Is Asset-Based Lending Right for Your Business?

Is Asset-Based Lending Right for Your Business?

One of the best ways for a new business to get a loan from a lender is through an asset-based loan. These are typically easier to get, as long as your business has some sort of collateral. In this article, we’ll define asset-based lending, explore the advantages versus the disadvantages, and help you determine if this is the best solution for your business.

Asset-Based Lending Defined

Let’s start by defining asset-based lending. This type of lending has been around since lending became an industry. Basically, it is a cash advance based on the assets of a company.

Advantages

There are some benefits to asset-based lending as a way to get the working capital you need for your business.

Flexibility
Maximum proceeds
Frequent reporting to credit bureaus
Better management of cash

Disadvantages

On the other hand, just like many other options, there are a few disadvantages to asset-based lending.

Takes time
Increased monitoring of assets

Types of Assets Needed for Asset-Based Loans

In most cases, asset-based lenders structure loans with advances on accounts receivable- but it is possible to have an advance on inventory as well. Common assets to secure these loans include:

Accounts receivable
Inventory
Machinery/special equipment
Buildings/property

What Businesses Should Use Asset-Based Lending?

Most businesses can benefit from this type of loan. However, there are a few exceptions, such as those who use a recurring revenue model, carry no assets in their balance, or do mostly cash transactions.

Compared to other types of business loans, the lenders of asset-based loans don’t look too closely at your credit history, overall profitability, or cash flow. They are more concerned with the liquidity and value of the collateral you offer. Therefore, you typically need high-value collateral to qualify. If you believe that your business may benefit from pursuing asset-based lending, contact Bold Growth Solutions to guide you through the process.

Strategize the Perfect Social Media Advertising Campaign With These Tips

Strategize the Perfect Social Media Advertising Campaign With These Tips

Most business owners understand that social media is an important resource for modern marketing. However, this doesn’t mean that all companies are performing how they’d like on social channels. There is a lot of work that goes into social media advertising and you need to exercise caution when making decisions related to promoting the services of your company. Take a moment to review these different ways to start building a strategy and see how you can make the most of your experience advertising on a variety of different social sites.

Consider Your Audience

This should go without saying, but you should always think about your target audience when going through the motions of putting together a social campaign. No matter how much money you put behind a plan, the results will not be what you are aiming for if your audience doesn’t find it interesting. Market research can show you a lot about what your target demographics are interested in seeing on the internet, which can make a big difference in how you go about curating and sharing different pieces of content online.

Location Matters

Just as your audience matters when it comes to the success of your social media advertising campaigns, so does the location. There are dozens upon dozens of different social sites to use in the current day and age. If your entire audience is using an application like TikTok and you’re still promoting solely on Facebook, you’re going to start to lose customers to brands advertising on the right platforms. You should always put your resources behind the social sites your analysis of your target audience shows is likely to yield results .

Stay Fresh

Finally, you need to remember to keep your content relevant whenever possible. The biggest mistake business owners can make with their strategies these days is falling behind on social posting. If you’re inactive for too long on a particular application, it can lead to people forgetting about your brand. Try to post regularly and keep your name fresh in the minds of consumers. This, in turn, makes it easier for your specific name to come to mind when consumers are thinking about businesses that provide a service they are in need of.

Social media advertising can often seem a lot more complicated than it actually is. Take time to review factors like your target demographics and which sites are most likely to deliver results and see how it can make a difference toward the success your business sees.

How Patient Financing Can Be Beneficial to Your Practice

How Patient Financing Can Be Beneficial to Your Practice

Due to its very nature, patient financing has the ability to significantly increase your reach; essentially, with a good provider, you can now accept more patients than ever before. In the medical field, late or extended repayment periods can adversely affect hospital (or other healthcare facility) operations. Let’s get specific with the many benefits that this payment solution offers.

I. Improved Financial Management

This benefit applies to both the patient and the medical facility. Patient financing lets you extend the payment period without affecting treatment: this means that patients need not be laden down with the sometimes high costs of medical care; additionally, it lets your practice interact with them on a strictly doctor-patient level – without the sometimes relationship-draining experience of payment negotiations.

II. Timely Treatment

Patient financing also fosters timely treatment. The financing company forms a welcome bridge between patient and caregiver; they pay you upfront, and work behind the scenes with the patient on an extended payment plan that is independent of the healthcare provider.

III. A Marketing Advantage

Not all healthcare providers and medical facilities offer financing for the patient; in fact, most don’t. By listing this in your spate of offerings, it represents an effective marketing tool that will certainly more than pay for the finance fee that you render to the company for their services. You can also count on increased patient satisfaction with the availability of payment options, which is often a burden in these tough economic times.

IV. Cash Flow and Optimized Employee Efforts

Financing, of course, improves cash flow – in that sense, it is effectively equivalent to factoring receivables. In the healthcare industry, you can’t afford to work with outdated medical equipment and yesterday’s computers to potentially compromise patient records. Getting payments on time helps to shore up what is the number one problem for most SMBs (small to medium-sized businesses).

All-in-all, patient financing is the way to go. With the increased satisfaction it engenders in your patients, they will be more likely to spread word of your practice to friends, coworkers and family – which is marketing of the highest caliber.

If you need financing for your practice, contact Bold Growth Solutions today.

How Mezzanine Loans Work

How Mezzanine Loans Work

When it comes to taking on debt to advance your business, sometimes it’s best to have a slice of each world, which, in the realm of business finance, means splitting your baskets into debt and equity. This is the function of a mezzanine loan; it helps out businesses that may be unable to secure from a loan the total amount needed to fund a project or company advancement.

Mezzanine Loans: The Details

This type of loan is squarely in the class of creative financing, since there are all types of possibilities and breakdowns – depending on the lending company, and the needs of your business. If you can’t secure a traditional to cover the total cost of something, then this form of creative financing exists to accept some equity in exchange for the money you need. You should expect to pay higher rates of interest for virtually any type of mezzanine loan that you receive – however, this is buttressed a bit by the more flexible terms of repayment.

Main Use of a Mezzanine Loan

The primary utility of this type of loan services companies that have a record of success. By this time, perhaps most of your working capital is already tied up in business-related ventures, but you see an opportunity to make an acquisition that could propel you to the top of your industry. It is for this that the mezzanine loan can swoop in to save the day. As you can expect, the interest rate will be higher than the average loan. You will often also have the option of capitalizing these interest payments so as to keep a higher cash flow for business purposes presently.

You should know that in the event of a default on the mezzanine loan, they are regarded as being lower priority than other types of equity and loan instruments. This means that they are among the last loans to be liquidated in the event of default – which is bad for you if you’re the lender, or if you acquired the business that defaulted.

Contact Bold Growth Solutions today to learn more about mezzanine loans.

Growth Capital Options for Your Small Business

Growth Capital Options for Your Small Business

Once your business is established, the number one issue that SMBs have is the lack of growth capital; this is the reason for the existence of so many credit unions and community banks – as well as other lending institutions, of course. To help you get that often very necessary infusion of new cash, we’ve compiled a short selection of the best options for securing growth capital.

Invest Your Own Hard Cash

Although this is one of the most difficult ways to obtain growth capital, it’s also one of the best – you don’t have to worry about loans and interest payments, and time isn’t as much of a hindrance as with the latter options. Most businesses have to use this option at least a little bit, since you can rarely obtain loans for everything.

Consider Venture Capital

If cash is hard to come by, and you have a promising idea and proof-of-concept ready-made, then a venture capital firm might be your best bet for acquiring growth capital. The beauty in this arrangement is also the potential downside: you get their investment in exchange for equity. That means no interest payments; but it also means you are now part-owner of your business.

Borrowing Hard Cash as an Option

It is for this that banks, credit unions and lending companies exist: the added benefit is that they have no vested interest in how you use the funds (which means control is totally yours), just in your ability to pay back. If you need a few months to raise your credit score, it’s advisable to take it – you will get better interest rates on loans in the long run. The drawback to loans, of course, is how burdensome they can become if profits decline or are slow to activate.

Help From Above? Angel Investors

Although a bit tongue-in-cheek, the angel investor really is an exceptional option in this spate of options for acquiring growth capital. These are wealthy persons who take a direct interest in your business and provide both capital, as well as contact and suppliers that would be difficult to get with otherwise. Like venture capital firms, they usually want equity, of course.

Everything You Need to Know About Bridge Loans

In most cases, when a homeowner is planning to move, they must rely on the money they are getting from the sale of their current home in order to purchase the new one. However, closing dates don’t always work out right and you find yourself in a difficult balancing act with your finances.

This is where bridge loans come in handy- you can purchase your new home without having to wait for your current home to sell. Unfortunately, there are some drawbacks to this type of loan that “bridges” the gap. In this article, we’ll look at how they work and he advantages versus disadvantages of this type of financing.

What are Bridge Loans?

This is a short-term loan used in real estate transactions when a buyer doesn’t have the money they need to purchase a new property before the first property sells. Typically, you can borrow up to 80% of the combined value of the first and second property. Of course, different lenders have their own standards.

Advantages vs. Disadvantages of Bridge Loans

As with other loan products, these loans have advantages and disadvantages for the borrower. It’s necessary to consider all of these before making your decision.

Advantages

Faster financing
Flexibility in purchasing
No contingencies in your offer
Less hassle

Disadvantages

More expensive
Higher interest rates
High 0rigination fees
Equity required
Sound finances
Responsibility for the loan even if first property doesn’t sell

While bridge loans may seem like an attractive option when you’ve found a home that you want to purchase but your current home hasn’t sold, you must consider the advantages and disadvantages very carefully. There are some other options that you might want to consider instead. Call Bold Growth Solutions for help in deciding if a bridge loan is the best route for you to take or if another option is right for you.