Corporate Credit- How do I build it?

Just Want To Say Two Things..

It Takes Money To Make Money!

He With The Gold Rules!

But Whatever Ya Do Dont Buy The Bs ..buy What Ya Need For Ya Business To Grow...

I See A Lot Of Ya Cats Very Experiste With Sig Design.. Yall Could Parlay That Into Creating Graphics Designs And Logos For Small Business.. And I Sensing A New Fad... It Call Sig Design Card... Where It Like A Business Card But It A Picture Of Ya Sig... Would Be Great To Market At Middle School And High School Kids.. Where They Would Have Their Email Addy And Cell Nbr On It... And It Just A Status Thing But Shyt Would Sell Like Crazy...


Damn The Tropodes Full Speed Ahead!!! Ok That Is Three Lol


I Better Hush Yall Got Me In My Rainman Mode Lol
 
I'm glad I found this board. There's a lot of people giving good advice. Getting business credit is a process.

1. First you have to start your company. File for a corporation or LLC.
2. Go to the IRS site and get a EIN number
3. Go to Dunn and Bradstreet and get a D&B number
4. Go to the bank and open a business account w/the biz name
5. Apply for biz credit at small places like Staples, Sams Club, etc (and make sure they are reporting it to D&B).
6. Any biz you do biz with on a credit basis, have them report to D&B that you pay your bills on time, and the amount of credit advanced.
7. Pay all bills on time.

After about a year of doing this your buiness credit and D&B rating will be at a level where you can get biz credit cards, biz lines of credits, and lease things in you biz name without giving your personal pledge/commitment.

Peace
 
Great thread.
Here's a couple things to think about.
Once you start a corporation your personall assets are shielded from claims based on debts held by the corporation. Unless your actions as a corporation pierce the corporate veil. Piercing the corporate veil is a legal term which basically means not behaving like a corporation but acting like a sole proprietership. Easy ways to pierce the corporate veil. Are.
1. Comingling personal and business funds.
a) Do not use the business bank account as your personal bank account don't pay personal bills out of the account unless you keep good accounting records and charge the payments as income to yourself.
b) This also means buying strickly personal items on Company credit and charging them as business expenses. This is the fastest way to get yourself audited fined and possibly jailed.

2. Keeping good accounting records.
a) As long as your not publically traded you do not have to worry about the SEC however If the IRS , State Department of Revenue or any other Governmental agency has a reason to look at your books they will construe lack of documentation against you every time.

3. Having a board and actually having board meetings. Certain actions of corporate officers can open the officers up to personal liability (ie enron) especially when your dealing with taxes. If you keep your board meetings recorded and tight you can avoid a great deal of these by having major decisions handled by board resolutions.

Basically if you are starting a new business and decide to form a corporation you need to make sure that your structure is tight from day one. If you spend the time in the beggining to set yourself up correctly it will save you a lot of headaches down the road because if you get big these things will become more and more important.

Also to some may want to consider an S corporation. S corporations do not provide you with the same amount of personal protection C corporations do however if you are just starting out and you a have another job where you are generating income an S corporation can allow you to deduct the losses from your business during start up on your personal taxes.
 
Definitely a great board. I just started my business and came across www.artofcredit.com It has a lot of great info on starting a new business and how to obtain credit. One thing I havent heard mentioned on this board is the importance of getting your business listed with 411. Oddly enough many companies verify your business actually exists using the 411 Directory... not just 411.com but over the phone. It is easy to do. You can call you phone company and request a foreign listing within their directory. Now what number you list is your business... I pay for a toll free number ($10 a month) at tollfreemax.com and then called and had it listed for a yearly fee.
 
it been almost a month. .have anyone has any success as a result of this thread??


peeps in the ATL area.. i know of a lady who own a consulting company that will help ya establish you to get corporate credit in 60 days - 90 days time frame.. i waiting to hear back from before passing the info on...
 
CurtDiggler said:
Yo fam, check out this website that I was led to.

"The Do-It-Yourself Business Credit Builder!"

http://www.ace-credit.com/index.html

Interesting stuff, time to get this project on the road.

I know I'm quoting myself, but anyways.......upon further review of this site, something seems a little fishy. The company's that they offer for reporting tradelines all seem like ways for the site to make money. Hmmmm, I 'll have to do some more research.
 
Funny to run across this thread today.I was just talking with a partner of mines today that has 3 offices across from mine and he was filling me in on corporate credit today.My business is a sole proprietorship and will be getting incorporated asap.But,anyway I noticed that my mine was getting a lot of computers for his office and nice workstations and multi line phones,etc.But, he said his personal credit was jacked like mines but he got corporate credit with DELL for the computers and paying like $235/mth for 7 computers.Plus Staples have been making a lot of deliveries so I assume he has a Staples account as well.But, that definitely seems like he way to go to get your business established on a more professional note if you got a lil bit of money.But, I will personally be checking into a lil bit further and give my results...
 
went to the dunns and bradstreet website an was surprised to see my company listed with them.Since I never applied for any credit under my business name I was curious to see what wa reported.On,Thursday I went on the website to get my dunns# and called d&b because they won't give it to you online because they got to make that sales pitch to you to buy their services.Since I went to that website www.artofcredit.com I was already prepared for the credit builder pitch for $399.I was surprised when the customer service rep qouted me a service package for $798 (get out of here).Well I listened to the bs cause in the back of my mind I know I can get the dunns# free from the board.Ijust didn't realize I was going to get it right on the spot..To make a long story short I got the dunns number and now I need to get my business incorporated since I know the game now before I start applying for the loc.Still the next step is to get the 80 paydex.As I venture into the loc I will keep the board updated.
 
well fam I did apply for one account and that was office depot and got the standard $250 loc.Received it Friday in the mail 25 Feb 05.I haven't applied for anything else because I want to wait and get incorporated first.Since, I got the office depot which is suppose to be one of the easier accounts to get.I might go ahead and try for the Staples and see if they give me the $750 standard loc.
 
Make Sure Ya Pay That Office Depot Bill Before The Due Date And Research To See If Ya Have To Pay In Full Or Make A Partial Payment. I Cant Remember If Ya Have To Pay In Full ..... But Do It Before The Due Date This Help Ya Paydex Scores Go To The 80's
 
dawg I haven't even used it.I will buy some ink for the multifunction printer and go online and pay it off.And, buy some small items like this and repeat the process for 90 days to get that 80 paydex.Also, I'm going to buy some promotional material from Nebs because they report also to D&B.
 
yo blackop.. coolness.. but i never heard of Nebs.. can ya school us on that company please?

glad things are going well for ya.. so ya should be getting the bizness cards with a nice loc by June/July?
 
dawg go to www.nebs.com and they have personalized things that they market to promote your business like t shirts,polo shirts,etc.Another company like that is Viking www.viking.com .But,if you go to the www.artofcredit.com website there is a post called "How to establish business credit" and the guy pretty much can walk a new business/corporation through the process of establishing credit and some vendors that will start you a line of credit.
 
oh that is cool.. i know about that site.. was just asking for the lazy mofos lol

but yo after the bs ya have to get ya duns&bradstreet did ya finally get it.. cuz i hear numerous stories it take from a week to 90 days to get it in the mail. .sounds like ya got yours pretty quickly?
 
got the dunns# the same day.They tried to sucker me into getting their services but,I listened cause I was already hip from the various credit boards that they were going to come at me like that.And, from the boards I knew I could get the dunns# for free within 30-45 days.Maybe because my business was already listed is why I got it on the same day.Also,I got a partner with a business across the hall from my office and,he got his right after I got mines.I was a little shocked to get it the same day but never the less happy as hell.
 
cool cool.. that is good.. also did ya get ya office depot card with NO PG ( for those that aren't hip NO PG means without using ya personal ssn as a personal guarnator)
 
I am about to help a cilent of mines to set up a business and get them business credit as well. I will not use their real name or company name as they ask me not to so I will create a fake co name ... basically ya can employ the same method that Black Op has shown ya and get the same step by step info off the board.. I would open another theard but since it related to this thread I will keep in here.

I advised my cilent who are 2 females who want to establish their own ebay business.
They said they are very familar with various wholesalers and the MART and getting stuff dirt cheap from yard sales and estates sales. They want to be focus primary on electronics, jewerly, books, apparels, and baby items. They already have a business plan and a marketing plan. They saved up about $10,000 in capital.

They want to set up as a LLC. 2 FLY CHICKS, LLC in the state of GA. I advised them what steps they can do for LLC. I then advised them to get an EIN and Duns and Bradstreets. I also advised them to go get a business license and do a dba and they decided to dba as Worldwide Traders, Co. I advised them to also get a sale tax exemption so they dont have to pay for Sales tax when they purchase an item since they will resale it. However they would be responsible for any sales that ends in GA. Meaning if I sold something to Da Don in Ohio, he doesn't have to pay GA Sales Tax.

I also told them onces they get the paper of incorporation for the LLC, and the business license, and EIN and duns and bradstreet to go to the bank and open up a business account. I usually advised my cilent to open up 3 accounts - one for A/R, A/P, and Reserves. You want to make sure the capital is in the primary account, and the A/R and Reserves would be money market account. But everyone doesnt follow this format, but if you want to make extra free $$$ you would open up a business account in a high yeild money market account.

I also refer them to several graphic artists to create their logo/company letter head.
I also advise them to set up a business address and get a business phone line. They said their capital was limit, so I refer them to a virtual office set up. However one of them thought I was talking about a private mail box. THIS IS A BIG NO NO NO, and i explained why and I refer them to a reasonable priced office center where they will get their business mails forwarded and have a business phone line set up and have a professional answer their call and forward any messages via email.

My cut for this cilent is $500 for the consultation fee and the work I will do for them. Basically it would take 30 to 90 days to get what they want.

I advised them what the $500 is for and what they would get. They would get my advice/expertiste for 90 days. After that the contract can be reinstated for a smaller fees. But most of the time they usually refer me to new people.

They sign me for $500 and a signature of release of any harm or whatever debt they obtained I am not responsible for. (My lawyer told me to do this... sure glad to have that piece of protection)

Simple as that, they give me $500 and I give them a 50 pages spiral book that I got professional done at Kinko. One transcation would pay for 250 spiral bound books from FedexKinko. And a checklist and a cheat list. I told to email me anytime if they have questions and I would response as promptly as I can with the answer.

It is funny how much $$$ would people would pay for information that you can get for free but I see they are more likley to do so because it has been done over and over and there isn't no room for errors provided ya try the information yourself. It like buying a map on how to get to point B from point A.


So I will keep ya posted on this cilent.. and how long it takes to get credit and all that.
The meeting just last an hour and it was at a Starbucks where they ask me to meet them at.

Going to the bank to deposit the $500 money order into my account! This is my 10th and final client for the month. God Bless America! lol

stay tuned!
 
yo dawg just read your post and yeah like how you are marketing your knowledge.Yeah you can get the info for free but most people don't know how the process works.10 clients for the month at $500/piece =$5,000-what $100 for the spiral books= $4,900 to the bottom line.I think I might market my consultation services too especially since I just put 2 brothers down with the info for free.
 
no doubt!!!

the market is huge that is why i aint worrying about competetion i got like a waiting list right now backlog is a bytch but hey $5,000 for 50 hours of work is sure better than worrying about Marlo and Avon shooting at me for being on their corner lol

but the most important thing

is to have that business plan/marketing plan ready before ya apply for credit cards

or already be in business... those who already established tends to get a higher loc...

but i need to do some research on the phone line and make the necessary update.. i think it best to do a NO PG for the business phone line but i think ya can have the line but it must be in the 411 directory and in the phone bill under your business name .. but I think it is possible to have it forward to your home office as a distinctive ring.. as for me i dont fuck with that shyt due to my hearing loss i just pay somebody $50 a month to forward all messages to me via email or text pagers....


one of my clients just email and say thanks a million .. he have bad personal credit and have a great business idea.. he want to get into landscaping/lawn mower business...but he been working 2 gigs to raise more personal capital for his business that he is launching tomorrow.. told him DO NOT Quit both job just one job...but anyway he quit the day job and that wasnt smart but he felt confident enough cuz he did saved up for 3 months worth of living expenses.. i told him 1 year would have been better but he said it was cash flow business and he was confident because he been prescreening customers and gathering up a route list that would gross him $9,000 a month... i say shyt how did he based that figures and on what? he said 150 accounts maxmium and he would cut 150 yards every 14 days period ( which is about 11 yards per day in a 14 days period almost) at 30 dollars a pop.. he would step it up by cutting and doing the edge and free fertizliring and weed killer treatment.. i was like damnnn ya gonna be busy and tired.. but yo check this out..... he saw me in November... and told me he was tired of his bs corporate job and he wasnt getting play what he felt he was worth... he credit was jacked the fuck up.. but he had a vision and was eager to do his thing...so i looked at his business plan and marketing plans made a few comments and suggestions for free cuz like i said i just in the business of getting people over the first hill and yall are yall own after that... but anyway he just got a home depot card for $10,000!! and a lowe card for $5,000!
But check it out he was able to get a brand new Nissan Titan Truck for a business lease... i was like whoa! but he said he did everything (ya are reading in this theard and on the other two boards plus my information broken down in plain ole English)
I ask him indirectly how much was his bad credit and I want to slap him it was just $10,000 in bad credits..I told him I could help him in that area.. he said he would get back to me cuz what i will tell him is to use one of the business credit card that has a high line of credit.. to use the business card loc and use a check from the card line and make a settlement but to settle on the pennies on the dollars but also as a part of a settlement he would want to make sure the negative information is removed from the credit report since it preventing him to get personal credit..but he would be real and pay off the business loc in an orderly manner that way he would have two sets of good credit and be out of debts...he said the biggest expenses was gas and the adversting he went door to door and drop off the information and what he would do for the customer every two weeks.. ya cant beat his service or price .. cuz most guys would charge $40 and up to do all that good stuff. ... he said he read somewhere always do more than what is ask for because ya would get repeat service...$9,000 x 8 months = $72,000 a year but ya work outdoor and be off 3/4 months..and today hi-tech can do most starters house in a less than 30 minutes... sit down riding mower and edger and trimmers... fertizlers and weed treatment... shyt that mofo making me want to get back into that business lol. But anyway he was telling me thanks a million cuz he got applied for 10 line account with Sprint for cell phones lol he said he only needed one but got two lines and didnt have to put no $$$ or security deposit down!!


Anyway..........i got 35 clients for March but i will be traveling to Miami cuz i set it up as a seminar and well let just say it gonna be a smoooooooooooth $15,000 for me.. cuz i set it up at ahotel on south beach and they are from the Miami's area.. i used my Miami's connections who knew some peeps trust me the person is getting a finder fee of a grand...but the backlog is i got mofo in 25 atlanta wanna see me for the same shyt but i didnt think mofo would pay a grand for a seminar on business credit and on how to obtain it..........i may have to get my cousin who can speak spanish cuz 4 of the 15 people are Spanish lol.......and the seminar is just gonna be four hours long and they getting the material and I been working on some extra material...but my cousin already convert the material from English to Spanish using a special software ....

This white dude who is Jewish and was sorta of a mentor to me back in the days.. he said if ya charge more the mofo will put the information to use if ya charge low they wont and they ya are ripping them off and then if ya charge them more the mofo would want more info lol.. but the thing is to do the sell on being as real as possible dont try to sell shyt based on Bill Gates story or Oprah story based the sale on ya own story and experiences.. shyt i been there and done that.............but this was just a test to see if it would work and it did.. my only expenses is airfare and hotel but I was able to get the hotel to hook me up with an upgrade since i was hosting the seminar at the hotel..and the conference room was only $250 to rent...and as with any conference ya know ya gotta pay upfront... so i am looking into that.. it a lot of work but I see how them cats are doing it..........
 
yo dawg I love the way you are thinking bro.I love to see brothers taking their gifts /talents and putting it to good use.It all starts with a idea/vision and then just working the numbers to make it a reality.I'm seriously looking to get into this consulting venture(low overhead + high profits= $$$$$).One thing I wanted to know is in your earlier post when you were advising the 2 ladies did you get any kick backs for the referal from the cpa/lawyer to incorporate,the graphic artist,and the place to set up the virtual office or you haven't thought about that.Also, did you get your clients through word of mouth or did you place an ad in the paper.
 
blackop-- i never though of kickbacks... cuz honestly i just didnt know how that works... I considering it just a networking tools.. cuz I figure mofo would send me some business my way if I send them some business their way for free....

I start by passing out flyers at business functions where mofo were trying to get info about a new business or the commerce of trade in my county... i print out a bunch of flyer and got permission to post it on the boards for free...

the only "kickback" i guess that I get is the referral to the Virtual Office set up.. my account rep discount my invoice $50 per each referral... so it almost work into my favor cuz sometime I get a negative invoice and I dont have to pay that lol.......


in the manual that I create.. I usually list potential cpa/ lawyers/graphic artists/etc I would approach them via networking or via the internet and ask them for permission to list them in my manual for free and they would get some businesses.. and I just ask them in return for the free advertisting I would like some leads refer to me.. i get some but I dont think I get as much I should be getting so I may have to start charging mofos... but thanks for opening up my eyes to another area of income....

there are many sources of marketing outlet to advertiste this business do what is most economy feasible for you.

Marketing books are a pain in the ass to read but they are worth the time and effort to read it... if ya want the title of the marketing book that I am using constantly I will list it for ya.. cuz it can be used for any business venture
 
yo dawg another method i was thinking was in your manual as you list the different cpa's or lawyers,graphic artist,etc.If you called around and asked them if they wanted to be listed in your directory for a fee.You know like the yellow pages,black pages do.The benefit would be to increase their business traffic and would generate extra capital for you and that would pay for your manuals and a website that you could start and if they wanted could link off your website.Dawg this is a great idea and i know most small business owners don't know this.In fact the brother across the hall who informed me on the idea of incorporating is always coming across the hall for me to hook him up with loc's.Hell,i just researched it a lil further then he did.And, another brother that wants to start a vehicle recovery business down the hall overheard us talking and he don't even have the slightest idea on how to even get his ein #.So,their is a definite market for the service.
 
dacrazydeafdawg said:
Another thing...mofo who use their company's credit to pay for a high end luxury vechiles are playing with fire...

I see this shyt all the time.. mofo think it easy but I ask the dealership who own the car outright.. and they said they do because they paid for it in full.

Matter of fact I was at my fav mercedes benz dealership ... just looking for a new ride... I test drove the G500 wagon but that shyt get lousy ass gas mileage.. and i saw a nice used range rover 2004 model with only 18000 miles on it but they want $70,000 for it i said shyt i can one new at that price.... but somebody else used a credit card and bought it and the dealer told me that i missed out.. and i said shyt how can be so.. he gotta credit card and he said that is the same as cash... he get the ride and the keys and the title right now.. and the loophole is the mofo credit card company does not have a lien on the car. So if the mofo missed a payment they cant respoess your car... So I know that done a lot ... but if ya are gonna be honest about it then just let the business pay for ya ride... make the money first and get the toys later is what i tell mofo all the time and i aint fucking with no car notes or credit card bills for a car?!?!

that is crazy and risky!!

alot of dealerships won't let you pay by credit card though, they lose money doing so

if you were going to buy 70k vehicle with a card, a dealer can loose up to and over 3k for taking the swipe.
 
Da Don said:
alot of dealerships won't let you pay by credit card though, they lose money doing so

if you were going to buy 70k vehicle with a card, a dealer can loose up to and over 3k for taking the swipe.


Da Don there is a loophole though... they be using the checks to write it out to themselves....

But the best way to go about it legally is to obtain a business lease.....I was just trying to make a point how some people are abusing the system ..

Creating and establishing business credit is a serious business because it goes to the concept of using OPM's to finance a business project in order to establish a cash flow to pay back the OPM's invoices and make a profit/or break even.
 
Fam,

No way around the personal credit issue. You will need to personally vouch for a number of things to start your corp, just be careful what you vouch for. Also, please do not use your home, savings or any other personal property as resources for your business ventures - it's just not worth it. We have purchased vehicles on an Amex before, but only if we knew there would be a surge in revenue for the upcoming months (sales have already been made), but I do not recommend making a habit of it. For those of you who don't already know, just go to your county courthouse, file for your biz license, then file the necessary forms to incorporate with your state (will take a few months, but will be retroactive to the date of articles of inc.). File for an EIN (this is very important) with the IRS. Then declare S-corp status. Immediately setup a Dun & Bradstreet profile and pay for an affordable level of service with them - I promise you that a good Paydex score is worth its weight in gold. Open up a business checking and business investment account with bank of america - may run around $1000 to get set up. Use your EIN to do this. Request a Bank of America Visa. Next go for a Dell lease on a laptop or something like that, do not get a Dell loan or line of credit. Be sure that you pay this lease on time. Since you are using the equipment for business, the lease payments are deductable. Stay away from the cash secured cards if they exist. Pick up an Office Depot card (I think this is citibank) for misc. supplies & use it properly. Do a good job at what you do and as soon as possible get a good attorney and CPA. As soon as your business credit will allow, get an Amex card... the plat. version has some of the better benefits - manage the card well as it must be paid every month in full.
 
Fam,

No way around the personal credit issue. You will need to personally vouch for a number of things to start your corp, just be careful what you vouch for.


that is not true at all... ya can establish a business credit without a PG.
 
dacrazydeafdawg said:
Fam,

No way around the personal credit issue. You will need to personally vouch for a number of things to start your corp, just be careful what you vouch for.


that is not true at all... ya can establish a business credit without a PG.
Maybe I said this the wrong way...

Any financial institution, includinig credit card companies, will require you to have both business and personal credit worthiness and a competent executive staff. No one will just extend credit to you or give you a loan without knowing that you have good payment history, can afford your extension, and are not at high risk - this is also true for leasing companies. They will also want you to back up/secure your loan/credit... this is always based on business credit - if you have none - it will be based on your personal credit - if the personal is bad, they will want to put a lein on something (i.e. - home, boat, etc.). Some transactions require resumes from all of the owners - this is the case even for professional liability insurance... and yes they do require that each owner not only have a decent resume and good credit, but also does not have outstanding Federal taxes.

There's no advantageous way to navigate around it... you'll find more benefit in improving your payment trends (not your credit score) over several calendar months before applying for biz credit... keep in mind, you may get biz credit with bad personal credit, but a 28% interest rate will seriously inhibit your ability to have any appropriate level of working capital. The money you make will go to pay for the charges you make at that high interest rate.

Hope this helps.
 
You know dog, on second thought... ignore my post, you're probably right... lot has changed since I setup a company and nowadays I don't even see the financial shit until a damn report comes across my desk... help those youg cats out man!!!

Peace
 
Pharaoh said:
Maybe I said this the wrong way...

Any financial institution, includinig credit card companies, will require you to have both business and personal credit worthiness and a competent executive staff. No one will just extend credit to you or give you a loan without knowing that you have good payment history, can afford your extension, and are not at high risk - this is also true for leasing companies. They will also want you to back up/secure your loan/credit... this is always based on business credit - if you have none - it will be based on your personal credit - if the personal is bad, they will want to put a lein on something (i.e. - home, boat, etc.). Some transactions require resumes from all of the owners - this is the case even for professional liability insurance... and yes they do require that each owner not only have a decent resume and good credit, but also does not have outstanding Federal taxes.

There's no advantageous way to navigate around it... you'll find more benefit in improving your payment trends (not your credit score) over several calendar months before applying for biz credit... keep in mind, you may get biz credit with bad personal credit, but a 28% interest rate will seriously inhibit your ability to have any appropriate level of working capital. The money you make will go to pay for the charges you make at that high interest rate.

Hope this helps.

Well pharoah you are wrong and you are right to.You can get business credit without pg.But, the larger cards like amex,visa,etc wants to see financials on the company on larger loc's like$100,000 etc.
 
Pharaoh said:
You know dog, on second thought... ignore my post, you're probably right... lot has changed since I setup a company and nowadays I don't even see the financial shit until a damn report comes across my desk... help those youg cats out man!!!

Peace
No disrespect but tell me you are joking about knowing your company finances unless a report comes across your desk?
 
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