Category Archives: Money Management

The Secret Weapon That Can Help You Get a Better Business Loan

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by Gerri Detweiler

Carolyn Walters’ small business clients know they can ask her more than just tax questions. While “tax is the heart and soul of what I do,” she says as the owner of Financial Solutions Accounting and Tax in Greensboro, NC, she has expanded her business to offer a variety of different services.

“The challenges that small businesses have usually end up in my lap one way or another,” she says with a chuckle.

Walters wants to be the first resource her small business clients turn to when they have questions about small business financing and credit. “Quite a few of my clients are looking at ways to expand and grow their businesses, and that takes money,” she says.

Some of them have the funds they need to grow, but others will need to borrow. And even those who don’t have to borrow may find it advantageous to do so. “If you can get credit at low rates and still maintain the integrity of the business goals you are trying to accomplish, it may make sense,” Walters says.  Continue reading →

LLCs for Freelancers: Understanding Liability Protection

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Nearly every professional freelancer eventually faces the question of whether to remain a sole proprietor or form an LLC. The question becomes more taxing as business grows and the potential for liability increases.

As a freelancer, you may have heard that forming an LLC provides liability protection. While this is true, it is not an impenetrable shield.

Understanding how liability works is crucial for protecting you and your freelance business.

The most important difference between a sole proprietorship and an LLC is that the limited liability company is a legal entity separate from you, the freelancer. If your LLC is sued while pursuing its business, the company’s assets are at risk, but your personal assets are not.  Continue reading →

Your Budget: A Roadmap for 2017

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by Kelly Deis of SoundPoint Consulting

It’s that time of year again. Most businesses are on a fiscal year which coincides with the calendar year. It is time to look back and reflect on 2016 as well as look forward and create the budget for 2017. 
A budget is a roadmap. Based on where you have been, it can help guide you to the desired final destination for year-end.
If you stay on the current course – where will you end up?  Alternatively, if you change the route – where will you be at the end of the year?  It is up to you to decide which path is the most profitable and most likely to be achieved.
Here are a few things to think about as you prepare your budget.

Continue reading →

Beware of easy money schemes.

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A new predatory lending scheme is targeting struggling small business owners.

Sadly, just like the old loan sharks in the movies, many small business owners have fallen victim to these predators, and it has cost them their business and sometimes personal bankruptcy.

Everyone understands that bank loans are more difficult than ever to obtain for a small business owner.  Whether you blame it on too much regulatory control, like Dodd-Frank mandates, stingy bankers or an anemic economy, if you need funds to grow your small business, it can be a very steep hill to climb.

A fact of entrepreneurial life is that your startup capital usually comes from your savings, your friends’ savings, your family members’ savings and a bunch of credit cards.  But even when you are profitable, you need money to grow your business.  Continue reading →

Financing rules for small business owners.

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by OnDeck CFO Howard Katzenberg 

Howard Katzenberg knows a thing or two about how to grow, and lend to, a small business. A veteran of American Express’ small business division and former consultant for Swift Financial Corporation, a small business lending firm, he has seen the small business lending landscape from all sides, and has had a front row seat addressing the challenges commonly faced by small business owners. As the CFO of OnDeck, he also has taken a small business from infancy to IPO.

Howard took the time to answer our questions about growing a business, how to manage lending in the modern era, and the most important financial tasks for any small business owner.   Continue reading →

The ABC’s of business financials.

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Improve your odds of business success by understanding your financing needs as well as the options that are available to help you start, manage and grow your business.

What is your exit strategy? #smallbiz

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by Kelly Deis of SoundPoint Consulting

Most business owners transition out of a business only once in their lifetime. Few have been so lucky (and talented) to have built and exited from more than one company. And, for the majority of owners 80% or more of their net worth is tied up in the business.

It makes sense that a business transition should be one of the more thoughtful and deliberate decisions of a business owners’ working life. After a transition is complete, an owner does not want to be saying, “I wish I knew then what I know now.”!

The best way to accomplish a successful transition is to develop an exit strategy based on the owner’s personal and business goals and to commit the action items required to achieve the objectives to paper. This is known as an Exit Plan. And without it, the owner may not know what to expect, much less what is possible in a business transition.  Continue reading →