We Don't Stop At Business Credit

In fact, sometimes we don't even start there.

Sometimes a new opportunity arises from something as simple as a question.

• It could be a brand new business owner who needs to establish business credit and wants to do it right, and in the process we realize that he hasn't set up his website yet. Do I know someone who can do that for him?

• Maybe it's a 20-year-old company that has slow payments impacting their scores, and we learn that they need someone to revamp their company's Contractor Capability Statement. Can we hire someone to do that?

• It might be one of our existing clients opening a second business and needs a new logo design to put on all of their labels, bags, tags, decals and brochures. Can I recommend someone to get those printed?

• It could be a call from a former client because he's on a job site and needs his EIN number to place an order. He knows I asked for it on the Intake Form two years ago. Is there any chance I still have that document?

• I've had former clients who saw one of my Facebook posts and wondered: Is there any way you can help them set up their social media accounts?

• Several of my former clients come back for "refreshers" once a year:

• Can we update the business address and add new payments?

• Can you help us renew our SAM.gov registration?

• We're applying for a loan and need a professional Business Plan.

• Can you produce an RFP for a contract we're bidding on?

Growing your business is about more than scores and ratings, bank loans and credit cards. While, yes, we do work hard to build your company's credibility and creditworthiness, we also strive to solidify your foundation, strengthen your capabilities, and open up new opportunities that can elevate your enterprise. We don't stop at business credit, and neither should you!

Thirty-two years ago, I didn't know anything about business credit. The only thing I knew about Dun & Bradstreet was from my childhood, when once a year (usually in the searing heat of August) they sent a sweat-soaked salesman around town who annoyed my father by sitting across the desk and asking a lot of probing questions about his business, dabbing at his sweaty forehead with a handkerchief while jotting down daddy's answers onto a yellow legal pad smeared with spaghetti sauce and motor oil.

Thirty-two years ago, I was a smalltown New Hampshire graphic artist who specialized in logos and signs, short-run printing and production, and advertising layouts for the local restaurants, hotels and ski-shops in the surrounding communities. I operated a small but thriving graphics design studio out of a two-car garage my husband converted into small home office, comfortable and cluttered, surrounded by light tables, layout boards and top-of-the-line printers and equipment found nowhere else north of Boston.

But just a few short years later, a sudden death in the family drove me home to South Texas, to the Padre Island seashore, closer to the comfort of my family's roots but further away from the steady and sturdy foundation I had built with my New Hampshire client base. I wasn't starting over from scratch, but I did learn a valuable lesson in how quickly one has to pivot to a new way of doing things. And perhaps that's why I understand better than some what it takes to craft a new life from the shattered remnants of what used to be.

I made a lot of mistakes in those early years. Perhaps the biggest one was thinking my company's reputation and business credit would follow me wherever I went. It was a hard lesson to learn, one that almost drove my little graphics arts and design company out of business. But it was also a lesson that eventually forced me to go to work for someone else just to be able to make ends meet. That "someone else" was Dun & Bradstreet, and that's where I learned that strong business credit, while sometimes being confusing and cantankerous, is also a treasure that opens doors of opportunity.

My mistakes, however, also made me more determined than any of my other D&B call center co-workers to ensure that every small business owner I spoke to learned as much as they could about their own business credit, what was causing the changes to their scores, the ease at which we could address the problems, and the steps they could take to grow that credit back up to where it needed to be. Much to my supervisor's chagrin, I worked harder and longer with my callers because I knew — it's the solidity of your foundation and the strength of your credit reputation that provides you with the abundance of opportunities that follow.

Over the past 32 years, I've continued to operate my "other" small business, Image Up Design (shown in the image above), primarily by providing specialized services to my Starpoint clients, but also to other small businesses in my community. The way I see it, my job here at Starpoint Credit Solutions isn't just to help my clients grow their business credit. I also want to help them capitalize on the opportunities that come after... opportunities that will provide them more income and make paying those bills a little easier.

But now, all these years later, between the business credit-building we do at Starpoint Credit Solutions and the design and production capabilities at Image Up Design LLC, we can provide a variety specialized support services that align with every small business owner's needs. Our 30-plus years of experience gives us unique insight into the small business world and allows us to keep our products and services affordable for those who need them most. Whatever their needs, I strive to help my clients elevate their enterprise and grow their business into one that is successful, profitable, capable and, above all else, creditworthy.

CLICK HERE to learn more about these services:

• Graphic Art and Design Services

• Specialty Art and Logo Design

• Website Design and Maintenance

• Professional Email Management

• Short-run Printing Production

Specialty Business Cards, Labels, Forms, Tags, Stickers, Decals

• Concise and Customizable Proposals and Business Plans

• Advertising and Content Creation

• Photo Editing and Conversions

• Social Media Creation and Management

• SAM.gov Registration Assistance

• State & Federal Capability Statements

Are you interested in any of the services we provide? Feel free to reach out to me directly at 800-918-7505 or schedule an online appointment here: https://www.starpointcreditsolutions.com/book-online