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by Eli
March 7, 2019
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Business Loans0

3 Confusing Business Loan Terms Explained

Every new business endeavor you want to embark on needs money to get it started. Unless you happen to be sitting on a large pile of cash, you’re going to need a way to get your hands on some working capital, long before you begin profiting from your sales. More often than not, new business owners opt for taking out a small business loan to get those first few thousands of dollars needed to get their businesses up and running.

While it’s relatively easy to take out a small business loan, there are a lot of terms and phrases that are part of loan jargon which might be new, and a bit confusing, for new business owners. But before you become too intimidated by the new language, we’ve picked up a handful of some terminology that you may find confusing and explained them in more simple and easy-to-understand terms.

Payment Terms

The payment term of your loan is kind of like a rental agreement on an apartment, or the terms of service when you enter into a contract with someone. Just like the agreement you make with your landlord about how much to pay, when to pay it, and what happens if something goes wrong, the payment terms on your loan determine everything you need to know about it. These terms will tell you what type of interest rate you’ll have (we’ll get to this later), how high the interest rate will be, what your minimum payment will be (weekly, monthly, annually, etc.), and how long you have to pay off your loan in full.

Variably VS. Fixed Interest Rate

Unless you’ve borrowed money from a dear friend, most likely the institution lending you funds will charge you a fee for the duration of the time you are using their money. This is what an interest rate is. The rate will be done as a percentage and will be charged according to the terms of your loan (many times it accumulates monthly). If your lender gives you a fixed interest rate (let’s say of 3.5%), then you will pay 3.5% of your principal balance every time your interest is accrued, until you’ve completely paid back your small business loan. If you’ve been given a variable interest rate, that means that the percentage will fluctuate, according to the market benchmark that month. There are pros and cons to both types of interest rates, so you’ll want to do your research before choosing the best small loan for you.

APR

APR stands for Annual Percentage Rate, and it’s basically an overall figure of how much your loan will cost you for the year. This includes any fees the lender may charge and all of the interest compounded over the year. This snapshot will tell you if the loan is worth it, and how much money you’ll need to be able to pay it back in full.

Ready to apply for a business loan with a fantastic rate? Contact us here for a free quote.

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by Eli
March 4, 2019
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Finances0

Crowdfunding to Finance Your Business: Should You Do It?

Imagine a world where you simply ask strangers online to give you money for whatever project you’d like to do. And, if they believe your idea is good enough, they’ll just give it to you. This sounds like something that’s too good to be true, right? Well, it is true. It’s called crowdfunding, and in the right circumstances, it could be a fantastic way to help fund your business to get it off the ground.

Crowdfunding started gaining popularity in 2009 when a website called Kickstarter launched an online platform. You simply create an account and describe the details of your campaign. How much money you will need, what type of project you’d like to get off the ground, and how your idea will make life better for your customers.

Of course, if your idea isn’t good enough for potential crowdfunders to see the value in putting money into it, you probably won’t see a cent. However, if you’ve managed to come up with a product that addresses unmet pain points of a large enough group, a crowdfunding campaign could be the answer to your lack of funds.

That all being said, creating a crowdfunding campaign to get yourself up and running might not be the best option for all business owners. Firstly, you do have to invest a bit of money in order to start the campaign (it’s not much, but if you have no money at all, there’s nothing really to do). Second, you do run the risk of putting lots of time and effort into your marketing campaign, and not seeing a cent.

The biggest danger with using crowdfunding as a way to start your business is that it no longer puts you in control, you become indebted to your funders. Because you give potential funders an initial timeline for your project to be finished before you begin your campaign, people giving you money will expect your finished product on the day you tell them it will be ready.  This leaves no room for flexibility when it comes to meeting all of your proposed goals.

Another issue with crowdfunding is that it only works for businesses with a tangle product. People who will fund your idea are doing it because they want a piece of the pie. Unfortunately, putting money into something they won’t receive to their doorstep when promised is not as enticing.

If you don’t find that you qualify or want to get involved with crowdfunding, never fear. There are lots of ways to get the cash you need to start your business. Taking out a small business loan is an excellent way to have immediate working capital with a rate a payment term that you’ve worked out beforehand. For anything from equipment financing to debt consolidation, a small business loan could be your fastest way to start working on your dream business.

Ready to take your business to the next level? Find out more about the right small business loan for you with Onebox Funding, here.

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by Eli
February 27, 2019
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Entrepreneurship0

Why Great Customer Service is Imperative For a Successful Business

When you think customer service, your head probably goes straight to sitting on the phone waiting for what feels like hours on hold for the “next representative to assist you”. While we’ve all experienced the nightmare of needing help with a product or service, we also know how much difference a helpful person with a great attitude can make.

No matter if you’re offering financial advising for debt consolidation, running tours of deserted islands, or selling homemade donuts at your coffee shop, the customer experience is almost completely determined by the service they experience while doing business with you.

Think of a time when you really needed help, and you contacted the company for assistance. Was your customer service representative helpful? Did he or she have a can-do attitude? Did he or she make you feel like you were his or her top priority, and helping to find you a solution to your problem was the only thing that mattered? If so, this probably not only made your problem seem less upsetting but, whether you know it or not, it made that company have a much better reputation in your mind.

Now think of another time when you needed help from an employee and you were left feeling much worse than when your problem started. Maybe that representative was in a bad mood that day, or was not competent and did not know enough about the product to help you find a solution. Assuming your problem did finally get solved, do you remember the feeling you were left with? Even if it’s not conscious, that representative left a bad taste in your mouth, which you associate with the entire company.

Business owners of all kinds must put the customer experience as one of their top priorities. Not only will it keep your customers happy, but a happy customer will eventually lead to more business and more successful sales in the long run.

For one thing, a customer who had a great experience working with you during his or her buying process is way more likely to tell his or her friends about you. Word of mouth is a great, personal way to spread the word about your business and let it grow.

Customer loyalty also relies heavily on the customer experience when it comes to doing business with you. If a customer feels special and feels that his or her needs were met in a timely fashion, there is a much bigger chance that the customer will stay loyal to you, and won’t want to move to a competitor (even if his product is slightly better).

For these reasons alone and many others, it is so important to make customer service a necessity when running a business. Any business owner will profit greatly from treating his or her customers well and giving them a positive experience that stays with them throughout their time doing business with you.

Ready to take your business to the next level? Find out more about the right small business loan for you with Onebox Funding, here.

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by Eli
February 25, 2019
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Business LoansEntrepreneurship0

Common Mistakes First-Time Business Owners Make

In this day and age, becoming an entrepreneur and owning your own business is becoming more and more enticing. And why wouldn’t it? Make your own hours, be your own boss. As tempting and rewarding as being a business owner might be, it also requires loads of hard work and excellent time management skills.

The truth of the matter is, not everyone is cut out to run his or her own business. If you really do want to make it on your own, then it’s important to be aware of these common mistakes unsuccessful business owners make which ultimately brings them to failure.

Mistake #1: Not asking the advice of successful business owners

Although it may be tempting to try and make it on your own, you would be doing yourself a huge disservice if you aren’t looking around to see where others have failed in their own businesses. Not everyone has access to a close friend who can mentor you in the art of starting a business, but there is an infinite number of resources you can look into for insight. Many business owners have published books and lectures on tips and tricks for running a business. Maybe you even have a few friends who are willing to talk with you about some of the things they wished they’d known before diving in. Either way, it’s always a good idea to look to others and try to learn from their mistakes.

Mistake #2: Not having a solid growth projection for the future

Sometimes it’s hard to see the big picture of a business, especially when you’re just starting out. However, if you don’t have at least an idea of your goals for the next few months, 5 years, decade, etc. you could be setting yourself up to stay small. A good entrepreneur has a timeline of small goals and big milestones. These not only help to propel the business forward, but they also keep everything organized in order to grow in a smart way.

Mistake #3: Not having the proper funds to do the job and do it well

Unsurprisingly, it’s impossible to get your business up and running without a chunk of cash. However, even if you don’t have a big sum of money to utilize for starting your business, there are ways to get funded. A small business loan can be your golden ticket to having the funds to get everything started. For example, equipment financing is an option for business owners who need to make a bulk purchase of materials and/or tools to get their project rolling.

While it may be a little scary to get started, being your own boss really does have its perks, and the feeling of pride and freedom that it gives you is second to none. Make sure to have a solid plan, be ready to work hard and learn a lot, and avoid the common mistakes listed above, and you’ll be well on your way!

Ready to take your business to the next level? Find out more about the right small business loan for you with Onebox Funding, here.

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by Eli
February 22, 2019
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Business LoansEntrepreneurship0

How to Scale Your Business Responsibly

Anyone who has ever started a company knows that it is the most thrilling and terrifying thing in the world to take your business to the next level and grow it. However, not scaling your business responsibly, with the right knowledge and tools, can be detrimental to your business’s success and can land you in some pretty hot water.

When you’ve had some success for a while, you may decide that it’s time to take the next step with your business. This could mean opening up new branches, taking on more customers or projects, introducing new products, etc. No matter how you want to scale, it’s imperative to have a solid plan and the resources to handle any growing pains you might encounter. Here are some questions you’ll want to ask yourself to see if you are indeed in a good position to take your business to the next step.

1. Do I have the manpower to scale?

While you may not have had any trouble managing 20 of your customers by yourself, you might find yourself gasping for air when you take on 100 of them. Making sure that you have enough employees available to maintain the level of service while upping the number of customers you have is absolutely vital to a successful business. If your existing customers feel that they are no longer receiving the quality of service they were previously receiving because you have spread yourself too thin, they will most definitely begin dropping you.

2. Do I have the finances to scale?

Maybe you have thought about hiring a few more hands to help you, but do you have the financial backing to be able to pay them? Money is probably the most important factor to take into consideration when trying to scale your business up. Maybe you will need to purchase new equipment or install new technology. Or maybe you will need money to grow your marketing campaigns online. Whatever the reason, you will need cash and lots of it. Luckily, there are small business loans available that can help you with everything from equipment financing to debt consolidation. Just make sure that you understand the terms of the small business loan (interest rate, payment amount, payment period, etc.), and that you will be able to pay it back when the time comes.

3. Am I ready for a possible setback or failure?

No business owner wants to believe that his or her business will fail. Unfortunately, growing a business is a learning experience, and mistakes can happen. Most likely, any business owner will come across at least one or two unexpected setbacks while trying to expand. The important thing is to be ready for anything and to have the strength to get back up and keep going.

Scaling your business is not easy, but it can be very rewarding and profitable if you have a good attitude, a great work ethic, and a drive for success. All the while, it’s important to remember to take things as slowly and surely as you need to, and to enjoy the journey while it’s happening.

Ready to take your business to the next level? Find out more about the right small business loan for you with Onebox Funding, here.

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by Eli
February 20, 2019
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EntrepreneurshipSocial Media0

How to Use Social Media to Grow Your Business

Over the past decade, social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest have become hugely popular among children and adults, alike. Social media networks open up a whole world of connecting with old friends, sharing photos, discovering new recipes and DIY projects, and much more. With so many ways to benefit from these websites, it’s little wonder that they’ve become so popular.

But did you know that social media sites are not just for when you’re surfing the web in your free time? In fact, these sites are an enormously helpful tool in promoting and growing your business.

With the days of business owners advertising themselves in the local newspaper long gone, merchants now have the opportunity (and obligation) to reach out to potential customers on a global scale, online. Creating a company website is a great place to start, but if you don’t get the word out to enough of an audience, all of that hard work could be for nothing.

Social media sites are a fantastic way to get yourself and your business out there and noticed by the masses, and to begin marketing your way to successful sales. Here are three useful ways to use social media networks in order to grow your business.

1. Create Customer Relationships

With so much of our daily lives being conducted online, it’s important for your business to have a lively and active online presence. A Facebook page dedicated to your company allows for back and forth engagement with your customers and potential consumers. You can post your latest products and news, and your followers can like, share, and even comment their opinions directly onto your posts. By creating discussions with and between your customers, you will gain insights into their specifics needs and pain points, letting you better customize their customer experience. A customer who feels heard is much more likely to stay loyal to your company.

2. Drive Traffic to Your Site

As we mentioned previously, it’s no use building a website for your company if nobody is visiting it. Using social media, you can post links to your website or blog with eye-catching imagery and enticing campaign captions which will draw people to click. This brings potential customers out of the social media network and right into your website.

3. Track The Competition

Unless you have a completely and totally unique product or service to offer (which is almost unheard of nowadays), you probably have at least one or two competitor companies competing for your customers. If they are any good at what they do, most likely they are already utilizing social media to market themselves. Following your competitors’ pages is a great way to keep tabs on them, and see if they are doing something that you might have missed.

There are so many benefits to using and understanding social media to help your business flourish, it’s really a great loss to not utilize them. Any business owner will benefit from making social media a part of his or her small business marketing strategy.

Ready to take your business to the next level? Find out more about the right small business loan for you with Onebox Funding, here.

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by Eli
November 30, 2017
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Uncategorized0

3 Things Underwriters Look for in a Loan Application

The loan underwriting is a process undertaken in order to analyze the data provided by the loan applicants. In addition, the credit score is being reviewed prior to the assessment – whether a certain applicant meets the minimum criteria for a loan or not. As a part of the loan underwriting process, all of the data is analyzed, verified and then summarized so the lenders can figure out the status of the applicant.

So, here are the three things that underwriters should look for  when applying for a loan:

Get to Know the Applicant’s Personal Status

It is important to understand the borrower’s personal information before giving them a chance to acquire the loan approval. By knowing who they are and what they do, you can definitely assess the right move for them.

The underwriters will thoroughly review the applicants, including their credit score, monthly gross revenue, and other related matters. Other key characteristics to be considered will be the applicant’s age, residential status, employment status, loan purpose, loan amount, and the numbers of earners in the house.

All of these will help the underwriters analyze and summarize the personal data of the borrower. This will help both parties make the process fast and easy with the proper cooperation.

Get to Know the Applicant’s Bank Statements

The underwriters need to review the applicant’s bank statements. The underwriters need to ask for recent bank statement copies of the borrower at the time of the underwriting process. This will help the underwriters understand how the borrowers manage their money. Also, the bank statements should not be overlooked, as it confirms the following data:

  • Applicant’s real full name and address
  • Applicant’s salary credits (to see if they are on a regular amount and on a regular basis)
  • History of the general transactions (whether they are on a regular payment made to the credit agreement)
  • To see if there are any unpaid or a reserved transaction
  • Use of an unauthorized credit limit

All of this data on the applicant’s bank statements has the impact on the loan, so this should be taken into account, as well.

Applicant Credit Search

The underwriters must use an electronic identification process by effectively connecting with the reference agencies so the identities of the borrowers will be identified. The underwriters need to compare the key credit score and information of the borrowers such as credit cards, mortgage, loans, as well as bank statement status towards the disclosed data in the application.

Aside from these three essential aspects, the lending company should also take a look at the potential financial frauds to avoid issues along the way.

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by Eli
November 22, 2017
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Credit0

The Importance of “Time in Business” for Lenders

Most people believe that money is the most essential resource. However, that may not always be the case. The most important asset is time. Once it is gone, you can never get it back. You cannot go back into the past and correct your mistakes.

For a lending institution, time in business plays a vital role in the success and growth of the startup or company. There are many benefits of having longer time in business, here are some of them.

Prioritization

Running a lending agency is not easy. Despite your professional and personal competencies, you will find it hard to deal with all your duties. If you find yourself out of focus, you can lose out on good opportunities in an instant.

To get the most out of your business, effective time management is essential. Prioritize the largest and most urgent tasks at the top of your list. Keeping that thought in mind, you will surely improve your service and acquire potential clients in no time.

More clients, more revenue

Not all entrepreneurs today have enough budget to run their businesses. This is why they use the services of a reliable lending institution. With this being said, non-traditional financial providers have a high demand from a broad range of people, including small, medium, or large businesses.

Those who are in need of capital will be careful before making any decision. Even though you may be a trusted company, you could encounter resistances and will need to convince them to take advantage of your services. As long as you provide fast approval, reliable interest rates and minimum requirements from the applicants, you will have many good clients. Aside from that, you can expect more revenues within a short span of time.

Reduce bad credit

In the lending industry, it is difficult to find trustworthy clients. So, to avoid losses and difficulties, they consider credit history. When an applicant was not able to pay his credit in the past, his business loan would less likely be approved. By managing on-time payments, this issue can be avoided, which will benefit the business owners and lending company as well.

Fast process

Every individual who engages in this field dreams to provide an immediate process. Once you are surrounded with by a team of experts and state-of-the-art resources, you can make it come to life. A lot of small business owners would prefer working with you if your process is fast.

Time is imperative without a doubt. Though you can get swamped with applications, inquiries and other problems, try to manage everything smartly. Finish the most significant tasks first before moving on to other less urgent matters. Lead your company well and hire productive and reliable employees.

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by Eli
November 13, 2017
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Uncategorized0

How to Manage your Small Business Budget Correctly?

Whatever the size of your business, a well-managed budget plays an essential role in your success. Nevertheless, being a small business owner, you might be pressured to manage your budget correctly. You will also encounter a difficulty with back-up funds. For you to make a profit and balance other expenditures, you have to create a strong, concrete and effective budgeting plan ahead of time.

Money or finances is a complicated topic to deal with. But lack of efficient financial planning could cause your startup to fail in an instant. By spending your time to focus on your budget, you will not use your precious time on expenses. You will heed on your business instead. So, how are you going to manage your principal effectively?

Budget by department

Even though your startup might be small and may not have many departments, it is imperative to manage your budget just like large corporations do. You can take your past financial plan as your guideline and base your future budget on it. That way, you can determine where your leftover budget came from, which departments met their goals, etc.

You can also hire a professional who specializes in this process for a more effective and efficient departmental budget.

Always plan ahead

Looking ahead at the calendar of your business is useful. You can start by asking yourself what your future expenses will be. It is also significant to focus on the larger aspects of your business such as new staff recruitment and office renovation.

To utilize your money properly, plan out your expenses and consult with your team, so you don’t find yourself at a point where you have underestimated your budget.

Be ready to experience the worst scenarios

Unexpected expenses can be your worst nightmare. You have to be prepared to experience such problems. You should always have an emergency fund in case you fall into a financial dilemma.

In case you do not have a backup budget, do not worry as there are companies that provide small business loans. OneBox Funding can help you find the right loan for your business.

Learn how to prioritize

If your business has been  making high revenues for the past few months, make sure to prioritize your expenses so you don’t find your self in a loss. It will help you reduce unnecessary costs and balance your financials.

When your budget is not enough to meet your goals, why not consider OneBox Funding. As long as you can pay your debt, you have high chances for a loan approval with fair interest rates.

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by Eli
October 24, 2017
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Uncategorized0

When to Take your Break at Work

Many people are too busy at work to take breaks. The workload is overwhelming and you frequently feel stressed. Stress takes up a significant amount of cognitive and emotional bandwidth, which soon enough will result in lack of motivation. Your to-do list is always full of tasks and you often feel tired or drained of energy. The solution? Take a break.

Discover the reasons why you need to take breaks at work.

Small Mistakes

When you find work too much and you cannot avoid making small mistakes, it means its time for you take a break. You cannot avoid blunders from work.

When you feel burned out, mistakes are much easier to make.

When you are already burnt out of work, it is likely for you to slip up more than you would normally do. All employees can get caught into a moment that they feel they are no longer happy at their workplace. Restoring your energy is crucial, the best solution is taking a break.

Tired and Irritable

Do you wake up in the morning and by noon, you just feel like you need a nap? Unfortunately, most workplaces frown upon napping. Make sure to take a few short breaks at work to walk around, stretch out and get some fresh air. “Your calm mind is the ultimate weapon against your challenges. So relax.”
Said Bryant McGill

Lack of Focus

Do you often spend your time looking at your phone? Do you look at your screen and find yourself drifting off? One of the more common issues at work is being able to focus for many hours. Taking a break will clear your mind and allow you to regain your focus. Some studies have shown that the mind solves its stickiest problems while daydreaming. That’s because the relaxation associated with daydream mode “can allow the brain to hook up and return valuable insights

Lack of motivation

When you are not motivated to wake up in the morning to go to work, you will not be performing well. A motivated person tends to feel good and does well at work. Your motivation must be consistent. However, if your motivation has been low for a while and you are not living up to your full potential, you should consider taking a short vacation. Taking a break from work will guarantee you become more productive. Taking any sort of vacations is important once in a while.

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