Curious about the financial backbone of small businesses? Wondering whether small business loans are secured or unsecured? Whether you're new to the entrepreneurial scene or a seasoned business pro eyeing expansion, grasping the nuances of secured and unsecured loans is vital for smart financial maneuvering. 

Secured Loans:

What are they? Secured loans are backed by collateral, which is something of value that you pledge to the lender as security against the loan. This collateral could be your business assets, equipment, inventory, or even personal assets like your home or car.

• Pros: Because secured loans are less risky for lenders (they have something to fall back on if you default), they often come with lower interest rates and higher borrowing limits. Plus, they can be easier to qualify for, especially if your credit history isn't squeaky clean.
• Cons: The downside? If you fail to repay the loan, the lender can seize your collateral to recoup their losses. So, there's a lot...

You might not think to refinance or consolidate a merchant cash advance (MCA), but it might just happen to you if you are carrying a balance from an advance and decide to take out another. If you are considering or will ever consider taking out a MCA, this article is a must read!

When dealing with non-traditional financing options, it’s really important to understand what you’re giving and what you’re getting. This is especially true when it comes to taking out a second advance or loan from some of these alternative finance options.

We’ve seen Merchant Cash Advance (MCA) and Cash Flow Loan providers follow 
a weird practice that results in deeply hidden fees charged to the business owner.
First we’ll talk about this practice with MCAs Like loans, with MCAs you get a set amount of cash up front, called the advance. But instead of getting charged an interest rate, you agree to pay back the advance amount plus a good chunk more, e.g....

Credit Lines and Credit Cards function almost the exact same. One big difference is that credit cards offer reward points and intro rates of 0%, credit lines typically don’t. But you can use credit lines to get cash advances at much lower rates than with credit cards. Also credit lines are single accounts with a higher limit, whereas credit cards usually have lower limits… but you can get more cards. Having a higher limit and low rates for cash advance are the main benefits. But this is more of a FULL DOC program, where as other cards we’ve mentioned are more NO DOC.

Collateral based lending lends you money based on the strength of your collateral. Since your collateral offsets the lender’s risk, you can be approved with bad credit and still get REALLY good terms. Common BUSINESS collateral might include account receivables, inventory, and equipment. 

With account receivable financing you can secure up to 80% of receivables within 24 hours of approval. You must be in business for at least one year and receivables must be from another business. Rates are commonly 1.25-5%. You can also use your inventory as collateral for financing and secure inventory financing. The minimum inventory loan amount is $150,000 and the general loan to value (cost) is 50%; thus, inventory value would have to be $300,000 to qualify. Rates are normally 2% monthly on the outstanding loan balance. An example is a factory or retail store. With equipment financing lenders will undervalue equipment by possibly up to 50% and work with major equipment only....