FastUpFront Small Business Blog

I read an article in the Indy Star today which examines the effect of the subprime mortgage collapse on small businesses seeking financing.  The writer looks at the two other options readily available to small businesses – leasing and invoice factoring (similar to business cash advance.) She pinpoints in her article the increasing demand for [...]

Not everyone realizes that “Business Cash Advance” is simply another type of factoring – one based on credit cards.  The benefits of credit card factoring over invoice factoring abound.  The top five benefits are: no hidden fees no pestering your customers no dependence on a single client – you are not factoring an individual invoice, just future [...]

In my daily google, I ran across the first paragraph of an article, with an offer to buy the rest.  I was amused, because we offer articles like this for free!  The first few sentences (incl. the title) told me what I already know - we are in the right business here at FastUpFront.  We offer a great service to our [...]

Government grants for small businesses are frequently brought as a solution for entrepreneurs looking for funding.  It is often perceived to be an easy, low-risk way to get “free money.”  Although I already knew the basics about small business grants, I decided to research this option and compare it to the sort of  small business [...]

Many business owners have been turning to leasing as an alternative to bank loans.  Now, more and more businesess are also tapping into small business cash advance services as a financing solution.  Cash advances can be used either in combination with or in place of leasing. The following list takes a quick look at various aspects of bank [...]

After writing a post on making the decision to pursue the Government Grant path, I decided to put together some links for grant seekers. · Here is a list of Federal Government Resources, including Grants, Contracts, and Auctions that provides a list of links to government grants. · For information on finding and applying for government grants, [...]

One of the most important steps in attempting to calculate cash flow is breaking your business down into cycles.  Some examples of business cycles are:  inventory cycle, accounts payable cycle, sales cycle, and accounts receivable cycle.  The key to smooth cash flow is to coordinate these cycles as much as possible with one another. Unfortunately for [...]

For all those female entrepreneurs out there, here are some great resources that I found compiled on the SBA’s Office of Women’s Business Ownership site.  Some, like the library and courses, are good for all you entrepreneurs, regardless of gender.  Many of these organizations are great ways to network, in addition to the specific benefits [...]

The most frustrating thing about running a small business is EVERYTHING that is out of your control.  One of these things is when your customers don’t pay you.  Here are some tips on collecting that money which is owed you already, and which you need NOW.  While you are waiting for your money, if you [...]

Growing a hair / beauty salon business requires financing! Lenders know that these business can really struggle with varying receivables and high overhead. A successful salon needs time to develop a loyal customer base. A salon’s success is based on a local following and until that business has established it’s “regulars” overtime, revenue can be very [...]