business loans | Global Business Lending

Post-Hurricane Business Survival Loans

September 15, 2017 Tiffani

Greetings to you all!

As our region was just pummeled by one of the strongest storms in Florida history, we – at Global Business Lending– have recovered and our South Florida office has been restored to full power.

Ain’t no mountain high enough.

Ain’t no valley low enough.

Ain’t no river wide enough.

Can keep us from funding your business.

But, seriously, as a Florida-based business, we too know the struggle of our business being out of commission for days – whether it be due to power loss (like ourselves), closed roads because of fallen trees, building or equipment damage, gas shortage or employees unable to make it to work.

We are Florida. Yet, we are #FloridaStrong. Thus, Global Business Lending remains committed to our mantra – we are the true advocates for the small business owner. Subsequently, we would like to assist as many businesses who have been victims of Hurricane Harvey in the Houston, Texas area and Hurricane Irma in Florida in securing working capital this season.

Here are 3 ideas for you to obtain fast capital that should help out during this tough period in business:

Have a Set Plan on How you Can Grow Quickly in 0-4 Months

We specialize in fast funding and we can secure emergency funds for your business within 48 hours of your request. The only catch is these funds must be used for things that will bring an immediate return on your investment. This is short-term financing which you must see as jump-start capital for your post-hurricane needs. Here are some examples. Fix a piece of equipment that was damaged due to flying debris. Fix a leaky roof in your restaurant so you can re-open in a few days. Hire or enable your human resources to manage an overflow of business due to the hurricane aftermath. Whatever it is, ensure you have a clear, set plan to use these funds. This way, our investors are encouraged to lend you the funds you need as quickly as you need them.

Demonstrate Strong Revenue Before the Hurricane

Whether your business may have had to shut its doors several days before the hurricane and/or several days after the hurricane, we definitely know your current revenue has been impacted by the storm.

Still, in order to be pre-approved for alternative loans like the ones we offer, your business must demonstrate a minimum of $6,000 in deposits monthly (at least for the last three months), very few negative days and a stable average daily balance in your business checking account. This may be hard to do since the storm because your clients haven’t paid you, your store had to remain shut, or you had to dip into your bank account more than usual to pay for unforeseen expenses.

If this is the case, we can still help you if you can 1) demonstrate consistent revenue in the months prior to the storm (whether that be 3-6 months before or even this time last year), 2) keep your current daily bank balance at least over $500 or 3) do anything to demonstrate income for the current month even if you have to make cash deposits yourself into your business bank account. Do these things and we will work hard on your side to get an investor interested in funding your business quickly.

Be Okay With a Starter Offer

For some of you mid-sized businesses, we would genuinely love to offer you large amounts of capital to get you through this rough patch. However, as sad as it is to say, our investors and partners view hurricane victims as very high lending risks at this time. Therefore, in this lending environment, they just aren’t doling out cash to Houston and Florida businesses as they were in months past. Some are even shutting their doors on you.

Still, we know your potential to bounce back because we’re in the same boat (forgive the pun ;-). And, because of that, we won’t stop fighting on your behalf as long as you meet us half way.

Every Houston business owner, every Florida business owner, it is our commitment to still get you an offer – BUT are you willing to accept a lower-than-average offer JUST FOR NOW?

Our advice: Take what you can get now. And, once you get over this hump, we will work hard to renew your loan a few months from now for something much larger. This way, at the very least, you’ve got your emergency funds now so you can keep trucking along like Hurricane Harvey or Irma never happened.

Bottom-line. We’re on your side. Let us help you help yourselves!

Top 3 Alternative Lending Sources for Small Businesses in 2016

August 22, 2016 Tiffani

Since 2008, banks have made it even more stringent for merchants to qualify for small business loans. As such, there are very few sources for small businesses to turn to for quick working capital without having to jump through major hoops to qualify. Quite frankly, banks perform rigorous financial review (profit & loss sheet, detailed business plan, 2 years of tax returns, business owner’s blood type, first-born child’s dental records and food allergies…okay maybe not the last three) that would turn off and/or disqualify businesses that are both viable and income-producing.

But, guess what, it’s 2016, baby! Henry Fernandez doesn’t need to wait on a bank loan to grow his Italian ice shop neither does Janice Kennedy when she wants to put a new wing on her Irish pub or Leon Baptiste when he needs equipment for a new construction job. In fact, no proprietor has to wait on a bank loan anymore to grow, expand or, even, start his/her own business.

Here are the 3 top alternative funding sources for any business in 2016.

VENTURE CAPITALISTS

Seeking funds from venture capitalists is a good source for growing businesses in the new millennium. You’ve all seen ABC’s Shark Tank, right? Where a bunch of millionaire and billionaire business tycoons listen to pitches made by aspiring and current entrepreneurs then decide if they’d like to get in bed with the guy selling the latest toilet tissue dispenser or the world’s first self-tying sneaker.

Here’s the catch: venture capitalists are looking for ownership stake in the business and they seek to deploy hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, not small investments, because they are seeking multiple times return on that capital. Thus, venture capitalists focus heavily on the size of the market: if they don’t believe the market is large enough, they won’t invest.

Additionally, securing financing from venture capitalists is kind of like dating; the VC needs time to warm up to you. So, VCs want to get to know you – the founder. They want to watch you execute and make progress before committing to invest in your idea, invention or company.

MERCHANT CASH ADVANCE LENDERS

The merchant cash advance industry has become popular in the past decade as it is known for underwriting high-risk loans – loans that banks wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole.

Companies like On Deck Capital and Merchant Cash & Capital in New York or Global Business Lending in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida qualify businesses without a credit check. Instead, they use more common-sense guidelines to ensure that the business they lend to is financially healthy enough to pay back a short-term loan.

They must prove things like having a monthly bank balance of $6,000, having been in business for 3 months and not be in an open bankruptcy.

The funds that these companies provide are technically not loans; the correct term is a merchant cash advance, which is a short-term advance of funds against a business’s future receivables. According to Entrepreneur.com, this 15-year-old industry is “booming, mainly because bank lending criteria have become so tight since the Great Recession that very few small businesses are able to qualify for bank loans.”

Businesses like restaurants, retail shops, contractors and service companies generally find these funds helpful because most times they need lump sums to purchase supplies, equipment or to expand their space. They can qualify for $2,000 to $3 million.

CROWDFUNDING WEBSITES

Crowdfunding has also grown in popularity due to the very reason that merchant cash advance firms did — a lack of lending appetite from the major banks.

Crowdfunding uses a website and email campaign to persuade individuals to each give a business a small donation — $10, $50, $100, maybe more — within a fixed term. It has all become possible in recent years thanks to a proliferation of websites that allow nonprofits, artists, musicians and businesses to raise money. There are more than 600 crowdfunding platforms around the world with fundraising reaching billions of dollars annually, according to the research firm Massolution. The most common are Kickstarter, Indiegogo and The Lending Club.

If you are going to use a crowdfunding platform, you must have an engaging story to tell so that audiences can almost immediately attach value to your product or service. A business owner initially sources individuals from within his/her own network of friends, sending out correspondence through their email’s address book. The key is to gain interest from friends of friends or strangers, so that your network doesn’t exhaust quickly.

Here’s the tricky part: a business can raise thousands at the end of such a campaign, but most times can only keep the money they raised if their total funding goal is met. Also, be careful, a business risks getting sued if it promises customers products or perks in return for donations, and then fails to deliver.

The Pains and Perks of Business Lending

July 21, 2016 Tiffani

The world of banking has changed dramatically, if not radically, in the years since September 2008 when Lehman Brothers went bust. The mortgage crisis ensued and then WHAMMO … banks decided to make borrowing from them a HUGE PAIN. Here is an in depth infographic explaining the differences between traditional and alternative business lending.