Establishing good credit for your business may be one of the most important issues facing any new entrepreneur. There are some similarities to building personal credit and some very crucial differences. Hopefully, we can offer some general tips to make the process less burdensome and better understood.

Don’t Procrastinate – Incorporate! – As a sole proprietor it will be difficult to establish business credit separate from your personal credit. This facilitates the need for establishing an LLC or a Corporation. The creation of the separate legal business entity will lay the basic foundation for obtaining separate identifying factors to help build the business credit. Many sole proprietors waste valuable time which could be used to create a positive credit background by avoiding incorporation. Harvard Business Services, Inc. can help to create the LLC or Corp. quickly, affordably and efficiently.

Identify Your Business! – Simply put – this means that most new corporate entities will take the first step toward good credit by obtaining a separate EIN or Tax ID Number for the business itself. In essence this procedure will create a taxpayer identification number for the new entity – much like a social security number is utilized for an individual. This will help to set the business apart from any negative personal credit history and create a boundary between the two. The process is quite simple and can be achieved also with Harvard Business Services, Inc. – or can be obtained independently from the IRS.

Gotta Keep’em Separated – not only is this a popular song lyric but it also applies a solid rule to good business credit – keep business and personal credit separate. This is initiated by obtaining an EIN for the company and is maintained by opening and keeping separate bank and credit accounts for the business and the individual. There is risk associated with mixing the two and can create liability issues toward personal assets if left comingled. It may take at least two years for the business account to be offered enhanced credit opportunities.  After that period, typically, the personal history is not considered and the business can step forward on it’s own with fresh clean credit.

Obtain a Business Credit Card – This will get an initial credit report started. It will be very beneficial if one is obtained that reports to all three major credit bureaus. It is also a good idea to establish more than one card to strengthen the credit history. Many business owners will usually use more than one business credit card.

Pay Your Bills On Time – This may be obvious, however, this is where many businesses fail through over extension or a poor payment approach to their respective debts. Typically, by paying vendors and creditors on time – the credit opportunities will be enhanced. Most creditors and vendors will report to the credit bureaus and a good history of payment will lead to a good level of credit. Also, be careful not to over extend by opening too many credit accounts.

Building good personal credit will make your personal finances much easier and the same can be assumed for building good business credit as well. It may take a while to establish – but once the initial steps are behind you the opportunities will become very real! Harvard Business Services, Inc. can help you to take that first step toward good business credit!

The Wall Street Journal has a great article with three helpful tips for naming your company. For many this is a hard task on the path of entrepreneurship but it is important to spend the time in the beginning brainstorming, so you get it right. Below is an excerpt from the article:

Three Best Ways to Create a Brand Name

Creating a great brand name is almost half the battle in establishing your company or your product. But getting there involves the kind of creative thinking that might be outside a small-business owner’s purview. If you’re having trouble, branding experts say the first step is to pinpoint your strengths. Why are you the best? And what do you deliver that’s unique? Then, consider the customers whom you’re targeting and what they value most, such as social responsibility, authenticity or customization. Then, think about how you can best express these principles effectively through words.

Here are the three best ways to come up with a brand name:

1. Take inspiration from everywhere. Write down the first few ideas that come to mind when you think about your business’ service, product and personality; try using symbols, metaphors and word variations, says Michelle Adelson, owner and creative director, of brand agency Copia Creative Inc., of Santa Monica, Calif.

That’s what Dan Kim, chief executive of Red Mango Inc., a frozen yogurt franchise in Dallas, did while trying to name the flavors of his frozen yogurt and iced tea drinks. He wanted names that would give customers “an emotional experience” and appeal to their sense of adventure. For a tangerine-and-mango yogurt, he combined the flavors with the word “pandemonium” to create Tangomonium. For iced tea drinks, he wanted customers to hear the “tea” sound when they order, so he named drinks Fanteasia (a wild berry hibiscus tea) and Mysteaque (vanilla black tea with hints of bourbon flavor). “We embrace having fun with the names,” Mr. Kim says.

Read the full post here:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125328266881923153.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

I was recently reading the blog of best-selling author, Seth Godin. In a recent article he offers some interesting advice on hiring, below is an excerpt:

Two ways to hire (and a wrong way)

The wrong way first: interview someone for an hour. If you like them, have them interview three or four other people in your organization for an hour each.

You’ve invested five hours of your team’s time, but really you only were looking for approval, because you’d already decided you liked the person enough to work with them for years.

All the evidence we’ve seen shows that this is a lousy predictor of future performance. And, let’s tell the truth… if the first three people love the guy, are you really going to let the fourth, junior person veto him? Or is it just an annoying courtesy?

There are two approaches you can use as an alternative.

Click on the link below to read the full article where you can get the details on the two inventive interviewing approaches Seth Godin suggests:

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/08/two-ways-to-hire-and-a-wrong-way.html