East Saint Louis, IL · Member since 2014 · 4 posts · 1 vote
I'm about to start my first LLC in Illinois. Any tips on establishing business credit conventionally and creatively will be great. Any info on trusting HML's will be greatly appreciated also. Thanks BP Family.
@Markese Williams This is a process that has to be taken step by step.
1. Get a corporate email, 411 listing, business address(Not a P.O. Box) a virtual office is good.
2. Open a business bank account. If you can put 10K+ for a "Low 5" business acct rating that's excellent but not required. Take your articles of inc to the bank with your business address and open acct. I have a business acct. with Citi Business and it was that simple.
3. Once the above is fulfilled you can start applying with starter vendors like Grainger, Quill, ITC, Seton, Successories etc... You can open Net 30 Accts with them. Make sure they report to either D&B, Experian Bus or Equifax.
4. Your gonna need a D&B profile. Come back to me when you have established 1-3 and I can help you from there. It's a process and most business don't get their first credit card W/O personal guarantee for 9-12 Months.
Hi,
I have heard Capital One have a secured business credit card that's easy to get approved for.
You also may want to check out:
http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Business-Credit/Business-Credit-101/td-p/108894
@Markese Williams This is a process that has to be taken step by step.
1. Get a corporate email, 411 listing, business address(Not a P.O. Box) a virtual office is good.
2. Open a business bank account. If you can put 10K+ for a "Low 5" business acct rating that's excellent but not required. Take your articles of inc to the bank with your business address and open acct. I have a business acct. with Citi Business and it was that simple.
3. Once the above is fulfilled you can start applying with starter vendors like Grainger, Quill, ITC, Seton, Successories etc... You can open Net 30 Accts with them. Make sure they report to either D&B, Experian Bus or Equifax.
4. Your gonna need a D&B profile. Come back to me when you have established 1-3 and I can help you from there. It's a process and most business don't get their first credit card W/O personal guarantee for 9-12 Months.
@Markese Williams This is a process that has to be taken step by step.
1. Get a corporate email, 411 listing, business address(Not a P.O. Box) a virtual office is good.
2. Open a business bank account. If you can put 10K+ for a "Low 5" business acct rating that's excellent but not required. Take your articles of inc to the bank with your business address and open acct. I have a business acct. with Citi Business and it was that simple.
3. Once the above is fulfilled you can start applying with starter vendors like Grainger, Quill, ITC, Seton, Successories etc... You can open Net 30 Accts with them. Make sure they report to either D&B, Experian Bus or Equifax.
4. Your gonna need a D&B profile. Come back to me when you have established 1-3 and I can help you from there. It's a process and most business don't get their first credit card W/O personal guarantee for 9-12 Months.
Great Advice Shawn! I am in the same situation as Markese. I just opened my D&B account and have opened my business checking account at Chase. Any advice or direction you could give me on my next step/steps would be greatly appreciated! The end goal is to get loans/lines of credit in my Business Name and not my personal. Thanks!
One thing to add, you can also get business credit with local banks and credit unions if you are willing to offer a personal guarantee. I went to my local regional bank, First Niagara (now Key Bank) and was able to get $25k in credit right away. If you have revenue for your existing business, you should be able to get as high as 20% of revenue in credit from each bank.
On another note Reece mentioned Seed Capital, they help you get primarily personal credit cards as a service (do all the leg work for you). This could save you time, but does have a cost.
@Matt Reilly Start getting vendor lines of credit. Contact Quill, Grainger, Uline, Laughlin & Associates etc... Make sure they report to at lease one of the credit reporting agencies.