|
|
| www.1001TopWords.com |
|
|
How to Find a Microenterprise Loan for Your Business
If you're looking for start-up capital for your business, but you don't have the credit, collateral or background needed by your bank to get a business loan, then microenterprise might be your best bet. Microenterprise Development programs have been around since the 1970s. They were created as a way of helping people who couldn't access traditional methods of credit, either because they were too poor, or the amount of money they needed was too small for a bank to be interested. In the United States, there are over 500 Microenterprise programs designed to help low to moderate income entrepreneurs. In fact, if you have bad credit, no credit and no collateral, you can probably find a microenterprise loan fund in your state, city or town. What do microenterprise loan programs do? They provide a variety of financial and business services to entrepreneurs. Some programs provide free or low-cost business classes that will walk you through the process of writing a business plan. Other provide counseling, to help you manage your debt, and understand and use financial planning software. Still others offer business mentors. Most Microenterprise loans have some type of networking program, where you can build relationships with other business people. How much money can you borrow? Loan amounts vary from $500 to $25,000. Interest rates are at or below prime, and you don't need to have a lot of collateral or excellent credit in order to apply. In some programs, you can qualify for a smaller loan fairly easily, and then, once it has been repaid, apply for a larger loan. This helps to build your business credit, and insures that you don't over-extend yourself. What is a microbusiness? A microbusiness is defined as any business: that can be started for less than $35,000has five or less employeeshas a revenue of less than $100,000 a yearWhat types of businesses qualify for a microenterprise loan? Traditional businesses such as: *small specialty shops like hobby shops, florists and gift shops *small engine or auto repair shops *bakeries, cafes and sandwich shops *beauty parlors and barber shops *arts and craft stores, ceramic shops and art galleries Non-traditional businesses such as: *massage therapists, acupuncturists, hypno-therapists *business, life and relationship coaches *soap and essential oil manufacturers *artists, painters and jewelry makers *doggie daycare owners, mobile beauty shops and in-home computer repair Where can you find a program in your area? One of the biggest problems with finding a microenterprise loan program is that they are often not very well advertised, and may not even be called a "microenterprise development program" so unless you know where to look it can be frustrating. Here are some ideas to get you started: *The Small Business Adminisration *Your local Chamber of Commerce or Economic Development Agency *Small Business Development Center in your area *Your bank or credit union *Women's organizations, business support groups *http://www.microenterprisesuccess.com -- you can find free microenterprise resources indexed by state here The main thing to remember is that if you're really serious about starting your own business, there are resources available to help you, so don't give up! Cheryl Antier is the President of Dream Weaver Enterprises, a business and fundraising consulting company. MAPS (Microenterprise Answers to your Personal Success)is a membership organization that helps women to start, grow and succeed in small business ownership. Find free resources indexed by state, learn about grants and small business programs by signing up for our free newsletter at http://www.microenterprisesuccess.com
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Expanding Franchisee Advice Franchisor expansion policies are not as simple as one might think. On the mind of every businessperson is the idea of expansion. We think we will make more money when you expand to a second, third, fourth, etc. unit, store or work truck. So you would think if you are franchisee of a large franchise system that the franchisor would want to help you into that additional outlet as soon as possible or, like some franchisors, much sooner. After all they will make more royalties and have an additional unit or push pin on their map of the country or state. The franchisor's goals are actually more complicated than that. Our goal is your success-profit-happiness. Running an additional unit can create tremendous amount of headaches, which a franchisee may or may not be ready for. Lawyers Everywhere Telling Regulators What Laws to Make The Federal Trade Commission decided to sit down and revamp the franchise rule of the 1970's. They started to do it in 1995 and postponed it then had some comments collected in 1997 and then in 1999. One thing, which is very interesting is most all the comments came from attorneys who specialize in either suing franchisors or suing franchisees. A little conflict of interest isn't it. Worse off; the government looks at their comments closely when determining new rules of law. Lawyers are out to make money suing business people, not helping free-enterprise, few of them have ever worked an honest day in their lives. Uncover Free Veins Of Gold By Prospecting Online Guru Newsletters (Part 1 of 2) Incredible as it sounds, you have a goldmine of free business advice and resources available to you for starting an online business. Many entrepreneurs are taking advantage of the unbelievable opportunity of financial independence by starting an Internet business. Dispute Resolution of Territory for Mobile Franchised Companies Franchisors of home based and mobile businesses need to carefully watch their franchisees who innately try to hunt in their fellow franchisees territories. The most important advice a franchisor should give the franchised outlets in this case is to work it out themselves. A simple policy is best for example here is a possible excerpt from a franchise manual which lays out some basic understandings: How to Compete with the Big Guns?! Many small business startups fail within the first 2 years of existence. There are several different factors reason for the failure. One reason many entrepreneurs often under estimate the need to find a niche market and to serve it well. Instead of finding the niche market they attack the big guys head on. If you have enough money to throw at 'this problem' you might succeed, but in reality almost every small business doing this will fail and eventually shutdown operations. Small Business Vendors; Getting the Best Service If you are a small business you know that you must rely on your vendors to make sure you have everything your customers need. Lack of vendor support can lead to upset customers or even loss of your business. Be pleasant and courteous to all vendors and potential vendors. Try and treat vendors like your favorite customers treat you. Do you remember recently when you went out of your way for a customer, the whole time knowing you weren't going to make any extra money by doing so; yet you did, simply because you liked that particular customer. That customer; whether you know it or not, probably told five friends of your gallant effort; something you may not even have thought about. This type of extra concern and effort is hard to come by these days from local business people. You will, from time to time, need this type of gallant service from your vendors, so start now by being extremely pleasant to those you do business with. Remember, also to refer your customers to your vendors whenever the opportunity arises. Questions to Ask as Your Business Grows Here are some of the questions that you need to ask yourself regarding various areas of the business before you start your growth push. Creative Metrification - A Technique to Improve Some things in business are relatively easy to measure ? these are the "hard" metrics such as sales volume and profit, production per man-hour, time without an accident, shipments without error, number of customers served, on-time delivery, etc. Other, "soft" metrics, are more difficult to quantify, but with a little creativity, measurement can be made of just about anything. Using Excel Payroll Sheet to Make Payroll System Easier For the employees, payday is the brightest day; they finally get the compensation they so well deserve for the services they rendered. For the employer, this could be nerve-wracking, not because they don't want to pay their employees, but because some employers have a hard time calculating the payroll. Some have systems that are too complicated for them, while some are just not experienced enough and don't have the know how. If this is what's happening to the company payroll system, there is a big chance that there are many disgruntled employees because of many miscalculations and errors in the calculations and the deductions. In return, this could dip employees' output and put the business in peril. Image of Your Franchise Automotive Outlet is So Important Image of your franchise automotive outlet is so important. Some say image is everything, well then if you buy a franchise you should be constantly thinking of image and cleanliness. If you read Ray Kroc's book "Grinding it Out" (McDonalds Visionary) or Tom Monahan's (Founder of Dominos Pizza) book "Franchising for Dummies" or Howard Shultz's book; "Pour Your Heart Into it" (Story of Starbucks) you will see they all built brand on image. Even for those of you who are the extroverted sales type, plenty of examples such as "Customer's For Life" by Carl Sewel and "Exceeding Customer Expectations" by Jack Taylor (founder of Enterprise Rent-A-Car). But as I travel the country and have literally been to every city in the country over 10,000 population in the US; Your Small Business Suggestion Box A suggestion box is a really good idea for your business. It can help you get valuable feedback from your customers -- feedback that they don't normally think to share with you. Whether your business is a brick and mortar location or purely virtual, it's important to hear from your customers. Here are some tips for success. If You Want To Be Remembered... Send handwritten notes. That applies whether you're a guy or a gal. It's not about being touchy-feely, it's about maintaining good business relationships with the people you know and the prospects you meet. Top 10 Lessons for Small Business Success - As learned From My Twin 3 Year Olds Small business success is very similar to learning to walk, talk and spell. The basics have to be understood before moving on to the next step. I am blessed to have twin 3 year old girls in my life and am amazed constantly how much I learn from them on a daily basis. As I watch them run around and explore, I find myself realizing just how much my observations apply to being successful and happy in life and in business. Small Business Owners - They Owe You The Money Why Dont They Pay? Doesn't it frustrate you when you've given good service, sometimes super service, and the customer doesn't pay you? Mobile Car Wash and Cleaning Post Office Jeeps If you own a mobile truck washing, pressure washing or mobile car wash business you may wish to consider washing postal vehicles. They have one of the largest fleets in the world and they are relatively easy to wash. Yes, like all quasi-government agencies they pay slowly, but you know you will get paid as long as you show up to wash. How To Plant Seeds of Success With Small Business Ideas Think of all of your business ideas as tiny seeds that have the potential to germinate and grow into huge fruit bearing orchards! However, the proper steps must be taken; you can't scatter the seeds haphazardly on pavement and expect they will germinate. Growing a business is no different; it needs a fertile environment conducive to growth in order to germinate and thrive. Seedlings needs protection from the wind and rain when young, and can withstand hurricane force winds when mature. A business is no different. The strongest businesses are started as a small idea in the mind of an entrepreneur. The idea is then cultivated, nurtured, planted and cared for. It just didn't start out as a large orchard! Should I Franchise or Not? A reader of one of my online sessions asked should he franchise his business or not. He had set up a service business and was getting ready to expand and wanted to know if franchising was a good potential strategy for this. How do I franchise my business? There are many criteria for franchising and if you have ever thought you might wish to franchise your business then this advice could be of value to you: 3 Ways To Make Certain Your Business Fails Most small businesses incorporated in 2005 will fail by the year 2007. No matter the industry or the economic times in which the company was initially conceived, the fact remains that businesses fail on a daily basis due to general lack of knowledge and know-how. What follows are my opinion on three very common methods to ensure not only mediocrity but failure as a business entity in today's world. Shopping For a Franchise Shopping for a franchise is easy if you know what you are doing. You can choose between radio adverts, newspaper adverts, personal recommendation, Internet, or visit a franchise exhibition. Attending a franchise exhibition allows you to view and compare a variety of franchise possibilities. Keep in mind that exhibitors primarily want to sell their franchise systems. Before you attend, research what type of franchise best suits your investment limitations, experience, and goals. Have You Thanked Your Competitors Today? Competition in the business world is often viewed as a negative thing, but it doesn't have to be. Competition can benefit you, your competitor, and especially your customer!
|
| © Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |
