Though the Stimulus Bill was passed in mid-February, the vast amount of the aid allocated to small businesses have yet to trickle down into the hands of the business owners. One cause of this delay is the fact that the Small Business Association  Chief, Karen Mills, was only confirmed 20 days ago. Though Ms. Mills promised to get the aid moving as quickly as possible, governments are, by their very nature, bureaucratic; so how can you manage your limited access to cash in the interim?

According to today’s featured piece from Entrepreneur.com, you should try to negotiate with your creditors.  Not sure how to go about doing this? Thankfully, this article also serves as a primer on the topic.  Below are some interesting points the author discussed:

• Creditors are usually willing to hold back on making negative reports to the rating agencies if you are willing to work with them in good faith.

• Sometimes it may even be possible for you to “schedule a long-term payment plan that you can afford, or settle the account for up to 50 percent less than the original debt.”

• Be wary of collection agencies, regardless of what they say, they “don’t care about your problems; they just want to collect the money that’s due to them or the company they represent.”

The author then finishes off the article by  providing you with “cheat sheets” regarding: (i) tips to help you negotiate with a creditor or collection agency and (ii) what to negotiate for when dealing with creditors, lenders, or collection agencies.

Yes, I know, having that government-promised infusion of cash would be optimal, but that is not an option at this point. However, what you can do right now is try to reduce your operating costs by implementing the advice in this piece. Who knows, it might just be enough to tide you over until the stimulus funds start trickling down.

How to Negotiate With Your Creditors

Advice on protecting your interests by negotiating with creditors.

By Jason R. Rich

So depending on your financial and credit situation, if you take a proactive role in working with your creditors/lenders to pay off your debts, you can sometimes get them to work with you financially, plus get them to show mercy when recording information with the credit reporting agencies that won’t have such a negative impact on your credit score. This is something you’ll need to negotiate, however. It’s never something a creditor, lender, or collection agency will do automatically.

Read Entire Article

In the March 18th post, I featured an article from BusinessWeek that provided tax tips from a former IRS auditor. However, despite the catchy title, after careful review, I concluded that there, “were very few “secrets”… [and] I found the tips to be generic…”. Though I was somewhat disappointed, I recommend the piece because adherence to the tips provided could help you avoid being auditted.

Unlike the BusinessWeek article above, I found the advice provided in today’s featured piece from Forbes to be anything but “generic”. Because of my very limited knowledge of tax laws and accounting procedure, I shy away from providing in-depth analysis of any featured article dealing with that subject matter. I can, however, give you a summary of the information provided in the piece. As such, the author discussed how implementation of the following tips can greatly reduce your tax liability:

Last-Minute Small-Business Tax Tips
Forbes.com - Entrepreneurs

Jay Akasie 04.06.09, 7:00 PM ET

Uncle Sam is calling, and cash and time are in short supply.Entrepreneurs have plenty on their plates this tax season without having to ferret out every last loophole in the tortuous U.S. Tax Code. With less than two weeks left before April 15, we can only hope you've secured a competent accountant, or at least know you're way around Intuit's Turbo Tax. (Still debating which preperation method is better? Check out

March 18^th – one month until the deadline for filing tax returns. I’m a procrastinator so I still have not started. Thankfully, it seems as if this character flaw is going to actually pay off for once! This is all due to today’s featured article from BusinessWeek titled, “Tax Advice From A Former IRS Auditor”. Seriously, who can resist reading a piece with a title like that? I mean, it’s like getting access to the answer key before the exam – you simply have to look!  And, after reading that the “IRS devotes the greatest share of its enforcement budget—41 percent in 2006—toward small businesses”, you feel as if you have absolutely no choice.

Well, I read the piece and reviewed the accompanying slides (which address issues such as: when to file, deduction of travel, entertainment, commuting and personal / business related expenses, depreciation, employee withholdings, etc.) and I must admit that there were very few “secrets”.  Though I found the tips to be generic, apparently, these are the things that actually trip an audit! As such, it was nice to have each discussed in simple, everyday language and not the typical “accountant-speak”. That being said, I have decided to limit my commentary on the featured article as my insight insight into this issue is limited to a tax class I took 10 years ago in law school. In addition, as followers of this blog know, I am not the biggest fan of either accounting or taxes.

So, review the featured article, go through the slides (this is very important!), then have a conversation with your accountant to ensure that he / she is not overlooking anything. I know it might be an oxymoron to say this but, Happy Tax Season Everyone!

Tax Advice from a Former IRS Auditor

Small businesses face a relatively higher risk of audits than individuals. Here are some pitfalls to avoid to make sure your returns are accurate

By John Tozzi

Everyone wants to maximize their tax deductions and reduce what they owe the government. But remember: If you report income as a small business owner, you face a higher risk of getting audited than individuals with just payroll or investment income. That's because it's much easier for small business owners to understate their income or overstate their write-offs than it is for individual employees, who have their wages reported by their employer. Indeed, the IRS devotes the greatest share of its enforcement budget—41 percent in 2006—toward small businesses. The agency in recent years has tried to increase compliance through education and enforcement. The Schedule C, which sole proprietors use to report income, is the single most audited business form, says Jeff Collins, a tax attorney and former IRS auditor in Schaumburg, Ill.

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First let me apologize for the sparse number of posts last week.  This was caused by an uptick in demand from my “day job”.

That being said, today’s post deals with the Obama Administration’s Term Asset-backed Security Facility (TALF for short) that will go into effect on March 17^th.  TALF is the Administration’s latest effort to “unfreeze the credit market”, thus making it easier for small business owners like you to qualify for bank loans.  According to today’s featured post from BusinessWeek, it does this by offering loans to investors in an effort to induce them to purchase asset-backed securities once again.  At this point, you might be wondering what is an “asset-backed security”? And, exactly how does this affect me?

Well, in the past, banks were willing to extend credit to borrowers with fair to good credit. Since October 2008, however, only those with spotless credit can qualify. Why? Before the crisis, banks were able to package consumer loans into pools and immediately sell them to investors. This was a win-win arrangement for both sides because: (i) the banks immediately recouped their money and, as such, were able to extend even more loans to other borrowers; and (ii) the investors purchasing the loans would then issue securities (based on the pool) that accrued profit whenever payments were received from the bank's borrowers. Though investors always anticipated that a small percentage of the borrowers in each pool would default on their  loans, nothing could have prepared them for the recent widespread defaults in the mortgage industry. This caused many investors to lose a vast amount of money.  As a result, most have shied away from investing in asset-backed securities altogether. Because of this, banks now have to keep every loan they make. The result - a reduced supply of money for consumer lending.

Seeing that the U.S. economy runs on credit, a frozen market is simply making this already bad recession much, much worse. According to the featured article, however, the government is betting that its $200 billion TALF investment will lead to $1 trillion dollars in loans for borrowers like you. For all of our sakes, I hope they are right.

A $200 Billion Credit-Crunch Buster?

The Fed unveils the details behind its plan to jump-start consumer and small business lending

March 3, 2009

By Jessica Silver-Greenberg

The federal government on Mar. 3 provided some long-awaited answers on how it plans to unlock consumer and small business credit markets, which have been frozen more solid than an icy tundra.

The $200 billion joint Federal Reserve Board and U.S. Treasury program, known as the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, or TALF, is intended to get money flowing for small employers, student-loan providers, credit-card issuers, and auto lenders.

TALF was first announced late last year, but with only hazy parameters and few details. Whereas the better-known Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, was created to bail out banks, TALF's purpose is to induce investors to buy up AAA-rated securities backed by new consumer and small business loans by offering $200 billion in low-interest loans to would-be investors. The idea is that these securities will spur enough investor interest to eventually generate up to $1 trillion of lending.

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I don’t know about you, but I hate accounting.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I have a fear of numbers – I have always been good at math and I did pretty well in my accounting classes in high school and college. That being said, I have to say that I simply believe it is one the most boring subjects out there.  I mean, who has time to meticulously track every dollar?! Well, according to the featured article from CNNMoney, if you want succeed - you.

The author starts off the piece by noting that every business “goes through three stages: start up, throw up and grow up.” According to him, periods of economic growth sometimes mask the harsh realities of stage two (i.e. throw up) from many business owners.  This is exacerbated by the fact that most entrepreneurs are like me, in that, they have very little interest in accounting.  As such, they rely on accountants who mainly “fill out quarterly tax returns without scrutinizing the underlying business.” To reinforce this point, the author recounts a story about a personal friend whose accounting methods were “enhancing his profits or even masking operating losses.” This accounting system worked really well when we had an expanding economy. However, the friend began to experience cash flow difficulties as the recession progressed. Unfortunately for the friend / business owner, a review of his financials by the author quickly revealed that his business was insolvent.

So, how does the information in the featured article affect you? Well, you need to go ahead and make sure your financial house is in order.  If you haven’t done so recently, contact your accountant and have him / her create financial statements that allow you to do an in-depth analysis of where your business is right now. If you don’t have a strong aversion to accounting, and you are pretty good with numbers, then it’s time to bust out the Quickbooks.  If you don’t have an accountant and you absolutely hate math, then do what I do and contact my Dad, Trevor Mangaroo, over at Beckmang Consulting. (Look, I’m not just saying this because we are related, but the man is really good at this stuff! He has 20 years experience, not to mention a MBA in accounting.)

Whatever course of action you decide to take, just remember, you can’t afford to be like the ostrich and “bury your heads in the sand.” You can only make feasible plans for the future if you have a clear picture of where you are right now.  And, if you want that picture, you have to commit to doing the math.

Entrepreneurs' lesson #1: Do the math

Shoddy accounting in the heady start-up days can imperil a company later on.

By Jay Goltz

March 4, 2009: 11:44 AM ET

(Fortune Small Business) -- Every business goes through three stages: start up, throw up and grow up. Right now, with the economy as bad as I've seen it, many entrepreneurs in this country are experiencing stage two.

The first stage is exciting: the big idea, the perfect name, the projections of vast wealth. This is a heady time, filled with creativity, ambition, exhilaration and courage. Often, it's also full of false confidence, ignorance and naï vet.

At some point, things change. Projections aren't met, costs exceed expectations, cash becomes an endangered species, the perfect employee turns out alcoholic or incompetent or both, the competition is more clued in than you'd thought, and "I'll make my own hours" turns into all waking hours. This is the throw-up stage, where passion meets math.

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In my February 18^th post (discussing the provisions in the Stimulus Bill dedicated to small businesses), I noted that via the new Stimulus Bill, the government would increase the funds dedicated to microlending by $6 million.  Just to clarify (per the featured article from BusinessWeek), microIenders “are nonprofits that historically make small loans of up to about $25,000 to owners with spotty credit or slim experience. Their money comes from private donors and sometimes the government.”  The concept of microlending has gained recognition, in recent years, as a means of providing funding to small business owners in developing countries. Despite its renown, however, it never occurred to me that microlending would be necessary in a large industrialized country like the United States. Unfortunately, with many banks still refusing to make loans, microlending is one of the few sources of credit that is currently available to many small business owners.

For those interested in learning more about microlending, the featured piece from BusinessWeek provides a general overview of the industry.  First, the article highlights the difficulty many small business owners are facing today in procuring business loans. (This is the case even if the borrower has excellent credit scores.)  Next, it gives some background information on the community service microlenders provide by extending loans to small business owners with “shaky credit” or little experience.  Finally, the author wraps up the piece by highlighting the microlenders’ view that diversifying their loan portfolios to include borrowers with higher credit scores and more experience will have a positive impact on their financial stability.

Since the economic crisis began last October, the statement, “The credit markets are frozen” has been repeated ad nauseam.  In addition, over the past few months we have seen quite a few large banks use taxpayer money to underwrite their luxury lifestyles instead of providing the financing we entrepreneurs so desperately need. Thankfully, this featured article from BusinessWeek shows us that through microlending, we can completely bypass the fat cats on Wall Street altogether. And right now, that is a good thing…

As Credit Dries Up, More Owners Seek Microloans

The new candidates for this financing alternative have high credit scores and business track records

BWSmallBiz -- Financing February 13, 2009

By Louise Lee

In September, Sarwat Etman, with a credit score in the high 700s, was looking for a loan and an overdraft account to help him expand Direct Furniture Source, his two-employee, $400,000 retailer in Brooklyn, N.Y. Etman's bank turned him down. That surprised him, but, he says, "I had other options. I knew someone would appreciate me." He turned to microlender Accion New York & New Jersey, which loaned him $20,000 for 48 months at 11% a year.

Microlenders are nonprofits that historically make small loans of up to about $25,000 to owners with spotty credit or slim experience. Their money comes from private donors and sometimes the government. As banks clamp down, says Sara Ignas, a spokeswoman for the Association for Enterprise Opportunity, a microlending trade group, "our members have seen an increase in demand for loans from those who a year ago could get a bank loan"—entrepreneurs like Etman

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First, let me go ahead and admit that I am not an expert on taxes.  And usually, I have minimal interest in tax policy.  This year, however, is different.  With the economy being what it is, I feel that I must increase my understanding of this subject with an eye toward maximizing the cash I can keep to run my business.

Despite this newly found desire, however, I still could not bring myself to even look at a treatise on tax policy.  That is why I was so happy to have found the featured article from CNNMoney! This piece highlights, in simple straight forward language, many of the largest deductions that are available to business owners (especially in light of the recent stimulus bills passed by Congress).  Using multiple examples, the author explains how business owners can apply the following to minimize their tax liability: (i) loss carryback; (ii) acceleration of write-offs for business equipment; (iii) estate planning; and (iv) disposal of unsold inventory.

As you all know, I usually try to give a summary of the details behind each of these proposals. Today, however, I will not. This is because, as I mentioned above, my knowledge of tax policy is limited at best. As such, I will leave it up to you to decide, after reading the article, what the information presented means for you and your business.  However, as with yesterday’s post regarding the stimulus bill, I strongly recommend that you print out this piece and take it to your accountant. Finally, per the featured piece, don’t “worry if you've already filed your 2008 taxes: These tips will all work next year as well.”

2009: Keep more cash!

Key strategies for maximizing your deductions and holding on to the cash your business needs.

By Justin Martin

February 18, 2009: 9:33 AM ET

(Fortune Small Business) -- When your accountant prepares your business tax, you may feel a bit like Bill Murray's character in Groundhog Day, only this time forced to relive the indignities of 2008 again and again. Yes, last year was a bummer for many American entrepreneurs. But like Murray's cynical weatherman, you have an opportunity to improve upon the past.

With smart tax moves, you may be able to recover some of the money you lost in a bruising 2008. Fortune Small Business talked with a dozen tax experts, who identified such savvy strategies as carrying a loss back to previous years, accelerating write-offs for equipment purchases and claiming deductions for unsold inventory. We also found small business owners who have effectively used each strategy to preserve much-needed cash rather than forking it over to the feds.

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On Monday night, I listened keenly to the President’s news conference on the Stimulus Bill with the hope that I would hear more details about the resources that would be provided to small business owners.  All I got, however, were the same general statements about helping to reduce our taxes and unfreezing the credit markets so that we will have access to loans soon.  Yesterday, Treasury Secretary Geitner had his first news conference and, again, I heard something about increasing the maximum loan amount for each SBA loan but, again, not much detail.  The same happened when they were discussing the Senate version of the Stimulus Bill on the cable news channels.

Well, thankfully, during this morning’s search for some clarity on this issue, I found the featured article from CNNMoney. Its beauty lies in the fact that it lays out, in very simple language, the resources directed to us by the House Bill, then did the same with similar provisions in the Senate Bill.  This pretty much gives us an overview of the marked difference between the House Bill and the Senate Bill.  For example, the House version wants to the increase the size and government guarantees for all SBA loans.  On the other hand, the Senate version simply wants to eliminate the fees associated with getting these loans.  There is no doubt, however, that these and all other small business related provisions are geared toward increasing your access to cash so that you can continue to run and grow your business

Though each version of the Stimulus Bill passed its respective bodies of Congress, because of the great discrepancy in the terms, both versions must now be reconciled in conference before a final version is presented to the President for his signature and passage into law.   Though nothing is final, the good thing about this article is that it allows you to start making plans for your future. This is because it gives you a range of possible options that will be available to you in a couple of weeks.  So what is my suggestion? Start reading! Though I’ve been carefully following this issue on TV, this is the closest I came to understanding the full details of what is really going on.

Stimulus: What's in it for small biz?

The House and Senate agree that bank loans need to start flowing again. Where they disagree: How to fix the problem.

By Emily Maltby, CNNMoney.com staff writer

Last Updated: February 10, 2009: 2:19 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- With sales down and banks reluctant to extend loans without hefty collateral guarantees, many small businesses are strapped for operating capital. Both the House and Senate versions of the economic recovery bill address this pressing issue, but their proposed solutions are wildly different.

The House stimulus plan, passed two weeks ago, focuses on increasing the guarantees that the Small Business Administration makes to banks that issue small business loans. It authorizes the SBA to directly invest in the secondary market that banks tap to sell off bundles of their small-business loans, and it includes a provision for a new direct lending and loan refinancing authority within the SBA. Of the House bill's $820 billion estimated cost, $440 million is earmarked for these small business initiatives.

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On February 4, 2009, 10:58 a.m., I got the following phone call: “Ms. Mangaroo, we are just calling to let you know your car is ready for pickup.” My response: “Huh, are you serious? I just dropped it off on Tuesday night!” But yes, it was actually true; somehow, the mechanic had managed to fix the relatively substantial damage to the body of my car in just ONE day.  So there I was sitting in stunned bemusement when it dawned on me that no body shop with a full line-up of customers could handle such a quick turnaround (especially when the insurance company gave them substantially more time to complete the repairs!).  This, of course, was just another example of how the “tectonic plates” of our economy have really shifted.

It is with this in mind that we have to start looking at everything with “fresh eyes” and revisit the concepts of supply and demand we learned in Economics 101 in college.  Yes, I know for some of us that was a long time ago, but once you start reading the featured article from Forbes it will come right back to you. So let’s start with demand: a little over a year ago, in the midst of the housing bubble, demand for real estate was high and, correspondingly, so was the price for rented space. Now it is the exact opposite - with consumers cutting back on spending, and many businesses failing, there is a huge supply in real estate.  As such, prices are now much lower. That means now is the time for you to consider renegotiating your lease.

The featured article serves as a primer on how to go about doing this. It provides a step-by-step guide on how to leverage (i) this increase in supply of real estate; (ii) your downturn in revenues; (iii) a possible expiring lease; and (iii) most landlords’ desire for security into a reduction in your rent. As the author says, though we normally treat things like payroll, office supplies and advertising as variable, in “this economy, treat no cost as fixed.”

How To Renegotiate Your Lease

Christopher Steiner, 02.02.09, 7:00 PM ET

Variable costs like payroll, office supplies and advertising usually draw first blood in a recession. But some ostensibly fixed burdens are ripe for whittling, too, if you know how to negotiate. A big one: leased real estate.

In this market, even agreements inked for the next five or 10 years are open for negotiation. Indeed, landlords have all but come to expect the conversation.

"With the kinds of hits that most businesses have taken in sales, they can't afford to pay out at the occupancy rates they have been," says Ivan Friedman, chief executive of RCS Real Estate Advisors in Manhattan.

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Let me confess - I have only done business with a community bank once in my life.  It was during my first year of law school and the bank, Cambridge Trust, was offering a lot of perks that were geared toward attracting destitute students like me. So, I decided that it was in my best interest to sign up.  However, as the time went on, I started to miss the convenience of the large commercial banks. You know, the 24 hour customer service and branches and ATMs on almost every corner...  Though it was not as financially feasible, after one year, it was back to the big banks for me.

Well, a decade later, things have certainly changed.  Most of the nation’s largest banks are inundated with toxic assets and before last year’s bail out, almost all were tottering on the brink of failure.  In addition, after receiving billions of dollars of our taxpayer money, these banks decided that it was too risky for them to get back to the business of banking and actually provide loans to the companies that need credit.  No, they had other priorities that were much more important - $1.13 million to decorate a CEO's office (Merrill Lynch), purchasing a new $50 million executive private jet (Citibank), over a million dollar for European and spa vacations for their executives (AIG) and of course, massive end-of-year bonuses for all the Wall Street players.  Pretty much, the big banks are “fiddling” while the U.S. economy “burns”.

But, hold on a minute, according to the featured article from BusinessWeek, it seems the community banks are using this credit freeze by the big banks as an opportunity for growth.  And, lucky for you, they have decided to focus their attention on providing loans to small businesses! Also, getting credit from these banks is less onerous because, unlike the big banks (that take a more formulistic approach to underwriting loans), these community banks review a wide range of factors before making their decisions.  According to Richard Sanborn, CEO of Seacoast Commerce Bank in Chula Vista, CA, “We try to be creative and come up with a solution that will work. We look at other types of collateral and income to support cash flow, or we think about structuring a deal that is flexible. That means looking at a host of criteria in addition to credit scores, cash flow, and debt charts.” For example, while the big banks  evaluate every organization’s performance using the same internal formula, community banks tend to use a more subjective approach. They will usually “grade your company's performance on a curve”, i.e. within the context of the other businesses in your local area.

So, even if you have been recently denied a loan by one of the larger banks, don’t lose hope - you still have options.  Just make an appointment to see a loan specialist at your local community bank.  According to the featured article, many community banks are more than happy to step in and give you the credit you need. Also, rest assured that, unlike the larger banks, these community banks are financially solid (they were too little to play the securitization and credit derivative game on Wall Street).  Finally, let’s not forget their other advantages: (i) they provide more personal service, (ii) they are making us, small business owners, their first priority and (iii) they have been growing at a faster rate than the big banks for the past two years. 

So, who cares if they do not have some of the perks of the larger banks? In this economy, coping with small inconveniences is a small price to pay for getting access to the cash we need to run our businesses.

Community Banks Increase Small Business Loans

Small Business Financing January 27, 2009

As big banks struggle, community banks are stepping in to offer loans and lines of credit to small business owners

By Stacy Perman

About six months ago, David Klein, owner of Scientific Fire Prevention & Environmental Services in Long Island City, N.Y., decided to apply for a bank credit line because he was concerned about the tottering economy. Klein says he approached a handful of large banks including HSBC (HBC) and Washington Mutual (JPM) about his healthy, $9 million, 100-employee cleaning services company. He initially garnered interest, but soon found himself lost in bureaucratic shuffles. As talks continued, Klein became frustrated with the length of time it took to receive term sheets. When they did arrive, he found most of the terms "vague and unfavorable," and he had difficulty reaching bank staff. As the economy continued to crater, Klein decided he didn't want to do business with a bank that not only had poor customer service but one that might also be saddled with toxic assets.

Then Klein met the chairman and CFO of Cross River Bank, a small, recently opened community bank in Teaneck, N.J. Within three weeks of meeting about a credit line, Klein received a term sheet and not long after secured a $750,000 revolving line of credit. Compared with his previous experiences with larger banks, Klein was pleased. "They were easy to get a hold of and responded quickly to anything that we needed," he says. "We were able to negotiate things on the term sheet to the point that we were comfortable."

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Have any additional thoughts on this post and the featured article? Click on the comments button below to share

Every time you turn around someone is urging you to, “cut costs.” However, when you look at your current cash flow statement all you think is, “There is nothing there to cut! If I change anything on this statement, I’ll be jeopardizing the very survival of my business!”

Believe me, I know that feeling well. However, last week, I decided to follow the advice I saw on a blog about cutting costs in my personal life.  Though at first I was VERY skeptical, the result speaks for itself: I got my cable rates reduced for 2 years to that of a 1^st time customer – cutting my monthly bill in half!  Feeling more confident, I followed the other pointers about managing my household cash flow and now I am extremely happy with the results.

That is why I was so pleased when I found this article. It shows you how to apply similar cash flow strategies to your business.  Though each of us is an expert at running our own venture, it doesn’t hurt to periodically get back to basics.  The strategies outlined in this piece will highlight any blind spots on your current cash flow statement.  And remember what your grandmother always said (or at least mine did), “waste not – want not.”

10 Critical Cash Flow Rules

The idea that middle class and professional people can make money via passive income has always seemed impracticable to me. Call me a “Doubting Thomas” but from my perspective, if you want money you have to work hard for it. Only rich people (like those splashed across the tabloids) get to earn money while doing nothing or very little.

My Dad, on the other hand, is a firm believer in structuring your business to optimize passive income. He tried to change my mind on numerous occasions but I wouldn’t budge.

Well, the author of the article below has vindicated my Dad. In this piece, he outlined four specific ways in which you can earn money from passive income in the regular course of your business.  Am I now convinced these ideas can work? Well – I don’t know. All I can say is, the author’s ideas all seem viable, and, as it doesn’t cost us anything to try - why not?

Passive Income

How to Earn More and Work Less

By Scott Allen, About.com

Do you want to continue working 50, 70, 100 hours a week the rest of your life?

Good! Neither do I.

Do you want to be able to take time off whenever you want to, without worrying about what's going to happen to your business?

So do I!

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As we all know, the economic crisis last October froze the credit markets and has made it almost impossible for many small business owners to get access to loans and lines of credit. Unlike financial giants like AIG and Citibank, we are not “too big to fail” – so, no government bailout for us! That is why the article below is so important; it explores 8 sources of credit that you may be able to tap into if your bank denies your request for a loan.

8 Places To Get Financing

Can't get a bank loan? Try these alternate funding sources to get the cash your business needs to grow.

Credit unions

Wall Street's growing crisis has led banks to clamp down on lending, depriving many entrepreneurs of the financing they need. Small businesses seeking expansion capital have to wait months for a decision - and often, a "yes" brings with it ridiculously onerous loan terms.

Read Entire Article Here

To survive the credit crunch, we not only have to explore alternative funding sources, we also have to change the way we do business.  This article provides some really useful insight into how we should go about doing this.

How Entrepreneurs Can Survive a Cash-Flow Crisis

By Jill Hamburg Coplan at BusinessWeek Small Biz

If you see a crunch coming, barter, liquidate inventory, ask clients for advance payments, and renegotiate vendor relationships, just for starters

If cash is king, the castle keep is looking pretty bare for entrepreneurs, grappling with a recession, a credit crisis, and the fallout from an unprecedented series of bank meltdowns. An October survey of business owners by PNC Financial Services Group (PNC) found 68% expected a cash crunch in the coming six months, up from 48% a year ago. Even businesses that are adding customers and shipping more product can be at risk if cash inflows lag outflows.

Naturally, you want to bill immediately, collect diligently, and enforce a credit policy that filters out undesirable customers. If that still isn't enough, turnaround experts have a few more ideas for surviving a cash crisis in uncertain times.

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