Lilah Olsher – OneBox Funding

September 23, 2019

Your senior year of high school is a time for preparing yourself for college and really having a good think about what you want to do with your future. Although you might not be ready to jump right into building your career, which is understandable, there are a few things you can do to get yourself a head start on building your career in the most effective way. Here are some tips that will propel you ahead of your colleagues, and help you excel at business even before your career gets off the ground.

Connect With Influencers and Business Owners

The world is moving more and more towards individual influencers and entrepreneurs, so it’s a good idea to start watching and with connecting with them. Since you’re most likely already on Instagram, it’s a good idea to start following influencers and other profiles that were successful in areas of interest to you. If possible, try to connect with business owners (through Instagram or other means) and get the inside scoop on their day to day routines.

Get Experience Interning or Volunteering

The prospect of working for free might be a turnoff to some, but there is something invaluable about an internship or volunteering. As an intern at a place of business, you get the rare opportunity of learning the inner workings of that company without the necessary qualifications to get a paying job. Not to mention, an internship or two looks incredible on your resume. If you have the opportunity (and the time) to do an internship or volunteer somewhere, definitely go for it.

Actually Start Your Business

If you’ve been planning and thinking about your business for a long time, and the only thing stopping you is that you think you’re too young or that you need to finish school first – start anyway! Even if you are not ready to go full time, start building your website. Begin making connections and talking to like-minded people about your ideas. You can even start a Kickstarter campaign in the meantime to gather funding for your project. If you feel like you can get started now, give it a try! Worst case, you’ll gain some great experience and give it another go when you’re more ready.

You’re young and you have the whole world ahead of you. Now is the time to get yourself a headstart so, by the time you are ready to walk out into the wide world of business, you will be more than ready.

Ready to take the first step to reaching your financial goals? Click here for a FREE quote from Onebox Funding, and find the best loan with the lowest rates, today!

by Eli

September 16, 2019

Your senior year of high school is a time for preparing yourself for college and really having a good think about what you want to do with your future. Although you might not be ready to jump right into building your career, which is understandable, there are a few things you can do to get yourself a head start on building your career in the most effective way. Here are some tips that will propel you ahead of your colleagues, and help you excel at business even before your career gets off the ground.

Make Yourself a LinkedIn Profile

You probably already have accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, but you really want to make yourself a LinkedIn profile. Once you create yourself a profile with a professional image of yourself, (even if you don’t have any working experience quite yet), you can utilize LinkedIn for its excellent networking opportunities. You can start joining groups surrounding topics you are interested in, and you can begin making connections (aka friend requests) to people in fields you might find relevant to you and your future career dreams.

Get a Job – Even If It’s Not The One You Want

Although miracles do happen, more likely than not, you won’t find yourself landing your dream job right out of high school. That being said, it’s a really good idea to get yourself a job, even one that’s part-time as soon as possible. Having a “real job” (one with a boss, when you are actually on the clock) will prepare you for the working world after you finish school. You will be able to dip your toes into the world of hours, shifts, taxes, bosses, and all types of coworkers. Not to mention it’s a great feeling to start earning your own money, and it might give you that extra drive for success once you start your real career.

Find Yourself a Mentor

It could be a favorite teacher or professor, or it could be your best friend’s mom. Whoever it is, finding yourself a good mentor who you admire and trust is worth its weight in gold. Not only will you be able to see and learn, first-hand, from someone who has already been through it, but you will always have that person to ask questions to and to bounce ideas off of. A second (knowledgeable) opinion is priceless.

You’re young and you have the whole world ahead of you. Now is the time to get yourself a headstart so, by the time you are ready to walk out into the wide world of business, you will be more than ready.

Ready to take the first step to reaching your financial goals? Click here for a FREE quote from Onebox Funding, and find the best loan with the lowest rates, today!

by Eli

September 9, 2019

There are a number of different types of small business loans entrepreneurs and company owners alike can take out to help them fund their businesses. In all cases, lenders require certain criteria to be met in order for them to approve your small business loan. They might ask for your credit score, your tax documents, even bank statements. Some lenders will even ask for you to put up one of your assets as collateral for the lent money. Although this is an option that many lendees take, we are suggesting that it might not be the best idea for a small business owner. Here are 3 reasons why you might want to pass on the collateral-required loans.

1. Long Processing Time

If a lender is asking you to put up an expensive asset as collateral, the idea behind it is that you have placed something of equal value to the money you’ve borrowed, on the off chance that you are not able to repay it back to the lender. This seems simple enough, however, unlike a solid loan amount which can be counted, the asset you put up (such as your home or your car) does not come with an exact price tag. It will take time for the lender to check in on your asset that you’ve offered up, to make sure of its value. This type of loan can take much longer to approve than a loan that only requires a credit check, where the numbers are laid out in front of you on your statements.

2. Lack Of Ownership

Maybe you’re just starting out in the business world, and you want to build your business and take it to the next level. Just because you have your business (or only your business idea), does not mean that you happen to own a worthwhile asset that could be used as collateral. The idea of your business is to eventually be making good money for yourself and your employees so that you will be able to buy your own home or your own luxury vehicle, but most people do not start out already owning them. Instead, go for a loan that doesn’t require you to put up assets as collateral, and then grow your business until you have enough to buy the assets of your dreams.

3. Risky Business

So, let’s say you take out a loan, go all-in for your business, and it fails. Unfortunately, this does happen from time to time, and sometimes it happens after you’ve already spent all of the cash you owe. If you’ve put your assets up as collateral, you will have a much harder time trying to find a new place to live, than finding a way to simply pay back the money. You could always take out other loans that can consolidate your debt until you get back on your feet. However, if you’ve put up your house to back the lent funds, you’d be in a much more difficult situation.

Ready to take the first step to reaching your financial goals? Click here for a FREE quote from Onebox Funding, and find the best loan with the lowest rates, today!

by Eli

September 2, 2019

Taking out a small business loan can be a great relief and help for many entrepreneurs and business owners. With the right knowledge and understanding, getting funding to help get a company on its feet can be rather simple to do and very rewarding in the end. However, if you are considering taking out a loan to help fund your business, there are a few questions you should ask yourself before putting in your application.

1. How Much Money Do I Actually Need?

When presented with the opportunity of a lump of cold, hard cash just handed to you, it might be tempting to just take out a bulk of it and use it to your heart’s desire. However, a small business loan is far from being “free money”. In fact, taking out funding without seriously understanding all of the costs and risks that come with it can land you in some very hot water. Before applying for a loan, it’s important to do the math about how much money you will really need to cover the certain expenses you deem important and urgent. Otherwise, you might find yourself stuck in some bottomless debt.

2. What Exactly Will I Use This Money For?

Just like knowing the exact amount of money you need to take out is imperative, knowing exactly what that money will go for is just as important. You need to have a plan for what you will use your funding for, so you can make sure that you don’t frivolously spend your funding. Without becoming too rigid, as the business world is always changing, you need to at least have a set of specific goals you wish to accomplish with this small business loan. Having written goals will not only keep you organized, but it will also help you track your progress and see what aspects of your business really benefitted from the loan.

3. How Confident Am I In My Business?

This is a big one. Unless you are sure that your business plans are solid, you should maybe wait with taking out money that will need to be repaid with the profits of your company. Of course, that’s not to say you should avoid all business loans because you are not 100% sure that you will be successful, nobody can actually know that. However, you need to have a pretty solid plan and a mapped out list of goals and expectations, as well as confidence in yourself and in your business idea before you get yourself into debt.

Ready to take the first step to reaching your financial goals? Click here for a FREE quote from Onebox Funding, and find the best loan with the lowest rates, today!

by Eli

August 26, 2019

Starting or running a business takes money, plain and simple. Working capital, and lots of it, is required for paying off all types of business expenses. Whether its paying employee wages, stocking up on inventory to sell, or just staying afloat with maintenance if you don’t have cash, you won’t have a business for much longer. Of course, just because your company is not profitable yet, or maybe you are just starting and you don’t have the cash to get your feet off the ground, doesn’t mean you cannot move forward with your business goals. Many successful small business owners opt to take out a business loan to get themselves the funding they need to make sure they can cover all of their expenses. In most cases, getting funding from a lender is possible if you meet certain required criteria that they are looking for (good credit score, a record of steady cash flow, etc). However, there are cases where you should NOT take out a small business loan because it might prove to be even more unhelpful in the end.

Firstly, if you do not meet the requirements of the lender, you will not be approved for a small business loan. These requirements include at least 12 months of bank states illustrating to the lender that you have had some sort of steady cash flow throughout your past year of business (even if your revenue goes up and down over different seasons), a decent credit score (which shows the lender that you are on top of your payments), and your most recent tax return (which assures the lender that all of your taxes are in order).

Assuming you do meet all of the requirements, there are still a few red flags which tell you that you are not in a good position to take out a small business loan, even if you do qualify. One of the biggest red flags that tell you taking out business funding is a bad idea is your income-to-debt ratio. Debt is a natural thing to happen to most companies, especially if you have taken out loans before, or you’ve made purchases bigger than your current profits could pay for. However, there is a point where you have so much debt that you cannot possibly pay off yet another loan.

The rule of thumb here is to make sure that your income-to-debt ratio is less than 50%. If your debt surpasses your income, so that you have more debt than you do money coming in, you are in a very bad situation. Taking out another small business loan, even if you want to use the funds for bumping up your business, will most likely end you up drowning in even more debt. If you find yourself in this kind of situation, you are better off waiting with yet another loan, and instead, trying to find ways to cut back on expenses and get your existing debt down as much as possible. Once you find yourself afloat once again, you will be in a much better position to take on another loan to make your business dreams a reality.

by Eli

August 19, 2019

It’s no secret that every business needs working capital, aka cold hard cash, to run and stay afloat. That being said, not every successful business owner has the funds to take care of all of his company’s needs and to keep it steadily growing. Often times, business owners and entrepreneurs opt to take out funding, in the form of a small business loan, in order to make the necessary purchases needed to run their business and keep it up-to-date.

Most of the time, a business loan comes to you in the form of cash directly deposited into your account, so you have free reign to do whatever you please with it. However, you should always have a plan and a goal in mind when you begin to use these funds to help your company. Otherwise, you will find yourself indebted to the lender, with a failing business to boot. Here are some of the best ways to put your small business loan to good use:

1. Hiring and Training New Employees

Scaling your business means making every aspect of it bigger. This includes the number of people you have on your team making the whole thing come together. Of course, with growing your business comes many expenses, so it can be hard to find the cash to covers the growing pains AND the new employees you’ll have to hire to keep up with it all. If that’s your biggest pain point, use your business loan funds for the first few months of salaries for your employees, until your larger revenues will cover the costs for you.

2. Get Yourself Online

Every day, we learn more and more towards technology and away from the physical world. That’s not to say that your brick-and-mortar company is in danger, per se, but it’s always important to keep up with the times. If you don’t have a website, or you do but it’s not optimized and user-friendly, use your small business loan money to hire a web developer to make you a beautiful site with a clean interface. This will give your customers an option to purchase your products online, from the comfort of their homes, which will increase your revenues a great deal.

3. Consolidating Past Debts

Most business owners are no strangers to debt, and it’s very likely that you may have taken out a loan or two in the past that you are still paying off. Save yourself a headache, and some money too, by consolidating all of your loans into one. This way, you’\ll no longer have to deal with multiple interest rates, payments terms, and due dates.

Ready to take the first step to reaching your financial goals? Click here for a FREE quote from Onebox Funding, and find the best loan with the lowest rates, today!

by Eli

August 12, 2019

It’s no secret that every business needs working capital, aka cold hard cash, to run and stay afloat. That being said, not every successful business owner has the funds to take care of all of his company’s needs and to keep it steadily growing. Often times, business owners and entrepreneurs opt to take out funding, in the form of a small business loan, in order to make the necessary purchases needed to run their business and keep it up-to-date.

Most of the time, a business loan comes to you in the form of cash directly deposited into your account, so you have free reign to do whatever you please with it. However, you should always have a plan and a goal in mind when you begin to use these funds to help your company. Otherwise, you will find yourself indebted to the lender, with a failing business to boot. Here are some of the best ways to put your small business loan to good use:

1. Keeping Up With Your Equipment

Unless your business is completely run online (and even if it is, this could still be relevant), you will eventually need to spend money on equipment. Whether it’s to fix a damaged machine or repair a broken appliance, or simply because you need the newest upgrade in order to keep up with the competition, your business loan funding could be very well used here. Making sure that you have access to the newest, most advanced equipment in excellent condition is imperative to keeping your business running as efficiently as possible.

2. Marketing Yourself

Even if you have come up with the most innovative and unique idea ever made, without marketing, absolutely no one will know you even exist! If you don’t have the funds or the revenue to take care of your marketing, using your loan here is a good idea. Marketing yourself effectively can mean the difference between being a nobody and having to fight off the paparazzi of clients at your door.

3. Buying Inventory

In order to open up a store, whether brick-and-mortar or a physical shop, you will need to purchase large amounts of inventory for you to sell to your customers. While the goal is to eventually buy it at a cheaper price than what you will sell it for, the fact remains that buying bulk inventory can take a pretty hard hit on your wallet. Instead, use your small business loan funds to purchase the inventory you need for however long of a season you wish to sell for. Hopefully, your revenue from the sales will leave you with enough money to buy the next round without taking another loan.

Ready to take the first step to reaching your financial goals? Click here for a FREE quote from Onebox Funding, and find the best loan with the lowest rates, today!

by Eli

August 5, 2019

There’s no shame in receiving some funded to give you a leg up in your business. In fact, most business owners have taken out, or will take out, at least one loan to help give themselves a boost and supply themselves with immediate working capital for their company’s needs. However, taking out a business loan is not as simple as it sounds. Here are some major DO’s and DONT’S when it comes to taking out a small business loan.

DO all of your research to find a reputable lender

It might sound obvious, but it is vastly important to use a lender that is well-known and who has good reviews. Although the lender needs to be able to trust that you will pay his or her money back, it’s just as important that you can trust that he or she gives you honest, reasonable terms, and doesn’t have any secret loopholes that might get you into trouble.

DO get multiple quotes

It’s always a good idea to get a second (or third) opinion, and that goes for a business loan as well. Even if you think you might have found the small business loan for you, you should always get multiple quotes to compare to one another, and you might just find out that you almost missed a better rate. With any big purchase (even if it’s only lent money), doing a double or triple check, is never a waste of time.

DON’T take out more than you need

On the one hand, you should always take out as much money as you need in one loan, instead of taking bits of cash here and there (that will leave you with multiple interest rates and payment terms to keep track of). However, while you should take as much money out as you need, you shouldn’t take any more. This doesn’t include a small, calculated buffer amount that you might need for unaccounted expenses. But it is a bad idea to take out a big surplus of cash to use on unrelated expenses, which could land you in hot water when it comes time to pay them back.

DON’T use your loan for non-business related expenses

When you’re handed a large lump of cash at once, it might be tempting to use some of it to finish up your car payment or help buff up your vacation a little bit. Don’t do it! To keep yourself organized and out of monetary trouble, you should use your business loans for business expenses only. If you find that you need more money for your personal expenses, you should look into a different option for funding, that’s more geared for personal use.

Ready to take the first step to reaching your financial goals? Click here for a FREE quote from Onebox Funding, and find the best loan with the lowest rates, today!

by Eli

July 29, 2019

There’s no shame in receiving some funded to give you a leg up in your business. In fact, most business owners have taken out, or will take out, at least one loan to help give themselves a boost and supply themselves with immediate working capital for their company’s needs. However, taking out a business loan is not as simple as it sounds. Here are some major DO’s and DONT’S when it comes to taking out a small business loan.

DO take out as much money as you actually need

It may seem financially safer to take out as small an amount as possible, even if you need a bit more, but in the end, it doesn’t pay off. You should absolutely take out the exact amount of money that your business needs. If you don’t take out enough to really make a difference in your business, the loan is essentially useless anyway.

DO have a clear understanding of the terms and conditions of your loan

Before agreeing to any type of funding, you need to be clear on what the terms of the loan are. What is the interest rate you will be paying, and is it accumulated monthly, annually? How much time do you have to actually pay the loan off in full? How often and what dates are payments due? These questions, and more, should all be answered sufficiently before taking out any sort of small business loan.

DON’T take out multiple loans at a time

It’s much more financially sound to take out one bigger loan, instead of multiple loans at once. Not only will this leave you with two different sets of terms to remember, but you will also have to pay two monthly payments of different amounts, most likely on different dates. This is a great way to become confused and get yourself into money trouble. It’s best to just take out the amount you need from one, trusted, loan provider.

DON’T put your assets up as collateral

There are some types of loans that don’t require the typical payment terms. While these may seem tempting, you should avoid putting up any of your personal or business-related assets up as collateral for your funding. This is a dangerous practice and could land you in some real hot water if anything goes wrong with your payments. Trust us, a late fee is a much better option than losing your home or your car.

Ready to take the first step to reaching your financial goals? Click here for a FREE quote from Onebox Funding, and find the best loan with the lowest rates, today!

by Eli

July 22, 2019

In an ideal world, everyone who ever put their hearts and souls into a company would have the reward of business success for all their hard work. Unfortunately, this simply is not the case. For many business owners, despite the blood, sweat, and tears they put into their work, their companies begin to falter and, eventually, come crashing down. However, there are signs to look for to see if your company is beginning to take a turn for the worse, and it is possible to stop it in its tracks and turn it around for the better. Here are 3 signs that your company is losing steam, and what you can do about it.

1. You Are Losing Business To Your Competitors

Competition in business is a natural thing. It keeps us on our toes and always progressing. However, if you start seeing that you are losing a huge bulk of your business to other companies in competition with you, it might be a sign that something is going wrong. Take a look at your competitors, and try to find differences in how they market and manage themselves. There must be something that consumers appreciate and would rather pay for, something that you might be missing. It’s always a good idea to do continuous competitor research, even if you re still ahead in the game.

2. You’ve Stopped Growing

No company is able to keep a continuous incline in their growth, it would be impossible. However, if you notice that your growth has stalled for a long period of time, it might be a sign that your company is starting to fail. Although you might still have your loyal customers with you, staying at the same level for so long will only allow others to surpass you and, eventually, beat you out. When you start to see that your growth has gone stale, that’s a sign to start looking for something new to add to the mix. Your old processes have worked for you in the past, but with stagnant growth, you might need to begin looking for other ways to go about your business.

3. You’re Working Extremely Hard with No Benefits

It’s always good to work hard for your business, but sometimes your hard work stops paying off and starts hurting you. If you find yourself putting in more and more hours with little to no reward, you need to take a step back and rethink your strategy. Hard work does help, but when you’re beating a dead horse, you’re not going to reap any rewards from your efforts. Instead, try refocusing your work ethic on new ideas that might prove more profitable.

Ready to take the first step to reaching your financial goals? Click here for a FREE quote from Onebox Funding, and find the best loan with the lowest rates, today!