Please note that proper planning will eliminate the stress of last minute planning. If you are not fully ready to embark of your business, do the framework. Research the business, name, the business, incorporate the business. Some of these tasks can be quite time consuming, by doing the tasks or research right now while you are not being pulled at each and every corner by the demands of your business, is a blessing in disguise. You would be wise to make the best use of this time!
I am still in the early stages of building a business credit profile for my new business, which will business number nine. I am starting from scratch and will chart my progress in this blog, new LLC , EIN, the works the only thing that makes me different from you is knowledge, which you will gain by staying tuned to this blog.
There is no rush to build this profile, since I know treading the waters of business credit in 2009 is a little tricky. Let’s, not mistake my patience attitude for a lack of urgency, there is great level of urgency, experience has taught me it is better to measure twice , perhaps three times than to measure once and cut twice.
This climate is so unlike any other I have had to face in my professional and business career.
The business credits cram down on credit line limits and accounts went into over drive this year and late last year. Simply put all levels and types of credit were in jeopardy of review and credit line decrease or closure. However, there are signs of life. One of my former coworkers from way back when I had a job, which strangely enough has been nine years! Hmm…ninth business, nine years since I had a job maybe there is something to that, perhaps not. We will see!
Well he took some advice from me years ago, he never really started the business credit building process, he just registered a new LLC , this was in 2004, he paid the yearly fee and did nothing else for the business until this summer.
Due to the crappy economy he lost his job and got a decent severance package, nothing to live lavishly on, but he could make it a year without working with careful budgeting. So those old dreams of entrepreneurship came roaring back with a vengeance. He gave in to the calling; I think it is a calling to become an entrepreneur. Some consider it a curse! His outlook on getting a job was not that viable and he surmised if his business took off after a year he would be okay. Entrepreneurs tend to be quite optimistic!
He informed me of this information after he started the business and I thought to myself this better be one hell of a business to take off and provide a living income after a year. He gave me the details and based on his knowledge of the industry I think he has a good shot of making it go; however those time tables may need a little adjusting.
Base on the information I gave him years ago, in an email of all things, he begin building his business credit profile. He had the checking account; a number registered in 411 essentially the basics. Within in two months, he had the following.
Uline-net 30
UPS-net 30
Verizon –net 30
Staples 1500
Best Buy 2500
Lowes 1250
Key Bank 4500
I got to say I was more than impressed! He got his net 30s in and I know all of those guys report. They did for me. How did he do it? After a few questions I found out. One thing I knew he had going for him was corporate age, inc’ed since 2004 and his business telephone number was with AT&T which reports and he was never late. The T Mobile phone he carries was in the LLC name, apparently he forgot about that! So, time, and two accounts reporting got him to this level after two months! Did he have a paydex?
Who knows, he did not even deal with DNB! He left that area blank on his applications! I would advise anyone to know what your DNB file looks life before seeking business credit. After our little chat he has signed up with DNB and Experian to know what his scores and profiles look like to a potential creditor. I am not going to say he was lucky, he knew he did not apply for anything so it should have been in good shape, I guess he was right!
I do not believe he could have pulled this off in December 2008, credit granters were cutting the limits or eliminating the credit accounts of people with great payment histories that had never been late. So new and unproven was not going to cut it.
I also believe to the shock and awe of many people that the government stimulus plans and monetary polices are moving us out of this mess quicker than if we did nothing at all, therefore giving people hope and people with hope spend money.
People spend money, business ramp up again and our economy starts to improve. Check out theCash for Clunkers program effect on the car business. Which we all know for months has been deplorable!
Are these government plans without flaw? Of course not but we as a country will survive, we always do.
Do I expect to see the levels of commerce we all witness since 9/11? No, not even close, however for those with a dream that fulfils a need or a requirement of the masses and the energy and courage to move it from the dream stage to reality the future is bright. I think the future is very bright for my friend, he seems like a different person, but chasing a dream will do that for you.
I also think that the big freeze is thawing out, now it is just a trickle, however to a thirsty man a steady trickle of water will do just fine.
Storage Unit Auctions Yield Buried Treasure
Here is a little-known technique for finding merchandise to resell on eBay or in your local area.
As you probably know Storage Units are rented to people who need extra temporary space to store their household items. You have probably rented one yourself or know someone who did.
What most people don’t know is if the renter doesn’t pay the monthly rental the storage company owner will auction the contents of the unit to the highest bidder. This allows anyone to buy used (and sometimes new) merchandise for pennies on the dollar.
Sometimes these units are auctioned “winner take all” where the entire contents are auctioned to the highest bidder. I have seen units go for as low as $25.00 for a small unit up to $300.00 for a unit with lots of meechandise and closed boxes.
Other times the auctioneer will pull items out of the unit one at a time and auction them individually.
One thing that is common to all auctions is the “grab bag” aspect. If there are closed boxes in the unit the auctioneer will not allow anyone to open the boxes. They are auctioned site unseen. If the auction is for an entire unit the bidders are not allowed to go into the unit to inspect the merchandise. You must assess the contents from the outside to determine if and how high you want to bid.
Here are some tips for assessing the contents:
Bring a high powered flashlight with you. The units are usually dark and since you can only view the contents from the outside a flashlight will help you spot clues that others may miss.
Look for “Name Brand” merchandise. This generally means that the owner of the contents is brand aware and appreciates higher quality merchandise. This is a big clue that other unseen items (such as items in closed boxes) are of higher value.
Look for well organised stacked boxes that are sealed. This indicates that the boxes haven’t been tampered with by the Storage Unit Company prior to the sale.
Dust on the contents. Usually means that the contents have been stored for many years. There could be items in the boxes that are now collectible.
Addresses on boxes. If you can see an address that is from an upper class neighborhood it increases the odds that there are valuables in the unit.
Moving Company Boxes. A person who goes to the expense of hiring a moving company likely has some high quality items in the unit.
So where do you find these auctions? They are sometimes listed in the Auction Section of the newspaper. If a Storage Company goes to the expense of advertising the auction in the paper it usually means they have a lot of units to auction off. But it also means there will be a lot of bidders and more competition.
The best thing to do is call Storage Companies in your area and ask when they will be holding their next auction. Many times a storage company will have a small unadvertised auction with only a half dozen or so units up for bid. These can be real bargains because fewer bidders show up and you have less competition for the units.
Storage Unit Auctions can be a great way to pick up resellable mechandise cheap but you must be careful you don’t get burnt. The best way to learn the ins and outs is by attending a few auctions as an observer only. Don’t bid, just watch. You’ll quickly learn what others are willing to bid for a unit of a particular size and with particular types or merchandise. You can then determine after the bidding is over if a unit was over bid or if it was a bargain. Knowing this will help you determine how much to bid when you are ready to participate.
Do you plan to keep this site updated? I sure hope so… its great!
Yes, at least once a week and thanks! I just posted another storage auction account!