Obtaining a small business loan from a bank can be a tricky maneuver. Even some private lenders are not all that eager to lend to certain kinds of businesses. In many cases, banks and private lenders request a guarantor before they agree to write a loan.

If you have ever been in that position, perhaps you still don’t quite understand the whole guarantor thing. This post is for you. It will explain everything you need to know about the guarantor in the simplest possible terms. As a side note, there are ways around guarantors. One of them is to seek out a hard money loan from an organization like Salt Lake City-based Actium Partners.

Actium Partners has a lot more flexibility to work with certain kinds of borrowers. If a borrower’s collateral is exceptionally strong, the likelihood of that borrower needing a guarantor is pretty slim. With that said, let us move on to discussing guarantors and how they work.

A Basic Definition

Actium Partners explains that a guarantor is an individual or business entity that agrees to guarantee repayment of another individual or business’s debts. Imagine you are a small business owner in need of debt refinancing. A fellow business owner may act as your guarantor at the request of your bank. In such a case, that person would be promising to pay the loan in the event you default. Note there is a difference between a guarantor and cosigner. That difference will be discussed later in this post.

Two Types of Guarantors

The laws in most states recognize two types of guarantors. They are limited and unlimited. A bank will determine which type of guarantor it needs on a case-by-case basis.

Limited Guarantors

A limited guarantor is one whose liability is limited in terms of loan percentage, loan terms, etc. For example, a limited guarantor might only be asked to guarantee 50% of the value of the loan in question. Or the guarantor may be required to guarantee the loan for a limited amount of time. At the end of that period, the borrower takes full responsibility for the loan.

Unlimited Guarantors

An unlimited guarantor is exactly the opposite. This individual or business entity guarantees the loan until it is completely paid off. The guarantor’s liability is irrespective of loan value and terms. This is obviously the more risky position to be in, so individuals and businesses must do their due diligence before agreeing to act as an unlimited guarantor.

Guarantors Are Not Cosigners

There is some confusion between the guarantor and cosigner. For the record, cosigners are rarely utilized in commercial transactions. They are more of a retail thing. Nonetheless, cosigners are worth discussing just to make sure there is no confusion.

Guarantors and cosigners both agree to guarantee the debt of someone else. However, the legal difference between them lies in the individual interests they have in the transaction. A cosigner has an interest in an asset involved in the deal. For example, you may have two property investors who have equal interest in a particular asset. If that asset is used as collateral to obtain a loan for just one of the parties, the other party may be required to act as cosigner.

A guarantor has no interest in a shared asset. This is important for legal reasons, but also in terms of surety as well. Sometimes guarantors are required to pledge their own collateral as surety for a loan.

Hopefully you now understand the basics of guarantors and what they do. Guarantors are a normal part of traditional business lending.

 

We live in a world where we do not always get what we want. Sometimes we fail; other times, we succeed. Sometimes we work so hard for a goal that the pain can become physical if we do not achieve those goals.

A lot of people tend to give up after a series of failures. However, if you do not try, you might as well not make it.

Business is one place where failure can be expected. One out of every five enterprises is doomed to fail. Does that fact stated mean that you should not launch your own business? Absolutely not.

We spoke to Jacques Poujade, the managing partner and financial consultant at LendPlus—a real estate brokerage firm, and he had a lot to teach us about failure and rejection.

A smart investor should be savvy enough to make speculations on the direction of the economy. https://t.co/iTT15MlVSs

— Jacques Poujade (@PoujadeJacques) November 12, 2020

 

Failure and Rejection are a Part of Business and Life

The moment you stop seeing your shortcomings as failures, you will begin to succeed some more. Business is tough, and you will make mistakes. You might make the wrong move, lose a potential investor, squander business funds on personal purchases, and make an embarrassment of yourself. It’s only standard.

Have you heard of billionaires who failed thoroughly? You may begin to ask, ‘how did they fail after achieving so much?’ The gospel truth is that anyone can fail. Anyone can be rejected; therefore, the next time you fail or you are rejected, buckle up, learn, and go at it.

There Should be no Do-or-Die Affair with Business

I have heard many motivational speakers advise their audience to keep going. One picture I have seen on social media that baffles me is the picture of a butterfly tied to a big rock. The motivational speaker then says, ‘You can do anything as long as you believe.’

Do not get fooled by people who do not run businesses. How can you take real estate advice from a motivational speaker who has never successfully made a massive success from real estate?

Business, especially within the real estate industry, relies on facts, figures, skills, people skills, and more. There is a lot to learn, and sometimes, the best way forward will be to quickly dump a property before the loss completely drains your finances.

I am not advocating for you to give up easily; I am only advising you to treat business objectively and not with emotions. I have recently been featured on USA Daily Chronicales where I talked about the real estate trends last year and what might be next for 2021. You can check the full interview here: https://www.usadailychronicles.com/2020-real-estate-trends-roundup-with-jacques-poujade/

When you Fail, Ask Why?

They say once bitten, twice shy. Do not lament; instead, ask yourself, ‘why did I fail.’ Growth comes from understanding why one failed in a particular venture.

If you can define the reasons for your failure and the mistakes you made, you will realize just what not to do next time you are faced with similar circumstances. It is even more accurate for the real estate business—and business in general.

You pitched an idea to an investor, and he says ‘no.’ You need to ask why he rejected you. Perhaps there are so many loopholes in the proposal. Whatever it is, you cannot know until you ask.

Keep Moving and Keep Being Innovative

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that life can have a ridiculous change in direction. December 2019 was excellent. Who knew we would be thrown into a lockdown in 2020? No one saw it come; however, every company that had been innovative and fluid about their ways of performing duties remained relatively functional and profitable during the lockdown.

Do not wait until the problem comes before you find a solution. Seek the solution to the issues you envision even before they happen.

Do It

Never allow the fear of failure and rejection to hold you from achieving your dreams. Failure and rejection are all a part of life. Lessons must be learned, and what better way to learn a lesson than from personal experience.

Learn quickly, do not fall into the same pit twice, and do whatever it takes to grow. Be optimistic about your failures. Celebrate your little victories, and live a happy life.

 

In today’s world, just about every business is going to need internet access. It’s nearly impossible to thrive if you don’t have some sort of internet access, even if that means internet access from your home computer. However, rural areas have found themselves without effective internet access for many years. If you currently have DSL internet access and you’re looking to upgrade, consider these steps to finding alternatives for your rural small business.

Step One: Ask Yourself the Important Questions

First off, you’re going to need to ask a couple of questions before you can upgrade. These questions are important because they can help you decide whether you need to upgrade and what speed you might need in your upgraded internet access. Here are a few of the most important questions to ask yourself.

• What internet services do you use every day and every week?
• How fast is your internet connection right now?
• Do you need an internet connection that’s faster than the one you currently have?
• Do you share your internet connection with customers?

Of course, these are only a few of the questions that you should probably ask yourself when you’re considering an upgrade. You may want to ask other questions, depending on your company’s unique situation.

Step Two: Research Different Internet Options

There are all sorts of different internet options available for companies nowadays. This includes companies in rural areas; with many internet options, you can receive high-quality and high-speed internet access even if you’re in a rural area. Here are a few of the internet options that might work for you.

• Satellite service
• Wireless internet
• Fiber-optic internet connection
• Cable internet
• Dial-up internet, especially as an emergency backup

Some of these options may be less effective than other options. For example, you don’t want to opt for dial-up internet as your only internet access because it’s unlikely to be fast enough for your needs. However, not all rural areas will have super high-end options like fiber-optic.

Step Three: Upgrade to the Right Option for Your Needs

Every company needs different internet access options. If you’re thinking about upgrading, it’s likely that you don’t have fast enough internet for your needs, and DSL definitely isn’t fast enough for most businesses nowadays. However, you might not know what is.

Your best bet is to do a lot of research. There are many different ways that you might be able to upgrade your internet access; satellite service, for example, offers internet access across nearly 100% of the United States. All you need to do is find the service that works best for your company’s needs and budget.

Conclusion

Even if DSL internet was the only internet option available for you at some point in the past, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s still the only internet option that you have available. There are plenty of options available for small businesses in rural areas. It’s all about what you need for your business to thrive. Don’t be afraid to draw on internet options other than DSL so you can provide your employees and your customers with a better experience.

 

 

Working from home? You’re not alone — the number of employees working from home rose by 173% between 2005 and 2018. The number of remote workers is likely to increase, considering there are myriad benefits to remote work for employees and employers.

Employees save time and money by forgoing commutes; they don’t have to spend as much on work wardrobes or eating out; and enjoy more flexibility overall than if they have to travel to a workplace.

Remote employees also save their employers money. Smaller office spaces usually cost less than larger ones, and overhead is generally lower as the number of remote employees increases. Meetings that might have been in-person if staff worked in the office can be accomplished through Zoom calls. Further, many employees may be able to be even more productive without the distractions of a noisy office. However, with these benefits come new challenges, such as staying connected with and managing the performance of remote staff.

When employees work on-site, it’s easier to keep tabs on what types of work they are performing, offer feedback, and touch base. Managing the performance of remote employees can be more challenging, but it can be done efficiently and fairly.

For example, remote employees should be given specific work requirements, so they know what is expected of them. That may include their daily schedule and hours (and whether or not those hours are flexible), and allotted time for lunch. Regular check-ins between managers and employees can help team members stay on track and allow managers to better assess the type of work employees are performing and the quality of that work. It also gives managers a chance to address any issues that may have arisen while the employee works from home.

Managers should also be proactive in giving feedback, recognizing that remote employees rely on it to judge their performance and progress. Regular communication can also help alleviate employees’ feelings of isolation and reduce work-related stress.

The accompanying resource describes practical strategies for employers to use with their remote staff. More effective performance management can benefit individual employees and the company’s productivity as a whole.

 

Author Bio: Sara Drake is Director of Marketing for Advanced Resources, a talent solutions organization headquartered in Chicago. Drake, who has 15 years of experience in the industry, focuses on talent solutions through staffing, consulting and workforce solutions.

 

The prevalence of the digital realm in business today is nothing to be ignored. Embracing digital connections will give your business a wider reach, and a more efficient manner of operating.

Your chance of success in any industry is sharply enhanced when you know how to make the most of the tools technology provides.

Take a few moments to explore some simple tips to help your business capitalize on the perks of today’s technology, and start crafting a more efficient operation now.

Never stop improving your website

Your most useful digital tool is your business website. Never stop working to enhance your business website, and always make communication a priority in your design.

Take the time to look at examples for tangible design ideas. This assisted living facility in Glendale setup a website that makes communicating with the facility simple for interested web users.

Build a collection of engaging content

Digital marketing is a must-have for success in any realm of business, and building a collection of engaging content will boost your visibility online. A business blog is the best host for your engaging and informative content.

Add a blog section to your website design, or build a separate digital address for the content. Either way, your blog posts should be written to be relevant to your operation’s target audience.

Learn to work social media

Social media is a massive outlet for business, but you have to really put some effort into becoming an active part of the digital communities. Your business should have a profile on several of the most popular social media channels, and the content should always be fresh.

Working social media for the benefit of your business takes a consistent effort. Your followers will be loyal, but you have to give them something to anticipate. Dig into social media management for business owners, and start learning how to properly run your social media presence today.

Always aim to please mobile users

No matter what realm of the web you’re working, your digital efforts should always be driven towards pleasing the mobile users online. Mobile web access is at an all-time high, and people expect your pages to function with ease on the favorite smartphone or tablet. Make certain your digital content is designed for mobile-friendly interactions, and you’ll have a better response.

Consider remote capabilities

Your business can benefit greatly from the remote capabilities granted by digital technology. Consider what remote employees could do to save your operation some money.

Consider what complete cloud integration could do for communication and collaboration within your organization. Tying your work to a central, digital location means you can get work done at any time from anywhere.