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Getting Your Personal Finances On Track Before You Start A Business

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article |Personal Finances|Getting Your Personal Finances On Track Before You Start A BusinessAre you thinking about setting up your own business? We recommend that you do work to clean up your finances first. If you fail to get your finances under control then you will look weaker to potential investors. If you need to borrow money to get your business up and running you could also struggle to find the right deal. So, how can you get your finances under control? Here are the suggestions we recommend.

Set Up A Budget

Our first recommendation is that you set up a personal budget. Experts recommend that you should be doing this, regardless of how much you are earning each month or each year. It’s always a smart idea to have a safety net that you can fall back on. This doesn’t need to be a massive amount of money. It just needs to be enough to keep you in a comfortable situation and hopefully free from the problems of debt.

Pay Off Your Debts

If you already have debts hanging over your head, then you need to make sure that you are working to pay them off right now. There are various strategies that you can explore for paying off debt that you have accumulated. For instance, you might want to think about taking out a debt consolidation loan. A debt consolidation loan can be useful but only if you get the right interest rate. If your interest rate is higher or more or less the same you’ll need to look at other choices. You could use a service like Improved Data Services collections. They help people who are in debt reach a swift resolution with their creditors, essentially acting as a middle man to keep everyone on the right page.

Improve Your Credit Rating

If you’re planning to borrow to set up your business, then you do need to make sure that your credit rating is at a healthy level. Be aware that a credit rating can change based on a variety of different factors. Paying off any debt that you have accumulated will help but it’s definitely not the end of the story. You should also think about borrowing money that you know you can afford to pay back.

Diversify Your Investments

Finally, you might want to think about exploring the different options that you have with investments. If you are already saving money then it makes sense to invest this in different areas. There’s a range of options worth exploring depending on the amount of money that you have accumulated. For instance, you could invest in property or you might want to think about looking at stocks. Even penny stocks could provide you with the extra cushion of cash you need when setting up your first company.

We hope this helps you understand everything that you need to know about getting your finances under control. If you take the right steps here, then you’ll be in the perfect position to start your own company and get things on the right track from day one.

Having Financial Freedom And Being Realistic

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Financial Freedom|Having Financial Freedom And Being RealisticThis year has certainly not been one that has gone to plan for so many. You may have had good intentions and goals, especially when it came to your finances, but found yourself in a situation where you have struggled with less pay or no work at all. You are not alone. But as we come out of this difficult period it could be a good idea to make your finances a priority. It might mean selling and buying a new home, paying off debts, for example. It may even be to increase your savings or be a little smarter with your financial purchases. Whatever your goal may be, there can be actionable steps you can take now to help you achieve the goal. Here are some of the things to consider.

Take a look at your current situation

First of all, no matter what financial goal you will have in mind, you need to start looking at your current situation and address where you need to make some changes. Many people won’t scrutinize their bank statement, but by doing this now, you could highlight and be more aware of exactly how much you are spending each month. If you want to get serious an online financial planning tool can help you with all sorts of things to do with your finances. You may even identify rogue direct debit payments you thought had been canceling still leaving your bank account. It does happen. Take the time to note down all of your outgoings versus what you have coming in, and you will be truly aware of where you stand, ready to make some changes for the year ahead.

Monitor your credit report so that you can actively make changes

The next thing you might want to think about is your current financial history regarding credit and your current score. This will be especially important if you plan on any financial applications soon such as a mortgage. You may want to look into your report on credit reference agencies so that you have a true idea of what is going on behind the scenes. You may want to know what your score is now, and then look at ways you can improve it. This could be focusing on paying off debts or ensuring that all details on your credit file are correct. It saves a lot of messing around when the time comes to apply.

Start looking at ways to save

Saving may be a goal you have specifically, or it may form part of a bigger plan like eventually owning your home. So looking at ways to save could be a great starting point from now to help you build them up. It could be that you can save a set amount each month, which is great. Setting up a standing order into a separate account for this amount will help you build up that savings amount. However, you could look at other savings you can make every day and add to the pot as and when you can. This might be using cashback sites with everyday spending, or even thinking about things like saving on food shopping and sending the different you save over to your savings account. The more you find ways to save, the faster it will rise.

By setting yourself clear targets, and taking actionable steps now, you will be able to hit the ground running for the rest of this year.

Do You Need Good Credit to Start A Business?

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Credit Score|Do You Need Good Credit to Start A Business?We all know that many entrepreneurs have bad credit score. Some businesses only start because the owners are unemployed, laid off, or worse, bankrupt. Some even start their businesses when opportunity arrives and not when their financial situation is good to begin with. Moreover, some go through personal difficulties which affect their personal credit score at the same time.

Do you need good credit to start a business? While having a bad credit should never be a hindrance for you to start your own business. There are some things that you can do to at least improve it. Improving your credit score allows you to get loans or business line of credit that you can use to build your business.

If you’re planning to startup a business but realized you have a poor credit history, you can check out these tips on how to improve your credit:

1. Don’t use big banks as a funding source.

Back then, banks only depend on your credit history, collateral, cash flow, and character when it comes to bank loan approval. These days, most banks tend to focus on credit history, particularly when making decisions on loan approval for small business owners. This happens because banks are now driven by the banking consolidation, which force them to automate the credit decision process and lessen the labor that takes place in credit evaluation. Regardless of how great your business proposal is, having a below 650 credit score will not get you anywhere a bank loan is involved. A good credit score is important if you want to get a loan.

On the other hand, you may apply for home equity loans in order to secure that much-needed funding. However, it is not advisable, particularly during the earlier cycles of business as cash flow can be a little unstable.

2. Determine the difference between your personal and business credit scores.

You may know by now that banks, especially the large ones, focus on the personal credit scores. Smaller lenders or banks, on the other hand, combine your personal credit score and business credit score, together with a lot of other factors when it comes to loan approval.

Keep in mind that your personal credit score is affected by a lot of factors. These include outstanding debts on personal credit cards, history of bill payments, late payment history, as well as the number of credit lines opened. While your personal credit score is associated to your Social Security number, business credit score is linked to the business tax ID. These differences can help you and your business get the financial boost you need.

A damaged personal credit score can affect how banks or lenders see your loan application. Hence, you need to consider obtaining a separate business tax ID number to link with your account. This is possible but you need to be very careful when doing this.

Apart from getting a separate tax ID number, making sure that your business has a distinct identity is crucial. Here are some tips:

  • Get an official business name and register it with the local authorities.
  • Get a separate business address that is not a P.O. box and have a separate telephone number listed under your business name.
  • Open a bank account under your business name.

These administrative tasks may look minor and unimportant, but they play a crucial role in distinguishing your personal accounts from your business.

3. Slowly build the credit score of your business.

Now that you have a business tax ID number and a legal business name, you can now start building the credit score of your business. Doing this helps your business establish a way to qualify for a business line of credit from suppliers and other sources of capital.

Starting a Business is Not Always About Good Credit

Keep in mind that anybody can start a business, regardless of how good or bad their credit scores are. If you need some funding and cannot go to banks and big lending facilities, you can opt for other ways to fund your business. You can ask family and friends to lend you personal loans. Just make sure to thoroughly talk it over and discuss with them the payment terms or the risks that they are about to take. Also, you can use credit card loans to help you with your startup. Although it is not the best way to do it, it is a much better option than not starting at all because of lack of funds.

Remember that nothing should stop you from building yourself to success. You may have a bad credit score now, but slowly, with the help from the right institutions or the right persons, you will be able to start the business and eventually make that business grow.