BLC_FINANCE

Qualifying for personal loans when you are self-employed can be very difficult, especially in today’s economic climate.

By the time you start looking for cash for your startup business, you’ve put in a considerable amount of hard work. Now all that’s left is the final—and crucial—step of finding the funds.

Remember when grocery store baggers started asking whether you wanted paper or plastic bags? Now many micro-business owners have to answer a similar question when it comes to their payment systems: Do you want to send and receive payments via paper or electronically?

The way you handle billing could be costing you money. An independent study funded by Intuit in 2008 found that America’s small businesses wait for $33 billion in overdue payments each year.

“It takes money to make money,” the old saying goes. But in today’s tight credit climate, getting the money needed to grow and expand a business has become difficult, if not nearly impossible—at least from traditional financing sources like banks and private investors.

The greatest business risk many owners face may be standing right in front of them: employee fraud and embezzlement.

“It’s not what you make, but what you keep.” While it’s not clear who first uttered these words of financial wisdom, anyone who’s been in business for any length of time can attest to their accuracy. Sales may be great, but business success ultimately hinges on your ability to earn a profit.

As a micro-business owner you don’t have to accept the opening terms from suppliers or even demanding clients. Instead, continually look for ways to create transactions that are mutually beneficial to you and the other party.

Thousands of micro-business owners and self-employed professionals rely on contracts with government entities for a significant portion of their annual revenue.

When NASE Member Heather Angel Chandler started her business, Innovative Multimedia Group in San Antonio, Texas, she put $15,000 on credit cards to buy high-definition video equipment. That was in 2007. Chandler paid off the debt and now only buys equipment she can pay for with cash.

You might mistake the credit card horror stories for urban legends if they weren’t being reported by every major news source. Countless Americans are struggling with the changing terms of their credit card agreements. Lenders are instituting new fees even as they lower credit limits. Interest rates are spiking, and grace periods are shrinking with little warning to card holders.

Cash is the lifeblood of your business. You need a steady supply for everything from paying rent and buying supplies to purchasing inventory and meeting payroll.

Wise financial decisions can make the difference between long-term business survival and a quick trip to bankruptcy.

Micro-business owners aren’t escaping the anguish of the economic downturn. In a recent online poll conducted by the NASE, 86 percent of respondents reported a moderate to significant impact on the health of their firms.