FastUpFront Blog:

New Year’s Eve can be a reflective time for anyone, but especially for small business owners.  In addition to all the personal resolutions, you have many for your business as well.  For many small business owners, the line between ‘Personal’ and ‘Business’ blurred such a very long time ago.
Here are some articles I have written in the past few months, [...]

I found this cartoon on cartoonbank.com .  It reads:  “Here, perhaps you’d like one of our brochures on how we don’t give loans to people like you.” (Loan officer to man.)”
I like this cartoon because it reminds me why I love being able to provide small businesses with alternative financing options. To see what I’m [...]

Here is a  common fraud scam:
You need money, so you get a loan.  However, to get the loan, you have to pay money up front.  In the end, you never get your money.
More and more people and businesses are getting roped into fraud situations, where they pre-pay to get their loan – and then never get [...]

I just read an article examining pros and cons of unsecured loans vs secured loans. 
I wanted to point out a third alternative for businesses which accept credit cards: credit card factoring.  Credit card factoring is also known as business cash advance, or merchant cash advance.  To learn more about it, go to our business cash advance website or [...]

As 2007 comes to a close, many small businesses are looking back on the year, and planning for the next tax year.
How many of us are asking: 
“When should I add my major expenses?  Does it make sense to make large purchases in 2007 tax year, or should we tack it on to 2008 tax year [...]

“Meanwhile, on the small-business front, the National Federation of Independent Business NFIB small-business sentiment index fell to a 14-year low.
“This is an important development given that the 2000s expansion has been built on growth in small businesses and given that historically the small business sector has accounted for over 60% of new jobs in the [...]

Small and Large businesses alike have gotten on the blog-wagon over the past few years.  (Yours truly included, not to state the obvious).  Blogging is a great way to share information in a more casual, less official medium – and to communicate and share information with clients, competitors and the general public.  It is also [...]

If you are considering Credit Card Factoring / Business Cash Advance as a Cash Flow solution for your business, the next step might be picking an agency you want to work with.  I put together the 3 points which I consider the most important to examine before accepting a business cash advance from ANY agency.
1. Make [...]

I felt like revisiting Working Capital today – and wanted to compare a Working Capital Loan to a Business Cash Advance. 
Working Capital Loans
Working capital loans provide small businesses with the possibility of rapid growth by allowing them to meet their short-term financial needs.  Working capital loans are generally used to pay wages, clear up accounts [...]

Athough I normally write about financing for existing businesses, I wanted to just provide some useful points here for anyone who is considering buying an existing business.  Key point: Due Diligence.
I came across this thread where a woman says she is looking for “creative financing” to purchase an existing business.  There are some great responses, [...]