Credit Cards
According to a 2012 National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) study [click the image above for the full infographic], 79% of small business owners used credit cards to start or grow their business. That says a lot about the significance of using credit cards to capitalize a small business.
According to another study (PDF) conducted by Keybridge Research, the use of business credit cards to start or grow a small business has tremendous positive effects on the business and the economy as a whole. The study found that the expansion of credit card lending between 2003 and 2008 contributed to the creation of 1.6 million jobs and for every $1,000 of business credit card use, a $5,500 increase in revenue was experienced by the small business.
The bottom line is that about 4 out of 5 small business owners will be using credit cards.
Founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, did it in the early days. Most other successful business owners have done it as well. It’s like anything else in that, you can use credit cards the right way or the wrong way. So plan this like you do your business.
I like what T. Boone Pickens says about planning. He said:
“A plan without action isn’t a plan. It’s a speech.”
Don’t make a speech about using credit cards, make a plan. Places like Lendio and NCH Capital help a lot of business owners learn how to use business credit cards to grow their businesses.
Microloans
Microloans are small loans typically issued to borrowers who are low income earners or have less than perfect credit and do not qualify for traditional bank financing.
According to the Microfinance Information Exchange, MicroBanking Bulletin Issue #19, nearly 74 million entrepreneurs across the world have microloans that are equal to a combined total of $38 billion U.S. dollars (as of 2009). Statistics vary but most microlenders report that between 95 – 99% of their loans are repaid. Kiva.org has over a 99% repayment rate this month alone.
Repayment rates suggest that small businesses have experienced a significant level of success as a result of obtaining microloans. Furthermore, according to a recent survey (PDF) conducted by Accion U.S. Network, 42% of survey respondents said their business income increased (between 2010 & 2011) as a result of a microloan.
Personal Savings
This is the #1 small business financing option for most people who find that they don’t qualify for credit cards, microloans, or any other type of “traditional bank financing.”
This is a great way to get started. If you don’t quality for things like business credit cards or traditional bank financing, then you may want to take the appropriate steps to correct any credit issues that may be part of the problem. We would all like to have more financing options in the future as we grow our businesses. If you’re like millions of other business owners with less-than-perfect credit, then do something about it.
Resources like Creditera are invaluable as it is currently the only credit monitoring platform that allows business owners to monitor both business and personal credit in one place.
The 3 F’s: Family, Friends and Fools
This is a great example of how the small business funding options are different for everyone. For some people, that list of possible investors from their friends and family is a long one. For others it’s, well, a short list shall we say.
Often times it is difficult to obtain financing from family and friends because they may not fully understand the business or believe it will succeed. You will really need to do what it takes to convince them the business will be lucrative and successful to get them to invest.
Entrepreneurs are famous for over-selling their cool ideas to their Uncle Louie and then seeing things not work out. If you do accept an investment from a friend or family member, then I suggest using something like ZimpleMoney. Whatever you do, be sure to treat your friends and family no different than you would a savvy angel investor. They deserve updates, communication and to be one of the first phone calls when there is a problem.
You should treat them as the partner you allowed them to become when you accepted their check. As for the fools – I’ll leave that one alone.
Retirement Accounts
This small business financing option is highly popular for entrepreneurs who want to purchase a franchise. In order to use your retirement account to fund your business, you would use the Rollover for Business Startup (ROBS) Strategy.
This strategy is slightly complicated so you’ll want to consult with an expert such as Benetrends or Tenet Financial Group. It consists of forming a C Corporation and rolling your current retirement plan over to the new corporation’s retirement plan. It’s a relatively complex strategy. So don’t try it on your own and do your due-diligence. The term ROBS actually comes from the IRS ROBS compliance project.
ROBs strategies are common but are right up there as the most risky ways to finance a business along with Home Equity Lines of Credit and using personal savings. Again, in the event that your business fails, you likely lose your nest egg or whatever portion of it you “rolled over.”
I probably side with my friend Joel Libava, The Franchise King, on this when I say that I don’t think of franchisees as “full-fledged,” 100% entrepreneurs. I also cannot negate what my other good friend, Rieva Lesonsky, says when she argues, very respectfully, that franchisees take a lot of risk in buying a franchise. Especially a less established franchise.
When franchisees “roll over” their nest egg and start a franchise they totally get my respect and they clearly are taking a risk. I guess for me, I can’t get past the part about following directions and needing to get permission from the franchisor for many business decisions that an entrepreneur would not only make, but would make quickly, and he/she would laugh at the thought of needing someone’s permission.
Conclusion
Successful business owners all have one thing in common. They take action. They execute.
Mistakes and failures come with the territory, so learn your options, move forward, and accept that there will be lessons to learn along your road to success. Figure out which small business financing option is best for you and your dream.
