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Wells Fargo Small Business Optimism Survey Goes Negative
For the first time in the nearly six-year history of the Wells Fargo Small Business Index, owner optimism dropped below zero for the first time in the survey’s history. The survey, which was conducted between January 22 and February 2, down 14 points from the previous survey and 118 points lower than the record high for the index, which was notched in November 2006. The zero point on the index scale means that business owners are neither optimistic nor pessimistic about the business and economic conditions of their companies.
The index measures the present conditions and near-future outlook for small businesses in a half-dozen key areas, including overall financial picture, cash flow, revenues, capital spending or planned capital improvements, hiring and the availability of credit.
Respondents to the survey did not reduce their hiring plans overall from the Q4 2008 survey, but did report more problems with cash flow, credit availability, slow growth in revenue and an overall decline in the respondents’ financial situation.
A merchant cash advance from Rapid Capital Funding can help keep your business cash flow looking good. A merchant cash advance leverages your future credit card transactions to provide you the cash you need today.
Doing business and staying afloat in a recession can be challenging, but Rapid Capital Funding is here to help. Contact us today and see what a merchant cash advance can do for your small business.
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Merchant Cash Advance May Be Part Of Survival Plan
For small businesses, even in a positive economy, survival takes a lot of work. In a down economy, every move must be considered carefully because there’s little room to recover from missteps. One mistake that small businesses make consistently is not having enough cash on hand to respond to emergencies, and unforeseen delays in collecting receivables. For some businesses, a
merchant cash advance can help.
A merchant cash advance provides the money you need now. Each cash advance is backed by your future credit card transactions. Each time you accept a credit card, a small percentage of your sale goes to repay the merchant cash advance. In this way, you can leverage your future transactions to get the cash you need when you need it. There are no delays in getting the cash, either. Most merchant cash advances can put money in your account in less than 72 hours. You can’t say that about a bank loan.
Also, there’s no need to provide collateral, personal guarantees or fill out long application forms. If your business is registered in the US, accepts Visa or MasterCard and generates credit or debit receipts of at least $2,500 per month, you’re likely to qualify. Ninety-five percent of applicants do – even those with less-than-perfect credit.
Don’t get caught without the cash you need. Contact Rapid Capital Funding today and get the cash you need for your small (or large!) business.
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Small Business Owners Searching For Relief
For owners looking for
small business capital opportunities in the freshly inked stimulus package, there’s not much of real value. According to Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, small business – not government spending – will drive the economic recovery in the US. Fiorina was delivering the keynote address at the International Franchise Association meeting yesterday.
Fiorina expressed concern that the stimulus plan applies Depression-era corrections to a 21st century problem, and that the spending package won’t address the real needs of the sectors that will actually deliver the economic recovery.
Analysts have indicated that the stimulus plan isn’t by itself friendly to small business. While it does extend some tax credits and increase some caps for depreciation and other business expenses, it doesn’t do much to help small businesses expand, create jobs or spur sales.
Cash flow is a primary consideration of small businesses. Many franchise operations need a steady source of income to make payroll, buy supplies and pay bills. Other small businesses need ready access to credit, so that they can make purchases and start projects on short notice.
For these businesses, bank loans may be out of the question. Banks have restricted lending, even to businesses that have excellent credit and payment histories. These restrictions make it tough on small businesses to land contracts and deliver services in a sour economy.
A merchant cash advance may be the ideal solution for certain businesses. If your US-based business accepts Visa or MasterCard and registers credit sales of as little as $2,500 per month, your business could be eligible for a merchant cash advance.
For more information about a merchant cash advance, or to see if your business qualifies, don’t wait! Contact Rapid Capital Funding today!
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Small Business Tax Cuts Would Do More Than Stimulus Plan
SurePayroll, an online payroll service, released the results of a recent survey of
small business owners and their impression of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). Nearly 75 percent of small business owners disagreed with the government’s approach to bailing out the banks as a way to jump-start the economy. Only three percent of respondents felt that the TARP plan would be effective.
The survey showed that small business owners aren’t that keen on a large spending plan, either. Only eleven percent though that massive government spending would improve the economy.
What do small business owners think will work? Nearly fifty percent of survey respondents say that tax cuts would be a better way to get the economy moving in a positive direction again. To date, the TARP plan has not resulted in increased lending to businesses or consumers, primarily because lenders can’t find buyers for new loans on the secondary credit market. Without loan buyers, increased lending isn’t sustainable and banks don’t want to service their loans themselves.
Despite the fact that banks are now flush with cash, they’re not lending it out to consumers or small businesses. This puts small business owners in a bad position. Small businesses have few options when it comes to getting the cash they need to continue or expand their operations.
Some business owners have discovered that a merchant cash advance is the quickest way to get cash fast. A merchant cash advance enables businesses of any size to use future credit card sales to secure cash. A business cash advance isn’t a loan. Credit card transactions repay the advance as they come in, so there’s no monthly bill to pay, and you get the money from your credit card sales up front. You can even request an advance of up to 1.5 times your average monthly credit card sales figures.
Rapid Capital Funding is a trusted leader in merchant cash advances. Don’t wait for the bailout to trickle down to your business. Get the cash you need now with a merchant cash advance from Rapid Capital Funding.
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States Aren't Always Friendly To Their Small Businesses
Some states are more friendly to
small business than others, but US News and World Report has put together a list of the seven worst states in which to start a business, and they’re not likely to be the state’s you may be thinking of. According to USNWR, these seven states could be accused of providing the least helpful or most obstructive business climates for entrepreneurs who want to start a new business.
West Virginia, Iowa, Arkansas, Maine, Hawaii, Kentucky and Montana missed the mark when it comes to supporting new businesses in their states. In many cases, education, infrastructure, taxation, research and development capabilities, access to national and international markets, information technology support and the availability of investment capital make these states among the least desirable places to start and maintain businesses.
For small business owners, some of these considerations are less important than others, but a basic consideration for most small business owners is the availability of capital. Banks and other private lenders around the country have restricted lending, making it difficult for entrepreneurs to start or expand a business.
Rapid Capital Funding can help small businesses get the capital they need. For businesses that accept Visa and MasterCard, virtually instant financing is available through a merchant cash advance. A merchant cash advance is not a loan, but an advance on your business’ future credit card sales.
As the credit card transactions come in, your advance is repaid, so there are no bills to pay. Most merchants who apply for a merchant cash advance are approved without major delays, credit checks, or other requests that a bank or private lender would make. There is no collateral on a merchant cash advance. Best of all, the advance can be in your account in seven business days or less.
Don’t wait around for a bank to approve or deny your loan application, and don’t put off expanding your business. Get the cash you need from Rapid Capital Funding today.
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Small Business Index Shows Confidence Eroded In January
According to the National Federation of Independent Businesses,
small business owners’ confidence in the economy and in their businesses dropped to the second-lowest level ever recorded by the NFIB in the organization’s 35-year history. The NFIB’s Small Business Optimism Index fell to 84.1, from 85.2 in December 2008.
The organization remains hopeful that signs of recovery will begin to appear in the second half of 2009, but acknowledges that any recovery is unlikely to begin through the second quarter of the year. In addition to the glum outlook for businesses, small business owners reported a significant decline in average employment in January, though capital expenditures remained steady in January, after falling five points in December. Nearly 60 percent of respondents reported a drop in profits in January.
The NFIB says that the number of deferred expenditure plans rose two points, but reports that owners aren’t making big plans to build inventories, and 20 percent fewer businesses expect to see their sales rise, an overall drop of 2 points. The outlook for expected credit conditions was largely negative, dropping fourteen percent from January. Four percent of respondents indicated that credit and financing are their single most important problems right now. Thirteen percent of respondents say that loans are harder to get now than in the past, and demand for loans is at a low.
The drop in loans could signal tough times ahead for some small businesses. Combined with tightened lending restrictions, some small businesses that would normally borrow to get through rough spots aren’t able to get the operating capital they need to stay afloat.
For some businesses, an alternative to a loan is a merchant cash advance. A merchant cash advance can put the cash you need in your hands right away, without the weeks or sometimes months of waiting that can accompany a traditional loan. Even businesses with less-than-perfect credit can qualify.
A merchant cash advance isn’t like a loan. Instead, it’s a cash advance on your future Visa and MasterCard credit transactions. Your cash advance is repaid as you take in new transactions. Nothing could be easier! Most advances are delivered in less than seven business days, and you can request an advance of up to 1.5 times your normal monthly credit card receipts. There are no restrictions on how the cash is used, and 95% of all applicants are approved for the advance.
If you need cash to keep your business moving, turn to a name you can trust: Rapid Capital Funding.
Source: NFIB
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Small Business Could Lose 2M Jobs By 2010
The impact of the recession could cost America’s small businesses as many as two million jobs by 2010, according to analysis conducted by Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisors. January’s employment figures showed a 12th straight monthly decline in
small business employment. Overall in January, small businesses shed 175,000 of the 600,000 jobs lost in that month.
Since February 2008, small businesses have cut about one million jobs, and Prakken believes the number could double throughout 2009. Prakken predicts a tough road ahead, even after the stimulus plan is enacted. In the end, he expects small business hiring to recover first, but doesn’t see that happening much before the second half of 2009 at the earliest.
According to Prakken, the current decline outpaces the longest recent small-business decline, which lasted for ten months between August 2001 and May 2002, and resulted in a net loss of more than 380,000 jobs.
For small businesses that are trying to weather the rough economy, access to capital can be one of the biggest challenges. Banks have tightened lending restrictions, cut lines of credit and are even refusing to write small business loans that are backed by the US government. Without having access to capital, small businesses can’t expand, withstand delays in getting receivables paid by customers or handle unexpected expenses.
Rapid Capital Funding can help. With a merchant cash advance from Rapid Capital Funding, small businesses can take advantage of future sales to fund current operations. Merchant cash advances aren’t like loans – there’s no monthly payment to make. The advance is tied to future credit card sales, and is paid back each time a new credit card transaction is processed. Rapid Capital Funding can supply up to 1.5 times your business’ normal monthly credit card receipts in the form of a cash advance.
About 95 percent of merchants that apply for a business cash advance are approved, and even those with less-than-perfect credit can still qualify for an advance. If your business is registered in the US, accepts Visa or MasterCard and has at least $2,500 in credit card sales each month, you can get a merchant cash advance. Contact Rapid Capital Funding today!
Source: Los Angeles Times
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Layoffs Only Tell Part Of The Small Business Employment Story
Last month’s labor figures are out and they don’t look good. According to the Labor Department, 600,000 Americans lost their jobs in the month of January 2009. The figures include massive layoffs announced by large companies like Sprint-Nextel, Home Depot, Pfizer, and previously unscathed technology sector giants like Google, Microsoft and Intel. These numbers seem large, but
small business is also feeling the pinch.
The unemployment figures, which now put the national unemployment rate at 7.5%, only tell half of the story. The Labor Department also tracks the number of new jobs created. As the monthly numbers of jobs lost now reaches into levels not seen since the mid-1970’s, the number of new jobs being created is plunging at a rate even faster than that of the mounting job losses. Not only are large numbers of jobs being lost, but new jobs aren’t being created, ensuring that long-term unemployment is here to stay.
The impact is being felt in the small business sector. The number of small business loans is down sharply in the first quarter of fiscal year 2009. The number of franchises – a typical favorite of new entrepreneurs – is in a downward spiral. Small manufacturers are having trouble hanging on, in large part because lending volumes are down and small businesses have no ready access to cash.
Small businesses are now turning to private funding sources like Rapid Capital Funding for cash. Rapid Capital Funding offers merchant cash advances to businesses of any size. A business cash advance is not a loan. It is unsecured credit that is issued based upon a merchant’s monthly credit card sales volumes. A business cash advance provides a quick way to receive the money for credit card sales when you need it.
There is no monthly loan payment to make. Repayment of the cash advance occurs automatically as credit card transactions are processed. There are no restrictions on how the money can be used. You can use it to make payroll, buy new equipment, pay bills or increase your cash cushion. And unlike a bank loan, ninety-five percent of applicants are approved, regardless of their credit.
If you need cash for your US-based business, and have more than $2,500 per month in Visa and MasterCard sales, Rapid Capital Funding can help.
Photo Credit: Daniel Lobo, via Flickr
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Small Businesses May Get Closed Out Of Stimulus Financing
If the Obama administration was looking for a friend to small business, they won’t find one in New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg. Gregg has consistently voted with Big Business and doesn’t believe that government has a role in helping small businesses. This puts into question the Obama administration’s apparent policy support for small business financing in the stimulus package now being considered in the Senate.
On the surface, the bill appears to provide for some small business financing, however analysts are disappointed with the package’s overall approach to supporting small businesses. Less than one billion dollars is devoted to the Small Business Administration for increased ending, along with changes that permit the SBA to buy up guaranteed loans in the secondary lending market.
While many analysts agree that the stalled secondary loan market is responsible for the sharp decline in small business lending, and they agree that direct lending is a good approach to increase the availability of cash for small business owners, the overall role that small business plays in the stimulus plan is small. Given that about 70% of new jobs created in the US come from small business, some analysts and observers feel that too much assistance is being offered to big business and to financiers, when the real economic power is concentrated in the heavily fragmented small business sector.
There’s no doubt about it, however. Small businesses are suffering from a lack of access to capital. Banks have funds to lend and loan guarantees by the federal government, but they’re unwilling to lend because they cannot tolerate even the small risk that a Small Business Administration loan currently poses. Small business owners are caught in the middle.
For some, a solution may come in the form of a merchant cash advance. Merchant cash advances aren’t bank loans that are repaid over long periods of time. Instead, a merchant cash advance is an advance on a business’ future credit card sales. As the credit card transactions come in, the cash advance is repaid, along with a small percentage. Merchants whose businesses are registered in the US, accept Visa and MasterCard and take in more than $2,500 in monthly credit card receipts are eligible to apply. No collateral is required and even merchants whose credit is not good are able to take advantage of a merchant cash advance.
Don’t wait until your back is against the wall. If you need cash to make your business run, contact Rapid Capital Funding today.
Photo Credit: Gaetan Lee
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Small Business Owners Short On Optimism In Q4
A recent Gallup survey of small business owners shows that they plan to ride out the recession by cutting both jobs and spending. The quarterly survey, which was conducted in November 2008 and forms the basis of the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index, indicates that there is little room for optimism among small business owners who are attempting to survive the recession.
The index, which measures small business owners’ overall confidence in their operations, took a substantial plunge in the fourth quarter, falling 35 points to just ten. That mark is the lowest ever recorded by the index since Q3 2003, the first quarter in which the survey was conducted.
Slightly less than one-third of all survey respondents said that their revenues increased in the preceding twelve month period. In contrast, nearly one-half of survey participants experienced a revenue decline in the same period. Respondents also reported a corresponding decline in capital spending, with only one in five respondents reporting an increase in spending on equipment and facilities. Nearly four in ten respondents said that they have restricted their capital expenditures in response to the sour economy, and say that reduced access to capital in the fourth quarter was hurting their business.
More telling, slightly more than one in ten respondents say that they added personnel to their operations in 2008, and nearly three in ten have reduced staff in response to declining revenues.
While major employers make headlines by slashing thousands of jobs at once, the impact of small business is anything but small. According to the US Small Business Administration, nearly all of the nation’s employers are classified as small businesses, and provide slightly more than half of all private-sector jobs.
Some states aren’t waiting for the federal government to finish its stimulus package. They’re looking for ways to support their small business owners. Texas governor Rick Perry is proposing to eliminate state taxes on businesses that register less than $1 million in currently taxable revenue. The move is designed to encourage startup companies, and is seen largely as a win for companies in Texas, who paid nearly $83 million in taxes in 2006, just two percent of the state’s overall tax revenues, yet make up 80 percent of the state’s employing firms.
Photo Credit: Sigurd Decroos
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