Your Personal "Credit Crunch" – 2008’s Biggest Obstacle

The results of a recent survey of small-business owners found that the number one barrier keeping them from meeting their financial goals in 2008 is lack of access to working capital small businesses indicated that their own “credit crunch” outweighs all other business obstacles they will face in 2008 including taxes, staffing, seasonality and energy costs.

For the past year, news headlines have cried out that the U.S. is in a full-blown “credit-crunch.” While the impacts of the crisis vary from industry to industry, the common factor is that access to lines of credit and traditional financing is increasingly difficult to obtain, credit and capital are getting more expensive when they are obtainable, and consumers are feeling the pinch as banks tighten approval requirements. Small businesses, which are also consumers of credit, are no exception.

As a result, we has seen a significant increase in business volumes particularly with “alternative funding providers” that offer capital to small and mid-size business owners with personal credit scores as low as 525.

As the industry matures, new funding alternatives have come to the market place at the end of 2007 that offer greater funding options for small business owners who have been able to keep their credit score above 600.

As awareness of alternative funding continues to grow in the business community and options expand, we anticipate more business owners will continue to seek professional, objective guidance about the best financing programs to meet their needs.