Category: Business Financing

ROBS (Rollover as Business Startups): Pros, Cons, Risks and Alternatives

ROBS (Rollover as Business Startups): Pros, Cons, Risks and Alternatives

If you want to start a business that requires significant capital—think a restaurant, or buying a franchise—you either need to qualify for a startup small business loan, find an investor, or have cash to invest.  What if you have money saved, but it’s tied up in your retirement savings?  For some would-be entrepreneurs, that’s a real possibility.  More than 885,000 401(k) plans have at least $1 million in  employer-sponsored plans (such as 401k or 403b plans) and individually controlled IRA… Read More
Building Business Credit History With Everyday Expenses

Building Business Credit History With Everyday Expenses

“I don’t want to take on debt for my business.”  That’s a frequent comment I’ve heard from small business owners who are trying to understand how to establish business credit. They are under the impression that the only way to build credit is to borrow money with small business loans or other types of financing. Here’s the answer I gave that business owner: "You don’t have to use debt to build good business credit scores." You can build business credit… Read More
Build Business Credit by Keeping Cash Flow High and Overhead Low

Build Business Credit by Keeping Cash Flow High and Overhead Low

It sounds like entrepreneurial nirvana: a business with high cash flow and low overhead. For some business owners, it's reality. There are more small business owners than you may realize who operate small businesses that make good money with very few fixed expenses. In fact, the large majority of small businesses in the U.S. have no employees (they’re called “nonemployer firms”), and another subset has just 1—4 employees, which may include a business owner and a spouse or other family member. … Read More
The Role of Credit Scores in Securing Business Financing: What You Need to Know

The Role of Credit Scores in Securing Business Financing: What You Need to Know

Key points: Strong credit scores can unlock financing opportunities for small businesses.  Credit, in turn, can help businesses manage cash flow and grow.  Learn how to build good credit, and leverage it successfully.  What Is the Purpose of Credit? Credit allows a person or business to make purchases they could not afford to pay for in cash. It also allows the borrower to maintain a cash cushion instead of using all their available cash to buy equipment, real estate, or… Read More
Can You Use a HELOC to Start a Business? Pros, Cons, and Alternatives

Can You Use a HELOC to Start a Business? Pros, Cons, and Alternatives

There are three trends that are converging to make HELOCs an increasingly popular choice for starting a business.  1. Americans are sitting on a record amount of home equity: $16.9 trillion of it. According to the ICE Mortgage Monitor, “strong home price growth in early 2024 increased mortgage-holder equity to a record $16.9T in Q1 (2024), $11T of which can be leveraged while retaining a 20% equity cushion – also an all-time high.” 2. Americans are also starting new businesses.… Read More
How This Wellness Center Owner Used Funding to Grow With Confidence

How This Wellness Center Owner Used Funding to Grow With Confidence

“Where's the money coming from?” Shalonda Pettis had to answer that question after she launched Georgia-based wellness and weight loss center, Elite Wellness Solutions. While she self-funded her business in the beginning, it grew to a point where that became unsustainable. “I thought I’d just pay for everything myself with all of my own money,” Shalonda remembers. “And I don't know that that was the smartest thing to do.”  While it was promising to see her business grow and serve… Read More