Incorporation Services Online

By Cash Miller

 When we think of Starbucks today we think of one thing coffee. Or more specifically some form of Mocha Latte or Frappuccino. Although many coffee companies have done fairly well in their own right during the last decade and a half Starbucks is by far the leader of the pack. And what started as a small unknown coffee shop in Seattle, Washington in 1971 has grown into the global leader of coffee today. All because of the vision of one man Howard Schultz.

Now to be perfectly clear about this Howard Schultz is the man that had the vision of what Starbucks could become but he is not the founder of Starbucks. That title actually belongs to three other men. The three men are Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegel, and Gordon Bowker and they are the actual founders of Starbucks. Now the original Starbucks was a bit different than it is today. The three founders actually opened their store so that they could sell just coffee beans. Their inspiration actually came from another store called Peet’s Coffee & Tea which they would later buy.

It wasn’t until 1982 that Howard Schultz joined the company as the director of marketing. And while on a trip to Milan, Italy he learned of the Italian coffee bars. Once he returned from his trip he tried to convince the owners that they needed to start offering traditional espresso beverages. The owners weren’t particularly keen on the idea though as they thought that coffee was meant to be brewed and enjoyed at home. They did let him try out a small bar within the store but while successful they decided not to pursue it further.

Howard Schultz on the other hand had different ideas. Seeing that he was not going to get anywhere with the owners of Starbucks he decided to pursue the concept himself. So he opened Il Giornale in 1985. His small chain soon proved to be successful but it wasn’t until about two years later that his real opportunity came knocking. The founders of Starbucks were looking to sell. A short while back they had bought Peet’s Coffee & Tea which was their original inspiration and they wanted to focus on it. Soon after buying Starbucks Howard Schultz changed his Il Giornale stores into Starbucks locations as well.

From there everyone pretty much knows what happened. Today Starbucks is considered the leader in coffee. They not only sell drinks directly to the public but sell coffee beans as well which is somewhat ironic. They now operate over 15,000 locations in 44 different countries. Just about everywhere you go you can find the Starbucks logo on a street corner somewhere. It really is amazing how far they have come in a relatively short period of time. And if not because of the persistence and perseverance of one particular person the idea may have never even got off the ground.

Cash Miller is an experienced entrepreneur and speaker who has spent over a decade as a small business owner. His years of experience in small business cover a variety of topics. If you are looking for more small business help please check out http://www.smallbusinessdelivered.com

Your Resource For Incorporating A Business Online

What Lenders Check on Before Approving a Small Business Loan
By Irish Taylor

 All lenders are concerned about getting paid back. Of course, no lender would risk his money to a borrower who is clearly incapable of repayment. The same principle applies to business loan lenders. Before granting approval for a small business loan, the lender would first make sure that the business has the potential to grow and stay profitable until the loan has been completely paid.

What are your chances of getting approved?

If you own a business and you plan on applying for a business loan, how can you increase your chances of getting approved? What can you do to avoid getting denied or rejected? Consider the following pointers:

Check your credit score. Lenders would be checking on your personal credit report especially if you havent yet established a separate credit history for your business. Do you have good credit or bad credit? Obviously, having a higher credit score would ensure your business loans approval. More importantly, an excellent credit gives you the power to negotiate with lenders and ask for better rates.

Is there a way to improve your credit score? Do you have existing balances in your credit card accounts? Why not pay off these balances first before submitting your loan application? If you have plans on applying for a business loan, avoid submitting various applications to different lenders at once too many inquiries in your credit report creates a negative impression to lenders.

Prepare your business plan. Lenders would carefully examine your business plan to see if your business is indeed capable of making it in the industry. Pay attention to the details you will include in your business plan. Any discrepancy with the information you provide can raise doubts to a prospective lender. Your business plan should be concise and complete.

Prepare your collateral. If youre going to apply for a secured business loan, be sure that you have your property title or assets ready for submission. Remember that if you have bad credit or a low credit score, applying for an unsecured business loan would be a waste of time. Unsecured business loan lenders often require good to excellent credit from its applicants. Therefore, your best bet to getting approved is to apply for a secured business loan.

Check the lenders requirements. To be sure that your application wont be denied, check your lenders qualifications. What particular paperwork do you need to submit? Does the lender require good credit or excellent credit? Would your credit score be enough to pass?

Register your business licenses. Obtain all the necessary business licenses and registrations required in your state. Lenders would want to make sure that you are operating your business legally and with permission from the government. If you havent yet secured your licenses, youre business loan application would most likely be rejected.

Check your business accounts. Lenders would also check on your business account statements, daily balance sheets, inventory and other accounting documents. Make sure that you have all these records or documentations on hand to speed up your application process.

http://www.startupbusinessloans.com

Other Alternatives for Small Business Loans
By Irish Taylor

 Despite their differences, companies big and small are confronted with the same challenge- providing sufficient funds for the business. Sometimes, even though a business is already an established one, it can still experience financial shortages or unexpected expenses.

When faced with such burdens, acquiring a small businesses loan may be the first solution youll think of. However, small businesses loans can be a little difficult to obtain especially without impressive credit. In addition, the application process could take a little longer that you expect. Lets consider some suggestions on how small businesses can get through tough times.

Here are some of the alternatives for traditional business loans:

* Accept credit cards. Have you thought about accepting credit card payments? You could be losing a large number of sales if youre not accepting credit card payments from your customers. By accepting credit card payments, your business can qualify for a business cash advance or credit card factoring. Factoring is a great option because it is paid off using the invoices that you have obtained from your credit card sales.

* Go home based. This option is not advisable for all businesses, but if you can turn your present business to a home based business, you can save a great deal from your budget. With a home business, you wont have to lease a commercial space. Also, your transportation expenses would be significantly reduced and most of all, youll enjoy savings from certain tax exemptions.

* Try drop shipping. When a customer orders, you can actually get these items straight from the manufacturer or supplier and have them deliver the goods to your customer as well. This is called drop shipping. This new system allows you do business without the need to rent a warehouse or additional office space. You can also save a great amount of money from your shipping costs.

* Encourage your customers to pay cash. If your business is short on cash, you can offer discounts or freebies for customers wholl pay in cash. You can also use reward programs where customers who purchased a certain amount for a particular time period would be entitled for gifts or prizes. Customers love to get freebies and discounts so there is great potential that they would buy more from your store or choose to pay in cash to get the extra prize.

* Build up your credit rating. Having an excellent credit rating is a huge advantage when applying for loans. How do you build up good credit? Pay your unpaid bills with all your creditors. Stay within your credit limit. Leave at least 50% of your credit limit free or unspent. Lenders are more than happy to provide loans to businesses with excellent credit history.

These are just some suggestions that you can apply to your own small business. These steps would help save your cash flow so you can continue financing your business while obtaining a small business loan is not an option.

Irish Taylor is a bussiness loan consultant with SBA Loans for Startup Business

and has been providing consumers and business owners with startup business financing since 1992. For years she has helped people with credit and loan problems especially pertaining to business start up, SBA Loans

and Unsecured Loans

. Copyright 2008

http://www.startupbusinessloans.com

online business incorporation

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.