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You've probably wished many times that you knew ahead of time how to avoid the mistakes that are going to cost you money. When it comes to your business, these can be so costly that you may lose thousands of dollars if you make them. My goal is to help you avoid some of the important ones so that you stay on the right track to making money, instead of losing money.
1. Not setting up your business in the correct Business Structure. Many new business owners dont think they need to set up their company as a legal business entity because it's only them working. They dont think its a problem to combine their business accounts with their personal accounts. Regrettably, this mixing of money and expenses causes a huge problem for the new business owner. If they keep their business and personal activity separate, they present to the taxing authorities (Uncle Sam) an obvious picture that they are functioning as a business and not as a hobby.
Keep in mind that when banks lend to individuals they consider it a personal loan and its reported to the personal credit bureaus. If an individual, or group, sets up their business as a corporation, partnership or LLC, lending institutions will report their business creditworthiness to the business credit bureaus " if they use their EIN on their application. Their FICO scores are therefore not affected. A business will look more professional in the eyes of a bank if they are set up as a business entity. This is critical in the business world.
2. Not presenting your business as established and in working order. This means that your business has its own address and phone number. It is very important that your business is listed in the national 411 directory. Many people run their business using a cell phone number as their business phone number. However, a cell phone number is not acceptable for most financial institutions. When you apply for a loan or line of credit, the lender will call 411 to verify that you are an established business with a specific address and phone number. Lenders also do not want to see P.O. boxes or UPS addresses. They want a real, physical address. 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. If they do not find a match, you may be denied business credit.
3. Not checking your credit report. You should already know how important it is to regularly check your personal credit reports for accuracy, but its also important that you check your business credit as well. Have you noticed that when you are a new business and you try to apply for business credit, financial institutions generally ask for a personal guarantee before extending business credit to your company? You may lose your ability to get business credit because of negative data on your personal credit report. This holds true for business credit. If false or negative information is reported to D&B (the most well known business credit agency), you may be denied credit. Financial institutions are looking to lend money only to businesses that are a good credit risk. It is critical that your personal and business creditworthiness are reported accurately with all the credit agencies. It is up to you to verify the accuracy on a regular basis.
1. Not setting up your business in the correct Business Structure. Many new business owners dont think they need to set up their company as a legal business entity because it's only them working. They dont think its a problem to combine their business accounts with their personal accounts. Regrettably, this mixing of money and expenses causes a huge problem for the new business owner. If they keep their business and personal activity separate, they present to the taxing authorities (Uncle Sam) an obvious picture that they are functioning as a business and not as a hobby.
Keep in mind that when banks lend to individuals they consider it a personal loan and its reported to the personal credit bureaus. If an individual, or group, sets up their business as a corporation, partnership or LLC, lending institutions will report their business creditworthiness to the business credit bureaus " if they use their EIN on their application. Their FICO scores are therefore not affected. A business will look more professional in the eyes of a bank if they are set up as a business entity. This is critical in the business world.
2. Not presenting your business as established and in working order. This means that your business has its own address and phone number. It is very important that your business is listed in the national 411 directory. Many people run their business using a cell phone number as their business phone number. However, a cell phone number is not acceptable for most financial institutions. When you apply for a loan or line of credit, the lender will call 411 to verify that you are an established business with a specific address and phone number. Lenders also do not want to see P.O. boxes or UPS addresses. They want a real, physical address. 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. If they do not find a match, you may be denied business credit.
3. Not checking your credit report. You should already know how important it is to regularly check your personal credit reports for accuracy, but its also important that you check your business credit as well. Have you noticed that when you are a new business and you try to apply for business credit, financial institutions generally ask for a personal guarantee before extending business credit to your company? You may lose your ability to get business credit because of negative data on your personal credit report. This holds true for business credit. If false or negative information is reported to D&B (the most well known business credit agency), you may be denied credit. Financial institutions are looking to lend money only to businesses that are a good credit risk. It is critical that your personal and business creditworthiness are reported accurately with all the credit agencies. It is up to you to verify the accuracy on a regular basis.
About the Author:
Find out more about setting up your business structure correctly, and learn additional secrets to help you present your company to the business world as well established. Get the information you need so you can obtain lines of credit and vendor credit cards for your business without risking your personal FICO scores.
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