Oct
5
If you are a woman in business, then you need to know that some funding sources target female entrepreneurs in good ways, but others, known as scams, target women in a bad way. Of course there are traditional loans, scholarships, and invoice factoring. But just like anything else in life, there are safe programs, and scams.
The Small Business Administration (SBA)’s Office of Women’s Business Ownership helps level the playing field for women in business. And many women are entrepreneurs facing unique obstacles. This SBA office offers to encourage, inspire, teach and counsel, and also offers a Hot List of outside resources.
But women must also be careful and watch out for scams — seminars and email pitches that offer a financial sales pitch, infomercials that look like real television programs with celebrities, and telephone calls directed at female entrepreneurs, These are mostly scams that are intended to take your money. Never give out your bank account, social security, or credit card numbers.
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If you are a female business owner and believe that you have been scammed, or if anything looks suspicious, contact the Federal Trade Commission. it is the federal government’s complaint department. Or locate the National Fraud Information Center online, a division of the non-profit National Consumers League, and a website dedicated to educating consumers about scams and avoiding them.
A safe bet for women who are seeking to fund their business is accounts receivable factoring. Invoice factoring is an age old practice that has been used by businesses worldwide for more than 4000 years.
Invoice factoring is easy to understand. Company A delivers goods or services to Company B and invoices Company B. A factoring company then buys this invoice from Company A at a discounted rate, depositing this amount in Company A’s bank. Company B then pays the factoring company for the full amount of the invoice.
There is one very important thing to remember… You should employ factoring before a situation where your company becomes too leveraged. We all know how that can happen — everything from bad luck to careless spending, or even just a bad economy. It would be close to impossible for the owner to find a factoring company to work with. With invoice factoring or receivables factoring, you are usually selling your invoices to a factoring company. If there is a lien ahead of the factoring company’s lien and something goes wrong, the bank could step ahead of the factoring company for payment.
Kristin Gabriel is a writer who works with The Interface Financial Group (IFG), North America’s largest alternative funding source for small business. The company provides short-term financial resources including invoice factoring, serving clients in more than 30 industries in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. IFG offers expertise in factoring, accounting, finance, law, marketing and banking.
Article from articlesbase.com
Oct
2
Applying for a small business loan refers to the process by which a business owner requests funding from a lending institution. The process is usually not very easy and many documents are required for a lender to consider loan requests.
The most common documents a lender will require of small business loan applicants are the loan application, personal and business tax returns, a personal financial statement from each owner of the business, certified financial statements of the business, documentation of the business’s structure, a list of all outstanding debts, and a business plan. A business plan usually includes expected revenue and how the loaned money will be spent.
Depending on the lending agency, applicants may be required to also submit a proposal on how they will repay the money, including payment amounts and the length of the loan repayment term. Other times the lender will already have a set plan regarding loan terms.
Lenders also consider the available capital and collateral of a business when an owner applies for a small business loan. Lenders want to know how much the owner has invested in the business and what collateral can be used to secure the loan in case it is not repaid.
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The interest rates and payment plans differ according to which lender is chosen for a small business loan. Having good credit and a healthy financial history can help a business owner secure the best terms for a small business loan.
Applying for a small business government loan usually means to go through the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) to obtain funds for a business. The most basic type of loan offered by the SBA is a 7(a) loan, which is provided by lenders such as banks. These lenders structure their loans according to the SBA’s requirements and receive a guaranty for a portion of the loan. These loans are available only by guaranty, and both the lenders and the SBA share the risk of loans not being repaid. 7(a) loans come directly from the lenders; therefore, they are technically not government loans.
To apply for a small business government loan, business must meet all of the following eligibility requirements:
§ Be a for-profit business
§ Meet size requirements for the business’s industry
§ Lack internal sources for financing
§ Demonstrate ability to repay loan
Certain types of 7(a) and special purpose loans may call for additional eligibility requirements. Other important factors considered when applying for a small business government loan include effective management, character, owner’s equity, and collateral. An individual may also be asked to provide a “Statement of Personal History” to analyze the abilities of the individual.
Other variables that a business owner should be aware of when applying for a 7(a) loan are the maximum loan amounts, interest rates, fees, guaranty percentage, maturity terms, and prepayment penalties.
Sep
29
A few nice Bankruptcy images I found:
Going out of business?
Image by ucumari
It has been reported that Skybus will file for bankruptcy on Monday.
This is the airline Tammy and I took to Columbus on our trip!
divorce, nyc style
Image by Max Nathan
also tax, immigration, and bankruptcy while-u-wait. lower east side, march 2006.
Panel: Diving Into Trouble: What Will It Take For Distress Investors To Find Success?
Image by djevents
Onstage: Nick Elliott, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review (moderator); Jackson Craig, Bayside Capital; William H. Henrich, Getzler Henrich & Associates; Diane Vazza, Standard & Poor’s
Sep
21
Starting a successful business means, besides an innovative idea, motivation, effort, concentration and flexibility, the ability to adapt to new circumstances, passion for work, an innate preference for challenges and risk-orientation, a team of clever experts, negotiation skills. Moreover, you need a good business plan and excellent presentation skills to attract potential investors, as most entrepreneurs, whether they have a small start-up business or have already developed it, decide to request further funding.
If you have recently decided to found your company and you need start-up capital, one of the most valuable funding sources could be business incubators, programs designed the development of companies. Besides capital, they offer a wide number of facilities, such as management support and advice, links to higher education resources, intellectual property management, customized professional assistance, shared services, cheap office space, networking activities. Their role is to produce viable businesses, with a rapid and efficient growth. Businesses created by private incubators have a success rate of about 85%.
Incubators could be profit, that is, private companies or non-profit â supported by the state or a local government. Their objectives are both economical and social and include increasing the number of jobs and company formation rate, social assistance for minorities or for youth. Private companies, focused mostly on profit, require a percentage of minimum 20 of the company ownership. To be eligible for funding, companies must apply for admission and present feasible ideas with a great business potential and a workable business plan. Some incubators are high-tech oriented, others fund every type of business. Companies accepted into an incubator have higher chances to be viewed favourably by investors.
A properly set-up incubator can resemble a Venture Capital partnership, meaning that they also have connections in the fields they fund, hovering around centers of entrepreneurial activity, as well as wide expertise. The average amount of time spent by a company in an incubator program is usually two or three years, until the product or service is brought to market, depending on the type of business and level of expertise possessed by the entrepreneurs. The process takes less time to manufacturing companies and more to life science firms, for example.The socioeconomic advantages of business incubation consist of job creation and local economy diversification, potential business opportunities identification, creation and retention, community revitalization.
Choosing the right incubator means considering a few key points and doing research connected to the quality of services, past success rates, service and space-related issues, management and support of sponsoring organizations, policies and procedures. The extent of services provided should also be considered, as well as asking for and checking references. Entrepreneurs should also be careful with the incubator syndrome, that is, relying too much on the initiative and judgement of the consultants, an immature shift of responsibility.
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