Entrepreneurs Find New Way To Finance Dream

Statistics show that more than one million people in the United States start a new business each year.

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Entrepreneurs Find New Way To Finance Dream

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Statistics show that more than one million people in the United States start a new business each year. That number would be much higher if all the would-be entrepreneurs had the financing required to get a business up and running. In order to accomplish their dream of business ownership, entrepreneurs are finding new and innovative ways to finance their new ventures.

According to Leonard Fischer, President/CEO of BeneTrends, one of these new financing options is the use of a person's existing retirement funds-a pension, profit sharing, 401(k), IRA-which allows that person to start the business he or she has always dreamed of without tax penalties, consequences or mountains of debt.

Under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), retirement funds can be transferred into usable capital for business investments or operations. If a person has more than $40,000 in a retirement account and is not currently employed by the company that holds those funds, he or she qualifies for this Small Business Administration (SBA)-recognized financing approach to start a business.

Retirement funds can be used for any business purpose, including:

• Purchasing a franchise or existing business

• Start-up expenses, such as purchasing property, equipment, etc.

• Working capital, including paying salaries, franchise fees, etc.

• Business expansion, such as funding additional franchises, locations, etc.

• Equity toward SBA or other loans.

The thought of dipping into one's retirement can cause some apprehension. Through this investment strategy an individual actually has more control over his/her retirement-instead of gaining minimal growth dependent on the stock market, those savings are actually being invested in one's own business. This approach often allows an individual to set aside more money for retirement than ever before.

"Today's entrepreneur faces an environment of tremendous competition, complexity and opportunity, so starting a business the right way is more important than ever," says Dr. Germain Boer, Director of Vanderbilt University's Center for Entrepreneurship. "This financing method is a good option for an individual who has accumulated funds in his/her retirement accounts."

The entire process generally takes two to four weeks to be completed, and can be done by phone, email, fax, FedEx and regular mail.

Working with an experienced employee benefits plan expert, starting a business is as simple as these four steps:

Step 1: Establish a C-corporation.

Step 2: The new corporation creates a retirement plan.

Step 3: Funds are rolled over into the corporation's new retirement plan.

Step 4: The new retirement plan purchases the stock of the corporation.

"So many people have watched their dream of owning their own business go out the window due to lack of funding options. We help people achieve that dream every day using money they already have," says Fischer.

If you're ready to explore this innovative financing option, be sure to consult an expert to guide you through the specialized process.

Export Financing - How to Use International Factoring to Finance your Sales

Are you selling goods and services in other countries? Learn how to finance your exports with international factoring.

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export factoring, factoring , invoice factoring

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Selling your goods internationally can be extremely rewarding and challenging at the same time. When you start exporting goods, you truly open your company to a world of possibilities, including the possibility of big financial rewards. At the same time, you expose yourself to some of the challenges of international commerce.

Many international transactions are settled using bank or corporate letters of credit, which means you can rest assured that you will be paid on time. However, many of your clients will insist that you give them payment terms. This means you may need to wait 30, 60 or even 90 days before you get paid. And if your company is growing, waiting to get paid can be very tough.

Going to the bank for a business loan may or may not work. Most banks only give business loans to businesses that have a great past history. But this is of little use to businesses that have a short history but a bright future.

A better option is to consider factoring your invoices, which eliminates the 30 day wait that it takes to get paid. Export factoring (or international factoring as it is also known) can be a very useful tool for new and growing businesses.

Factoring is a form of financing, where a factoring company advances you a substantial portion on your invoices. The factoring company waits to get paid, while you get immediate use of the funds. This eliminates the cash flow issues that happen when you extend terms.

Export factoring is a factoring specialty. Actually, very few factoring companies offer international export factoring, so when talking to companies be sure to be specific and ask if they offer this type of factoring.

Many factoring companies also offer purchase order financing. This factoring product extension provides you with financing to fulfill purchase orders. Purchase order financing gives you the necessary funding to pay your suppliers, using the purchase order as collateral.

If your company is growing and selling goods offshore, be sure to look into factoring and purchase order funding as valuable financing tools to help you grow.

Factoring Canada - How To Finance Your Canadian Business

Do you live in Canada and own a business? Learn how to obtain business financing for your Canadian business.

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factoring canada, canadian factoring, factoring , invoice factoring, factoring financing

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Financing a business in Canada has its unique set of challenges. If you are like most business owners you have probably relied on the banking industry to obtain financing. However, obtaining business loans is difficult. Your business must have years of profitable operation experience in order to qualify. But what if your business is new (but growing)? Or, what if you don’t qualify for a business loan but still have a great business?

You have two options, and they are not available from your bank. They are available from a factoring company. Do you have one of these two problems?

Problem: Your clients take up to 60 days to pay. You need payment faster!
Waiting up to 60 days (or sometimes more) to get paid can be very challenging for a business owner. Especially if you have regular expenses, such as salaries, rent and suppliers that must be paid. The solution to this challenge is to factor your slow paying invoices. Factoring (also known as invoice discounting) allows you accelerate client payments, reducing the 60 day wait to 2 days. It’s very easy to obtain and the main requirement is that you do business with good commercial or government clients.

Problem: Your client just placed a large order. You need money to pay suppliers.
If you are a distributor, wholesaler or reseller, then you have a unique set of challenges. You have suppliers that need to be paid quickly and clients that want to pay slowly, leaving you trapped in the middle. The solution for this challenge is purchase order financing. Purchase order financing covers up to 100% of your supplier payments, enabling you to deliver the goods and close the sale. With purchase order financing you can accept big orders with confidence, knowing that you’ll be able to deliver.

Is factoring or purchase order financing for you?
These financing products work great if you meet two very important criteria. First, your profit margins must be above 10%, and ideally closer to 20% (or more) Second, you must do business with reputable commercial clients or the government. If you meet these two criteria, then these products should help you grow your company and take it to the next level.

Finance Your Cleaning Business by Bootstrapping

New cleaning businesses tend to have few financial resources, so many rely on a technique called bootstrapping -- learning to do more with less. This article has 12 techniques that have helped cleaning businesses grow and and become successful.

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finance cleaning business, bootstrapping

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Copyright 2006 The Janitorial Store

New cleaning businesses tend to have few financial resources. Before you sign your first client you need capital for supplies, equipment, basic start-up expenses, and perhaps even payroll. Where do start-up companies get the financing they need to set up shop? Some businesses use savings, some borrow from friends or relatives, and some get a bank loan. But many small start-ups rely on a technique called bootstrapping.

Bootstrapping means pinching pennies, cutting corners, and learning to do more with less. Using bootstrapping techniques also means carefully watching where your cash is coming from and where it is going to. Does this technique work for growing your business? You bet! Ernest & Julio Gallo, Domino's Pizza, Hallmark Cards and Black & Decker are examples of businesses that started with $1000 or less and used the art of bootstrapping to grow and become successful.

In bootstrapping you not only focus on how revenues come into the business, but where you are going to spend the money that comes in and if there are other ways to obtain those resources.

The following are techniques that have helped businesses grow and expand.

1) Focus on the right customers. Some customers like to hold onto invoices as long as possible. Finding customers who pay immediately helps keep cash flowing into your cleaning business. Maintaining a good customer relationship will also help to get your customers paying as soon as they get their invoice.

2) Be frugal, but not cheap! Distinguish between costs that are necessary and ones you can avoid. Do you need to rent space for your cleaning business or can you begin by running the business out of your home or garage? Can you get by with used equipment? Do you need a cell phone with streaming video or just a basic model to make sure you do not miss any calls? On the same token, don't be shortsighted (and cheap) with suppliers. Develop a good relationship with your suppliers and they will be happy to let you know when there are specials and if a lower priced item works as well as a more expensive one.

3) Create a high profile for your cleaning business. By taking on larger cleaning accounts your business projects an image of competency and that it has the skills and resources to handle the job.

4) Keep your salary as low as possible. The less cash that go out of your business the better. Cut back on your personal expenses while the business grows. Avoid buying that new car and that holiday cruise until your cleaning business has a good cash flow.

5) Get your customers talking about you. Word of mouth is the best advertising around and it doesn't cost you anything. Ask your customers for referrals and tell them to mention your name if they know of anyone who is looking for cleaning services.

6) Keep good records and track every dollar. It is difficult to know if there are expenses that you can cut if you don't know where your money is going or where your money is coming from. Keep more income by not giving preferential treatment or discounts to special customers.

7) There is power in becoming a partner. Find another business owner to share equipment, office space or even employees.

8) Trade for services. Are there individuals or businesses who would be willing to have you clean their offices for part or all of their payment? Large businesses and corporations may not have the flexibility to "swap" services, but your lawyer, graphic designer, accountant or other consultant may be happy to exchange services.

9) If you need employees, hire part-time or temporary help. Rather than having a full-time bookkeeper or marketing person think of hiring a virtual assistant that you can pay for just a few hours a month. Another benefit to a virtual assistant is that she will have her own equipment and be responsible for her own employment taxes.

10) If you are buying or leasing space and equipment agree to only short-term leases. This helps you control costs and keep your cash flow flexible.

11) How much inventory do you need to have on hand? Don't tie up money in supplies and equipment that will just be sitting on a shelf.

12) If necessary, work nights and weekends while your business is growing. Many entrepreneurs will keep their full-time job and a part-time job until their own business is financially stable.

Using bootstrapping techniques mean that you are looking at more than just where your money is coming from. Earning a dollar in revenue may lead to only 20 cents in profit. But if you save a dollar in cost savings, that goes 100 percent to your bottom line. Being frugal at the start of your business can pay big dividends in the long run. Bootstrapping can be your best friend when it comes to the cash flow of your cleaning the business!

Finance Your Restaurant Business With Someone Else's Credit Card

Getting funding for restaurant businesses is far from easy. Here's a few ways of financing your restaurant that you should consider.

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restaurant,funding,financing,restaurants,loans,loan,finance,business

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If you are in the restaurant business, you certainly won't need me to tell you how tough it can be financially.

While you are building up the reputation of your establishment, money is often tight and one bad night can mean an unprofitable week. As for cash flow - well, the cash certainly flows, doesn't it? You just wish that more of it was flowing in than out. And what about those slow periods? What do you do if they last longer than you anticipated? How do you get the funds you need to get your restaurant business over that hump.

OK, I'm painting a negative picture here, but funding can be a problem for even the most successful restaurant, especially if you wish to expand quickly. The question remains: what is the best way to get financing for your restaurant?

LOANS

A loan may be an obvious way to raise finance for your restaurant business, but look at it from the point of view of the lender.

The 2004 Restaurant Industry Operations Report published by Deloitte & Touche LLP indicates that average pre-tax profit margins range from 4-7%. This means that, from the lender's point of view, even a profitable restaurant is a big risk. The bigger the risk, the bigger the interest payments - that is, if you even get approved for a loan at all. High interest rates, of course, can bring their own problems, particularly for a very low margin business such as the restaurant trade.

Lenders will, admittedly, look more favorably on you if you also own your premises. However, you need to be aware that funding your business using real estate as collateral means that it is the potential resale value of the property that lenders are looking at. The purpose of the property itself may actually reduce its resale value as there would be a smaller pool of potential purchasers. Thus, many lenders set very high minimum loan amounts, which may not be suitable for your particular circumstances.

If you do decide to go the loan route, then speaking to a specialist lender with expertise in the restaurant industry is essential.

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE FACTORING

Factoring is a form of commercial finance where a business can accelerate its cashflow by selling its accounts receivable at a discount. This means that the business doesn't have to wait for outstanding invoices to be paid in order to receive the cash necessary to finance the business moving forward.

For many service based businesses, accounts receivable factoring is an extremely good way of quickly accessing cash. However, restaurants rarely have much business of this kind.

What they do have, however, is a high volume of credit card transactions. By leveraging these, budding restauranters can - literally - fund their restaurants with other people's credit cards.

CREDIT CARD CARD FACTORING

Essentially, restaurants can sell their future credit card transactions and receive an advance on that money - usually up to around $120,000. The money can be used for any purpose - from expanding premises to buying new equipment or whatever you want. This isn't a loan, so there is no personal guarantee needed. It's simply an advance against future credit card settlements.

The company purchasing takes a small, fixed percentage of future credit card transactions until the advance is repaid.

The advance cash can often be made available within 14 days, so - for the restaurant business that is in need of a quick injection of funds - this is a good option. Of course, there are restrictions on who can apply. Generally speaking, a restaurant would have to be running for over 1 year, take over $5,000 per month in Visa/Mastercard transactions and have more than 1 year left on their lease to qualify.

For the restaurant that has been in existence more than one year, this represents the best method of further growing your business at minimum professional or personal risk.

COMPANIES PROVIDING RESTAURANT FINANCING

There are a number of companies out there offering financing of this kind to restaurants. The main points to watch out for when selecting such a company are as follows :

i) Application Fee - Companies charging an application fee should be avoided. To be honest, there isn't much paperwork involved in this process, so an application fee is unnecessary.

ii) Closing Costs - Again, companies charging 'closing costs' are best avoided. There are enough companies out there competing for your business.

For the young or established restaurant business, credit card factoring is the most effective way of getting the funds you need to expand your business. So, fund your restaurant using someone else's credit card !