You know the story: Small time entrepreneur starts a business in his garage and almost overnight takes the company public to dominate an industry. O.K. so this is the exception and not the rule. Most small business owners probably have different motivations for starting their businesses, but the majority will probably include building wealth as one of the reasons for doing so. However, most small business owners miss an amazing opportunity to use their businesses to grow their personal wealth outside of their normal business activities.
The owner of a small business is usually focused on the day to day activities of keeping his or her business running or growing: Sales, accounting, collections, inventory, etc. Some have aspirations of becoming wealthy, yet most settle into a daily routine that lacks the focus necessary to truly develop wealth.
However, even these average business owners can start on a path to true wealth building that still involves their businesses, but creates this wealth because of the business, not through doing business. In fact, the wealth creation can be put on autopilot and converts a normal business expense into a powerful leverage tool. This amazing opportunity is achieved through the purchase of one or more income producing properties utilizing advantageous financing available only to the small business owner.
The theory is simple: The purchased business property is used initially to house the business, but it should also offer the business owner the opportunity to earn third-party rental income. As part of an estate plan, the use of the business to acquire and build a portfolio of income producing properties is an overlooked, but effective means of creating significant retirement income that is hedged against inflation. First, a business owner has to decide if it makes more sense to own rather than lease for business use. In a later section, I will cover the “Lease vs. Own" decision, but for now I will focus on the assumption that a business owner wants to follow a real estate acquisition program to supplement his personal wealth. Let me give you some background before going into the actual steps of the strategy.
There are three types of third party financing that can be used in the acquisition of real estate for small business use. They are: Small Business Administration (SBA) loan programs, conventional real estate financing, and conventional small business financing.
The SBA programs for businesses come in two versions: The 7a (http://www.sba.gov/services/financialassistance/sbaloantopics/7a/index.html) and the 504 (http://www.sba.gov/services/financialassistance/sbaloantopics/cdc504/index.html). If you require in-depth knowledge of each of the SBA’s offerings, then click the links above. In summary, here are the programs:
THE 7A
This is the SBA’s “flagship" loan and is used for almost any business purpose: Inventory, equipment, real estate, etc. It helps qualified small businesses obtain financing when they might not be eligible for business loans through normal lending channels. It is also the agency’s most flexible business loan program, since financing under this program can be guaranteed for a variety of general business purposes.
Loan proceeds can be used for most sound business purposes including working capital, machinery and equipment, furniture and fixtures, land and building (including purchase, renovation and new construction), leasehold improvements, and debt refinancing (under special conditions). Loan maturity is up to 10 years for working capital and generally up to 25 years for fixed assets.
THE 504
The second option provided by the SBA is the “504" program. This program provides long-term, fixed-rate financing to small businesses to acquire real estate or machinery or equipment for expansion or modernization. A 504 project is a “two loan" program that includes a first lien provided from a private-sector lender and a second lien secured from a Certified Development Corporation (CDC). This second lien is funded by a 100 percent SBA-guaranteed debenture. These two loans usually combine to provide as much as 90% of the cost of the real estate purchased by a small business owner, the other 10 percent equity coming from the borrower. The program helps small businesses expand while preserving working capital.
For a recent press release from the SBA concerning the popularity and use of the two programs, go here: http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/sba_news_07-71.pdf
In the next article, I will cover other financing alternatives for small business owners and then begin to develop the Wealth Building Proposition for Small Business Owners.
Small Business is the toughest industry to break into. If you were a betting man, you would never in a million years want to go into a small business when the odds for success in small business are so bad, that 70% of all small business fail in the first year. Let me be blunt, if you want to succeed in small business, only listen to those people who have built a small business in an industry they no nothing about and succeeded. These are the people who seriously know how to build a small business.
I just happen to be one of those people - I am not a business coach - I offer no consulting on small business, just let me share with you my secret to building 4 small businesses from a three thousand dollar credit card.
The first secret when building a small business is this, have the end in mind. When I first started in small business, I was like most business people, I was a technician (bit more than that, but this is how the E-myth would describe me) in the IT industry with the belief I could build a better computer training company than those around me. One thing I can tell you about this industry, stay out of it. It is tough and there is no money in it, well that's not quite true, but there are far easier businesses to make serious money. In fact I married my wife and I decided I wanted to experiment on whether all business was as hard as the training industry or was it just computer training.
My wife and I, after much coaxing agreed to setup a car cleaning and detailing business, we new nothing about the business and were simply doing it as an experiment. Two years on, we have a successful thriving business and we are about to Franchise and expand the business to over 10 cities in Australia.
The key to building a successful small business is to have the end in mind and to know when you are going to exit the business. Most people when they start a small business simply believe they are going to have a business to make money, come home and do it better than their boss. If you are going to go into business for this reason, quit now, because your life is doomed.
There is more to business than simply doing the technical work and this is what most new small business operators do not realize. When you are first thinking about starting a small business, imagine how it will look when you are finished. For example, what image will you have, what logo's will you have, what marketing material will you be using, where will you be operating from, how many stores will you have, how many people will be working for you, what sort of profit will you be making and more so, how will you know that the business is complete.
For example, let us say you wanted to start up a dog washing business. You saw in a market that there was a massive need for dog washing. How are you going to satisfy the market? How are you going to build your business? How are you going to clean the dogs? Are you going to build the business like other? When will you know that the business is finished?
These are all the questions you must ask yourself. In fact, if you don't ask yourself then you will find that your business may grow but without any focus. It will go so far and then become a huge noose around your neck. By knowing what the end will be, you then have a clear goal of what you want to achieve and you can then build the business based on that vision.
Let me give you a really good example of this methodology. If you get a chance watch the movie, Concierge with Micheal J Fox. Micheal plays a concierge that has a vision of building a hotel. He first builds a model of the hotel and then sells the idea to a developer. As he says in the movie he knows every aspect of the hotel he has built.
You as a small business owner must do exactly the same thing. Before you rush out and start your small business, you must know exactly what you are building know every aspect of it and how to build it. You must know every job, every role, every procedure and how it will work within your business.
By creating your business in this way, you will learn very quickly what will work and what will not.
Most people who want to start a small business will say that they don't have enough money. If you have a clearly articulated vision and you can prove that your vision works, then there will always be someone out there prepared to back you. It may take a while to find someone to support you, but there are people out there who will. Just remember it took Walt Disney, 500 plus knock backs for Disneyland before he found that one group of people that would back him.
If you truly want your vision to work, then you must be prepared to be relentless in your pursuit of success. Remember the first secret in small business success, is to build and develop your business with the end in mind.
Both Craig Higdon & Chris Le Roy are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Craig Higdon has sinced written about articles on various topics from Finances, Debts Loans and Jewelry. WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete statement with it: ‘ “The Investment Property Insider" is published by Craig S. Higdon, a veteran commercial mortgage broker. He publishes the weekly e-zine. Craig Higdon's top article generates over 8100 views. to your Favourites.
Chris Le Roy has sinced written about articles on various topics from Travel and Leisure, Asthma and Asthma. Would you like to learn more on developing your own Small or how to implement the Thirteen Secret Steps all millionaires know in the path to becoming an obscenely wealth and successful person. Then find out how with a copy of our. Chris Le Roy's top article generates over 40500 views. to your Favourites.