04/06/2022
‼️FREE GAME‼️ 💎 Business Credit 101 💎
✅ Structure your business correctly. This doesn’t just mean registering your business, this is so much more.
1. Get an EIN from www.irs.gov. Do not pay anyone for this, as it takes 5 minutes and it’s free.
2. Get a virtual address if you do not want to use your own address. I use iPostal, but some others are Regis or Opus. These are often about $9.99 a month and gives your business a professional look.
3. Get a phone number dedicated to your business. There are plenty of apps you can use that will ring to your personal phone as well. Most virtual offices have phone lines and faxes as add ons too.
4. Register with your local Secretary of State for you entity (LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp) whichever one you chose. Research if your state allows you to be your own registered agent. If not, you will need to find one for your application. You will also need to search www.naics.com to see which code your business is classified under. You will need to put this on your application with your state.
5. Register your business with 411, Google, Yelp, etc. Some business credit lenders will look to see if you are listed.
6. Have a professional website. I use www.wix.com and the app I have tells me anytime someone views my site. I have been on the phone trying to get approved before, and they viewed my site while speaking to me.
✅Apply for a D-U-N-S number. This is free and you can usually get it pretty quickly. www.dnb.com
✅ Freeze your credit reports with Transunion, Equifax, Experian. This can be done online and is quick and done immediately.
✅ Open a business bank account. Most times you have to go in person because you have to show your EIN, SOS paperwork, and Operating Agreement. Although they do have a some business accounts you can get online. I personally like to build a personal relationship with my bank.
✅ Sign up for www.nav.com to monitor your credit scores. The free one only tells you a letter grade, when you pay monthly they report to your credit and give you an actual number and you can view the account reporting. I recommend this. The lowest option is $29.99/ Month, but if you use the code “20FOREVER” it will bring the monthly total to $23.99/monthly permanently.
✅ Start applying for business credit by Tiers. I will provide some companies below. This isn’t ALL of the Net 30 accounts but just some examples. (NET 30 just means you have 30 days to repay what you spent with their company). Make sure you have at least 5-8 trade lines reporting on Nav before moving to the 2nd Tier.
💰Tier 1- Uline, Summa Office Supplies, Quill, Reliable Office Supplies, Grainger, Gopromo, Strategic Network, HD Supply, Supplyworks, Blueribbon Webhosting, Sunbelt
💰Tier 2- FleetCorp, Valero, BP, Chevron (Gas Cards), Advance Auto Parts, and Cell Phone Business Lines
💰 Tier 3- Sears, Best Buy, Northern Tool, Most Citi backed store cards except Home Depot
💰 Tier 4- Apple Lease, IKEA, Sunbelt Rentals, Home Depot (Net 30)
💰 Tier 5- Lowe’s Revolving Net 30, Amazon Net 30, Macy’s, Wright Express
💰 Tier 6- Walmart, Sam’s Club Store Card (only apply in store), Target
💰 Tier 7- Dell, Bill Me Later, Sam’s Discover
💰 Tier 8- Ford Motor Credit or Ally Financial ( Make sure you have at least 8-12 trade lines reporting on Nav AND business bank statements for at least 3 months to show you can afford the vehicle. You can get a whole car without them even looking at your personal credit. 🚗
Of course this isn’t HOW you have to establish business credit, but this is what I personally have done and suggest. Hope this helps! 💃🏽
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