Have you been trying to get unsecured business loans? Have you been trying to get a small business credit card, or a vendor card like Home Depot? Are you frustrated – and getting nowhere? Do you need some help? I have the answers that you need.
There are several specific steps required to build your business credit so that you can become creditworthy enough to apply to lending and financial institutions. There are seven points you need to understand.
1) There is a difference between personal credit and business credit.
2) It is important to choose a business name and register it with the State.
3) The best legal entity structure for your business may be an LLC, a corporation, or a partnership.
4) The physical address where your place of business resides must be verifiable.
5) You can apply for business credit lines without hurting your FICO scores.
6) You can avoid pitfalls that can occur when using “personal guarantees”.
7) You must establish your business credit profile properly.
When it comes to your established business or your new startup business, mistakes in any one of the above 7 points can be extremely costly. They can cost you thousands of dollars. My goal is to help you avoid the important ones so that you stay on track to making better income, instead of losing it.
Let’s talk about three of these points.
#1 Not setting up a business with the correct structure. Some startup business owners don’t think they need to set up their company as a legal business entity (i.e., LLC, corporation) since it's only them working the business. They combine their business accounts with their personal accounts and this can have a huge consequence when it comes to the IRS.
#2 Not presenting a business as “established”. This means that your business must have its own address and separate phone number. It is critical that a business lists its number in the national “411” directory. When applying for a business loan, a line of credit, or a startup business credit card, the lender will call “411” to verify that you are a business with a specific, verifiable address and phone number. The address listed in the “411” directory must match the address listed with the State because the financial institutions will go online and verify your business information with the State.
#2 Not checking your personal credit report. You know how important it is to regularly check your personal credit reports to make sure there are no mistakes on them, but it is also important that you check your business credit report as well. This holds true for business credit reports. Dun & Bradstreet is the most well known of the business credit agencies and if false, or negative information is reported to D&B, you will also be denied credit. It is critical that your personal and business creditworthiness are reported accurately with the credit agencies, and it is up to you to verify on a regular basis that all your financial activity is being reported accurately.
Find out more about setting up your business structure and learn the secrets of presenting your company as “well established” so you can get lines of credit and vendor credit cards without risking your personal FICO scores. Go to: http://www.SusansBooks.com and order my eBook. You will also get a Free Credit Restoration Guide with your purchase to assist you in cleaning up your personal credit.
Author Resource:-
Susan Carter, author of “Basics of Business Credit,” has created an e-Book that provides instructions on how to set up a business entity correctly from the start. She has the knowledge to help anyone avoid the trap of having to use personal funds and assets to get their business started
More on that at Three “Business Credit” mistakes made by “Startup Businesses”
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