Knowing who to trust is a tough call to make. If you’ve decided to bring in help to turn your business around, finding the right person to provide the alternative business financing solutions you need can be a challenge. As you look for a consultant to help turn your business around, here are 5 things to look for:

1. Knowledge. What does the consultant’s education history look like? What is their work and job background before becoming a turnaround specialist? Find out if they spent time being mentored in the industry before launching out on their own.
2. Experience. How long has the consultant been providing business-financing solutions to struggling companies? What kind of track record do they have? Look at the types of financing solutions they have used in turnaround situations in the past.
3. Expertise. This is all about the consultant’s ability to apply their knowledge and experience to your situation. What industries have they worked with the most and been most successful in? Listen to how they talk, and how well they represent their business.
4. Communication. Look for a business turnaround specialist who can clearly and effectively articulate their thoughts. In order to get the most out of their services, your communication needs to be smooth. You’re looking for someone you can work with as a team.
5. References. Nothing speaks louder than the honest review of someone who has previously worked with the consultant. Check the references provided, read reviews. Find someone you feel comfortable trusting.

Asking for help isn’t always easy. In fact, it can be quite the challenge! But when you’re bringing someone onto your team to help your business, it pays to choose the right person to help start a turnaround.

There’s no denying it’s been a tough few years for businesses, especially in business financing. With so much negativity surrounding us, it can be difficult to keep a smile on our face and a spring in our step. But attitude really is everything, especially in business. Here are 3 pointers on how to be known as a positive company to do business with when so many others have become bitter:

1. Common Courtesy. Unfortunately, it isn’t so common anymore to encounter gracious people, but when you do, it’s a breath of fresh air. Make it your goal to be a pleasant person to do business with. Remember the little things like saying thank you, smiling, being respectful of your clients’ time, keeping your conversation positive and professional, deliver on your promises.
2.  Go the extra mile. Beyond providing positive interactions, make it a habit to go the extra mile. Excellence in customer service will always stand out from the crowd, but it will also always require extra work on your part. Willingly do those extra things to make your customers’ experience with you unforgettable, such as throwing in extra product for free, or giving them a discounted rate on services. Not all your efforts have to have monetary value: your client might request a project deadline sooner than would be convenient for you, so make the commitment to work extra to get it done for them.
3.  Remember your purpose. All of this will come naturally if you keep your mission in front of you. Negative and stressful circumstances have a way of distracting us from the real reason we do what we do. Reminding ourselves why we are in business in the first place provides us with motivation that is more long-term than the temporary situations we find ourselves in.

The current economy may be negatively impacting your business, but it doesn’t have to limit you. For the business and customers you do have, be known as the good guy in bad times.

Being in business, it isn’t always possible to see the outcome of the decisions we make. One company came to us after making a choice with an unseen outcome: the decision was to buy new equipment, and the repercussion was being unable to pay their taxes. Since banks can’t provide business financing for companies with tax delinquencies, this particular business became financially stuck.

Once ACCG got involved, we helped them get back on their feet. After negotiating a settlement for their tax payoff that included a discount on the total, we secured a business line of credit for them. Combined with the sale and then lease back of their equipment, the company was able to pay off their debt, and get back to growing their business.

We’ve seen businesses struggling financially in all levels. Each story is unique, as is every solution. Whatever your specific situation may be, we can help provide alternative financing for your business. It may not solve all your financial problems, but we can help your business start heading the right direction again.

You started your business with an idea. After launching, producing, and maintaining, now you find yourself struggling financially. Do you need help? Maybe. Here are 5 signs to help you determine whether you’re making a mountain out of a molehill, or if you should be asking for help.

1. Negative cash flow. We’ve touched on this before, but it’s worth saying again: If more money is going out than is coming in, you have negative cash flow. It’s entirely possible for your business to be profitable, but still have negative cash flow. If that’s the case with your business, there are financing options that can help get you back on your feet.
2. Can’t meet customer demands. This might mean you can’t keep the inventory you need to satisfy your customers, or maybe it means your equipment doesn’t stay in working condition. No matter how it looks for your business, not being able to provide the services you are in business to provide is a sure sign you need help.
3. Unable to grow. Maybe your business doesn’t have negative cash flow, but you also aren’t bringing enough in to expand your business. If you’re looking to grow your profitability, but don’t have the funds on your own, it’s time to explore other financing options to help your business.
4. You’re moving locations. Depending on your industry, this could be a very expensive task! Even if your business doesn’t have a large amount of inventory or equipment, there are still all kinds of expenses that could push the cost outside your margins.
5. Not enough margin. You’re sweating bullets every time taxes roll around or your office rent is due, hoping you have the funds to cover the essentials. This happens to many businesses at some point, and getting the right business financing can solve this problem altogether for you.

How many of those 5 signs are true for your business? Every company faces their own unique financial challenges, and we believe in working with you to find a financing option that will fit your situation and get you back on your feet again. If you need help bolstering your business’s cash flow, contact us to learn what we can do for you.

Knowing when to sell your business is one of the toughest questions an entrepreneur has to answer. There is so much to consider, both financially and emotionally. If you’ve been toying with the idea, here are 6 indicators we’ve seen that might mean it’s time for you to sell your business:

1. Debt-to-asset ratio. The losses your business has accumulated are greater than your profitability can be.
2. Losses are snowballing. This doesn’t just mean a temporary slump in the market, but rather that you simply cannot get ahead. Aside from the normal ups and downs in business, your losses are heading south with no change in sight. Your business simply is not profitable anymore.
3. Inventory isn’t moving. This is a sign the market for your products is shrinking, so it’s time to either breathe new life into your products and marketing, or call it a day.
4. You’re ready for something different. Do you want to start exploring your options for retirement? Or have you lost your passion for the business, and it’s time to move on to something new? Some business owners simply reach a point where they have accomplished all the goals they had with a particular business, and are ready to tackle some of their other goals.
5. Time investment. Startups will always require your attention 24/7 at the beginning, but you should eventually be able to move away from that demand on your time and energy. If your business simply cannot operate without you, sometimes the best exit strategy is to pass it on.
6. Changing market. It’s a fact that the market we sell to is ever evolving, and sometimes a business can’t keep up. Buyer demographics can change, as can the dynamics of your local area.

Your reasons might be one or all of these, or something else altogether. ACCG has been successfully selling businesses since October of 1995. We are dedicated to helping you sell your business at a profit. Because of that, we don’t simply sell your business to minimize your losses; we also prepare your company to maximize its value. If you have decided it’s time to sell, let our expertise be your resource through the process.

The nature of money in business is that is it very fluid. It comes and goes at a fast pace that can be hard to keep track of. Cash flow issues are common for business owners; you aren’t the only one! Because money doesn’t come in at the same rate it goes out, businesses often find themselves stuck without enough cash on hand to pay vendors, employees, taxes, etc. This creates the need for a business to borrow money in order to meet their financial obligations.

If you are seeing an increase in vendor debt, frequent bank overdrafts, or have been late paying your taxes, then you probably have negative cash flow in your business. The solution is a line of credit.

The most basic definition of a line of credit is a pre-established amount of credit extended to a borrower by a lender that the borrower can draw against as needed. It’s funds you can draw on when the in-flow of cash is tight, evening out the time between you paying others, and getting paid yourself.

A line of credit can come in different forms. Most commonly known is the traditional line of credit obtainable at your bank. However, if you’ve been struggling with negative cash flow, some consequences can negatively affect your credit. This in turn affects your likelihood of being approved for a traditional bank line of credit, since approval is based primarily on credit scores. Many business owners today find themselves in the position of being unable to secure financing through their bank because of “bad credit”.

The good news we have is that there are other ways to get a line of credit. Factoring and asset-based financing are just two examples of strategies we implement to help our clients successfully secure the credit they need. If you need the flexibility of a line of credit for your business, but have been denied by the traditional sources, don’t give up! There is a solution for you, and we can help you find it.

Suzy Oubre is the owner and founder of Alliance Commercial Credit Group in Portland, Ore. Since 1995, her company has specialized in providing alternative financing solutions to small businesses throughout the Western United States.

The story of how Suzy started her business and got into alternative financing in the first place is inspiring. In 1995, Suzy was working as a respiratory therapist, a career she chose as a young adult when she says she really wasn’t sure what she wanted to do professionally.

Suzy and her husband were both working full-time jobs just to break even. She had been exploring new career options, and found one unexpectedly. After receiving an invitation to a seminar promising to train attendees on how to start a business as a financing broker, Suzy followed her gut instinct and went for it, despite opposition from friends and family.

Suzy started doing exactly what they taught: making appointments with bankers and other professionals in the finance industry. Although barely understanding what factoring and alternative financing were, Suzy was determined to make her business successful.

In addition to finding businesses that needed to borrow money, Suzy also had to figure out who had money to lend. She spent the first 8 months finding lenders, and during that time found two mentors who taught her the secured lending business who helped her through the first few years of learning.

According to Oubre, Alliance Commercial Credit Group has placed more than $75 million in financing to more than 100 companies in virtually every industry group. This money has been used to fund everything from construction to food processing and distribution. The company’s “sweet spot” is small businesses in the $750,000 to $3 million range.

As an entrepreneur herself, Suzy understands that helping business owners requires understanding all aspects of small business ownership. Therefore, she educates herself daily on the complexities of business management, and has provided thousands of hours of consulting on everything from sales to operations and finance.

You know the phrase about being stuck between a rock and a hard place? It seems to be very applicable in many business finance situations. Being a business owner, you’ve probably had to learn how to be resourceful and creative in tough circumstances. But even on our best days, we all sometimes run up against a wall we just can’t quite get around on our own. The trick?  Knowing when to keep persevering, and when to call an expert “mountain-mover” to help.

If you find yourself stuck in any of these financial hard places, then it’s time for you to consider bringing an expert on board with your business to help bring the turnaround you need.

1. The banks shut their doors.
   While it never hurts to ask, sometimes the answer will remain “no” despite how nice your request might be. Small business lending is at a 12-year low[1], and banks reject more than 60% of small business loan applications[2]. That means a lot of business owners just like you are feeling like they’ve run out of options. Sometimes the reason isn’t even bad credit; even financially stable businesses find it hard to secure financing for ventures that would grow the profitability of their company.
2. Your main assets are your outstanding invoices. 
   This doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t have cash flow, it just means your cash flows very fast and runs quickly in and out of your hands. This sometimes leaves you feeling like you just can’t get ahead. Getting credit without many assets is tricky, but that is the key to helping your business’ cash flow. The good news for you is that there are more options than a traditional line of credit, and we know several different ways to help use your assets as collateral to secure financing for you.
3. Your business is changing hands.
   Have you been wondering what it would take to sell your business? It’s obviously a big decision, and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. So much goes in to selling a business (or acquisitions and mergers), we think it’s crucial to have an expert walking with you through the process. Even as your business transitions, it’s possible to still do so in a strategic way that will set you (and your business) up for success in the next stage of life.
4. Tax season “snuck up” on you. 
   If taxes are due, and you don’t have the funds to pay, you probably feel a little stuck! We’ve talked more about this topic HERE [link to IRS penalty post], but we’ll briefly recap. Not paying your taxes or paying them late is essentially taking out a very expensive loan from the government, and it’s never worth it in the long run. Though it may be tempting to go this route since it can seem like your only choice, there are financial strategies you can use to avoid this scenario.

These are just a few of many factors that could have your business stuck between a rock and a hard place. If you’re seeing your business heading the opposite direction of where you want to see it go and these are some of the things contributing to that situation, don’t give up! We are “turnaround experts”, and our specialty is providing you with options to help bring profitability and cash flow back to your business.

A few years ago, we wrote an article for the Vancouver Business Journal on how alternative financing can help with IRS penalties. If you weren’t looking for help then, perhaps this will speak to you now. While most of us are still working on collecting our tax documents from last year, we can all be thinking of how to implement a better strategy for our business finances.

Juggling incoming and outgoing money in business can be a tricky thing. Especially when it comes to taxes, it can be a difficult balancing act. While the IRS is a confusing system in some regards, in others it is very simple: don’t pay your taxes, and you’ll have to make up for it in fees. There are four main penalties a business can get hit with by the IRS: failure to pay tax, interest, late deposit penalties, and failure to file a return. More in-depth information about each of these can be found on the IRS website.

So how can ACCG help you avoid trouble with Uncle Sam?

By providing you with a cushion of cash so you don’t fall behind on your 941 tax payments. Factoring is one method we suggest implementing to gain this cushion. Quite simply, factoring is a way to get the money owed to you in your pocket faster. We’ve defined it in more depth here. There are other alternative financing strategies that can be used to increase your business’ cash flow and help keep you from borrowing from the wrong places.

Choosing to partner your business with a lender isn’t free, but it is an investment. Fees in the financial world are nearly impossible to avoid; doesn’t it make sense to pay a fee for a service that will profit your business in the long run? If you can identify with being a business that has gotten on the wrong side of the IRS, talk to us and let us help you find a solution to avoid that situation in the future.

When we talk about business financing, we have to admit there is more than just one way to obtain funding for your company. There are the common ways of securing loans by going to the bank, sitting with a banker, filling out forms, and keeping your fingers and toes crossed in hopes that you get approved.

But we’re here to tell you there are also other options available to you. That’s where we come in, using lesser-known options to create finances for your business. You may not be familiar with these options, so we’d like to help break them down for you.

• Hard money loans
  These are also called bridge loans. They are a short-term solution to give you an opportunity to correct what went wrong in your business’ finances. They can be structured for 12-36 months, and are based on the value of your property. You can get up to 65% LTV.

• Cash-out refinance
  In this case, you may have equity in a property that you can’t access with a bank. Bad credit, weak financials… face it we just came out of a tough recession and you are not alone on this. Even if you could qualify for a bank loan they are not interested in cash-out refinances. Private / Bridge lenders can provide cash out for improved commercial properties. They will loan up to 65% LTV Max. If you own a property or have very little debt against it, and can use the cash for an infusion of capital into your operating company or for the right investment opportunity, a bridge lender may be what you are looking for.

• Asset-based financing solutions
  Asset-based financing works because it is based on collateral. Profitability, good credit, and perfect ratios are not what an asset based lender is concerned with. They are concerned with the value of the asset that they are loaning against. These loans are often tied to inventory, accounts receivable, machinery, and equipment.

• Factoring
  In factoring, you essentially sell your accounts receivable to a third party, called the factor. The factor then provides you with a percentage of the accounts receivable as immediate cash. The collateral used to borrow against (your accounts receivable) is based on the credit worthiness of your customers. In other words, factors purchase your credit-worthy accounts receivable at a small discount and convert your invoices (sales) into immediate cash. Factoring is not a loan. There is no debt repayment, no compromise to your balance sheet, no long-term agreements, or delays associated with other methods of raising capital.

• SBA 504 / 7 (a)
  Loan This is a loan provided by the SBA to businesses for the purpose of purchasing assets like property and equipment. The loan is split between three parties (the owner, a conventional lender, and a certified development company). There are qualifications and restrictions for this loan.

Every financial situation is different, and these loans are not right for all. We are here to explain them in more detail, and help you find a financing option that is right for you.