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Jun 20, 2010
Posted by admin on Jun 20, 2010 in business | 0 comments
Since June 15, 2009, the United States Small Business Administration has been processing deferred payment small business loans of as much as $35,000 to be given out to 10,000 small businesses. This is covered by the SBA’s America’s Recovery Capital (ARC) Loan Program.
To qualify, companies should be private enterprises that are for-profit. They should have up to five hundred employees only and should be at least two years old. Furthermore, they should be able to prove financial need with a twenty percent decrease in sales, revenue or working capital. On the other hand, they should be able to prove that one of their two years in business has been profitable, and that with the infusion of cash they will be able to meet their existing and future debt obligations. This means positive cash flow projections. The ARC small business loans are intended to be used to pay outstanding debt such as payables to vendors.
For this batch of small business loans, there are no fees or costs involved, except if the borrower defaults on the loan later. In that case the SBA-approved lender can charge costs for securing and liquidating collateral.
The ARC small business loans also do not charge interest. Actually, the SBA pays the interest for the borrowers. Disbursement of the loan can take as much as six months but payment of the principal is also deferred for the next 12 months. After that, the borrower has five years to repay the loan principal.
Each small business can only avail of one ARC loan. SBA-approved lenders will offer the loans until September 30, 2010 or until available funds run out, whichever comes first.
There are, however, an estimated 30 million small businesses in the United States and only 10,000 of them can avail of the government’s small business loans. What if you do not happen to be among the 10,000 lucky recipients? How will your small business survive?
There are even doubts being raised on whether as much as 10,000 businesses can indeed avail of the ARC loans. There are fears that there may not be enough lenders willing or able to participate in the program. Lenders will have to advance the full amount of the loan, will not receive payment on principal for a full year, and will not be able to charge any fees, thereby absorbing all administrative costs. This may be too steep for many lenders. They may not be able to afford to participate at all.
This is where you as a small business owner can and should maximize your credit card services. We are not talking about your personal credit card services here. Instead, we are referring to the merchant services that enable your small business to receive credit card and debit card payments. Surely, any business these days avails of these types of credit card services. After all, more people pay by credit card or debit card rather than cash.
Most credit card services offer small business cash advances that can be as substantial as small business loans. These small business loans do not require any collateral because they are secured by your company’s future credit card receivables. This is even more convenient for your business because repayment is also built into those receivables. Credit card services automatically deduct a percentage from your income to go toward loan repayment. For as long as you have incoming sales, you can support your loan. Interest rates are often quite affordable considering how the loan can help your business.
Small businesses should therefore look into maximizing these credit card services for small business loans. The survival of your business could hinge on this.
Jun 20, 2010
Posted by admin on Jun 20, 2010 in business | 0 comments
There are all kinds of trade show displays that can be bought from different sources. You can try having your trade show displays from the internet where you can choose from numerous numbers of manufacturers. Or if pictures do not really work for you, it may consequently be best to get your stocks of trade show displays from local manufacturers. This is better for you as you can see the merchandise beforehand to ensure you’ll be happy with it before it’s purchased.
The exhibit booths are today used excessively for a company’s sales emergence. These booths are applied by marketing teams of many different multinationals as a way to foster sales of a particular product. Attractiveness is amongst several reasons why first preference is given to these booths by a lot of companies. You should have exhibit booths that are portable so as to reduce the difficulties implied in shifting from one place to another.
An exhibit that utilizes a trade show display truss: admits a business to present products or services that they offer on large screens and projectors as well. In reality, a ‘trade show display truss:‘ greatly raises the beauty of the display, which is all a part of the ability that the display has in drawing in new clientele.
A professional and attracting look should be possessed by the exhibit booths. This gives your marketing team a chance to attract people towards them. There should be a sense of creation on the several booths you want to pick out from and you should narrow your search to the ones with advanced graphic technology in them. Besides remembering some key points asked in buying exhibit booths, it`s not a bad idea if you’re able as a company to design your own logo floor mats from the various designs in mind. But be sure that the designer is well cognizant of the versatility and the innovativeness that are characteristic of good booths.
Jun 18, 2010
Posted by admin on Jun 18, 2010 in business | 0 comments
Setting up a home-based business may be a more cost-effective alternative to setting up a major company, but it may still drain the limited resources of a small business owner. To keep the business going, small business loans will definitely be necessary. These can be availed of through credit card services. This article will show you how.
First, you need to set up your home based business. Do your research on the type of business you want to establish. Find out what licensing and zoning requirements you need to meet and ensure that you meet them all. Do not attempt to cut corners here.
Get the services of an accountant, even if only on a consultancy basis, to help you set up your books and records correctly from the start. Ask for help in determining deductions so that you can plan on your business expenses. Establish a routine for keeping strict records of all income and expenses right from day one. Keep all business related receipts, invoices, client records, bank statements, bank deposit slips and canceled checks.
Being home-based, you need to set aside a particular place in your home just for your business. Make sure it can accommodate all the necessary equipment. Check that you have the appropriate electrical outlets and have them installed if needed to avoid overloading your system. Set up rules to keep the area insulated from household noise and disturbances.
Have a business phone installed that is separate from your residential line. Avoid having your children answer the business line. Install an answering machine to take calls when you are out or occupied.
Get a post office box so that you can use that address in your official stationery and other documents, keeping your business profile professional. Hold client meetings in rented conference rooms or set business meetings in good restaurants.
One of the most important steps in setting up your home-based business is to acquire credit card services that will enable you to accept credit card payments and debit card payments. These credit card services provide all the necessary software and hardware for you to be able to process payments in person, online or by phone. This step alone already expands the customer base that you can access.
Credit card services will also serve you well once your home-based business begins to feel the need for additional capital. When you need to get small business loans, you will not have to approach banks which are most likely not sympathetic to small home-based businesses.
The need for small business loans usually comes when the home-based business is already at least a year old. At such time, your home-based business would have created an average monthly credit card sales record with your credit card services company. You can refer to that when you approach your credit card services company for small business loans, sometimes called cash advances.
Credit card services do offer small business loans to their clients based on average monthly credit card sales, without the need for any collateral. The aforementioned average monthly credit card sales guarantee your company’s capability to pay the small business loans. Payments will be automatically deducted as a percentage of future credit card sales. This arrangement frees you from worrying about the amortization for your small business loans, too.
As soon as you pay up your small business loans completely, you are automatically eligible for new small business loans for as long as your home-based business is getting a good monthly average in credit card sales. With the help of credit card services, you can continue to expand and grow your home-based business.
Jun 16, 2010
Posted by admin on Jun 16, 2010 in business | 0 comments
The Small Business Administration is an agency of the federal government that is tasked with ensuring the small businesses are able to have access to credit, do business with the federal government, and maintain employment among small businesses. Although major corporations dominate the headlines of financial news – it is the small businesses within the United States that make up for almost 80% of employment. Additionally, almost 90% of the companies within the United States are considered small businesses under the definitions of the SBA.
The primary role of the Small Business Administration is to ensure that lending banks are able to provide financing for their small business customers. As we have discussed in previous articles, the primary method of how this is completed is by providing guarantees to banks on behalf of small business owners throughout the country. Again, the most popular and flexible of these lending programs is the 7a SBA Loan.
Historically, the SBA was established in mid 1953 via the passing of the Small Business Act. Prior to the SBA, the primary agency in charge of providing support to small businesses was the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Since its inception, the SBA has prompted an entire sub-industry in the world of finance. There are several banks, finance companies, and other organizations that deal solely with SBA loans. Additionally, there are also several types of firms including business planning companies and loan brokerages that exclusively assist small business owners with obtaining the 7a SBA loan and other loan programs offered by the administration.
Prior to the SBA, it was very difficult for small businesses (especially startup companies) to receive the financing that they needed. However, since its inception, the SBA has been instrumental with the rapid propagation of small business ownership within the United States. This trend is expected to continue as the role of the SBA has continued to expand over the past fifty years. The SBA has taken an active role in ensuring that small companies are able to successfully bid on and receive federal government contracts while concurrently ensuring that they have the financing they need to service these contracts.
Jun 14, 2010
Posted by admin on Jun 14, 2010 in business | 0 comments
In the midst of the global economic crisis, many small businesses are on the brink of closing down if not enough capital infusion is found. It is now even more difficult to get small business loans from banks, though. Ironically, the exact reasons why small businesses need such small business loans – the fact that business has slowed down and profitability has plummeted – are the same reasons why banks turn them down for loans.
Small businesses now have to be more resourceful in finding alternatives to small business loans.
Government Grants and Contracts Instead of Small Business Loans
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President Obama in February 2009 caused the pumping of billions of dollars for the revitalization of the economy. Because of it, there are plenty of government grants and contracts available to small businesses. These can be alternatives to small business loans.
But how can small businesses avail of the stimulus program?
The Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC) has the responsibility for helping small businesses obtain and perform federal, state and local government contracts. It has Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC) throughout the country, ready to help small business owners to get registered and find opportunities in the area of government grants and contracts. Counselors assist small businesses in filling out bids, proposals and quotations.
The PTAC holds seminars teaching small business owners all the ins and outs of government legalese, including acronyms and registries. A one-day seminar with PTAC covers what small business owners may take months to learn on their own.
The PTAC then helps small businesses with Central Contractor Registration (CCR), a requirement for doing business with the federal government. This registration can be so complicated that some companies take two days to do it when the PTAC counselor can help them get through it in 15 minutes.
Local PTACs will be of help in acquiring state and municipal contracts.
Other resources that small business owners should consult include the Small Business Administration (SBA) which also coordinates with the APTAC; the General Services Administration (GSA) which acts as the government’s purchasing department and provides information on becoming an approved vendor; the Federal Business Opportunities website (fbo.gov) where federal contract opportunities currently available are posted; and the Small Business Innovation Research website (sbir.gov) where grant and funded research opportunities for small businesses are listed.
Cash Advances from Credit Card Services Instead of Small Business Loans
Another alternative to small business loans are cash advances from credit card services. This option is much easier than winning government grants and contracts.
Most small businesses are already availing of credit card services that enable them to accept payments by credit cards or debit cards. This is practically a requirement to doing business these days, with people hardly paying cash for goods and services. Many small business owners do not know that they could avail of cash advances from these credit card services, though, and that such advances can actually equal small business loans.
The amount that a small business can borrow is based on its average monthly income from credit card sales. This is so because the cash advance does not require collateral and future sales receivables from credit cards stand as the collateral. Payment will also be done through automatic deductions from those future credit card sales. There will be no set monthly amortizations. Instead, a certain percentage of the sales will be allotted as payment. The small business owner, therefore, need not worry over where to find cash for loan payments.
Cash advances from credit card services are the best bet of small business owners as alternatives to small business loans.
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