The credit markets have been tightening for the last year and personal credit has become more and more elusive. Now, more than ever, we are starting to see a tightening on business credit and loans offered by banks. Banks are tightening their standards and dropping more liberal business loan programs as well.

Just a few months ago, BofA offered an express business line of credit program that even entrepreneurs in business just a month or two could qualify for with the right credit scores. They pulled the program in the last quarter. American Express for years has offered a Business Line of Credit program that entrepreneurs could apply for in addition to their American Express credit cards. The line of credit was competitive in the industry with interest rates and most small business owners with an American Express credit card were getting approved. The program was pulled in the last quarter.

The closing of great programs such as the BofA Express Line of Credit and Amex Business Line of Credit are signaling the need for small business owners to find alternative ways to finance their businesses. There are several unconventional methods that most entrepreneurs can use to build up access to capital they will need from time to time. Some of these methods include: merchant account cash advance programs, equipment leasing, equipment sale-lease back, A/R Factoring and trade credit (also known as corporate credit or business credit).

Trade credit is the single largest source of lending in the entire world. It is when one business sells services or products to another business on credit terms. For example, when Dell Computers sells a laptop to a small business owner, the business owner is given a choice: pay now with a Mastercard/Visa/Amex credit card, apply for a Dell Computer line of credit or apply for a Dell Computer Credit Card. When the small business owner chooses to apply for a Dell Credit Line or Credit Card they are using trade credit. Dell will then offer terms to the applicants who qualify. Terms may include no-interest for 30 days if paid in full, or an interest rate charged each month a balance is carried and a small monthly payment that must be made on the credit card.

If the business owner has structured their company properly before applying for the credit, they will likely receive an approval based solely on the business credit profile, business credit score and how compliant the company is with the business credit market. If the business is prepared and built some initial business credit before applying with Dell, they will likely get approved regardless of what the personal credit score of the owner looks like. This is True trade credit (corporate credit), when you rely completely on the business' ability to obtain the credit and not just that of the individual owner or officer of the company. Every entrepreneur should have a business credit profile and score. That includes also being in compliant with the lending market.

A business credit profile and score need to be created with all the major business credit bureaus, not just one. D&B (Dun and Bradstreet) is the oldest business credit bureau, although Experian Business and Equifax Business have created very competitive products and services to compete directly with D&B over the last few years. Most credit bureaus create a business credit profile and score when companies report to the bureaus the payment history of their clients. The more companies reporting to a business credit profile, the better. Companies who purchase a business credit report for analysis to determine credit approvals, like to see when others have granted credit already. They would prefer to see several credit accounts with the business, whereas with an individual you may find it more difficult to obtain credit when you have a lot of credit accounts.

Most small business owners seeking financing are looking for the money to purchase a product or service. The majority of time the product or service can be found through a company offering credit terms. Trade credit is used by household supply stores, marketing companies, printers, graphic designers, internet marketing companies, gas stations, equipment companies, auto-dealers, shipping companies, office supply companies, furniture companies and many more.

In addition to trade credit as an alternative financing option there is merchant account cash advance programs. Although this type of financing can be expensive it is still a great option for some businesses. This type of financing is for businesses with a merchant account charging more than $10,000 per month on the account. Many merchant cash advance companies will advance up to three months charges on a merchant account with very little personal credit information required to obtain the loan. The loan is then paid back out of future merchant account activity as a percentage of the total amount charged that month.

Another alternative source of financing is A/R Factoring. If a company has accounts receivable with other businesses with decent history and credit scores, a factoring company will come in and buy the receivables for a discount on the future value. The business gets money now and the factoring company waits for the invoices to be paid. When they are paid by the customers of the business, the factoring company gets their share and repayment on the advance.

A company can also use leasing as an option to finance their business. A lot of equipment and even software can be leased. There is extremely beneficial to start-up companies and those looking for large equipment purchases. The company doesn't have to pay up front for a large ticket item, which than conserves cash for the growth and day to day operations of the company.

Small business owners need to get creative when it comes to building a business and finding the financing they need. Using trade credit and other alternative financing options just may help your business avoid the obstacles and pitfalls so many have fallen into and lost. For creative solutions for your business financing needs go to http://www.bcscredit.com and get a free ebook on Building Business Credit for Business Owners.

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Turn your one simple idea into millions—without lifting a finger!

“Mr. Key’s brilliance, wisdom, and insight will make you rich. Buy this book!”
—Mark Victor Hansen, bestselling author and co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series

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About the Book:

For as long as you can remember, you’ve had a dream. You’ve longed to see your product idea come to fruition so you never have to work for anyone else again.

Stephen Key has been living this dream for 30 years. The developer of such lucrative products as Michael Jordan’s WallBall®, the Spinformation® rotating label, and HotPicks® guitar picks, he knows better than anyone how to make a great living as an entrepreneur. Key develops ideas for new products, licenses them out, collects royalty checks, and doesn’t look back. You can do it, too. All you need is One Simple Idea.

In this book, Key reveals the secrets that helped him and thousands of his students—including bestselling author Tim Ferriss—turn their creativity into a passive income generator by “renting” an idea to a company, which takes care of R&D, production, marketing, sales, accounting, distribution, and everything else you don’t want to do.

You’ll be amazed at how simple the process of licensing an idea for profit actually is. Key explains how to:

• Keep your ideas safe—without spending time and money on a patent
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The age-old business assumption that ideas must come from within organizations has been shattered. From global corporations to small businesses, companies have become so confident in outside entrepreneurs that licensing is now a $500 billion industry. Businesses need “freelancers” like Key—and you—to provide creative, marketable ideas for new offerings.

With One Simple Idea, there’s no prototyping, no patents, and, best of all, no risk. You can make the system work for you—rather than the other way around.

About the Author

Stephen Key has successfully licensed more than 20 simple ideas that have generated billions of dollars of revenue. His “10 Steps to Bring Your Idea to Market” course, which can be found at www.inventright.com, has attracted more than 10,000 students around the world.

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Most helpful customer reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful.
An essential guide to getting paid for your ideas!
By Chris Jaronsky
I really like this book because it has opened up a whole new avenue for me, and showed me with simple descriptions all the areas where I was doing it wrong. I almost felt stupid that I did not know about provisional patents. I thought the only way to protect your ideas was the traditional patent route, and the 10-20 thousand dollars that route can cost. I did not know that a simple provisional patent, that can be filed for $110 would give me even more protection than a patent the first year I filed it. And that I could get a company to pay for my patent when they license my idea! How can you not love this book?

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful.
The Real Deal - Forget Ferris...Go to the Guru himself!
By javajunki
Timothy Ferris had a huge hit with "The Four Hour work Week". He almost single-handedly transformed the world of work by creating the concept of working smarter rather than harder into a process that people could at least partially adopt in their own lives. What you may not know is that Ferris began part of that journey thanks to the concepts in this book.

Stephen Key, the author of "One Simple Idea" has been around for awhile...chances are you have personally encountered more than a couple of his ideas. The concept of licensing has also been around for quite awhile but it was only when I saw it put into action that the "click" went off in my own mind. Years ago I knew two people that put together a relatively simple concept during the dot-com era and became overnight millionaires by licensing it out. Neither was especially brilliant and both were fortunate to have terrific timing. This was an era when most of us were simply in awe of being able to earn $1 per word for generating content - to say most of us "didn't get it" would be an understatement.

A few years later someone else I knew personally was in a position to put this into action and despite a LOT of ups and downs - managed to take a company public. The third time was a charm...it finally clicked but there were still unanswered questions. By now I knew it could be done and have seen first hand three people put it into action. None will be taking on Bill Gates but all have radically transformed their own standard of living and have been in a position to pursue a lifestyle they love. This book finally begins to fill in the gaps.

Wonderful book. Not as much hype as Ferris but a lot more substance.

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