Page 143 - Winning The Credit Game Bundle (CK Patrick)

to make important decisions: for example, as of this writing the
U.S. Small Business Administration will only consider making
loans to businesses with a FICO SBSS of 140 or above. Businesses
with a credit score of 160 or above have the best chance of being
approved for an SBA-backed loan.
For a new business owner, your personal credit score can
serve as the foundation for your business credit score. Since a
new business has no credit history of its own, its owner’s
personal credit score may be used to determine what lines of
credit the business is eligible for. However, be aware that too
many hard inquiries often hurt business owners in the long run
and take a long time to either remove or fall off.
The statutory limit for hard inquiries to remain on a personal
credit report is two years. Applying for your first lines of busi-
ness credit with a personal credit score of less than 600 may not
be the best decision. Business owners with lower personal credit
scores may be subjected to higher interest rates and other unfa-
vorable terms when applying for business credit—meaning
you’ll pay more back for each dollar of business credit you
obtain. This can slow the growth of a business and can make
financial problems in the future more likely.
Having a personal credit score of over 700 is ideal when
applying for personally guaranteed funds. Business owners with
scores in this range will most likely get the best credit and
financing deals. This can have a major impact on how much
startup capital you can raise, what your profit margin on that
capital is, and more.
Note that I say “ideal” here because, again, personal credit
score is not always necessary to this process. If you want to start
building revolving business credit or obtain loans right away,
you can apply for lines of business credit that require a personal
credit score, especially if you are already cash-flowing.
That’s why I advise that people looking to start building their
business get their personal credit into good shape first or during
the business credit-building process. If you struggle with your
personal credit score, or just aren’t sure about it, my first book,

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