Tag Archives

3 Articles

HOW TO BUILD BUSINESS CREDIT AND SECURE FINANCING FOR YOUR STARTUP OR GROWTH VENTURE by Ty Crandall and Hemda Mizrahi

Posted by Editor on
0
Business
HOW TO BUILD BUSINESS CREDIT AND SECURE FINANCING FOR YOUR STARTUP OR GROWTH VENTURE by Ty Crandall and Hemda Mizrahi

Business credit and financing expert Ty Crandall  joined me on “Turn the Page”  to discuss how you can master both personal and business credit—and secure financing for your business, even when commercial banks say “no.”

If you have your own business, or are looking to start one, Ty offers additional tips in this post!

THE BENEFITS BUSINESS CREDIT
Ty shares the following reasons that he encourages companies to build business credit:

1. Business credit separates personal and business liability. As a business owner, by applying for credit using your Employer Identification Number (EIN), rather than your Social Security Number (SSN), you can obtain business credit with no effect to your personal credit. When you apply for business credit, no inquiries are placed on your consumer (personal) credit report, and business credit reports only to the business reporting agencies. You can acquire business credit without a consumer credit check (regardless of the quality of your personal credit).

2. Business credit card limits are 10 to 100 times higher than that of consumer credit.

3. Your can build business credit quickly, securing vendor credit immediately. Major stores grant credit in as little as 60 days, and fleet and cash credit in 120 days or less.

4. Business credit is the only solution in which you, as a business owner can obtain credit even if you don’t have collateral, verifiable cash flow, or good personal credit.  So even a startup business can build business credit. You can create an entity in United States and build business credit, even if you aren’t a U.S. citizen.

5. Business credit is used in almost all business lending decisions.  The quality of a business’s credit determines if the business can obtain a loan, the amount of the loan it gets approved for, and the terms of that loan.

6. Anybody can pull a business’s credit report without that business’s permission. This means that prospects, clients, potential investors, lenders, credit issuers, and even competitors have easy access to what’s listed on your company’s credit report.

HOW TO BUILD BUSINESS CREDIT
Ty suggests that you can build business credit by following these steps:

1. Ensure the business is setup credibly, with a real physical business address, or virtual business address, a professional website and email, business phone number, fax number, and toll-free number. Your local number should report to 411.  You’ll also need the appropriate licensing in your state, county, and for your industry.

2. Obtain and review your business credit reports with Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, and Equifax Commercial. Monitor your business credit reports as you build credit and dispute any inaccurate accounts with each reporting agency.

3. Attain vendor accounts from companies like Uline and Quill. These types of vendor accounts report to the business credit reporting agencies, so you can get credit even as a startup. As you use that credit and pay your bills, you’ll establish your initial business credit profile and score.  

4. Once you have 3 accounts reporting to the business reporting agencies, you can start to get approved for credit with major stores. Do not include your SSN on a business application in order to ensure that your business credit (rather than your personal credit) will determine your approval. Some major retailers will give you “net 30” accounts in the beginning until you have a total of 6 accounts reporting on your business credit reports. Many other retailers will start giving you revolving credit in this step.

5. After you’ve obtained 6 accounts, you can start applying to get revolving credit with most major retail stores. Once you’re up to10 total accounts, you’ll qualify for fleet and cash credit as well, and be eligible for some of the best terms on business loans.

Ty notes, “Just as you do with consumer credit, continue using your business credit and pay your bills early or on time. As you do this, you’ll get approved for more and more credit with higher and higher credit limits.  

SECURING BUSINESS LOANS
Ty advises, “A business that has cash flow, credit, or collateral can also qualify for a business loan. With collateral you can secure some of the lowest interest rate financing options available in the business world, rates that are even lower than those of a SBA loan. And you won’t need cash flow or good credit to get approved! Types of acceptable collateral include equipment, inventory, account receivables, purchase orders, a 401K, and stocks.

If you have good personal credit or have a guarantor who does, you can get approved for 0% unsecured financing up to $150,000, even as a startup. If you have cash flow of $10,000 or more monthly, you can quality for cash flow financing.”

I invite you to learn more by reading Ty’s books, Perfect Credit and Business Credit Decoded, and by downloading Credit Suite’s free, 4-step guide to building business credit at www.creditsuite.com/ein.

Listen to my conversation with Ty to receive more of his guidance on mastering personal credit, business credit, and business financing. Here’s to the start and growth of your business!

HOW YOU CAN OPTIMIZE YOUR CREDIT SCORE AND BETTER UNDERSTAND YOUR SPENDING AND SAVING BEHAVIORS

Posted by Editor on
0
Business
HOW YOU CAN OPTIMIZE YOUR CREDIT SCORE AND BETTER UNDERSTAND YOUR SPENDING AND SAVING BEHAVIORS

Syble Solomon Head Shot-VA-

Financial Behaviorist Syble Solomon joined me on “Turn the Page” to discuss how her Money Habitudes card game, which has been used by hundreds of thousands of people globally, helps people to have their “best ever” conversations about money. These types of dialogues can support couples in staying together, the wealthy in improving their quality of life (affluence does not imply well-being!), and those who are financially challenged to thrive.

Listen to our episode for insights that will guide you in better understanding your spending and saving behaviors.
Lee Gimpel-head shot-VA
“Credit” is a topic that goes hand-in-hand with your habits and attitudes about money. Subsequent to our show, Syble and her colleague, Lee Gimpel, with whom she created The Good Credit Game, provided information that will assist you in optimizing your credit score. Given the variability in how credit works in different parts of the world, the suggestions they shared are best applied in the U.S. Here’s what they said:

WHY CREDIT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU
Your credit score is derived from the contents of your credit report at the time that the data is requested. Different companies produce both general scores, and ones that are specific to particular industries and different types of credit requests. Your score answers the question, “How much does the financial system trust you?” It determines the likelihood you’ll be approved for credit or a loan, and the rates you’ll receive.

Your credit background is increasingly used beyond traditional places like getting a mortgage or car loan. It may figure into whether someone will rent to you, or if you qualify for a job, especially those that require security clearances. Lower credit scores can mean higher car insurance rates. Statistically, people with lower scores make more insurance claims.

START BUILDING GOOD CREDIT NOW.
It takes time to build good credit. If you plan on buying a house in five years, start improving your credit today – not right before buying that home. The difference between great credit and OK credit could mean that you get a loan that’s hundreds of dollars cheaper per month, which will save you thousands of dollars over the course of that loan.

HOW TO OPTIMIZE YOUR CREDIT SCORE
The most important factor in your credit score is whether you pay your bills on time and as agreed.  This payment history accounts for 35% of your credit score.

Don’t max out your credit. Your credit score tends to suffer if you use a lot of your available credit at once, even if you pay your balance in full each month. A typical rule of thumb is to use a maximum of 30% of your limit. So if your card has a $10,000 limit, try to stay under $3000 in any given month. Increasing the credit limit on your account might improve your score in the longer term, if it enables you to use a smaller percentage of your credit limit.

Paying off your credit bill balance in full every month saves you a lot of money, while paying just the minimum will cost you a lot! Closing all old credit cards can lower your score. You can lose history and the lower overall credit limit can also hurt your score.

If you can’t pay your bill, contact the credit card company to work out a solution. Don’t ignore the bills. There will be late fees, and the balance will keep growing as interest will be charged on the new balance each month. This can lower your credit score, especially if outstanding balances go to collections agencies.

When you request your credit report, it is a “soft” inquiry and doesn’t lower your credit score. “Hard” inquiries are associated with financial commitments such as getting a loan or applying for a mortgage, credit card or line of credit. They can lower your credit score.

As long as you can make timely payments on what you owe, use credit! A minimal or nonexistent track record of paying back debt might lower your credit score and cause vendors to charge you higher interest rates. Since research shows that past behavior is indicative of future behavior, lenders want to see how you’ve handled similar situations.

FIX ERRORS ON YOUR CREDIT REPORT.
Credit reports often contain mistakes that can lower your credit score and/or reveal fraudulent activity. Errors like a misspelled name or incorrect address may cause someone else’s information to impact your scores. There are lots of fake “free” services out there, so ensure that you’re utilizing credible sources. Check your report from each of the three main credit bureaus annually. It’s free at: http://www.annualcreditreport.com.

HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT MONEY.
Reading Syble’s “10 Tips to Talk About Money with Your Honey article, and using her Money Habitudes cards or on-line tool can help you to better understand your “money personality.” If you’d like to educate adults and young adults about credit reports, scores, and credit cards – in a fun and hands-on way – include the The Good Credit Game in your discussions.

Listen to my conversation with Syble to learn more!

Dennis Kucinich Calls For End To Current “Debt-Based Monetary System”

Posted by Editor on
0
Business
Dennis Kucinich Calls For End To Current “Debt-Based Monetary System”

Costa

Dennis Kucinich Calls For End To Current “Debt-Based Monetary System”

Early this year, former 16-year veteran Congressman Dennis Kucinich proposed six steps to get America back on track. At the top of his list? A call for the Federal government to reclaim control of the nation’s monetary system. Speaking on The Costa Report, Kucinich outlined his National Emergency Employment Defense Act (NEED), a bill he originally proposed in 2011. The bill “restores to Congress the ability to create and regulate money, which is how the Constitution was written,” Kucinich said. NEED reverses the decision made in 1913 to give the Federal Reserve – an entity owned by, and operated for the benefit of, private banks – the power to create and print U.S. currency. Kucinich’s bill would put the Federal Reserve back under control of the U.S. Treasury, thus ending a 100 year-long policy of allowing private banks to manufacture money.

According to Kucinich, there are two reasons why this change is urgent. First, it would “change accounting rules so that banks are prohibited from creating money out of nothing.” And second, it stops banks from misrepresenting their reserves. The current practice, known as “fractional reserve banking,” allows banks to create account entries that “pyramid” the amount of reserves they actually have.

Kucinich believes placing the monetary system under control of the U.S. Treasury would also help in addressing the staggering debt crisis America faces. “Money equals debt right now,” says Kucinich, implying that the more money printed and put into circulation, the further into debt the country falls. He describes the current $18 trillion debt as a “debt-based monetary system,” where “money comes into existence primarily through private bank lending.”

Hear the full interview with Dennis Kucinich. Visit The Costa Report.

Enjoy this blog? Please spread the word :)

RSS
Follow by Email
Facebook
fb-share-icon
Twitter
Tweet