Helpful insights on good business practices, commercial loans, alternative forms of financing and planning your company’s future.
December 29, 2011
Date Funded: 12/22/11
Facility Amount: $500,000
The Company: A northeast manufacturer of high end footwear started in 1991.
The Issue: After funding with the same accounts receivable provider for several years, the company was seeking a new factoring relationship as their existing factoring company was looking to exit the business.
The Solution: Allied was able to quickly underwrite and fund the company at a lesser rate, relieving the company of the stress of losing their working capital provider while also saving them money on their factoring fees.
The Win: This “Funding by Allied” allowed the seamless transition to a new financing partner while also allowing the company to focus on running and growing their business.
Related Articles: Allied Affiliated Funding Provides $500,000 in Start Up Financing to Texas Staffing Company, Allied Affiliated Funding Closes First Factoring/ABL Transaction of 2012, Allied Affiliated Funding Provides $750,000 in Acquisition Financing to Wisconsin Distributor , Allied Affiliated Funding Provides $5,000,000 Working Capital/Growth Facility to West Coast Manufacturer , Allied Affiliated Funding Provides $2,500,000 Working Capital Facility to Northeast Based Service Company , Allied Affiliated Funding Provides $3,000,000 Growth Capital Facility to North Atlantic Packaging and Fulfillment Services Company, Allied Affiliated Funding Provides $4,000,000 Growth Capital Facility to New York Wholesaler , Allied Affiliated Funding Provides $750,000 Growth Capital Facility to New York Wholesaler and Distributor, Allied Affiliated Funding Provides $300,000 Start Up/Growth Capital Facility to New York Service Company, Allied Affiliated Funding Provides $1,000,000 Growth Capital Facility to Illinois Manufacturing Company
Comments: (0)
Tags: Financial, News, Recent Fundings, Small Business, Working Capital
March 17, 2011
The latest survey tracking the confidence level of U.S. small businesses finds a barely noticeable uptick in optimism; still the stability, lacking in recent years, has given analysts some reason to remain hopeful that levels will continue to remain steady and/or show increases later in 2011.
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) unveiled its Index of Small-Business Optimism, which showed a 0.4-point increase for February. This set the reading at 94.5—a historically lackluster, yet solid level compared to recent times.
“This is not a reading that characterizes a strongly rebounding economy,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “But it is the third-best reading since the fourth-quarter of 2009, when the economy was expanding rapidly. So, it gives us cause for some real optimism. Apparently the future is looking brighter for a few more small business owners, although much will depend on what Congress does this year.”
Key findings in this month’s index include 92% of businesses reporting their credit needs are being met completely, and the vast majority of businesses are uninterested in new credit lines of any kind. Perhaps that’s because conditions are still tight, with somewhat undesirable terms from banks. Or perhaps it’s because only about 9% of respondents to the NFIB survey believe a significant improvement in business conditions will be realized by summer. Still, there appears to be a widening belief among NFIB respondents that conditions will be better by year’s end, and that tentative plans for hiring and spending more toward the end of the year indicate a likely increase in small business activity.
Other interesting findings in the latest index include:
- A majority of small businesses polled characterize their inventory levels as too low.
- Only about 4% of respondents reported financing/credit as their top concern.
- Earnings levels remained steady between January and February, but more than one-quarter of businesses polled registered net-negative earnings.
- Only 21% of those polled reported higher sales over the last three months; 37% reported a decline.
Brian Shappell, NACM staff writer
http://www.nacm.org/enews.html#7
Related Articles: Allied Affiliated Funding Provides $500,000 in Working Capital to Northeast Manufacturer, How to turn fuming customers into lifelong fans, Small business optimism keeps climbing, Allied Affiliated Funding Provides $750,000 in Acquisition Financing to Wisconsin Distributor , More Americans prefer small businesses to large companies, survey finds, Five ‘cardinal rules’ for launching a business, SBA loans hit record for North Texas , Four tricks — and treats — for small businesses, More Small Businesses Are Selling Receivables at a Loss, Dallas-area entrepreneurs parlay unexpected growth into new ventures
Comments: (0)
Tags: Financial, News, Small Business
June 25, 2010
 - Economic and Financial Developments
by David Lau, CTO, Allied Affiliated Funding
As a former start-up entrepreneur, one of the things I quickly learned is to price my products and services to obtain a net profit that will allow for business growth. A typical business targets a net profit in the range of 7-12%, but this number varies depending upon the type of business. I aggressively set mine at 15%. In starting up a business, it is too easy to fall into the trap of setting your price below that of your competitors so you can generate more business. This may be okay for a short period of time, but over the long term, you will find this method is not productive. You obtain contracts, pay salaries, vendors, overhead, but at the end of the day, you just don’t have enough capital to buy that extra piece of equipment, start a marketing campaign, hire an additional sales person to increase your growth, or coast through a month of reduced sales. I have experienced this cycle firsthand, and it is counterproductive.
The challenge is to price your products and services to what the market can bear and be able to generate a reasonable net profit that will allow for business growth. If you feel the pressure to reduce your pricing, think of alternative and creative ways to add value while maintaining your pricing. Some ideas to maintain pricing would be to provide something of value to your customer – additional customer service, an extended warranty, vendor sample products, etc. Maybe you have a person in-house who is already covered in overhead expense, but can be offered to a customer to solve a problem such as training. Also, to increase your sales at a minimal cost to you, be sure to take advantage of volume discounts. Sometimes, simple measures like these are all you need to employ.
Of course, factoring your receivables is always an option to increase your cash flow, and this is where Allied can help. Several benefits of factoring are to: obtain an instant source of working capital/cash flow, finance rapid sales growth, fulfill payroll and tax obligations, purchase necessary equipment or inventory, take advantage of trade discounts, outsource accounts receivable management, and eliminate internal collection and accounting costs. These benefits obtained with extra working capital can be very advantageous for a small business. It certainly was for mine.
Related Articles: Allied Affiliated Funding Provides $500,000 in Working Capital to Northeast Manufacturer, Allied Affiliated Funding Provides $500,000 in Start Up Financing to Texas Staffing Company, Allied Affiliated Funding Closes First Factoring/ABL Transaction of 2012, Allied Affiliated Funding Provides $750,000 in Acquisition Financing to Wisconsin Distributor , Allied Affiliated Funding Provides $5,000,000 Working Capital/Growth Facility to West Coast Manufacturer , Allied Affiliated Funding Provides $2,500,000 Working Capital Facility to Northeast Based Service Company , Allied Affiliated Funding Provides $3,000,000 Growth Capital Facility to North Atlantic Packaging and Fulfillment Services Company, Allied Affiliated Funding Provides $4,000,000 Growth Capital Facility to New York Wholesaler , Allied Affiliated Funding Provides $750,000 Growth Capital Facility to New York Wholesaler and Distributor, Allied Affiliated Funding Provides $300,000 Start Up/Growth Capital Facility to New York Service Company
Comments: (0)
Tags: Financial, Small Business, Working Capital
March 17, 2010
The economy grew at a rapid 6% annual rate in the fourth quarter of last year. For many, news of rapid growth appears inconsistent with widespread job losses, high unemployment rates and widespread bank failures. Much of the inconsistency stems from the difference between the level of business activity and its change. Changes from very depressed to not quite as depressed may impress economists and statisticians. They don’t impress those struggling to deal with current economic conditions.
There has clearly been some improvement in the business climate. Nationwide, housing prices are up about 5% from their lows last spring. However, prices remain 30% off their highs. The collapse in home prices has left a quarter of all mortgage holders with negative equity in their homes. Negative equity has meant significant loan losses for banks. In addition to the equity decline in their homes, many homeowners face a challenging job market. In spite of the improvement in business activity and increased orders for new business, layoffs continue and companies are reluctant to rehire workers.
Read the rest of this entry »
Related Articles: Economic and Financial Developments, New Health Care Law Will Have Negative Impact, Allied Affiliated Funding Provides $500,000 in Working Capital to Northeast Manufacturer, Small business optimism keeps climbing, SBA loans hit record for North Texas , More Small Businesses Are Selling Receivables at a Loss, Dallas-area entrepreneurs parlay unexpected growth into new ventures, We should’ve seen U.S. slowdown coming, economist Carmen Reinhart says, Five Recovery Steps Business Owners Need to Take Now, Small Businesses Continue Cautiously Optimistic Outlook
Comments: (0)
Tags: Economic, Economy, Financial, Financial Spending, Job Loss, Recession
|
