Business Finance

There are many ways to get financing for your business – including both “traditional” (i.e. secured bank loans) and “non-traditional” (i.e., merchant cash advances, A/R factoring and equipment leasing) sources of capital.


Personally, I tend to be a bit conservative in how I approach my own finances – so I always recommend exploring the traditional avenues first as the cost of using those funds is often lower.

However, it is often difficult, if not impossible, for many small business owners to secure a traditional bank loan.

This has always been the case, but the current credit crunch and economic slowdown have made it that much harder. Even if a business owner is lucky enough to secure traditional financing – he or she may find the constraints of using such funds too restrictive.  Before taking this route,  a business owner should consider that a traditional bank loan will tie up at least a portion of his or her available credit and will generally require some form of collateral (something of value – often a primary residence) in order to receive those funds.

Finally, even with a bank loan in place, that entrepreneur may find that the amount he qualifies for does not cover all the financial needs of the business. Once the doors are open, necessary operating expenses such as payroll, inventory, marketing and advertising, and physical improvements to the location still need to be addressed.

With this in mind, it is not surprising that a lack of access to adequate working capital is the number one reason many small businesses fail. Therefore, looking outside the box for alternate funding sources is more important than ever if you want to grow your business from Point A  (where you are today) to Point B (where you want it to be).

The focus of this site is on alternative financial solutions for your business and your life.   In this section, we will look at various non-traditional ways to raise much-needed funds for your business. In addition, we will look at the trade-offs between using these various funding types vs. the more traditional options. These trade offs include overall costs, ease of securing these funds and other potential pitfalls associated with each financing category.

Topics covered in this section include:

Business Credit vs. Personal Credit

SBA Loans

Merchant Cash Advance

Factoring: A/R Factoring, Invoice Factoring and P.O. Factoring

Equipment Leasing

Plus any other source of business financing, funding or working capital that can help you grow your business.