Tips to Build Business Credit
However, no business venture can succeed without adequate finance.
As no business person starts with all the necessary funds, but plans to borrow to meet certain expenses, it is absolutely vital to build business credit as early as possible.
A business needs funds not just for working expenses but also to expand and diversify, thereby, taking advantage of current market conditions.
Banks and other financial institutions, however, are chary of lending to startups because of their high failure rate.
In ensure that your business gets adequate funding at all the right stages, you need to establish a sound business credit profile.
The first step to build business credit is to obtain all the licenses and permits required to run your business.
Potential creditors are sure to check for these before they even look at your business plan.
Yet another easy step that many businesses overlook is that of getting a separate business phone number and yellow pages listing.
Even if you run your business from home, a separate phone number is essential for you to establish business credit.
Your next step for business credit success is to approach a few small vendors who will be willing to supply on credit and report your payment behavior to business credit rating agencies such as Experian and Dun & Bradstreet.
Once you obtain this line of credit, ensure that you make payments on time.
Also, check with the credit rating agencies periodically to make sure that only the correct information is being entered in your report.
In case of errors, provide proof to the rating agencies and follow up with them until they rectify the errors.
To build business credit, you need to first obtain a few loans that you can repay on time.
To get these first loans sanctioned, you need to have a properly documented business plan.
Submit this plan to the bank and be prepared to answer their queries regarding your projections for the business.
A good business plan will also include information about industry average profits and so on.
In the event that your projections show higher than average profits, include details of how you plan to achieve this.
While it is no easy task to build corporate credit, the advantages are numerous.
To be eligible for corporate loans, you need to first incorporate your startup.
A limited company is treated differently by the banks and provided credit on its own merit, not on the credit history of the proprietor.
Another advantage of incorporating your startup is the reduced liability you bear in case of failure.
This means that your personal credit history will not take a beating in case your business venture fails.
Though banks and other lenders are not ready to extend credit to a startup, it is possible to soon build business credit by following the steps mentioned above.
By having a proper business plan and repaying the initial small credit on time, your business will soon qualify for large sums as business credit.