America’s SBDC Blog

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4 Tips for Borrowing from Friends and Family

November 24, 2020
By Ty Kiisel –

It should be no secret in the post-coronavirus world that we should expect to see credit criteria tighten up as many lenders rethink their criteria or even step away from small business lending altogether. That’s what happened in the last economic crisis. Fortunately, that’s not true of all lenders, and there are still options available for creditworthy borrowers as well as options for small business owners with a less-than-perfect credit history. Borrowing from friends and family is one of those options.

Although borrowing from friends and family isn’t the first choice for most small business owners, it is perennially one of the best sources of financing for small businesses, from the smallest sole proprietorship to larger, more established small businesses. Although these loans are sometimes referred to as 3-F loans, referring to the friends, families, and fools who offer loans to small businesses, there are a handful of things you can do to successfully pull it off and still get invited to Thanksgiving Dinner. Here are the 4 things you can do to be successful at borrowing money from friends and family. Share on X (more…)

Cost of Debt: How to Calculate Cost of Debt

November 17, 2020
By Susan Guillory –

When you take out a loan (also known as debt capital), your primary focus is probably on having working capital to grow your business or steady your cash flow. But there’s something else to consider: your cost of debt.

If you’re just focusing on your loan’s monthly payment and not diving deeper to analyze the true cost you’re paying, you might be spending more than necessary on your debt financing.

What is Cost of Debt?

There are two types of capital a business can use: equity financing and debt equity. With equity financing, an investor — usually a venture capitalist or angel investor — provides working capital in exchange for a percentage of equity, or ownership in the company.

With debt equity, a company takes out financing, which could be an SBA loan, merchant cash advance, invoice financing, or any other type of financing. The loan is repaid, along with an interest expense, over months or years. The term debt equity could be confusing, but is basically referring to a loan. (more…)

How To Increase Profits Using More Accurate Job Costing

November 10, 2020
By Ken Boyd –

If you can’t identify and accurately estimate all of your project costs, how can you determine the profitability of the job? It’s simple, you can’t.

Business owners who conduct business on a project or job basis may have a difficult time tracking each individual cost associated with each individual job. However, owners who cannot track total project costs accurately may find themselves taking on work that is not profitable or pricing their work too low. The solution lies in accurate job costing. Estimating the total cost of a job can be easier said than done. We've got a few tips to help you manage and track your job costs for more accurate estimates. Share on X But first, let’s take a look at the difference between job costing and process costing. (more…)

America’s SBDCs Are Celebrating National Veterans Small Business Week

November 2, 2020

National Veterans Small Business Week (NVSBW) 2020 takes place November 2 – 6, 2020. As always, our goal is to raise awareness of veteran small business ownership and encourage communities to support their veteran-owned businesses.

This year offers an important opportunity to support our veteran small business community as they adapt, pivot, and face hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) celebrates, connects and empowers service members (including National Guard and Reserve members), veterans, military spouse entrepreneurs and business owners — past, present and future — during National Veterans Small Business Week. America’s SBDCs provide entrepreneurial resources to support transitioning service members, veterans, National Guard and Reserve members, and military spouses at all stages of small business ownership. Share on X No matter where you are in your entrepreneurial journey or where you are located across the country, you can find transition assistance, entrepreneurial training, government contracting opportunities, disaster assistance, and access to capital right in your local neighborhood. (more…)