3 Ideas for Business Financing in a Tough Market

One of the key parts of a successful wealth strategy is using leverage. Leverage can take on many different forms - leveraging your time, leveraging your contacts or leveraging your knowledge.

The form of leverage most people are familiar with is a loan, which is a way to leverage your assets. Leverage in this case may be a mortgage on a piece of property or a line of credit in your business.

Many wealth strategies include a business, and having financing available in that business is a critical part of the success of the business and the wealth strategy.

With the credit markets tightening, I've had many people ask me for new ideas on how to get financing for the business because the traditional ways are either limiting their business or not available at all.

The answer? This is where I use leverage, and leverage my contacts. I recently met David Gass, CEO & Founder of a business credit company and we instantly clicked. Why? Because I love thinking outside the box. When I do tax planning, I love finding creative ways to legally reduce taxes. David does the same thing in the business credit world. David shared some fantastic ideas with me on business financing options in today's market, and I'm excited to share a few of them with you.

#1 Leasing A company can use leasing as an option to finance their business. A lot of equipment and even software can be leased. There is extremely beneficial to start-up companies and those looking for large equipment purchases. The company doesn't have to pay up front for a large ticket item, which then conserves cash for the growth and day to day operations of the company.

#2 Accounts Receivable (A/R) Factoring If a company has accounts receivable with other businesses with decent history and credit scores, a factoring company will come in and buy the receivables for a discount on the future value. The business gets money now and the factoring company waits for the invoices to be paid. When they are paid by the customers of the business, the factoring company gets their share and repayment on the advance.

#3 Merchant Account Cash Advance Programs Although this type of financing can be expensive it is still a great option for some businesses. This type of financing is for businesses with a merchant account charging more than $10,000 per month on the account. Many merchant cash advance companies will advance up to three months charges on a merchant account with very little personal credit information required to obtain the loan. The loan is then paid back out of future merchant account activity as a percentage of the total amount charged that month.

Get Creative...It's Legal! As I said, I love tax planning because it allows me to be creative. Sometimes prospects ask me if what I do is legal. Is it? Of course it is! The secret is knowing the tax law so well that I know what is possible...and legal! The same is true in the financing world.