Small Business Financing & Debt
Debt is a tool. It can build a business or drain your personal net worth in eighteen months. SBA loans, equipment financing, credit cards, factoring, and home-equity-based financing — with a clear-eyed view of what each does to the owner personally.
Guides
SBA Loan Primer: 7(a), 504, and Microloans – Personal Guarantee and Collateral Requirements
SBA loans are the most commonly used source of small business term financing in the United States, and for good reason. They offer longer amortization, lower down payments, and broader use cases than most conventional bank loans. They're also the most…
Invoice Factoring and Merchant Cash Advances: The Personal Financial Death Spiral
This is the warning guide. Invoice factoring and merchant cash advances (MCAs) are two forms of business financing that have destroyed more small businesses — and the personal finances of the owners behind them — than nearly any other financing instruments…
Using Personal Home Equity to Fund Your Business: Risks, Deductibility, and Alternatives
Your house is probably your most valuable personal asset and the largest source of liquidity available to you as a business owner. For many owners, tapping home equity feels like the natural answer to a business financing need — the rate is lower than…
Co-signing for Your Business: When It Destroys Personal Wealth and When It's Necessary
Co-signing is the second-most common way business owners put personal assets at risk, after the personal guarantee. The two overlap — a personal guarantee is a form of co-signing — but co-signing also comes up in contexts beyond traditional loan guarantees:…