Category: Business Credit

How to Get Money to Start a Business in 2025

Key takeaways: If you need money to start your business, keep in mind that many successful businesses get creative and use a combination of personal savings, side hustle income, and strategic small business loans rather than waiting for perfect funding conditions. Learn how to layer multiple funding sources together—like microloans, crowdfunding, supplier credit, and business credit cards—to create a more flexible and resilient financing strategy. Build your business credit profile to position your business for more opportunities in the future. … Read More

Top Business Loans and Grants for Native American Entrepreneurs in 2024-2025

There are about 49,000 American Indian and Alaska Native-owned small businesses in the US, according to US Census Bureau research. Indigenous entrepreneurs in the USA often face significant financial challenges, however: 56% of Native and Indigenous entrepreneurs cite financial issues such as raising capital or budgeting as their biggest challenge, according to a Breaking the Blueprint HubSpot blog survey. 16.3% of Native households don't use banks, due to high poverty rates, systemic racism, and lack of brick-and-mortar institutions on reservations,… Read More

When Can Your New Small Business Get a Business Loan

Getting a small business loan for your new venture can feel like a catch-22: it takes money to make money. Lenders want to see a track record, but how are you supposed to get that?  Here we’ll explain when (and how) your small business can get a business loan. How Do Business Loans Work for a New Business Startup loans can be among the most difficult to get. Business loan requirements often consider three or four main factors: How long… Read More

D-U-N-S Number Lookup

If you run a small business, you’ve no doubt heard the expression: “Know your numbers”. While that advice often refers to numbers like sales or profit margins, there are other numbers you’ll need to know.  One is your company’s D-U-N-S® Number. Here’s what that number means, why it’s important, and how you can leverage it to help grow your business. What Is a D-U-N-S Number? A D-U-N-S Number is a unique nine-digit identifier for businesses, created by Dun & Bradstreet… Read More

Tees, Dreams, and Business Credit: How Blake Milam is Building a Resilient Business

When he started a t-shirt business in his dorm room, Blake Milam had no idea he was really building a multi-faceted business that would help other entrepreneurs — he just wanted an outlet for his creative talents that would also bring in money.  Milam originally founded his t-shirt printing company, Guapaholics, from his college dorm room in Clarksville, TN. Like most entrepreneurs, he had to be scrappy. “I would screen print in the living room and dry shirts in the… Read More

California Secretary of State Business Search

Many businesses call California home: including more than 1.7 million private-sector businesses and more than 3 million sole proprietorships, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.  If you plan to start a business in California, or if you want to do business with companies operating in the state of California, you can use the California Secretary of State's business search tools to access official information about your own business and other businesses registered in the state. Nav Technologies, Inc.… Read More