All posts by Mariela Merino

Having credit is important for anyone’s life whether you are a small business owner or a consumer. Credit comes into play in many ways from purchasing a car or renting an apartment. However, there are so many people who do not understand how credit works nor how their actions can affect their credit scores which can seriously have a negative impact on their financial situation. So, what exactly is credit and what do you need to know about it? Today we will answer that and much more.

If you own a small business, you have most likely considered ways to get funding to grow your business. Understanding how funding for small business works, how business credit scores are calculated, and how important it is to establish good credit, will all help you to achieve success as you grow and expand your business.

Private equity and venture capital often times get confused because they both invest in companies and use exit strategies by selling their investments in equity financing by holding initial public offerings (IPOs). While these two types of funding have similarities, they each perform in unique ways. In this article we will discuss what the differences are and how they work.

It is no surprise that having good business credit is essential when growing your business. When you have a good business credit score you can secure better terms with lenders and suppliers. If you are looking to apply for a business loan, you will get low rates, good terms, and a large amount of capital. There are so many benefits to having a good credit score and today we are going to discuss the steps to take to build your credit now.

Many people use a line of credit or a credit card as a form of financing for their business. You can borrow money from a lender or a credit card issuer and repay the balance with some interest. They both are flexible on how you can use your funds and how you repay them.  They are very similar, but they also have differences that exist between them. Today we will discuss how lines of credit and credit cards work how they are similar and different, so you know which works best for your business.

Many traditional lenders evaluate the potential of small business owners using a framework called the five C’s of credit. It is important to have a good understanding of what lenders are looking for in order to have to best chances of getting approved for business financing.

Financial forecasting is essential for any business type and business size. You need it to receive funding from banks or investors and is necessary for you to understand how to ensure your business will be successful. Predicting the future of any business is difficult but a financial forecast will be helpful for understanding what the success of your business can look like financially.

A credit pull is also called a credit inquiry which is a request from a business entity, lender, landlord or a credit company and they check what your credit is. This can negatively affect your credit score depending which type it is. There are two types of credit pulls, a hard credit pull and a soft credit pull.

There are lending criteria’s for each lender and each state but when applying for a business loan, everyone must follow the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filing. UCC filings or liens are a legal declaration from the lender to notify the interest in the collateral offered by the borrower. The UCC filings allow lenders to claim collateral that a debtor uses for securing financing. You might have seen a UCC-1 filing on your business credit report.

Most businesses count on loans to help with their small business’s needs. Not only can the process seem overwhelming or nerve wracking, there might be fear that you may not get approved for what you are looking for. Lenders deny hundreds of people getting approved every day and it can be really disappointing to get denied as a business owner. It is nothing to worry about or be ashamed of. What does matter is that you should start to look into the reasons your application was denied so you can then avoid them next time you apply. In this article, we will discuss some of the reasons why your loan application was denied and the following steps to take afterwards.