Dry Cleaning Business Financing Service For Unemployed Patrons

A dry cleaning business has extended its offer of free dry cleaning for unemployed job seekers in the Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem, NC area. Cleaner World President Chris Edwards says that unemployed patrons need only to bring their most recent statement from the Employment Security Commission as proof of need and Cleaner World will clean one suit or blazer and slacks, along with two dress shirts, or a suit and two blouses, or two dresses per week through December.

Cleaner World originally offered the service in March and planned to end the program last week. With continued unemployment in the area, Edwards says that the dry cleaning business is just doing what it takes to help neighbors in need.

Unemployment Affecting Retail Store Businesses

Retail businesses in the area are also feeling the pinch of unemployment. Retail sales were down 0.1% overall in July according to Department of Commerce statistics. Retailers are pulling out all the stops to entice shoppers into the stores during the all-important back to school retailing season.

The National Federation of Retailers issued a white paper earlier this year on trends that could help small retailers survive the economic downturn. Promising approaches include expanding Internet business opportunities, instituting customer loyalty programs, and offering private label goods as an alternative to more expensive name-brand goods.

If you’re looking for retail business financing to expand your product or service line, consider a business cash advance from Rapid Capital Funding. Contact us today for more information about how your business can self-finance its own expansion during the recession.

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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.

Photo Credit: Cecile Graat

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Survey Shows Small Business Feeling Big Pains

The 2009 Channel Insider Market Pulse survey shows that small businesses are cutting back on information technology (IT) services, which have long been considered “resilient” in a recession. Overall, businesses are reducing IT expenditures, but small businesses have really put the skids on IT spending this year. Small businesses are delaying IT and networking upgrades by improving their maintenance, and are seeking out “friendly” financing options when they do make purchases.

In addition, small businesses are re-deploying equipment that they’ve retired once, or are extending the useful life of equipment by repurposing it for other tasks. Repairs on broken equipment are also up significantly. Of more concern is the fact that nearly one-quarter of respondents report that their IT contracts are being cancelled. The survey also shows that small and medium-sized businesses are outsourcing their IT services at a higher rate in order to reduce their payrolls.

IT is an important component for most businesses today, but IT services aren’t cheap. If you need to replace computer and electronic equipment but can’t find the terms you need to make the deal happen, consider a merchant cash advance as an alternative to financing.

A merchant cash advance leverages the power of your future credit card transactions to give you the cash you need right now. There are no long applications to wade through, no long waiting periods to find out whether your advance has been approved and no hassles about how you plan to spend the cash.

If your business is registered in the US, accepts Visa or MasterCard and has credit or debit sales of $2,500 or more per month, there’s an excellent chance that you’ll be able to take advantage of a merchant cash advance. Once you have your cash, there are no monthly bills to pay. Your advance is repaid as your regular credit card transactions are processed. It’s that simple.

If you need cash to replace equipment or make your business run efficiently and you can’t find the financing you need, consider a merchant cash advance from Rapid Capital Funding.

Photo Credit: Ilker

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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.

Photo Credit: Sachin Ghodke

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Bank CEOs Face Congressional Music On Bank Loans

If you thought that the CEOs of the major domestic automakers had it bad, hold on tight because the bank CEOs whose firms received a slice of last year’s TARP bailout will be testifying in front of the House Financial Services Committee today. Lawmakers are expected to demand an accounting of what exactly happened to the bailout funds lavished on banks last year, and an explanation for why more of the Fed’s capital isn’t being plowed into bank loans for businesses and consumers.

Congress has gotten more than an earful from ordinary people who wonder why the banks were not questioned as closely about the estimated $800 billion in TARP grants as automotive CEOs were grilled about their request for $25 billion in federal loans. Lawmakers will be looking for an accounting of how the TARP funds have been spent to date, and want answers about the excessively high bonuses that have been paid to bank executives since the TARP funds were released.

One burning question on the minds of lawmakers is how much of the funding has been offered to businesses and consumers in the form of loans. Among the nearly 400 recipients of the federal funds, only Citigroup has provided any information about how it has spent its TARP funding. Citi’s accounting shows that only about one-third of the money has been made available for loans.

Small businesses have been hit hard by the lack of capital available for operations and expansions in the last year. Nearly five percent of small businesses are now saying that loan availability is the single most important issue facing small businesses today. There is another source of funding for small businesses: a merchant cash advance.

Merchant cash advances are available to any US business that accepts Visa and MasterCard and has at least $2,500 per month in credit card transactions. Merchant cash advances have a limit of $250,000, so you can get the cash you need when you need it.

A merchant cash advance isn’t a loan. It’s a cash advance based on future sales. As your transactions are processed, your advance is repaid, with a small fee. There’s no monthly bill to pay, and 95% of all eligible merchants who request a cash advance get one. There’s no requirement that you have good credit, either.

If you’ve been the bank route and you’re still waiting for your cash, or you’ve been turned down by banks who won’t lend out their cash, don’t face the worst alone. Contact Rapid Capital Funding today!

Photo Credit: Chrisinphilly5448, via Flickr

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