According to the Small Business Credit Access Report…

“Second and third attempts to seek credit (after an initial line or loan was rejected) proved BENEFICIAL to small business owners in 2010. Normally success declines with each consecutive institution approached, but approvals appear higher to warrant the consecutive efforts.”

Hmm… get’s ya thinking doesn’t it?

Oh and here’s one more little tid bit for you.

95% of applicants are granted a credit card on the first attempt.

WOW. Even in this market we are seeing huge success.

Here’s my point.

Don’t give up. Your dream may be delayed but it isn’t over… Not by a long shot.

Keep the fait, keep pushing and don’t ever, ever give up.

Iris Carter.

But there is a potential cost to you as the small business owner.

High prices for fuel.

How does this impact you? Well oil is in just about every product you can imagine. Therefore, higher oil prices, sustained for a long time, could cause you to see increased expenses.

Probably best if I let Fran Tarkenton tell you what he means.

Have a great day,

Iris Carter

Why?

It’s not because of money or credit or anything else.

The reason we are stuck in neutral is because we don’t have confidence in the economy long term.

Think about it. If you had confidence in the economy long term, wouldn’t you be more aggressive in your marketing? Your hiring? Your sales initiatives?

Wouldn’t you be more likely to take on a small amount of debt to grow your business if you believed in the economy and the direction of the economy?

Chances are yes.

Here’s why I know this to be true.

Last month, I was talking with a client. I could get them $150,000 of credit and lines in the next 30 days. Good interest rate, he didn’t have to take all the money at the same time, it was just a perfect situation.

Guess what… he said “NO”!

When I pressed him to tell me why, his response was simple.

“Iris, I don’t want that kind of debt, even the temptation of the lines.”

I have to admit, the last time I heard this kind of response, Jimmy Carter was in the White House. And we all know how bad it was during his administration.

You see, this is the fundamental reason why many businesses aren’t expanding or attempting to expand. They just don’t believe.

This is not a political statement, it’s just the facts.

Well there is a bit of good news on the horizon.

First off, the stock market continues to well. That makes everyone sleep a bit better at night. The retirement account doesn’t look so bad.

Second, housing in many sectors of America is beginning to hit the bottom. Just a few days ago, the affordability index of homes went to pre housing bubble numbers. The result to you the business owner? Homes are getting more and more affordable. When homes get affordable, people buy and buy things for their house.

Lastly, businesses are thinking about expanding. They actually have expansion in their plans for 2011.

This is all good news for the economy. Sure we still have some hills to climb, but we are turning the corner and on the other side of the corner is confidence.

Yes, this is different than what others will tell you online. But the fact of the matter is, banks and lenders do look at personal credit. Especially after 2008.

What then do you do if your credit is less than perfect?

START OFF WITH AN SBA LOAN

The SBA has a number of small business start up loan packages that do not require excellent personal credit. Recently, a client out of Charlotte, NC was able to get a small loan from the SBA, even though he had recently had a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

START TO FIX YOUR CREDIT SCORE

Monitoring your personal credit score is important. Actually it’s vital. There are many programs and online tools available that will allow you to monitor your credit monthly for a small fee.

By monitoring, you can check things such as: False reporting, inquiries and reduced lines.

All of these have a negative impact on your score.

SIMPLE FAST FIXES

There are a number simple fast fixes for your credit. Recently the same client with the Chapter 7 bankruptcy was able to improve his score by 90 points in one month by doing the following.

Dispute bad information. Even on his record there were two credit posting that were not his. By disputing with the credit companies he was able to get these removed and improve his score.

Remove inquires. An inquiry will reduce your score. By going and disputing the inquires he increased his score another 40 points.

This process increased his score from 510 to 600 in just under a month.

The bottom line is your credit score matters on business loans. Know your score and make the legal changes to keep your score as high as possible.

It appears Washington is realizing the small business is the engine of the economy and recovery.

“When small businesses can’t access credit, they cannot create jobs.” US Treasurer Rosie Rios said in announcing the new funding.

The first two states that will see the benefit are North Carolina and Michigan. With others to follow.

The trick is knowing how to benefit from these programs and how to get your share of the funding.

“New government initiatives are wonderful.” stated Iris Carter a lending expert with 25 years experience. “The trick is knowing where to look, how to apply and most importantly to get approved fast.”

The goal is to loan up to 1.5 billion with the potential of 15 billion in lending and market capitalization.

“The great thing is these loans are lower interest and they really target the small guy and those who are starting out. I think the bulk of these loans will be in the $20,000 to $50,000 loan range.” said Iris Carter.

To get your fair share of the loan packages and government money, you might want to learn more by watching a short video that explains the process.

Click Here to View the Special Presentation

That means one out of three small businesses that were getting loans before the recession, are not getting loans now.

A recent SBA Performance report shows 2,121 small business loans were approved in 2006. Yet only 1,481 small business loans approved in 2009.

Thing is, billions of dollars were sent to banks back in 2008-2009 to “help kick start the economy.”

So where did the money go? The answer is, it didn’t go anywhere.

Page 15 of the same report tells us that,

“…new guaranties disbursed by SBA participating banks during FY 2009 were down 30 percent…”

In other words the same banks that you bailed out with your ridiculous “self-employment” tax money, decided to hold onto the money a little longer to prop up their own balance sheets.

And if you think 2011 is going to be any better…

Consider what Bill Arant, executive vice president of SmartBank had to say in a December 2010 issue of a regional Business Journal:

“I think for the next year banks are still going to be very cautious. It’s a really complicated world out there.”

But it doesn’t have to be complicated…

We’ve produced a short video that shows you a remarkable way to find up to $35,000 in just 14 days for your small business.

Seriously…

We’re going to show you how to get access to the financial resources you need to move you from struggling small business owner to a well-funded owner of a thriving business …

Best of all, everything you are about to hear is backed up by an “in the trenches” industry expert with direct knowledge of business lending.

In fact, in just a moment, I’ll introduce you to the person who has been called “America’s Business Credit Expert” because of their 27+ years in the business lending arena.

Please watch the video from America’s Business Credit Expert and learn how to find up to $35,000 in just 14 days for your small business.

Why?

It’s simple. Too many small business owners are looking for the big score without taking care of today’s financial needs. A friend of mine called it

“Eating chicken while hunting elephants.”

Your number one responsibility as a small business owner is to take care of today’s needs. You have to go out and find simple repeatable business that can cover your monthly nut each and every month.

Usually this kind of work is not what you envision doing for the next 20 years.

It may be taking a client on and doing some work that is ‘beneath’ you. Or maybe it’s selling some products and services that don’t have a long life span, but help fill the void in your bank account. (As long as it’s legal)

The big mistake is to put all your eggs into one basket and put all your effort into bagging the elephant.

In case you don’t know, the elephant is the ‘big deal’ or the ‘big client’ who when landed will become your meal ticket. It will make you wildly successful and profitable.

The problem is bagging the elephant. It takes time, hard work and a bit of luck. Plus you usually need to build out your infrastructure to handle the elephant.

You may have the next great business plan or idea. But do something today that helps fill in the gap of revenue and keeps money in the bank account.

It will go a long way towards keeping you sane and in business one more month.

That’s the reason for today’s post.

Just below you’ll see a video that is a must watch for any business owner, entrepreneur or someone who’s considering this path.

Shame and fear hold back many people from achieving their dreams. Especially in business.

What will my family say, what if it doesn’t work out, do I have the courage to go down this path.

Well, let me share a secret with you. Courage, compassion, connection, creativity, joy and peace are only reach in one place.

Your ability to confront the fear and shame.

Check out the video below. It’s worth the watch.

All I could think of was; politics makes for strange bedfellows.

Just think, less than 2 weeks ago the White House was all but assuring us that the tax cuts would be extended except for the wealthy 2%. Guess that was nothing but posturing for the administration to get their initiatives in the deal.

“In addition to preserving the Bush era tax cuts, the proposal creates more than $300 billion in new tax cuts for wage-earners, wealthy families and corporations.” According to Bloomberg financial.

Let’s take a look at these cuts and the long term impact on you as a business owner.

Extending The Tax Cuts

Time and time again, the proof is in the pudding when it comes to tax cuts. If citizens have more in their paychecks, they spend more. When more money is spent by citizens, the economy grows.

The big issue is the extension of the tax cuts on the wealthy 2%. Remember the wealthy 2% are the ones who own businesses and create jobs through investments. When was the last time you went to a broke person for a loan? Or asked them to invest in your company.

If a wealthy person who makes 1 million a year has 2% more in the paycheck, then that is more they have to invest in the market, businesses, take vacation and more. These all translate into jobs and economic growth.

Payroll Tax

This is directly targeted to the wage earner, not the business owner. While it would be wonderful for businesses to get some benefit, the reality is, the wage earner wins. More money in their pocket.

Estate Tax

This is interesting. The death tax has long been viewed as ‘unfair’. You work all your life and in the end the government sticks it to you while you are in the grave.

Now the government is going to give us the lowest Estate Tax since 1931 (excluding the rate of zero in 2010) The new rate is 35%. This is worth $200 billion in savings for us the owner and tax payer.

Granted, many of you reading this are thinking, ‘Hey this doesn’t apply to me’ But it’s a good lesson. When there is more money in the hands of the citizen/consumer, it translates into more money in the economy.

In order for our country to get out of the recession, slash the deficit and return to economic stability, it’s going to take a lot of deal making.

It will start first with growing the economy. The only way to grow an economy is to give you, me and everyone more money to use and spend.

The tax cut deal takes us in the right direction. We still have miles to go, but the journey is begun.

Ouch.

There are a few reasons why as stated by Fed Chair Ben Bernanke.

First, small businesses are not seeking credit. It may be that the business is not doing well, or that they don’t feel they can qualify for credit.

Second, the small businesses may be getting close for the lending, but they can’t meet the terms and conditions set forth by the banks.

These terms and conditions are very stringent.

Does this mean you shouldn’t be working on getting lending from your bank or other lending institutions?

No, what it suggests is following a process that will be viewed favorably by the banks.

First off, one of the best loans for you to apply for and get is the SBA Express loan. They are lending up to $50,000 for small businesses. In fact, business owners with bad credit are getting approved.

Second, you need to build your business credit profile with trade lines, such as; Dell, Apple, Staples, Home Depot and more.

Finally, as you build your business profile, you will put yourself in a position to reap big rewards when the banks loosen the lending purse strings. Granted the banks aren’t taking risks right now, but that will change over time.

And you need to be ready.

The fact of the matter is simple. With the actions on the tax cuts this week in DC, a Republican House in January and skittish White House, you’ll see more business favorable legislation coming out of DC.

This will make the banks breath a sigh of relief, lend a bit more. But you have to be in position to take advantage of this opportunity.

Lending to small businesses isn’t always going to be down. It will turn around. Make sure you are in the place to profit.