Commercial Business Loans – Give A Realistic View To Business

A business takes audacity, determination and hard word. This internal drive known as the entrepreneurial spirit is what sets an entrepreneur apart from the corporate executive or commercial business. While this spirit is the spark, it is not enough by itself to bring a successful company into being. For, you need to have a good chunk of fund that is ever required. If it is unavailable, then you will have the only option left is of loans. Across the money market, there are various commercial business loans. Individuals can available these loans as per their convenience either online or offline.In lieu to provide better feasibility, such business loans have been bifurcated into secured and unsecured loan forms. Secured loans are that that are tied to some sort of asset pledging. Placing of asset ascertains loan repayment of the borrowers. While there are unsecured loans, these loans are obtained without any sort of pledging placing. Individuals looking for these loans get a good sum of money without much problem,Interest paid upon these business loans varies from person to person and lender to lender. Some factors play the leading role determining the stipulation of these loans. These factors can be the amount you are looking for, the asset you are placing as of security for the loan, your repayment period, your credit history etc. based on these factors, amount of money is granted to the entrepreneur. He invests the raised money as per his requirements.Giving precision to your business plan, the lending authority has come up with commercial loans online and offline. Operating through online saves a great amount of your time and energy. Just the need of the hour is to select a lender from sites available, which too is not an easy affair. It is better you to take out four to five lenders from different websites. Go through their policies and plans. By comparing them altogether, crave out a deal that happens to be best suited to your financial standard.

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Small Business Loan Trade-offs – Choosing the Best Rate

Most small business borrowers are understandably confused by all of the different interest rates for commercial loans. How does a small business borrower decide what is the “best” rate? Is it the lowest rate or is it more complicated than that?Commercial loan rates are indeed a source of confusion for most business owners. There are many variables in determining these rates, including the type of business, loan-to-value, length of loan, credit scores, how long rates will be fixed, stated income or tax returns used to qualify, assumable loan or not assumable, and whether recall or balloon features are included/excluded.If a small business borrower wants the lowest rate, this will usually be found in a short-term bank loan that has recall/balloon terms and other generally undesirable features. Although this type of loan might have the lowest rate, it will not necessarily have the “best” rate. The lowest-rate loan typically involves the worst terms, not the best terms, even though the interest rate might look appealing. Here is a suggested definition of what constitutes the best rate for a business loan: the “best” rate is one which is associated with business loan terms that are not detrimental to the long-term financial health of the commercial borrower’s business.The concept of “trade-offs” will help small business borrowers when they are confronted by the “lowest” rate versus “best” rate decision. There are two primary definitions of “trade-off” that are relevant to the points made below:(1) Giving up one thing in return for another.(2) Balancing of factors that cannot be maximized at the same time.It is easy to see the concept of “trade-offs” in commercial real estate loan decisions every single day. The most common application is when a lower interest rate is given up in return for more favorable terms such as a longer business loan (25-30 years instead of 3-5 years). Because these trade-offs are by no means obvious to the typical small business borrower, perhaps the most important function that a business loan advisor performs for their clients is a thorough analysis and explanation of the various trade-offs involved in each commercial real estate loan that they provide.It is critical that this analysis involve more than just the underlying interest rate for each commercial loan program. In fact, one of the most important lessons to be learned from a thorough analysis of “trade-offs” is that the lowest rate is almost never associated with the best deal for the commercial mortgage borrower. As you might imagine, this is extremely hard for most commercial borrowers to understand and accept. Most commercial lenders take the easy way out and sell the lowest-rate loan to their commercial borrowers because it is an easier transaction, but this approach rarely results in the commercial borrower getting the business loan that they should have. An experienced business loan advisor will take the more difficult path which involves a more hands-on approach with small business borrowers to ensure that they understand all of the “trade-offs” associated with their business loan choices.Most borrowers think that they need the lowest possible interest rate without realizing what they are truly giving up in order to get that rate. As stated above, the loan terms given up in exchange for the lowest rate are usually much more valuable to the commercial borrower than the lowest rate.Copyright 2005-2006 AEX Commercial Financing Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Corporate Governance and Small Businesses

Let’s start with some review of what types of companies primarily drive the US economy.   We know that there are about 16,000 publicly traded companies represented on the NASDAQ, NYSE and the AMEX.  The key economic driver in the US is the 27 million small businesses.  The Small Business Administration 2008 Presidential Report on The Small Business Economy clearly communicated “the economy generated 1.1 million net new jobs in 2007. In the first quarter of 2007, 74 percent of the net new jobs were in small firms with fewer than 500 employees and 22 percent were in firms with fewer than 20 employees.”   Yet, the gross amount of attention in the media and the federal bureaucracy is around what is happening in the Markets.  This is understandable with the volumes of dollars transitioning in this public environment. The economic recovery program is not addressing the core of the economy, small businesses.   More than ever the public market environment is being questioned about corporate governance.  The new legislation being considered for public companies has sections that may very well trickle down and require the small businesses to adhere to similar if not exact rules on Corporate Governance.A simple definition of Corporate Governance for the small business:  Corporate governance simply refers to the set of internal policies, rules, and procedures that a company follows on a regular basis to ensure that it operates in a fair, equitable, and appropriate manner for the benefit of the company, its management and its shareholders. A corporation usually has a board of directors and a senior “C” level management team.   Most small businesses do not have these organizational entities clearly defined and functional.  For private companies that are registered as a corporation and have investors, the various states require these entities to have a governing board.  Yet many small businesses incorporate for tax issues and do not necessarily pay attention to the concepts of corporate governance. How does Corporate Governance apply to small businesses?  All businesses should look at their organizational structure and continually assess what will allow the company to perform in an optimal way.  The simplest way to implement this is to have an advisory board.  The advisory board is non-paid individuals that have business or industry specific backgrounds that can contribute ideas or mentor management.  In more formal and traditional cases a small corporation has a board of directors comprised of the founders, a spouse, an employee and maybe – just maybe an outside director.  The focal point of corporate governance within small businesses is that all businesses need to set company strategic goals, provide the leadership to put them into effect, supervise the management of the business, and if the company has stockholders, report to the stockholders on their stewardship.  For those small businesses that do not have the hierarchical structure in place to implement formal corporate governance plans, it is recommended that regular self assessment of the company will be the starting place for accountability, to enhance performance, grow the company and be a greater contributing force in the economy.  At the end of the day, if you follow some set of policies and procedures and are reporting your stewardship of the company to someone even if it is your dog, then you have accountability that is key to corporate governance practices.Will the government impose its will and definition of Corporate Governance from the public markets into the small business environment?This imposition of government from the public market companies to privately held companies is making its way through the halls of congress.  One idea being tagged onto present legislation is to extend Sarbanes-Oxley down to privately held companies.  Anyone that knows anything about SOX is aware of the high cost to implement the documentation processes and the reporting.   Pushing this down to the small business environment would be cost prohibitive and stunt economic growth.  The general politics of mandated corporate governance is to wait and see how new legislation will affect the small businesses driving the US economy.As a final note, every company, no matter what size it is, will see the positive effects of implementing the principles of corporate governance.  The facts remain that there are 27 million plus small businesses in the US who are the job creators and the drivers of the economy.  The greatness of US business is that it performs the best when individuals come together in a free market environment to meet the needs of the economy and society.  In the end, best practices of corporate governance can be freely implemented to benefit the company or corporate governance can be instituted by the government, which can cost more in resources, planning and profit.  Take the time to assess how your small business views corporate governance and how this will enhance your growth in the market place.

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Ten Online Resources For Writers and Other Lexophiles

Lexophilia is defined as “the love of words.” It’s a neologism, a newly invented word. It comes from two Greek words – lexis (meaning words) and philia (meaning fondness).Writers, readers, lexophiles and anyone doing research can find a wealth of free information on the internet.   Here are ten sites that will help you find just about anything you might need to look up.  1. Rhymezone.com is my dictionary of choice. It’s a quick and easy way to find words but it’s so much more. You can find synonyms, anonyms and homophones. Use it to write poetry. It will return words that rhyme with yours. Want to see your word used in a famous quote – no problem. It will return pictures, documents and multimedia related to your word. And you can customize it to select your most used functions by default.  2. Bartleby.com is one of the most comprehensive references on the web. Here you will find everything from encyclopedias to inaugural addresses of the presidents of the United States. Looking for quotations, Bartleby has more than 87,000 contemporary and classic quotes. The Elements of Style, The Columbia Gazetteer of North America, The Holy Bible, both Old and New Testaments, are only a small part of what’s offered.  3.  Urbandictionary.com is a slang dictionary with words related to urban cultures and street slang. Over 3,000,000 definitions have been submitted since 1999  4.  Acronymfinder.com is the world’s largest and most comprehensive dictionary of acronyms and abbreviations. They’ve been online for ten years and their unedited sister site acronymattic.com has another three million acronyms and abbreviations.  5.  itools.com gives quick access to some of the best internet tools. Search tools will help you find anything on the web. Look up or translate words with Language tools. Use the Research Tools to find information about any subject. There are Financial Tools that will convert currency and Map Tools for driving directions.   6. Gutenberg.org is the web site of Project Gutenberg, a library of electronically stored books that are available free. It was started in 1971 by Michael Hart and has been worked on by hundreds of volunteers. There are over 25,000 free books in the online catalog. There is also an offline catalog that can be downloaded.  7.  Refdesk.com is a portal to much of what the World Wide Web offers. It lists a vast assortment of informative and educational sites. Desktop resources include area codes, zip codes, calculators, Old Farmer’s Almanac, newspapers, lottery results, sports, tax prep guides and more.  8.  effingpot.com/index.shtml is an American’s Guide to speaking British. Seven sections – Slang, People, Motoring, Clothing, Around the House, Food and Drink and Odds and Sods – contain over one thousand words and expressions that differ between the US and the UK.  9. Cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/ offers free cliff notes on literature, writing, math, science, test prep and information on college grants and scholarships.  10. And for nonverbal gestures signs and body language I highly recommend ChangingMinds.org.

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A Guide to Help You Pick the Best Air Purifier for Your Loved Ones

Holidays are around the corner. This is the time of year when people start purchasing gifts for their loved ones. If you are going to purchase an air purifier for someone you love, we have some helpful tips for you. If you want to purchase the best unit, you may be able to use this guide to your advantage. Read on to find out more.

1: Set Your Budget

Just like anything you purchase, make sure you have set your budget first. The price of the unit will vary based on a lot of factors, such as the capacity, filter type, features, and brand of the unit. If you don’t have a flexible budget, we suggest that you go for a product that is available to purchase for less than $300.

2: Consider the Needs of the Recipient

Your next move is to consider the needs of your recipient. If you are going to purchase this unit for everyday use, we suggest that you go for a unit that comes with a HEPA filter. On the other hand, if your loved one has a specific need, we suggest that you consider a specialized unit.

For example, if they are more prone to respiratory issues, such as allergies and infections, we suggest that you get a UV purifier for them. The devices are designed to neutralize viruses and bacteria.

3: Think About the Available Space

Another primary factor is to consider the available space in the office or house of the recipient. For example, if they need a general-purpose unit for a small apartment, you may want to consider a filterless unit.

On the other hand, if they have plenty of free space, you may consider a bigger unit that features a higher airflow rating. These units are powerful enough to cover a large face.

4: Consider Extra Features

Lastly, we suggest that you consider additional features that they will just love. For example, some units come with an indicator that turns on when the filter needs to be replaced. This will allow the user to change the filter so that the device continues to work properly.

So, you may want to consider these features before you place your order. These features may not be important to you, but your friend may just be over the moon.

Long story short, we suggest that you consider these four tips if you are going to purchase a gift for your loved one on these holidays. Since the air is full of pollution during winter days, nothing can make a better gift than an air purifier. Therefore, you should consider these tips before looking for an online or physical store to make your purchase decision.

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