Category: Personal Credit

Are Unauthorized Business Accounts Hurting Your Credit?

Are Unauthorized Business Accounts Hurting Your Credit?

If someone opened a loan, line of credit, or account in the name of your business, would you know? It’s a question some business owners may want to ask themselves, especially in light of reports that some of the unauthorized accounts opened by Wells Fargo employees were business-related and allegedly included business credit cards. Most business credit cards and many business loans are not reported on consumer credit reports. Wells Fargo is typical of most major small business card issuers… Read More
One in Five Business Owners Make This Big Money Mistake. Do You?

One in Five Business Owners Make This Big Money Mistake. Do You?

It’s a common mistake many owners make when they establish their businesses. Then they get busy, overwhelmed, or both, and they don’t fix it. What is that mistake? Failing to establish separate business and personal bank accounts. According to a new survey and white paper by Manta and Nav, nearly one in five business owners (17.71%) surveyed do not have separate personal and business bank accounts. More women than men reported not separating the two: 21.88% of women surveyed said they had… Read More
Smart Credit Strategies For Entrepreneurs Webinar

Smart Credit Strategies For Entrepreneurs Webinar

When you’re a business owner, strong personal and business credit scores can be an asset by helping you qualify for a business credit card, better terms with suppliers, an SBA loan or other types of funding that can help your business grow. But, too often business owners put their personal credit at risk because they don’t understand how to properly separate their business and personal finances. Kiva and Nav recently teamed up to educate small business owners about smart ways… Read More
What Small Business Lenders Have to Tell You When You Apply for Credit

What Small Business Lenders Have to Tell You When You Apply for Credit

When Nav surveyed small business owners we discovered that nearly a quarter of those turned down for business financing said they don’t even know why they were turned down. If lending is such a highly regulated industry, how is that possible? There’s a simple explanation. The laws that give consumers detailed information when they are turned down for loans don’t always apply to business loans, and as a result, entrepreneurs are sometimes wondering why they didn’t get the financing they… Read More
John Oliver Destroys Credit Reports; But Here’s What He Missed

John Oliver Destroys Credit Reports; But Here’s What He Missed

John Oliver, host of HBO show Last Week Tonight, fired shots at the personal credit reporting industry this past Sunday on his latest episode, questioning why three numbers play such an pivotal (and sometimes damaging) role in our lives. Oliver points out how simple errors on personal credit reports can negatively impact someone’s life, mainly due to the lack of regulation on background checking companies. But he failed to mention business credit reporting, which has even less regulation and more potential… Read More
Protect Your Credit Scores From Your Business

Protect Your Credit Scores From Your Business

Recently I spoke with an entrepreneur who is running into a common hurdle while trying to grow his business: his business is killing his personal credit scores. There are no delinquencies on his credit reports, but he has a lot of revolving credit and total limits much higher than average. That’s not the problem, though. High credit limits in and of themselves generally don’t damage credit scores. Instead, it’s his balances that are bringing down his scores. He’s maxed out… Read More