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October 2008
BUSINESS BUYER
TIP
How
to Cope with the Credit
Crunch
By Kelly K. Spors of The
Wall Street Journal
The financial crisis on Wall Street is
quickly spiraling down to small businesses, making it
extremely difficult for them to secure from large banks
the credit they need to start and maintain their
operations.
Some businesses that currently have
good relationships with banks are getting more scrutiny
and higher interest rates -- such as 15% or more.
Riskier borrowers are being denied credit
altogether.
Aside from falling back on friends or
family -- or charging up yet another credit card --
here's a look at five alternatives for getting extra
cash to run a business in this economy.
1) Peer to Peer Lending
Sites
Several Web sites now facilitate loans
between individuals who don't know each other.
Typically, the prospective borrowers create profiles
that include how much they need to borrow, what the
money will be used for and some credit history. Other
individuals can browse the loan requests and make offers
that include payment terms and interest rates.
Prospective lenders also get a risk assessment of the
borrower generated by the Web site based on the
borrower's credit history.
Some "peer-to-peer" lending sites
include LendingClub.com, Prosper.com, RaiseCapital.com
and Zopa.com. On Prosper.com, for instance, 25% of
borrowers are individuals running or looking to start
businesses, says Chief Executive Chris Larsen. The site
facilitates loans between individuals from $1,000 to
$25,000, and interest rates on those loans right now
range from 6% for those with the strongest credit
ratings to about 30%.
Prosper, which has 800,000 registered
users, is seeing more entrepreneurs with good credit
scores signing up. "We're certainly seeing a steady
increase of the quality of borrower coming to our site,"
Mr. Larsen says. About 55% of the loans being funded are
for borrowers with credit scores above 720, he adds...
<click
here to continue
article>
 OCTOBER FRANCHISE OF THE
MONTH
Sport
Clips Haircuts Franchise
Capital
Required: $120,000-$197,000
Support/Training
Available
Financing Available Via Third
Party
In the
$50 billion haircutting industry, it seems like there’s
a hair salon franchise for women everywhere you turn.
But can you name even one great haircutting experience
for men? We didn’t think so. And that’s why Sport Clips
may be the fastest growing, best franchise opportunity
out there. In fact, we were named one of the top 50
fastest growing franchises by Entrepreneur
Magazine.
Sport
Clips has a successful track record dating back to 1995
when we first began franchising, so you can feel
confident about our proven "franchise partner" program.
We provide a comprehensive support system to you from
the time you first contact us all the way thru site
selection, build-out, Grand Opening and
on. Our experienced business coaches are
ready to help in marketing, financing, profit.... <click here to read
more>
 OCTOBER BUSINESS OF THE
MONTH
UPS
Store in Growing Colorado Springs,
Colorado
Asking Price:
$215,000
Support/Training
Available
This
established UPS store is located in a rapidly growing
community. The community located in the popular
northeastern Colorado Springs area known as Stetson
Hills is still building out both residentially and
commercially. According to local economists our local
population is expected to increase for many years to
come. More people and growth means more opportunity.
Currently, we have just completed another busy season in
a difficult economy.
Our
sales for the year 2007 are up over 2006 by
approximately 10%. We are consistently in the top 35 in
sales within the UPS network of 98 stores in the
beautiful state of Colorado. We have a great group of
employees and ownership that help set our store apart
from others. Our store interior and equipment are all up
to date and clean.... <click here to read
more>
NEW
FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITIES
BizBuySell offers one of the world's largest
franchise directories. If you're considering buying a
business, you owe it to yourself to explore these new
franchise opportunities or visit the BizBuySell
Franchise Directory
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Andy OnCall
