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How to Build Your Business Credit

Updated: May 5, 2023


Have you ever owed on a bill or credit card and for whatever reason, you were late paying your bill and got hit with a late fee? Don’t feel bad it’s happened to the best of us.


Owing interest on debt will work against you if not managed correctly. Using credit to maintain a lifestyle and incurring interest on a the balance may cause you to pay for the same item 2 or 3 times over if you let the interest compound against you.


BUT with a business, using credit can work to your advantage. With a proper understanding of your marketing strategy and product development, you can use credit to fund the start of your business and pay back what you’ve borrowed with the revenue gained from the sale of your product or service.


Doing this properly will enhance your business credit score, which can be properly obtained by getting your DUNS # from Dun & Bradstreet, as well as establishing your business credit profile with Experian, and Equifax. Even if you don't need extra capital for your business currently, building a healthy business credit file will show potential lenders, and partners that you are a trustworthy organization to do business with.



 

3 Vital Steps Before You Can Build Your Business Credit


First things first, you MUST have your business established with the State Corporate Commission (Virginia) where you live.


Not all states have a State Corporate Commission or use that exact terminology to refer to the agency responsible for handling business entity formation and registration.


For example, in California, businesses are incorporated through the Secretary of State's office, while in Texas, the agency responsible for business entity registration is the Texas Secretary of State.


In some states, like New York, the Department of State handles business entity formation and registration, while in other states, such as Florida, it's the Department of State's Division of Corporations.


It's important to research the specific agency responsible for business entity formation and registration in your state to ensure you follow the correct process and meet all the necessary requirements.


Secondly, you should open a separate business bank account. This will help you keep your business finances organized and make it easier to track your expenses. It will also make it easier to establish a credit history for your business.


Lastly, an Employer Identification Number (EIN) is required to file your company’s taxes. Banks and potential business partners can also request it when you fill out paperwork. You can apply for a free EIN on the IRS website.

 


BUILD, GROW, AND MAINTAIN YOUR BUSINESS CREDIT


A Paydex score is a credit rating system used by Dun & Bradstreet, a leading business credit reporting agency. It is a numerical score that measures a company's creditworthiness based on its payment history with suppliers and vendors.


The Paydex score ranges from 0 to 100, with 100 being the best possible score. A score of 80 or higher is considered a good credit score, while scores below 50 are considered poor. The score is based on a company's payment performance over the past year and takes into account the number of payments made on time, the number of payments made late, and the number of payments that were never made.


The Paydex score is important because it is often used by lenders, suppliers, and vendors to determine a company's creditworthiness. A high score can help a business qualify for loans, credit lines, and other types of financing. It can also help a company negotiate better terms with suppliers and vendors, such as longer payment terms or discounts for early payment.


Creditworthiness may be established and maintained by leveraging what’s known as net30 payment terms with a supplier, giving you 30 days or more (net45, net60, net90) to pay the balance of your purchase. Done correctly this will improve your business credit score, making you more attractive to lenders for financing.


Examples of Companies Offering Net 30 Terms

"Many businesses’ business credit files are evaluated when they bid on contracts or shop their services to potential business partners. Companies want to make sure they are working with associate businesses that can deliver products on time or complete projects as promised – and have a low risk of going out of business." - Dun & Bradstreet




Trade lines are accounts that you open with vendors or suppliers. These accounts can help you build a credit history for your business. When you open a trade line, make sure that the vendor or supplier reports your payments to the credit bureaus. This will help you build a positive credit history.


Buying a vehicle in your company name also allows you to build your business credit. You may initially have need a PG (Personal Guarantee aka Co-sign) to execute the purchase, but making on time payments will reflect positively on both the PG's and the business' credit score.


A business credit card can help you build credit quickly. Look for a card that reports to the credit bureaus and offers favorable terms. You may need to start with a secured credit card if you don't have a credit history yet. As your credit score improves, you can apply for unsecured credit cards with higher limits and better rewards.


In conclusion, building business credit is an essential step for any entrepreneur or small business owner. By incorporating your business, opening a separate bank account, establishing trade lines, obtaining a business credit card, using net 30 terms, monitoring your credit report, and using your credit responsibly, you can build a strong credit history that will help your business succeed. Remember to always do your research and stay informed on the latest best practices for building business credit. With time and effort, you can achieve your business goals and build a strong financial foundation for your future.


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Are you an entrepreneur seeking solutions to grow your business? Contact us today to discover the steps you improve your business expeditiously.


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The Longest and Strongest Brands

As you know from reading our last post, branding is essential to growing the influence and success of your business. The best brands make it through tough economic times (did somebody say RECESSION?!) because great brands often receive more support than better businesses. Don't let that go over your head. Yes, a great brand may out last a better business because consumer (you and I) make decisions based on emotion first, logic second. So the more mindshare that your brand is able to acquire within your target audience's brain, the better chance consumers will choose to buy from you vs your competitors, even in hard times.


Harsh Truth: Brands sometimes use their power to provide subpar products at elevated prices just because they have the support to get away with it.


If you are an entrepreneur or considering starting your own business, understand this: Trust + integrity establish the reputation of your business in ways that simply cash grabbing could never. If you are seeking longevity, it is paramount that you build your business on a foundation of worthy characteristics that connect with your consumers beyond the product or service that you are selling. Say what you want about Nike's products, but the motto "Just Do It" has activated all of us at some point in our lives because it resonates with an inherent desire of accomplishment. For this reason, although some may argue there are better quality products available or have an issue with their labor practices in China, no one can deny Nike is one of the strongest brands in the world.


If I asked you what was the oldest brand in the world, who do you think it is? Unless you are from Japan, I am willing to bet tomorrow's lunch that you've never heard of them or the top 5 for that matter. The top 5 oldest brands in the world are:

  1. Kongo Gumi - Construction est. 578 a.d.

  2. Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan - Hotel est. 705 a.d.

  3. Koman - Hotel est. 707 a.d.

  4. Hoshi - Hotel est. 718 a.d.

  5. Genda Shigyo - Paper Goods est. 771 a.d.

Interesting thing to note about these businesses is they are all STILL family owned. That's what I call generational wealth! Although the companies listed above may not have the greatest brand recognition, these companies have achieved longevity through their disciplined business models and the lack of external influences (i.e. Investors) causing a deviation from the plan. You can't argue with results, and to keep a business operating for over 1000 years is honorable + admirable.


The list of the world's most recognizable brands is a lot more, well, recognizable. These brand have grown with us over the years, and largely influence the world we live in today. The top 10 global brands currently are:

  1. Apple - market cap = $2.4T | est. 1976

  2. Google - market cap = $1.2T | est. 1998

  3. Amazon - market cap = $987B | est. 1994

  4. Microsoft - market cap = $1.7T | est. 1975

  5. Coca Cola - market cap = $257B | est. 1892

  6. Samsung - market cap = $284.2B | est. 1938

  7. Toyota - market cap = 217.6B | est. 1937

  8. Mercedes Benz - market cap = 62.2B | est. 1926

  9. McDonalds - market cap = 233.85B | est. 1955

  10. Disney - market cap = 193.15B | est. 1923

Honorable Mention

  • Nike - market cap = 146.71B | est. 1964

  • Facebook - market cap = 270B | est. 2004

These household names dominate commerce globally largely because of the marketing, reliability and status that owning products from these brand represent, then the memories we create with these companies drive us back to patronize them again.


Where does every quarterback go once they've won the Super Bowl?


If you're reading this from an iPhone right now, consider this: Apple hardly has better technology than their competitors, but they got the world to fall in love with their brand and buy the slightly enhanced upgrades of the same phone year after year because they successfully win our hearts with their unique advertisements, encouraging us to: think different. Check out this historic clip featuring Steve Jobs, as he delivers his approach to their unique marketing strategy.



Steve hits the nail right on the head. The best brand speak beyond their product and connect to their consumers through values. A great brand can really build itself to be recession proof!


As an entrepreneur, CEO, or marketer, what is your company's strategy to connect with your target audience and drive sales during these tough economic times and beyond? How can you win the heart, minds, and patronage of the market?


Don't waste any more time without the above question answered! Build As You Grow will provide clarity and formulate your brand to perform in its best effort to achieve longevity and profitably. Contact us to get started today!


Let us know what you think about this article at buildasyougrow@gmail.com


Thanks for your support!


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Why Brand Identity is Essential to Grow Your Business

It's 2022, If you can't get on a plane without proper identification, why would you try to launch a business without a solid brand identity?


Your brand identity is the soul of your business. Without it, consider your business just a mindless zombie feasting on the living, while a strong brand identity attracts loyal consumers that will provide the foundation for future growth.


For thousands of years, the wisest of the wise debated many topics, but seem to all agree upon one key principle: "Know Thyself." This principle is equally fundamental in business. A well-defined brand empowers your company to make decisions based on the intended ideal destination for the business. The products that you develop and release, the subsequent marketing strategies, as well as any events, and strategic partnerships must all be “on-brand” to keep your consumers from getting confused via misalignment.


Hubspot defines Brand Identity as:

"what your brand says, what your values are, how you communicate your product, and what you want people to feel when they interact with your company. Essentially, your brand identity is the personality of your business and a promise to your customers."

Outlining these core characteristics provides the mold for all decision-making when executing your growth strategy.


A business that fails to plan, plans to fail! Your growth strategy can be likened to a GPS navigating your company to reach its goals. With a clear brand identity, you will have a foundation to explain to your customers why you are headed in that direction, how you are you planning to get there and what they plan gain by supporting you along the way.


These types of roadmaps have grown extremely popular in the Web3/NFT community. In order to gain support in a young industry where there are plenty of scams. A clear roadmap and active community distinguish worthy projects from “rug pulls.” These roadmaps clearly outline the “What, Why and How?” As a result, people whom the project resonates with will join the community and buy into the coin or NFT (Non-Fungible Token). A great example of a trustworthy project with a clear roadmap is OhnahjiU by Markus Prime. I personally am apart of this community because:

  1. I met the artist Markus Prime- so I knew he wasn’t a fraud

  2. I joined the discord community and saw how active others were inside of the chat.

  3. They had a clear outline of the growth strategy for OhNahJiU, and NFTs were affordable, so I thought it was a great opportunity to get in on a promising project early

Here’s my OhnahjiU PFP, what do you think?



View it on OpenSea : Ohnahji #1337

& check out the OhnahjiU fam on Twitter and Discord.


Although the Web3 space appears to be a completely new industry, it utilizes the same principles as traditional business, where effective marketing, supported by a strong brand identity, attracts loyal customers to perpetuate the brand towards its goals.


A strong brand can become timeless, legendary, and most importantly, recession or depression proof. Stay tuned for more posts where we will take a deep dive into the strongest and longest standing brands in history!


At Build As You Grow, we will work with your business to develop your brand identity, set S.M.A.R.T. goals that align with your ideal growth strategy, and execute accordingly to ensure key performance indicators improve along the way. Get in touch today, and let’s build a better future now!


Let us know what you think about this article at buildasyougrow@gmail.com


Thanks For Your Support! 📶



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