Creating business credit is not as simple as putting your business name on a credit application. Unless you use certain strategies when creating your business credit relationships, you will most likely be using your personal credit information.
Using your personal credit for your business is not a good business practice. Your personal credit will be examined when you start your business, but you should not continue to use your personal credit for business related things. It will limit the amount of money your business can borrow, which can stunt or kill your growing business. In addition, it can affect your personal credit score and over leverage you personally.
To start building your businesses credit profile you need to:
1. Have your business set up as a legal business entity. Not as a DBA (Doing Business As). A legal business entity is a corporation, a limited-liability corporation (LLC), S corporation, or other business incorporation. These vary by state.
2. Verify your business listing in the national 411 directory. This is how lending institutions check to see that your business is real. It needs to be listed as a business with the address and phone number matching the information you provided at your state or county level. To check how your business is listed, just call 411. Online databases are not the National 411 Directory.
3. Build vendor or trade business credit. Even if you do not “produce” anything, you need to get business credit vendors that you are already buying from. You should also buy or lease your company vehicle(s) in your company name. If you produce an item, get vendor credit with at least your top five to six suppliers.
4. Get a business credit card using your business credit information only. Pay almost all of it off every month, but keep a small balance on the card. This will act like a line of credit and will further build your business’s credit profile and score.
Now that you have the basics of your business credit set up, you can start getting business loans with your business credit profile only. Business credit works quite differently than personal credit. If done correctly business credit will not appear on your personal credit report, thus not over leveraging your credit.
Business lenders may even want past and current sales figures and projections as well as your debt-to-income ratio when considering whether to issue your business credit. But what they really want to know is how your sales are going to improve if they give you x-amount of money.
Whether you are going to hire staff or purchase equipment, list it. Explain how the loan is going to benefit your bottom line.
If you have your basics of business credit established and are familiar with your business figures, you are probably on your way to having a real business credit line. A business line of credit can supply you with fifty thousand dollars, one hundred thousand dollars, or more to take your business to the next level!
As the Nations Leading Expert in Business Funding, Pat Gage has created a system for raising unlimited money for any business. The system is called “10 Steps To Money®” and has assisted many of his students and himself in raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for their businesses. Pat is not only a sought after business funding expert but also a national speaker and frequent radio show guest. For more information on any topic discussed, visit Pat Gage’s site at http://www.10StepsToMoney.com
Friday, March 27, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Businesses with Established Credit Profiles Have More Credit Options
Businesses with established business credit are prepared for getting additional business financing. They are also more likely to get financed when they apply, regardless of what type of business funding they apply for. Whatever type or size of business you have, establishing and maintaining good business credit is the savvy businessperson’s tool to get things done when you need to get them done, not when your business can afford it. Who doesn’t need money for their business?
Business credit loans with superb rates and extremely flexible terms are available to businesses with good, established credit profiles. Business lines of credit opportunities abound, each offering more flexible and lower terms than the last. Lenders offer the best terms of credit to businesses with good and properly structured credit histories.
Why is it then, that up to ninety-seven percent of all applications for business credit declined? It is because the business owners thought they were building business credit when in reality they were really running their business off of their personal credit rating or “From Hip National Bank”. They may have been in business for 20 years and still not have much, if any, business credit if they didn’t start out building credit the correct “10 Steps Way”.
If you’re not sure there is an easy way to find out. Call the credit bureaus and get a copy of your personal credit history. Do you see any of your business credit cards or lines of credit listed in your personal credit file? If any of the “so called” business cards or lines appear on your credit – your not using or building business credit. Likewise, this means if you have a bad run of luck in your business, your personal credit is going to suffer as well. Business credit loans don’t show up on your personal credit.
Next, you need to know what really is listed on your business credit profiles. It's time to call the business credit reporting agencies such as Dun and Bradstreet and Experian. You will see what items are being reported on your business credit report, and which ones aren’t.
It is never too late to start building your business credit. Establishing business credit lines will benefit your business whether it is two months from the grand opening or two generations old. Establishing good business credit is a great investment in your business, your family and yourself.
As the Nations Leading Expert in Business Funding, Pat Gage has created a system for raising unlimited money for any business. The system is called “10 Steps To Money®” and has assisted many of his students and himself in raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for their businesses. Pat is not only a sought after business funding expert but also a national speaker and frequent radio show guest. For more information on any topic discussed, visit Pat Gage’s site at http://www.10StepsToMoney.com
Business credit loans with superb rates and extremely flexible terms are available to businesses with good, established credit profiles. Business lines of credit opportunities abound, each offering more flexible and lower terms than the last. Lenders offer the best terms of credit to businesses with good and properly structured credit histories.
Why is it then, that up to ninety-seven percent of all applications for business credit declined? It is because the business owners thought they were building business credit when in reality they were really running their business off of their personal credit rating or “From Hip National Bank”. They may have been in business for 20 years and still not have much, if any, business credit if they didn’t start out building credit the correct “10 Steps Way”.
If you’re not sure there is an easy way to find out. Call the credit bureaus and get a copy of your personal credit history. Do you see any of your business credit cards or lines of credit listed in your personal credit file? If any of the “so called” business cards or lines appear on your credit – your not using or building business credit. Likewise, this means if you have a bad run of luck in your business, your personal credit is going to suffer as well. Business credit loans don’t show up on your personal credit.
Next, you need to know what really is listed on your business credit profiles. It's time to call the business credit reporting agencies such as Dun and Bradstreet and Experian. You will see what items are being reported on your business credit report, and which ones aren’t.
It is never too late to start building your business credit. Establishing business credit lines will benefit your business whether it is two months from the grand opening or two generations old. Establishing good business credit is a great investment in your business, your family and yourself.
As the Nations Leading Expert in Business Funding, Pat Gage has created a system for raising unlimited money for any business. The system is called “10 Steps To Money®” and has assisted many of his students and himself in raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for their businesses. Pat is not only a sought after business funding expert but also a national speaker and frequent radio show guest. For more information on any topic discussed, visit Pat Gage’s site at http://www.10StepsToMoney.com
Friday, March 6, 2009
Why a Business Line of Credit is Important for Every Business
Many small business owners are not concerned about their business credit or know what Business Credit is until they need to get a business line of credit or money for their business. Businesses of all sizes need to have a credit line with at least one lender as soon as they can acquire it. Lines of credit help build your business’s credit profile, and can pay for needed materials and equipment, that can help grow your business.
Before you can develop a line of credit for your existing business, your business will need to be set up as a business. Legally. This means you need to have a business phone and address that matches your state and/or county records. Consistency is key when setting up your business entity correctly in the eyes of the financial institutions. Banks will and do check these along with 17 other items to see if your business is a real business.
A business line of credit is usually a set amount of money that you can borrow up to. You can use this line of credit all at once, or over a period of time. In this way, lines of credit differ from loans. They behave more like credit cards, but you do not have the plastic and high interest rates. Your limit on a business line of credit stays the same, but the amount that you have withdrawn from that line of credit varies, and your payment will probably vary, too.
Have a line of credit for your business available before your business needs it. A line of credit can save your business during the slow season or help you survive those first few critical years when your business is either feast or famine. Remember these Business lines of credit don’t appear on your personal credit report!
Get the basics you need for obtaining business credit, then start looking for financial institutions that offer a lines of business credit. Once you obtain your business line of credit, you can consider business opportunities that were simply not possible before.
As the Nations Leading Expert in Business Funding, Pat Gage has created a system for raising unlimited money for any business. The system is called “10 Steps To Money®” and has assisted many of his students and himself in raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for their businesses. Pat is not only a sought after business funding expert but also a national speaker and frequent radio show guest. For more information on any topic discussed, visit Pat Gage’s site at http://www.10stepstomoney.com/
Before you can develop a line of credit for your existing business, your business will need to be set up as a business. Legally. This means you need to have a business phone and address that matches your state and/or county records. Consistency is key when setting up your business entity correctly in the eyes of the financial institutions. Banks will and do check these along with 17 other items to see if your business is a real business.
A business line of credit is usually a set amount of money that you can borrow up to. You can use this line of credit all at once, or over a period of time. In this way, lines of credit differ from loans. They behave more like credit cards, but you do not have the plastic and high interest rates. Your limit on a business line of credit stays the same, but the amount that you have withdrawn from that line of credit varies, and your payment will probably vary, too.
Have a line of credit for your business available before your business needs it. A line of credit can save your business during the slow season or help you survive those first few critical years when your business is either feast or famine. Remember these Business lines of credit don’t appear on your personal credit report!
Get the basics you need for obtaining business credit, then start looking for financial institutions that offer a lines of business credit. Once you obtain your business line of credit, you can consider business opportunities that were simply not possible before.
As the Nations Leading Expert in Business Funding, Pat Gage has created a system for raising unlimited money for any business. The system is called “10 Steps To Money®” and has assisted many of his students and himself in raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for their businesses. Pat is not only a sought after business funding expert but also a national speaker and frequent radio show guest. For more information on any topic discussed, visit Pat Gage’s site at http://www.10stepstomoney.com/
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