates are typically higher than their traditional counterparts, you will want to make sure you get the best rate you can. Here is some information to get you started.
Fundation provides both term business loans online 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. Typically, these funds come in the form of a line-of-credit
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. They use a soft pull on your credit so it doesn’t affect your score. They require a minimum credit score of 620.
There are two options for small business financing with BlueVine. They include lines of credit and invoice factoring. Loans start at $5,000 and go up to $100,000. Your annual revenue must be $120,000 or more, and the borrower must be in business for at least 6 months. Also, with BlueVine, there is a personal credit score requirement of 600 or higher.
Fundbox offers an automated process that is super-fast. They have no specific credit score requirement. You simply have to be an established business with regular monthly revenue.
Founded in 2008 by college roommates, Fora Financial 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.
OnDeck
Obtaining financing from OnDeck is quick and easy. First, you apply online and receive your decision once application processing is complete. If you receive approval, your loan funds will go directly to your bank account. The minimum loan amount is $5,000 and the maximum is $500,000. There is a personal credit score requirement of at least 500.
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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 business loans online. This is due to its heavily vetted network of lenders. Your personal credit score must be 560 or above.
Credibly specializes in unsecured business loans. The minimum loan amount is $5,000 and the maximum is $250,000. They require a person credit score of at least 500 and at least 6 months in business. You also have to show at least $15,000 in average monthly deposits.
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.
How Do I Fund My Business If I Don’t Know Where to Start?
Well, you don’t. You have to know where to start, so we are going to tell you. You start with the foundation. How your business is set up has everything to do with fundability. Fundability is the ability to get funding for your business. How do you set up your business to be fundable?
Your business must have its own:
An EIN is an identifying number for your business that works in a way similar to how your SSN works for you personally. You can get one for free from the IRS.
Honestly, not incorporating your business as an LLC, S-corp, or corporation is not an option. However, which form you choose, is. It does not matter as much for fundability, but it makes a difference for your budget and liability protection. Talk to your attorney or a tax professional about which option will work best for your needs..
Also, when you incorporate, you become a new entity. You basically have to start over. You’ll lose any time in business and a positive payment history you may have built up. For this reason, you need to incorporate as soon as possible.
In addition, you have to open a separate, dedicated business bank account. There are a few reasons for this. For these purposes, the main one is it will help create the separation from owner you need to build fundability.
For a business to be legitimate it has to have all of the necessary licenses it needs to run. Do the research you need to do to ensure you have all of the licenses necessary to legitimately run your business at the federal, state, and local levels.
Website
Spend the time and money necessary to ensure your website is professionally designed and works well. Pay for hosting too. Don’t use a free hosting service. Also, remember that email address you need? Make sure it has the same URL as your website. Don’t use a free service such as Yahoo or Gmail.
What happens after you have a fundable foundation? Are you automatically going to have all the answers to all of the how do I fund my business questions? No, you won’t. In fact, you won’t even be fundable yet. To fund your business into the future, you need to know everything that affects fundability so that you can make sure yours is strong. So, what exactly does affect the fundability of your business?
Where do business credit reports come from? There are a lot of different places, but the main ones are Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, Equifax, and FICO SBSS. Since you have no way of knowing which one your lender will choose, you need to make sure all of these reports are up to date and accurate.
In addition to the business credit reporting agencies that directly calculate and issue credit reports, there are other business data agencies that affect those reports indirectly. Two examples of this are LexisNexis and The Small Business Finance Exchange.
In addition to the EIN, there are identifying numbers that go along with your business credit reports. Some of them are simply assigned by the agency, like the Experian BIN. One, however, you have to apply to get. It is absolutely necessary that you do this.
Dun & Bradstreet is the largest and most commonly used business credit reporting agency. Every credit file in their database has a D-U-N-S number. To get a D-U-N-S number, you have to apply for one through the D&B website.
Your credit history is a huge factor in the fundability of your business.
It consists of a number of things including:
The more accounts you have reporting on-time payments, the stronger your credit score will be.
This is a problem because a ton of loan applications are turned down each year for fraud concerns due to things not matching up. Maybe your business licenses have your personal address but now you have a business address. You have to change it. Perhaps some of your credit accounts have a slightly different name or a different phone number listed than what is on your loan application. Do your insurances all have the correct information?
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Both your personal and business tax returns need to be in order. Not only that, but you need to be paying your taxes, both business and personal.
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.
If you cannot afford this monthly or quarterly, at least have professional statements prepared annually. Then, they are ready whenever you need to apply for a loan.
Often tax returns for the previous three years will suffice. Get a tax professional to prepare them. This is the bare minimum you will need. Other information lenders may ask for include check stubs and bank statements, among other things.
There are several other agencies that hold information related to your personal finances that you need to know about. Everyone knows about FICO. Your personal FICO score needs to be as strong as possible. It really can affect business fundability and almost all traditional lenders will look at personal credit in addition to business credit.
Also, there is ChexSystems. In the simplest terms, this keeps up with bad check activity and 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. Consequently, you will run into serious fundability issues.
Your personal credit score from Experian, Equifax, and Transunion all make a difference. You have to have your personal credit in order because it will definitely affect the fundability of your business. That means, if it isn’t great right now, get to work on it. The number one way to get a strong personal credit score or improve a weak one is to make payments consistently on time.
This is related to when you apply and what you apply for. Is it the right time to apply for financing? Are you applying for a product you can use or even get?
In the end, the key to funding any business at any time is to have strong fundability. As a result, you have to start from the foundation and continually work to build business credit and keep all information up-to-date and accurate. Do this, and you will be able to find the answers to all of your “How do I fund my business” questions.
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Trainee Loan Wanted Three Types Of Student Loans For You
Pupil Loan Wanted Three Types Of Student Loans For You
Parents and also pupils that should take care of the high expense of an university education and learning have offered to them a variety of pupil finances. This post supplies information on 3 basic kinds of trainee finances.
Federal Stafford Loans
Unlike various other pupil fundings, application for a particular Stafford Loan must be come before by the declaring of a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA application ought to be made for the striving pupil.
The procedure of requesting a Stafford Loan varies in a 2nd method from the application procedure for various other pupil financings – as well as application for a Stafford Loan does not need a credit rating check.
There is no attire approach for the shipment of cash from a Stafford Loan. Some pupils obtain the cash straight from their college; various other Loan receivers obtain the cash from a financial institution or various other lending institution.
Trademark Student Loans
To get a Signature Loan, a pupil should go to a 4 year or 2 year college on a minimum of a half time basis. That trainee needs to additionally satisfy specific credit rating standards. Like a few other trainee lendings, application for the Signature Loan allows making use of a co-signer.
There is a genuine benefit to using for a Signature Loan with a co-signer. That procedure can bring about a decrease in the rate of interest on the finance. And also, if after college graduation, the trainee after that makes 24 succeeding settlements, the co-signer is eliminated from obligation for covering the finance expenditures.
He or she ought to think about obtaining a Signature Loan if a trainees prepares to go to an area university. Unlike various other trainee car loans, the Signature Loan compensates trainee candidates that have a great credit history score. Those candidates can obtain a reduced rate of interest or a reduced application cost.
Tuition Answer Loans
While the pupil fundings talked about until now have actually all been Federal Loans, the Tuition Answer Loans entail the loaning of exclusive cash. Cash from Tuition Answer Loans generally mosts likely to credit-worthy moms and dads or pupils. The suppliers of Tuition Answer Loans do not really feel that every pupil at a U.S. university is qualified to such a financing.
In order to obtain a Tuition Answer Loan, both the trainee as well as the customer need to have a Social Security number. Both the pupil as well as the consumer should be U.S. people, or be long-term homeowners. Both the trainee as well as the consumer should have great credit score.
Various Other Private Loans
A pupil preparation to seek a certain occupation must research the Career Training Loans. Like the pupil lendings reviewed in the above area, Career Training Loans are credit-based and also exclusive finances.
They permit a pupil to obtain cash for either courses at a profession college, or courses taken online. The institution participated in by the pupil must, nonetheless, have a permit from the state in which it runs.
Trainees that intend to pursue training in cosmetology or massage treatment do not need to abandon the opportunity to obtain a trainee finance. For them Career Training Loans are ideal. Those car loans can additionally aid a trainee that wishes to end up being an MRI professional.
They are the kind of trainee finances that are perfect for any person that wishes to examine at work.
Like some various other pupil financings, application for the Signature Loan allows the usage of a co-signer.
Unlike various other trainee finances, the Signature Loan awards pupil candidates that have a great debt ranking. While the pupil fundings talked about so much have actually all been Federal Loans, the Tuition Answer Loans entail the loaning of exclusive cash. The service providers of Tuition Answer Loans do not really feel that every trainee at a U.S. university is qualified to such a lending.
Trainees that desire to go after training in cosmetology or massage treatment do not have to discard the possibility to obtain a trainee car loan.
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