Category: Business Credit
Small Business Loans and Bad Credit?
While it’s true, a good personal credit score is an important metric small business lenders use to evaluate a business owners credit worthiness, a less-than-perfect credit score doesn’t rule out a loan provided other metrics look good. Before you start looking for loan, make sure you have a handle on these four things: 1. What…
Personal Credit Reporting Changes: What They Mean to You
It’s no secret that monitoring and protecting your personal credit score is important for small business owners. Your personal credit score is a metric every lender considers when evaluating your credit worthiness; and recent changes made by the big three personal credit reporting bureaus will make it a little easier. “The three big credit reporting…
How to Get Extra Time to Pay Your Suppliers
If you’ve been in business for awhile, you know that getting the funds to ignite your killer idea is just the beginning. Once the dust settles, the day-to-day challenges of running a business take center stage. Dealing with cash flow issues usually tops the list. At some point, you’ll probably find yourself in a situation…
4 Tips to Improve Your Business Credit Profile
While everyone understands the value of maintaining a good personal credit score, for small business owners is just as important to make sure your business credit profile is the best it can be. Both scores impact a business owner’s ability to secure a small business loan; and a good business credit profile can help secure…
How to Get Extra Time to Pay Your Suppliers
If you’ve been in business for awhile, you know that getting the funds to ignite your killer idea is just the beginning. Once the dust settles, the day-to-day challenges of running a business take center stage. Dealing with cash flow issues usually tops the list. At some point, you’ll probably find yourself in a situation…
Does My Age Affect My Personal Credit Score?
The short answer is no. Your date of birth doesn’t necessarily impact your personal credit score—but the age of your credit profile does. “What it means is the age of your credit report. Yes, your credit report has an age just like anything else,” writes Gerri Detweiler for Credit.com. “And that age has a positive…
Rebuild Your Credit With a Secured Credit Card
Running a small business is not for the faint-hearted. In fact, meeting small business financial obligations can sometimes be very stressful and feel like robbing Peter to pay Paul. In other words, making decisions about which invoices get paid and which ones don’t isn’t easy. And, although this may have been a fact of life…
Will Credit Monitoring Hurt Your Credit Score?
The short answer is no. Credit monitoring does not hurt your credit score. According to Experian: “If consumers access their own credit reports, it does not have any effect on their credit scores. Reviewing a credit report results in what is called a “soft pull,” or “soft inquiry,” meaning it will only be seen on…
Looking For a Small Business Loan? You’ll Need These 6 Documents
It’s true, every lender is different and many of them don’t require the same documentation, but here’s a list of six important financial documents that will help you prepare for just about any small business loan—from the SBA to an online lender. 1. Your business financial statements: These are the documents the lender will look…
Sometimes It’s the Little Things that Ruin Your Credit
You might be surprised to learn how some seemingly harmless things can make a mess of your personal credit—making it harder to get a small business loan. Not long ago, I came across a list of five seemingly harmless things Gerri Detweiler, Director of Consumer Education for Credit.com, suggests wreak havoc on your credit score—you…
My Banker Turned Down My Loan Application, Now What?
You’re not alone. Depending upon the study you read, as many as 40% to 90% of small business owners get turned away by the bank—many of them are strong and healthy businesses, but get rejected for a number of reasons. If you’ve been turned down by the bank, here’s what you should do next: 1.…
Why Does My Lender Want to Know My Personal Credit Score?
Why is your lender asking about your personal credit score? It’s a reasonable question if you’re looking for a small business loan. For most small business owners, particularly if you’ve been in business less than five years, your personal credit score is every bit as important as your business credit score. For startups and early-stage…
How to Find Your Business Credit Score
In addition to your personal credit score, if you’re a small business owner you also have a business credit score. Although personal credit scores are used to evaluate most small business owner’s credit worthiness—even those who have been around for several years – your business credit score is a key piece of being able to…
4 Ways to Start Raising Your Credit Score
If you’ve already taken steps to separate your personal credit from your business credit, then congratulations! However once you’ve taken this initial action, it’s important to maintain your business credit score in order to make your business as attractive as possible to potential lenders. Listed below are four tips for understanding how you can keep…
Personal Credit Vs. Business Credit
As a business owner, it’s important to understand the difference between your personal credit score and your business credit score. Personal credit is what you build by showing trustworthiness when it comes to paying your bills on time and in full, from credit cards to automobile loans to home loans. Doing so increases your credit…