Get the Soil Right

Business Setup

In order to build business credit to grow revenues you need… (drum roll)… you guessed it – a business! Think of this process like growing a community garden. The first priority is to do the groundwork.

The foundation of your company will affect the quality of financial leverage it can access. Whether it’s a commercial loan or the coveted – and very convenient – business line of credit (BLOC), you want to be positioned to have options. Entity structure and business planning must be done well. No shortcuts.

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links that provide a monetary benefit to Celurius.

Gather Your Seeds

Business Checking Account

A central component in building business credit is to establish a business banking account with a worthy institution. Stay away from banks that have engaged in racial discrimination practices in the past. Check out this list of lenders to avoid.

Forbes compiled a list of 100 banks and the Big Four ranked in the bottom half. Hopefully you will select ethical and community oriented institutions such as CDFIs, credit unions, and B corps.

To open your business bank account you will need:

• Formation documents of your legal entity
• Relevant permit or license if required.
• Employer Identification Number (EIN)

Sprout Your Business Credit Accounts

Kick-start The Business Credit Profile

Register for a D-U-N-S Number: Dun & Bradstreet (DnB) is a business credit reporting agency that holds over 330 million records of businesses around the globe.

Open Vendor Credit Accounts: These are typically referred to as Net 30 accounts. This means that a vendor allows you to make a purchase and have 30 days to pay the invoice. If it was a Net 90 account you would have a due date 90 days out etc.

These types of accounts often report to Dun & Brad Street but not always. Simply ask the vendor which agency they use to report credit activity.

💡 Tip: Try to open 3-5 relevant accounts and pay as soon as you receive the invoices. Early payments help to give you a higher credit rating. Your company will benefit once DnB has enough data to formulate a D&B PAYDEX®. We recommend Nav for business credit monitoring and finance solutions.

Patience and Consistency

We do everything we can to expedite positive outcomes for our clients. However, one of the essential ingredients to building credit cannot be supplemented. Time. Check all the boxes, do all the right things, and then you wait.

Building business credit to grow revenues is just like watching a tree grow – you must be patient. The process may take 6 months, a year, or longer; but If you are diligent it will definitely payoff. As you play the business credit game here’s where your focus should be:

• Execute quarterly milestones laid out in your business plan
• Tighten up marketing efforts and curb expenses
• Create one or two streams of ancillary income
• Monitor the market for opportunities or disruptions
• Get business credit monitoring to track progress

Strategy

Good habits will serve you well once you gain access to flexible lines of business credit. Follow a well crafted plan. Consider the following:

1. Keep cash in the business and leverage credit to grow revenues.
2. Extinguish debt with profits and add the remainder to cash accounts.
3. Cash reserves should be at least 25% of BLOC deployed.

Enjoy the Fruits of Success

After a few years of deploying these tactics we hope you’re spending your time doing the things you love. Launch other ventures, work on passion projects, and reinvest into social justice and environmental causes.

There are many cycles in life. Celurius hopes to serve you in your season of cultivation and harvest, so you can thrive and intentionally transfer your legacy to the next generation.

Head over to our resource page for a list of quality vendors to assist you on your journey.

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links that provide a monetary benefit to Celurius.