SteveBizBlog

What You Need to Know About a Merchant Cash Advance (MCA)

Traditional Term Loans for Small Businesses Involve Fixed Monthly Payments of Principal and Interest in Exchange for Upfront Cash and Rewards a Company to Pay Off the Debt Early. A Merchant Cash Advance (MCA) Provides A Cash Advance in Exchange for Variable Payments Based on A Percentage of Every Credit Card Purchase Received by The Business and A Fixed Predetermined Payback Amount.

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The 5 Stages of a Funding Plan

Crowdfunding, Debt Funding (Loans), Equity Funding (Ownership/Stock) / Emotional Appeal, Bootstrapping, Branding, Angel Investor, Debt Financing, Equity Financing, Funding, Venture Capital

Most Businesses Require Some Form of Funding to Get Started. However, Based on What Business Stage the Business Is At, The Sources of Funding Will Be Different. This Is Where Your Funding Plan Comes in To Identify How the Business Will Secure Financing for Each Stage.

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What You Need To Know About The Role Of The SBA

Debt Funding (Loans) / Bank Loan, Banks, Government, Loans

The Small Business Administration (SBA) does not lend money, it simply acts as insurance for lenders, such as banks, with 3 loan programs

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Video: Important And Unknown Facts About Some Common Sources Of Funding

Debt Funding (Loans), Equity Funding (Ownership/Stock) / Format: Video, Funding

Discover Some Important but Often Unknown Facts About the Role of the SBA, Using Retirement Funds, And Private Investors as Sources of Funding

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Video: What You Need To Know About Your Funding Options

Debt Funding (Loans), Equity Funding (Ownership/Stock) / Bank Loan, Debt Financing, Equity Financing

Enjoy the following excerpt from my FREE What You Need to Know About Starting a Business course where I talk about two common small business funding options for small businesses. We will discuss what I call the debt continuum, how lenders control risk and reward, and the value proposition for equity financing investors you can use to convince investors to fund your business.

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Why Startups Need Smart Money and Not Dumb Money

Debt Funding (Loans), Equity Funding (Ownership/Stock) / Funding

Many Entrepreneurs Seek Dumb Money to Fund Their Startups. Dumb Money Places A Drag on The Business with Debt or Dilution of Ownership. Smart Money Provides More Than Money to A Business in Terms of Leverage from Additional Skills, Experience, And Contacts Which Increases the Value of a Business.

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Here is How Business Lenders Control Risk and Reward

Debt Funding (Loans) / Debt Financing

Risk follows reward, the riskier the loan, the more reward the lender requires, and the interest rate is just one of three controls that lenders have at their disposal to manage loan risk and reward.

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The 5 “C’s” of Credit

Debt Funding (Loans) / 5 "C" of Credit, Bank Loan, Banks, Angel Investor, Credit, Debt Financing, Funding, Loans

When a business approaches a lending institution about debt financing, the lender conducts an evaluation of the borrower using a method known as the 5 C’s of Credit

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What You Need To Know About The Debt Continuum

Debt Funding (Loans) / Funding, Loans, Bank Loan, Banks, Credit, Debt Financing

Within the world of debt financing, there is a continuum, as different lenders have different appetites for risk and reward.

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Why You Need To Understand Your Credit Score

Debt Funding (Loans) / Credit Score, Banks, Credit, Debt Financing, Funding, Loans

When entrepreneurs look at debt financing, their credit score (FICO) plays an important role in being able to get a loan. Essentially, a person’s credit score is computed on five dimensions, each with a different weight.

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So Why Does a Franchise Cost So Much Anyway?

Debt Funding (Loans), Before Starting a Small Business / Bank Loan, Banks, Advertising, Business License, Sales Calls, Business Consultant, Guest Posts, Niche, Franchise

A franchise investment isn’t as high as most people think, especially when you put the investment cost into context and compare it with starting a business from scratch. There are eight factors that determine a franchise’s investment costs.

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Serial Entrepreneur or Serial Starter? – That is the Question

Before Starting a Small Business, Debt Funding (Loans) / Banks, Mentor

I believe there is a difference between taking advice from a serial starter vs a serial entrepreneur. A serial starter has played the game of business but not yet won. While a serial entrepreneurs in my definition, has not only played the game, but has also won the game by reaching either a natural conclusion to the business or achieved a profitable exit.

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How Not to Strike Out in the Game of Business

Small Business Marketing, Debt Funding (Loans) / Niche, Banks

Small business entrepreneurs never seem to lack vision, big ideas, or ambition! The vast majority of entrepreneurs I encounter in my practice believe they have a product or service that is so much better than what’s on the market already; they believe that if they can just roll it out, they will be able to

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What You Think You Know about Credit Is Just Wrong

Debt Funding (Loans) / Leverage, Bank Loan, Banks, Credit, Loans

There is a huge difference between consumer credit and business credit. Consumer credit funds consumptions while business credit is known as “leverage” and is applied to the purchase of an income-producing asset. As individuals, consumer credit is generally a method we use to obtain what we desire sooner than if we were forced to save

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Is Bad Debt Destroying Your Business?

Debt Funding (Loans), Small Business Finances / Credit, Debt Financing, Risk

Don’t look to our government as a model in understanding good vs. bad debt. Every day the media highlights another case of the government’s ignorance in the way money should be used. One side of the aisle says it is a revenue problem and we need to raise taxes on the rich. The other side

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A College Degree and Entrepreneurship in the Millennial Generation

Concepts Entrepreneurs Need to Know, Debt Funding (Loans) / Misinformation, Education, Leadership, Personas, President

Recently, I was speaking at a local community college about the value of an entrepreneurial mindset. While there, one student asked me, “How important do you think a college degree is to becoming a successful entrepreneur?” The question was a bit awkward since I was the guest speaker with no college education and there were

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How Your Confirmation Bias Is Stifling Your Business Success

Concepts Entrepreneurs Need to Know, Debt Funding (Loans) / Social Media, Bias, Banks, Business License, Cumulative Advantage

Learn how savvy entrepreneurs recognize they may have a confirmation bias that can stifle their success and discover how to avoid them.

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A Step by Step Guide to Business Financing

Debt Funding (Loans) / Debt Financing, Loans, Bank Loan, Banks

Several weeks ago, Sara Pope of ConsumerAffairs.com, reached out to me and asked if I could review a step-by-step guide to business loans and financing that her company had produced. My initial reaction was to just say no. My inclination to decline her offer was based on my experience with hundreds of nascent entrepreneurs. All too

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Why Advertising Is Dying In the Long Tail Marketplace

Small Business Marketing, Debt Funding (Loans) / Interruption vs Permission Marketing, SEO, Social Media, Niche, Banks, Advertising, Economy, Long Tail Keywords

In the old days, companies would do extensive research to try to predict what the market would buy. Once they felt that they had a good idea about what would sell and how much of it they would need, they would build a product line to produce it and develop a strategy to deliver it.

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Choosing the Right Location for Your Retail Business

Small Business Operations, Small Business Marketing, Debt Funding (Loans) / Location, Retail, Banks, Advertising, Budget

When it comes to selecting a location for a retail business, there’s a variety of criteria you should use, including: Many entrepreneurs have become bankrupt because they invested too heavily in a location that fell flat. Often, the location failed because other aspects of marketing were not properly attended to. If your location is hard

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The Turtle And The Hare

Concepts Entrepreneurs Need to Know, Debt Funding (Loans) / Banks

The ancient Greek word for arrogance is hubris. For instance, anyone proud enough to challenge the gods would be burned to death. As surely as night follows day, destruction follows arrogance. Warfare is filled with examples of hubris that lead to a country’s destruction or at least inflicted heavy damage to their society. Napoleon in

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Using a 401k Loan to Fund Your Business

Debt Funding (Loans) / 401k, Income Tax, Bank Loan, Banks, Funding, Loans

Retirement accounts qualify for special tax treatment by the IRS. A common retirement account is a 401k, where pretax dollars from you, which are often matched by your employer, are deposited into an account and allowed to grow tax-deferred. These funds are designed to create income during retirement and are subject to premature distribution penalties

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Retirement Account Funds New Business

Debt Funding (Loans), Equity Funding (Ownership/Stock), Small Business Regulatory and Compliance Issues / Funding, Loans, Income Tax, 401k, Bank Loan, Self-Directed IRA, Banks, Angel Investor, Debt Financing, Equity Financing

Many would-be entrepreneurs have money tied up in retirement plans like IRAs or 401ks that could be used to fund their businesses. Many simply believe they can’t access these funds until they reach the age of 59.5 without being subject to a premature distribution penalty. That being said, there are a few ways that you

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All Debt Is Not The Same

Debt Funding (Loans) / Debt Financing, Funding

Debt used to fund consumption, such as buying a new TV, is not a good use of debt. However, debt used to buy an income-producing asset such as a rental property, where the interest on the debt is less than the income derived from the principal invested, is considered a good use of debt. We

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Employee -Cash Flow Quadrant

Concepts Entrepreneurs Need to Know, Debt Funding (Loans) / Cash Flow Quadrant

Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, uses a model he calls the Cash Flow Quadrant to explain different ways income is generated. When you are an employee you know you will get a paycheck as long as you continue to work for the business, even if the business is not profitable. Earning

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