Small Business Financing Options – Despite the Credit Crunch
There’s no question that the financial crisis and ensuing credit crunch have made it more difficult than ever to secure small business financing and raise capital. This is especially true for fast-growth companies, which tend to consume more resources in order to feed their growth. If they aren’t careful, they can literally grow themselves right out of business.Amidst all the gloom and doom, however, it’s important to keep one thing in mind: There are still options available for small business financing. It’s simply a matter of knowing where to look and how to prepare.Where to LookThere are three main sources you can turn to for small business financing:Commercial Banks – These are the first source most owners think of when they think about small business financing. Banks loan money that must be repaid with interest and usually secured by collateral pledged by the business in case it can’t repay the loan.On the positive side, debt is relatively inexpensive, especially in today’s low-interest-rate environment. Community banks are often a good place to start your search for small business financing today, since they are generally in better financial condition than big banks. If you do visit a big bank, be sure to talk to someone in the area of the bank that focuses on small business financing and lending.Keep in mind that it takes more diligence and transparency on the part of small businesses in order to maintain a lending relationship in today’s credit environment. Most banks have expanded their reporting and recordkeeping requirements considerably and are looking more closely at collateral to make sure businesses are capable of repaying the amount of money requested.Venture Capital Companies – Unlike banks, which loan money and are paid interest, venture capital companies are investors who receive shares of ownership in the companies they invest in. This type of small business financing is known as equity financing. Private equity firms and angel investors are specialized types of venture capital companies.While equity financing does not have to be repaid like a bank loan, it can end up costing much more in the long run. Why? Because each share of ownership you give to a venture capital company in exchange for small business financing is an ownership share with an unknown future value that’s no longer yours. Also, venture capital companies sometimes place restrictive terms and conditions on financing, and they expect a very high rate of return on their investments.Commercial Finance Companies – These non-traditional money lenders provide a specialized type of small business financing known as asset-based lending (or ABL). There are two primary types of ABL: factoring and accounts receivable (A/R) financing.With factoring, companies sell their outstanding receivables to the finance company at a discount of usually between 2-5%. So if you sold a $10,000 receivable to a factor, for example, you might receive between $9,500-$9,800. The benefit is that you would receive this cash right away, instead of waiting 30, 60 or 90 days (or longer). Factoring companies also perform credit checks on customers and analyze credit reports to uncover bad risks and set appropriate credit limits.With A/R financing, you would borrow money from the finance company and use your accounts receivable as collateral. Companies that want to borrow in this way should be able to demonstrate strong financial reporting capabilities and a diverse customer base without a high concentration of sales to any one customer.How to PrepareRegardless of which type of small business financing you decide to pursue, your preparation before you approach a potential lender or investor will be critical to your success. Banks, in particular, are taking a much more critical look at small business loan applications than many did in the past. They are requesting more background from potential borrowers in the way of tax returns (both business and personal), financial statements and business plans.Lenders are focusing on what are sometimes referred to as the five Cs of credit:o Character: Does the company have a strong reputation in its community and industry?o Capital: Lenders usually like to see that owners have invested some of their personal money in the business, or that they have some of their own “skin in the game.”o Capacity: Financial ratios help lenders determine how much debt a company should be able to take on without stressing the finances.o Collateral: This is a secondary source of repayment in case a borrower defaults on the loan. Most lenders prefer collateral that is relatively easy to convert to cash, especially equipment and real estate.o Conditions: Conditions in the borrower’s industry and the overall economy in general will play a big factor in a lender’s decisions.Before you meet with any type of lender or investor, be prepared to explain to them specifically why you believe you need financing or capital, as well as how much capital you need and when and how you will pay it back (if a loan) or what kind of return on investment a venture capital company can expect. Also be prepared to discuss specifically what the money will be used for and what kind of collateral you are prepared to pledge to support the loan, as well as your sources of repayment and what measures you will take to ensure repayment if your finances get tight.You should also ensure that your financial statements and records are current and that your internal control systems are adequate for handling the level of accounting and bookkeeping lenders and investors expect.
We Offer Free Oxygen! And Other Reasons Why A 3D Model Of Your Business Premises Is So Important
“My building is already in Google”:
It’s a reply we often get when talking to people about the 3D buildings we offer, they are usually referring to one of two facts;*they can zoom in, using Google Earth, and see the roof of their building as seen by the satellite that took the Google Earth ground imagery.* or they can go to Street View, through one of the various avenues, and navigate to their building’s address to see the front of their business premises.I want those people to do something, something that will always be good for your business; put yourself in the shoes of your potential customers.Now, imagine (as your own potential customer) that you are looking around Google Earth in one of its guises (Google Earth, Google Maps, Google Earth API in a web page etc)……..did you say to yourself:”that flat roof over there, yes that gray oblong, they look like they sell the exact product I’m looking for”?No you didn’t, because every building on the planet has had its roof photographed by a satellite for Google Earth and now appears as a flat polygon on the ground. Nor, when you were looking for a particular business did you say;”I’ll just shimmy along the road in street view for a few miles until I find a business who looks like they provide the product I want”.So, Does Your Business Offer Free Oxygen?
Every business – at least every business with a physical address – has these things, they aren’t a point of difference and they don’t add value to your marketing efforts. Firstly because everyone else has them and secondly because they don’t provide any useful information on your business. Imagine a business who promoted themselves by saying “We Offer Free oxygen” its not a point of difference, and its not of value to their potential customers.What is needed is a way to communicate as much as possible about your business in the clearest way possible. This is what 3D buildings achieve.Here are the three main reasons 3D models are so important to marketing your business:1.They are a container for information; A 3D model isn’t a static item, once clicked it provides all kinds of info about your business and links to your website.2.That container looks cool; 3D buildings look good, and they stand out. They project your business to potential customers in a positive way, reflecting how you project yourself to customers in the ‘real world’.3. That container appears without people looking for you and tempts them to ‘click it’; You don’t need to dive into Street View to see a 3D building, its simply ‘there’ even when you switch to ‘Earth’ view in Google Maps, if your business has a 3D model, it will be shown. People love 3D, the world we live in is 3D, so when people see it on their computer, they are tempted to ‘check it out’. Our 3D buildings go in Google’s 3D Warehouse so we can provide you with statistics on how many people ‘click’ your building.Additionally, it is important to promote your business in it’s local area so when people are actively searching for your type of business, yours is easy to find. The tools for doing this (like our 3D building service) are either free or cheap, so you’d be crazy not to take advantage of them. See my other articles on Location Based Web Marketing and others.I Want To Offer More Than Oxygen:
If you want to offer more to your potential customers than what they are already getting, and you want to make your business information as relevant and usable as possible, hit ‘Get Started’ – for $99 we will have your building, and your business, standing out for the whole world to see in no time.
Saving Money on Travel and Vacations
Everyone needs a vacation every now and then but most people are concerned about cost. Regardless of the duration of your travels it can become quite expensive. Both expected and unexpected costs tend to accumulate quickly. Plan ahead, create a budget and consider the following tips to help save you money every time you travel.Book aheadBooking ahead can end up saving you quite a bit of cash. Browse ahead of time online to find the best deal and book before prices start to go up. Compare costs online to get the best deal. You may be able to receive a discount by booking early and won’t have to worry about losing out on the flight. Also check if there is another airport within a reasonable distance and compare costs. Often flying out of a less convenient location can end up saving you big.Be flexibleTry booking last minute. As long as you don’t mind where and when you go, booking last minute can save you a tonne of money. If you’ve already booked your flight, be willing to give up your seat. Sometimes a flight gets overbooked and giving up your seat usually qualifies you for some sort of discount, perks, or even a free flight.Plan aheadPlan and book all accommodations and activities ahead of time to ensure staying within your budget. By finding hotels last minute and doing everything on a whim you will end up blowing your budget and paying more than necessary. Knowing what you are paying for and what to expect ahead of time is key to staying on budget.Pack LessMost airlines charge a fee for checked baggage. Check ahead with airlines to find what their baggage allowance is and don’t exceed the limit. Be realistic and pack only the essentials to save money on your trip. No one wants to lug around a tonne of luggage on their vacation anyway.Browse flightsOvernight and early morning flights are often cheaper. If you don’t mind adding a few hours to your travels and would like to save then compare the costs of direct and non-direct flights. Non-direct are often quite a bit cheaper than direct flights.Bring everything you need with you rather than purchasing items at the airport or on the plane. Standard items for sale in an airport are going to cost you a lot more than they would at home. Bringing your own reading material and snacks will save you money.Compare the costs of car rentals – renting a car right from the airport is convenient but that convenience is going to cost you. Compare airport car rental costs to that of a car rental not on location. You can save a tonne of money just by picking it up a bit further away.Staying in hostels is also a great way to save money while travelling. If you’ve never stayed in a hostel you may be hesitant, but hostels have everything you need for a comfortable nights stay and are a lot cheaper than hotels. Stay in a hostel rather than a hotel and you will save huge.Stick to your budget and follow these tips to save on your future travels.
A Complete Overview of Payday Loans
Surveys have proven that the number of applicants for payday loans is growing by the day. It is important to understand how the whole concept of short term credits works before making an application. Short term credits are issued on a short term basis usually between 14 – 30 days. Other names that are used to refer to payday loans include check loans, cash advance and salary advance loans.It’s understandable that once in a while everyone is going to run into financial obstacles that might necessitate temporary funding assistance in the form of short term credits. There’s nothing wrong with needing such a loan a few times in your life. The problems with this form of financing arise only when people become reliant on it and constantly are taking out loans that include hefty interest payments in relation to the time period and amount of the loan. Think over all of these factors before taking the next step and actually applying for a loan.You’ve Applied; What Next?Once you successfully apply for a short term credit, the amount plus interest is deducted on your next pay check. In situations where you fail to repay the amount as required, you can roll the loan over by paying additional fees to the lender along with the interest accrued over the roll over duration. Loan sharking is yet another terminology used to refer to the payday loans.In most cases, people opt for payday loans because of necessity. There are certain situations when emergencies arise, which require urgent financial solutions. It may not be easy to ask for money from friends and family hence short term credits become a perfect substitute for this.
Venues to Pursue a Payday LoanThere are a myriad of payday companies that offer payday loans to their clients. Other than banks and financial institutions, one can make an online application for a short term credit or visit the institution physically. It is possible to make an online application for a payday loan online or visiting the lender physically. The advantage of using the internet is that you can make comparisons of the different offers that the lenders have.There are certain conditions that must be met before a payday loan can be approved:One must be employed with a consistent income.
The applicant must have a checking account.
Applicant must be eighteen years and over.
Applicant should be a resident of the country.
The applicant should earn $ 1,000 every monthThe best time to apply for a loan is Monday to Thursday since you will get the loan the following day. Usually, the loans are approved and credited on business days. If you make an application during the weekend, you should expect the approval and payment to be complete by the coming Tuesday. Therefore, the best time to make a payday loan application is between Monday and Thursday.Approval Loan ProcessIt is important to acknowledge that the approval process for the loan application is extremely fast. It is possible to get the loan within twenty four hours of the application. This is why many people take out short term credits. The company will check out the documents and confirm these figures within a twenty four period. Usually, the data verification system is automated and is named VPN according to the software program. The entire procedure of identity verification and depositing of the funds should take less than24 hours. Some companies deposit the money in less than a day.Average Costs of Payday LoansThe costs of the payday loans vary from one lender to another. Usually, $ 15 to $ 30 can be charged for each $ 100. Therefore, if an applicant borrows $ 100, he or she would have to pay $ 115 to $ 130. Keep in mind that the APR for the payday loan interest can go up to 391%. This should be considered before taking the payday loan.
Garden Decor — It Is More Than Just Decorations
Garden décor… when post people think of décor, they probably think of the decorations in their living room, or elsewhere in the house. Only a minority of people connect “décor” with gardens and yards.Some people may say that the best way to decorate your garden is with flowers and beautiful plants. And yes, this may be true, but there is so much more that you can do! With the proper garden décor, you can turn your garden into your own personal oasis.Great types of garden décor:· Garden Benches. What is the point of having a beautiful garden if you do not have a good vantage point to see it from? Setting a garden bench in the midst of your garden gives you the perfect place to sit, relax, and watch your garden grow. A garden bench is not only an inviting place to sit, it is also a beautiful visual addition to almost any garden.· Bird Bath. There are many styles of birdbaths available these days. There are birdbaths that suit contemporary styles as well as birdbath that suit more traditional styles, and there are ones to suit any taste and style that falls in between. Not only do birdbaths themselves add beauty to your garden, but the birds that they attract add beauty, as well.· Water Fountain or Pond. Water has many soothing qualities — even the look and sound of water can be soothing. Placing a fountain or a pond in your garden will transform your garden into a mini oasis. You will love coming home from a hard and stressful day of work and sitting near the peaceful sounds and sights of your garden water feature.· Garden Statues. Garden statues come in many different varieties. You can find garden statues that add humor, elegance, sophistication, or whimsy to your garden. Indeed, you can find a garden statue to suit any gardener’s taste, whether you want to place and hide bunny sculptures throughout your garden, or whether you want a funny garden gnome.· Lights. There are many different ways to light up your garden at night. And why shouldn’t your garden be lit up at night? There is no reason that you should not be able to enjoy the beauty of your garden at any time of day or night.These are just a few types of garden décor that you should consider adding to your garden. Adding garden décor to your garden is like adding a beautiful frame to a painting – it enhances it. Sure, your flowers and other plants are still the main event, but the right garden décor can really make your garden unique and beautiful.
What are anti-ligature blinds?
Anti-ligature blinds are becoming increasingly popular in a range of different settings. The way these blinds differ from traditional blinds is that they are designed to prevent suicide by hanging.
Initially, uptake for this type of blind was largely restricted to high-risk environments such as psychiatric hospitals and prisons, where suicide is common. In mental health environments and detention centres, suicide via hanging is common and preventative measures must be implemented. A huge range of objects could be used to create a ligature point, meaning anti-ligature systems are highly important.
Over the years, anti-ligature blinds have been supplied to hospitals, schools, student accommodation and even hotels.
How do they work?
There are a range of different systems on the market, but the most reliable could well be the magnetic anti-ligature system. YewdaleKestrel® products utilise load release magnets which separate when a downward force is exerted on the product. This means that the product falls to the ground safely and prevents suicide via hanging.
The magnetic systems used in Yewdale’s products are highly reliable because magnets don’t lose their strength for hundreds of years, guaranteeing a lifetime of lifesaving functionality.
Anti-ligature blinds usually have a magnetic connection point above the blind’s barrel. The blind is easy to reconnect to the magnetic bracket after it has fallen to the floor.
If you are considering an anti-ligature blind, Yewdale is a highly recommended company. Based in the UK, Yewdale produce a wide range of anti-ligature products, commercial blinds, and healthcare products including hospital cubicle tracks and medical curtains.
Yewdale produce other anti-ligature products too including a soft, lightweight en-suite door and other accessories such as soap dispensers, toilet roll holder, shelves and artwork. You can see the full range on the website using the link below.
Complete weight loss strategy
For those who want to lose weight
Research on the causes of obesity, knowledge about weight loss, and various diets for weight loss are updated every year. However, with the update of knowledge and the release of diet pills one after another, the obesity rate continues to rise every year, and there is no sign of wanting to decline. I used to be very, very fat, and I am also a person who is prone to obesity.
So I understand the voices of fat people, I really want to lose weight, but I tried many ways to lose weight at that time without success.
I have tried the common boiled meals on the market, eating less and moving more, but it was not until I tried other diets that I managed to lose weight. After I lost weight, I began to study the essence and method of losing weight, and wrote him in this weight loss strategy article, hoping to help you.
A few key myths about losing weight
The weight loss myth of eating less and moving more
The phrase “eat less and move more” is actually true, but most people do it wrong. Many people think that they should eat less of everything, so they limit their calories to a very low level, and it feels a bit like eating an ultra-low-calorie fairy meal. Then, for the hyperactive part, the first thing that everyone thinks of is aerobic exercise such as running, cycling, etc., but in fact, this is a very short-term and easy way to regain weight, mainly because eating too little is an easy way to lose weight. The reason for the loss of muscle mass, coupled with the fact that aerobic training is not helpful for muscle mass growth, causes the metabolism to drop too much.
Maybe you can lose 5 kilograms in this way, but if your metabolism declines, you will easily regain the weight. And it’s all the fat that gets back up, not the muscle you lose that makes you look fatter than before. This is what we call the yo-yo effect, lose weight, get fat back, get fatter than before, lose weight, get back on Fat, get fatter than before.
Stop taking diet pills and meal replacements
At this time, you may start to seek other ways, eat weight loss meal replacements, taking diet pills, and so on. But believe me, most diet pills will inevitably hurt the body, especially the gastrointestinal tract. You may actually lose weight in the moment, but when your gastrointestinal tract is damaged, you will be fatter than before.
The key to understanding how to lose weight
You must have thought, why some people will not gain weight no matter what they eat, while some people will gain a kilogram the next day after eating a little bread? What is the cause of obesity? This is not a simple answer that can be solved!
You can see the link to the picture below, mainly talking about the influencing factors of obesity, which are very, very complicated.
Image source: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/296290/obesity-map-full-hi-res.pdf
In the middle of this picture is the heat balance
So we can know that calorie balance is very important
But this article doesn’t keep preaching that calorie balance is the key to losing weight like other sites
If you don’t know what calorie balance is, you can probably imagine that our body has calorie consumption (exercise, thermogenesis, basal metabolism), and calorie intake (eating).
When calorie consumption exceeds calorie intake, the weight will drop, so the truth of weight loss is to eat less and move more, very simple. In the short term, it is really possible to simply achieve weight loss by eating less and moving more, but simplicity is not simple, because the operation of the body is very complicated. Many people think that they can control their calorie consumption, that they can achieve a lot of calorie expenditure by running all the time, and that eating fairy meals (low-calorie meals) can reduce calorie intake and then easily lose it.
However, according to research, 90% of people who use calorie control, eat less and move more to lose weight will fail or regain the weight.
Because eating less and moving more for too long, metabolism will easily drop, hormones will easily become imbalanced, and muscle mass will easily be lost. Even if you lose 10 kilograms, you will easily regain weight.
When losing weight, the body is like a factory
For me, the key to long-term weight loss and maintaining good posture is the environment in the body, such as hormones, the level of inflammation in the body, and the gastrointestinal system.
Think of the body as a factory
-Your hormones are the managers and workers of factory operations
-Inflamed condition is how good factory machinery and hardware are
-Calorie intake is wages for factories as well as fuel
If the manager of this factory is an idiot, or if the hardware in your factory is completely rotten, then no matter how it works, it will create a pile of waste. Just as our hormones are already out of balance and the level of inflammation in the body is very high, no matter how much you eat, if you don’t solve the existing problems, it will easily accumulate into fat. It may be easier to understand with a few examples.
Hormones vs Weight Loss
This study looked at the effects of sleep and weight loss
Research source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20921542
Both groups of humans were calorie-restricted, but one group slept 5.5 hours a night and the other 8.5 hours. Both groups lost weight, but the group that slept less lost 55 percent less body fat and 65 percent more muscle mass than the group that slept more. It is equivalent to losing weight, but most of the loss is muscle mass, which reduces metabolism and makes it easy to regain weight later.
There is such a big difference mainly because poor sleep has a negative impact. The imbalance of the secretion of these things will easily increase fat and reduce muscle.
This next study looks at the effect of insulin sensitivity on body composition!
Research source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19471290
Basically, many chronic metabolic diseases, obesity, and poor muscle-building effects are closely related to low insulin sensitivity. Insulin is an anti-catabolic hormone whose main function is to store nutrients in cells. For example, after heavy training, our muscles will be more sensitive to insulin, and the nutrients we eat will be more easily absorbed into the muscles. When insulin sensitivity is low, the nutrients we eat are more likely to be stored as fat rather than absorbed into muscles.
We can simply say that the nutrients in the food eaten by people who are insulin insensitive are more likely to be stored as fat, and the relative fat mass will be much higher than the muscle mass.
To put it simply, the key to losing weight is actually to improve hormones, improve inflammation in the body, and add an appropriate calorie deficit. It is not difficult to achieve a calorie deficit. What is more difficult is how to choose the type of food that suits your body to improve hormones and achieve a long-term good body.
If you only pursue short-term weight loss and rely on a lot of calorie deficits to achieve the effect of weight loss, and then the hormones are still the same after the loss, then I can guarantee that you will gain weight very easily.
With so many ways to eat on the internet, which diet should I try?
When talking about losing weight in Taiwan 30 years ago, everyone would definitely want to use boiled meals
When it came to losing weight five years ago, everyone might think of using a low-sugar diet. When it came to losing weight in the past two or three years, everyone might directly think of the ketogenic diet.
I lost 30kg in 3 months on a low-sugar diet myself for the first time, so I used to believe that a low-sugar diet was the best way to lose weight
But after my long-term understanding of weight loss-related research, genetic cognition, and observation of students, there is no diet that is most suitable for everyone! Although it is said that high-carbohydrate foods will most stimulate insulin secretion, which in turn promotes the storage of nutrients into fat, some people are naturally good at metabolizing carbohydrates, so they can still be healthy and strong after eating high-carbohydrate throughout their lives.
For example, this study compared the responses of people with high and low insulin sensitivity to high- and low-carb diets.
Research source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1038/oby.2005.79
The study concluded:
-For people with high insulin sensitivity, eating high-carb and low-fat to lose weight is very helpful
-However, people who are insulin insensitive use a high-carb low-fat diet to lose fat, but the weight loss effect is not so good.
But on the contrary, studies have also shown that people with low insulin sensitivity have a very good weight loss effect on a low-carb high-fat diet, which shows that improving insulin is very important for weight loss, and it also shows that people with insulin insensitivity are more suitable
Lose weight with a high-carb diet.
So if you have been obese for a long time, you know that you eat carbohydrates easily, or you know that you have diabetes in your family and want to lose fat, then I would suggest that you can start by reducing carbohydrates, which is what we call low carb diet!