For many small businesses, an SBA denial centers around what is (or isn't) in their D&B business credit report. If the SBA or SBA-approved lenders aren't able to find the company when searching D&B's database, or if they find the company but the information doesn't match what is on the company's loan application, they are automatically denied. Reach out to me directly if you want to boost your business credit scores and ratings before you apply for funding.

Companies who sell a one-size-fits-all strategy to their clients don't care about their client's companies. They are only focused on their own bottom line. Their cookie-cutter technique will do more harm than good because it sends a message to the bureaus that your business is only as credible as the thousands of others who have used those same techniques. Reach out to me directly if you want to boost your business credit scores and ratings.

Ensuring that your credit profile fully represents the company you are now, as opposed to where you were just a few short years ago, sometimes takes a little crafting and tweaking. And the more you put into your corporate credit report, the more you'll get out of it. These ten steps can help you craft an impeccable business credit reputation. Reach out to me directly if you want to boost your business credit scores and ratings.

My mother once told me, "If you are having to look over your shoulder to see if you're about to get caught doing something wrong, you're doing something wrong." While using a shelf corporation is technically legal, they become illegal if they’re used to deceive creditors. Not only are these so-called 'shortcuts' expensive, but how you choose to use that shelf corporation could cost you more than money. Reach out if you want to achieve actual business credit (without looking o

It seems everyone working on their business credit report tend to focus on D&B's Paydex score as being the most significant factor, but there are actually six other scores that can have an even higher influence on being able to the approvals they want and need for their company. If you've ever wondered what those scores are, what they mean, or how they can impact your company's creditworthiness and credit approvals, you're going to want to read this blog post (and then give m

At least once a day someone will ask me how they can get an 80 Paydex score, believing that it's the be-all-to-end-all that will get them the credit they need. They've usually been skirting around the web trying to find answers and will invariably find themselves falling down the rabbit hole of business credit myths and misinformation. Reach out to me directly if you want to boost your Paydex score (and all of the rest of your business credit scores and ratings.)

The internet is flush with companies who are still promising small business owners they can get "EIN-based" credit. It may take months and thousands of dollars before the business owner realizes he's been rooked. In reality, they are just trying to sell a "golden unicorn" service the only way they can: with misinformation. Reach out to me directly if you want to boost your business credit scores and ratings before you apply.

Do you have a slow payment showing on your business credit report that is bringing down your scores and ratings? Have you thought about disputing it but didn't know how? Or did you successfully dispute a slow payment only to see that it reappeared a month or so later? Let's do a deep dive on the facts about how the slow payment dispute process works so you can make an informed decision as to whether you should dispute that slow payment or not — and why you may not want to.

When someone pulls your business credit report, it sends a message to the credit bureaus about your business. That message may be that your business is strong and thriving and growing over time, or it could say that you're financially strained and desperate for funding. Whatever message that's being sent, it's going to impact your scores and ratings — and that will trigger a cascade of positive or negative messages that will be sent to your other (existing) creditors.

Did you know that your payment history can drop off your report? Most small businesses go into the credit-building process believing that all they need to do is establish a Paydex score and they will be on their way. Then a year or so down the road, when they need their corporate credit to be in it's best possible condition, they find that all those payments they added back then have dropped off their report and their scores and ratings are no longer where they once were.

If you're planning to spend money on holiday gifting, buying those gifts now (and doing it the right way) could mean that many of these "seasonal" purchases get reported to the commercial credit bureaus and count toward boosting your business credit scores and ratings. Sometimes it can be as easy as creating a new account in your business name and paying for your purchases using your business debit or credit card! Reach out to me directly if you want to boost your business cr

The one topic that baffles more small business owners than any other is how to legitimately add positive payment history to the D&B file to help build or boost business credit scores and ratings. So I've made a list of the most frequently asked questions, and I've provided the answers to make the process a little easier for anyone who just needs a little help getting from Point A to... well... the best D&B scores they could even imagine.

I tend to monitor my clients' corporate credit even more closely than my own, so imagine my surprise when I accidentally discovered that D&B had created a duplicate DUNS number for my own company! Fortunately, I know the drill, so a hastily submitted support ticket was enough to fix the problem. So this post is just a reminder to all of you to take a few minutes to complete your annual business credit checkup.

Right now, while everyone else seems to be standing still and waiting to see how things will turn out — innovators will be charging forward. Head up. Back firm. Shoulders braced. Undaunted.  It's not that they are unafraid... They just understand that fear and uncertainty has motivated some of the greatest successes in our nation's history. Reach out to me directly if you want to be prepared for every potential opportunity by boosting your business credit scores and ratings i

D&B's new security process requires that specific owner's information be entered into the system to verify a principal's identity in order to gain access to the site — and they'll need to undergo an intense identity verification process that may include QR codes, selfies, and accessing your business bank account to verify your ownership. If you need help accessing your file via D&B's new DUNS Profile Manager, give me a call. I can help you get access within just a few minute

People complain when their payments to lenders and financial organizations aren't reflecting in their D&B business credit report.  Their frustration doubles when they can't submit those lenders and creditors as "trade references".  What they don't realize is that some of those transactions may actually be showing up, but in the Small Business Financial Exchange... and that could be a much bigger benefit for their business. Reach out to me if you want to boost your business cr

Is your D&B report reflecting your company's strength and creditworthiness? Is your business data up-to-date and accurate? Do you have...

When it comes to business credit however, piggybacking or "partnering" is not just considered extremely dangerous, in some cases, it's also illegal. There have recently been a lot of cases where the piggybacker crosses the line between questionable credit-building practices and out-right bank fraud when they use false pretenses to obtain business-based credit cards or commercial loans. Reach out to me directly if you want to boost your business credit scores and ratings.

Most small business owners view business credit inquiries in the same terms as personal credit inquiries, but — in reality — that couldn't be further from the truth! While there are certain circumstances where having your D&B report pulled could count against your company, its important for business owners to understand inquiries and what they mean to your scores and ratings. Reach out to me directly if you want to better understand business credit scores, ratings and inquir

I have worked with lots of business owners who had struggled to achieve credit approvals. I've see the same patterns in behavior over and over again, so it was easy to understand how updating certain information or making a few simple changes to their business practices could have an unbelievable impact and turn things around for them. That's why I outlined five key issues that any business owner can address on their own time, and every single one of them is free!