The Rational Guide to Building Small Business Credit »

The ability to borrow money or buy on credit at reasonable interest rates is vital to the health and success of a small company. This book shows you how to establish business credit and make sure the avenues of capital remain open to your company. It discusses the basics of business credit, using credit cards, vendor financing, applying for a secured bank loan, and working with Dun & Bradstreet to build up your company's credit. Advanced topics include monitoring and protecting your credit profile, re-establishing credit after serious financial problems, working with the government, and handling credit checks.

Credit Fundamentals     17
Business Borrowing is Vital     19
Why Borrow Money?     19
The Five C's of Credit Analysis     21
How Small and Mid-Sized Businesses Borrow Money     23
Summary     25
Business Credit is Better than Personal Credit     27
How Personal Credit is Rated     28
Why Rely on Business Credit?     31
How Business Credit is Rated     31
Understanding the Business Credit Report and its Terminology     32
D&B Ratings     33
Other Business Ratings     41
Summary     43
Sources of Credit for Your Business     45
Types of Loans     46
Types of Lenders     50
Loan Terms     52
Trade Accounts     56
Private or Public Offerings     57
Using Loans to Build Credit     57
Summary     58
Establishing Credit for Your Business     59
Business Credit Building Basics     61
Passive Credit Building     61
Active Credit Building     62
Building Blocks of Credit     62
Summary     69
Using Credit Card Borrowing toBuild Credit     71
What's a Business Credit Card?     72
Applying for a Business Credit Card     75
Lines of Credit on Business Credit Cards     76
How Big a Line of Credit Can You Get?     76
Small Business Credit Card Selections     77
Summary     81
Relying on Vendor Advances     83
Vendor (Trade) Credit     83
Arranging Payment Terms     85
Seller-Financed Equipment Purchases     87
Equipment Leasing     90
Summary     93
Applying for a Commercial Loan     95
Types of Lenders     95
Accessing Funds     99
Repayment of Funds     101
Commercial Lending Criteria     102
Loans from Open from American Express[superscript SM]     104
504 Loans     106
Using Loans to Build Credit     108
Summary     109
Working with D&B     111
D&B Files     112
Obtaining a D-U-N-S Number     115
Getting Rated by D&B     116
Viewing Your Credit Report     117
Summary     118
Advanced Concepts     119
Monitoring and Protecting Your Credit Profile     121
Overview of Credit Profile Maintenance     121
Reviewing, Updating, and Repairing Your Credit Report     122
Credit Monitoring     124
Business Practices to Maintain Creditworthiness     124
Summary     129
Re-establishing Credit     131
Impact of Negative Business Events on Your Personal Credit Report     132
Reality of Fixing Credit Problems     133
Begin to Resolve Financial Problems     133
Affirmative Credit Repair     136
Summary     138
Working with the Government     139
Overview of Government Contracting     140
Getting Listed and Certified     141
Pre-requisites for Contractors     143
Surety Bond Guarantee Program     145
Summary     146
Running a Credit Check on Others     147
Why Run Credit Checks?     148
How to Run a Credit Check     150
Monitoring Customers     153
Summary     154
Extras     155
Glossary     157
Index     161
Registering Your Book     168