Find the RIGHT Path to Funding Your DREAM Green Business | My Business Credit Interview

There are so many different opinions on the right way to fund your business. But in the end you need to consider your business and what works best for you. So to give you some sound advice on business financing, I have Bob Hunter CEO at My Business Credit as my guest on the GreenBusinessImpact podcast.

And you will absolutely love the perspective he provides on business financing and what you must consider before applying for a business loan.

So no matter which way you are leaning for receiving funding for your business, make sure you stay tuned for this entire episode with Bob Hunter.

Chapters 0:00 - RIGHT Path to Funding Your DREAM Green Business 1:23 - My Business Credit Intro 2:45 - Pre-qualification 3:17 - Common things entrepreneurs get denied for 6:03 - Length of the process 7:35 - Business Credit Building Course 8:31 - Bob’s story 10:24 - Glory of Entrepreneurship… 11:09 - Comparison to other funding options 14:36 - Bootstrap funding 15:17 - Money is expensive 17:56 - Pros and cons 19:57 - The biggest struggle 22:36 - Getting the information you need 23:57 - Business Financing industry prospective 25:22 - Chat GPT 26:55 - Gold rush for AI 28:54 - Goals for next 6 months 30:02 - What Bob is currently learning 31:08 - Atomic Habits by James Clear 32:38 - Psychology of Selling by Brian Tracy 32:53 - Tip for Ecopreneurs 35:24 - Best way to reach Bob: mybusinesscredit.com

 

 

Check out My Business Credit’s website:

https://mybusinesscredit.com/

Check out this interview that I mention at the end of the episode with Fundr:

YouTube: https://youtu.be/WmvN3X_RLf4

or

Audio: https://podcast.greenbusinessimpact.com/e/raising-capital-for-green-businesses-which-option-is-best-for-you-fundr-interview/?token=76db18a9ec4beba2ec61f0e59d569c0b

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Episode Transcript

(00:06):
.333333333To hear what the banks are actually looking for when you apply for funding. 3 00:00:10,553.333333333 --> 00:00:13,853.333333333 Even if it's not a question on the forum, they might still deny you. 4 00:00:13,863.333333333 --> 00:00:22,423.333333333 So make sure you watch this entire interview with Bob Hunter c e o of my business credit because they help entrepreneurs realize. 5 00:00:22,478.333333333 --> 00:00:24,883.333333333 Why they might have been denied for business funding. 6 00:00:24,893.333333333 --> 00:00:37,933.333333333 And then they provide you all the training and all the necessary modules and everything that you need so that the next time you apply, you receive the funding that you need so that she can make an impact on the climate crisis. 7 00:01:13,932.823129252 --> 00:01:18,372.823129252 Bob, thank you so much for coming on and joining the podcast today. 8 00:01:18,612.823129252 --> 00:01:23,652.823129252 Can you tell us a little bit about my business credit and what you guys do? Yeah, sure. 9 00:01:23,652.823129252 --> 00:01:27,152.823129252 My name is Bob Hunter and I'm actually the c e O of Oxford Pier Pon. 10 00:01:27,162.823129252 --> 00:01:30,272.823129252 And we got into business financing because of the pandemic. 11 00:01:30,422.823129252 --> 00:01:35,562.823129252 So to make the long story very short during the pandemic, a lot of businesses, they were barely surviving. 12 00:01:35,592.823129252 --> 00:01:38,382.823129252 A lot of them were barely surviving cuz they were running out of money. 13 00:01:38,392.823129252 --> 00:01:42,112.82312925 And so in order for our business to survive, we ended up pivoting. 14 00:01:42,117.82312925 --> 00:01:42,807.82312925 And to. 15 00:01:43,52.82312925 --> 00:01:44,342.82312925 Doing business financing. 16 00:01:44,342.82312925 --> 00:01:51,182.82312925 So my logic was, hey, if everyone's running out of money, why don't we sell money? So fast forward now here we are in 2023. 17 00:01:51,197.82312925 --> 00:02:03,257.82312925 We've definitely gotten very good at that, but what we realized is there needs to be a brand that is catered to small and medium sized businesses because the bigger businesses that are asking for half million dollars million. 18 00:02:03,262.82312925 --> 00:02:04,942.82312925 They usually have everything in order. 19 00:02:04,952.82312925 --> 00:02:09,812.82312925 My business credit is focused on the people who don't even know what they're supposed to have in order. 20 00:02:09,822.82312925 --> 00:02:18,372.82312925 Like you're getting denied for all of the basics, and you didn't even know that those were qualifiers on the application because it wasn't necessarily a question on the application. 21 00:02:18,757.82312925 --> 00:02:22,597.82312925 And yet it was still an underwriting condition for whether or not you're gonna get a loan. 22 00:02:22,607.82312925 --> 00:02:24,317.82312925 So that is what my business credit does. 23 00:02:24,317.82312925 --> 00:02:26,507.82312925 We focus on small and medium sized businesses. 24 00:02:26,807.82312925 --> 00:02:29,657.82312925 We help them understand what that landscape looks like. 25 00:02:29,957.82312925 --> 00:02:35,922.82312925 We help 'em understand how to avoid being declined for a loan or whatever business funding they're looking for. 26 00:02:35,982.82312925 --> 00:02:36,702.82312925 And we just go from. 27 00:02:37,22.82312925 --> 00:02:37,392.82312925 Yeah, definitely. 28 00:02:37,392.82312925 --> 00:02:45,62.82312925 And you guys also help, if you do get denied, you say okay, these are the reasons why and this is how we can fix that, right? Yes. 29 00:02:45,62.82312925 --> 00:02:50,642.82312925 But we do try our best to avoid anyone even having to do an application in the first place. 30 00:02:50,642.82312925 --> 00:02:52,392.82312925 So we have this pre-qualification. 31 00:02:52,447.82312925 --> 00:02:57,797.82312925 It's all over our website, and what that's doing is it's just checking against all the common factors. 32 00:02:57,802.82312925 --> 00:02:59,872.82312925 Hey, here are the most common reasons. 33 00:02:59,872.82312925 --> 00:03:00,832.82312925 The bank will say no. 34 00:03:01,102.82312925 --> 00:03:05,362.82312925 If you've got any of these, just go ahead and fix those before you actually go talk to any lenders. 35 00:03:05,362.82312925 --> 00:03:07,762.82312925 And then they deny you for these very reasons later. 36 00:03:07,772.82312925 --> 00:03:08,532.82312925 Yeah, definitely. 37 00:03:08,592.82312925 --> 00:03:09,132.82312925 That's great. 38 00:03:09,132.82312925 --> 00:03:16,392.82312925 And what are some of those common things that people get denied for that you're able to say? Hey, make sure you do this first. 39 00:03:16,662.82312925 --> 00:03:22,622.82312925 Yeah, You'd be surprised because I was surprised because it's not stuff that people tell you. 40 00:03:22,712.82312925 --> 00:03:29,942.82312925 For example, people wouldn't ordinarily think that, oh my loan application got denied because I put a Gmail. 41 00:03:30,302.82312925 --> 00:03:37,976.15646259 Or my application is getting denied because I'm running my business out of my house and I don't actually have a dedicated business address. 42 00:03:38,366.15646259 --> 00:03:41,966.15646259 Things that you think would have nothing to do with the actual running of the business. 43 00:03:42,326.15646259 --> 00:03:46,426.15646259 Those are the things that the bank is looking at because gotta look at it from their perspective. 44 00:03:46,426.15646259 --> 00:03:47,776.15646259 All right? Put yourself in their shoes. 45 00:03:47,786.15646259 --> 00:03:49,16.15646259 We're supposed to give you money. 46 00:03:49,76.15646259 --> 00:03:50,906.15646259 Let's just say it's a hundred thousand dollars. 47 00:03:50,936.15646259 --> 00:03:59,266.15646259 Okay? We need to figure out very quickly whether or not you're gonna pay that money back, or if you're gonna be someone who is gonna default on the loan. 48 00:03:59,321.15646259 --> 00:04:05,781.15646259 Little things like professionalism, things like do you have a dedicated business address, meaning you're serious about this business. 49 00:04:06,111.15646259 --> 00:04:10,621.15646259 Are you sending people to a Gmail or are you sending people to your [e-mail]? 50 00:04:10,631.15646259 --> 00:04:26,507.82312925 Do you even have a website? Do you have a business phone number or are you sending people, just to your plain old iPhone and hoping that the calls don't get mixed in, It's little things like that make the bank feel better because they've gotta ask themselves, is this person actually gonna give us the money back? And those are just the basics. 51 00:04:26,747.82312925 --> 00:04:28,247.82312925 Then it gets a little bit more complicated. 52 00:04:28,247.82312925 --> 00:04:31,487.82312925 Things that are more related to the business, but still some people don't have. 53 00:04:31,502.82312925 --> 00:04:34,352.82312925 You'd be surprised how many people are taking their business money. 54 00:04:34,352.82312925 --> 00:04:39,92.82312925 So they're selling whatever their products and services are, but it's going into their personal bank account. 55 00:04:39,102.82312925 --> 00:04:39,312.82312925 Big. 56 00:04:39,317.82312925 --> 00:04:39,702.82312925 No-No. 57 00:04:39,712.82312925 --> 00:04:40,132.82312925 Okay. 58 00:04:40,522.82312925 --> 00:04:47,782.82312925 Or you will see someone who they've got a business, but that money or that registration wasn't really done with the. 59 00:04:48,429.48979592 --> 00:04:51,339.48979592 they didn't really go and get the e i n with the i r s. 60 00:04:51,399.48979592 --> 00:04:56,169.48979592 They're doing business, but they have not actually made it that far to the proper registrations. 61 00:04:56,439.48979592 --> 00:05:00,249.48979592 The bank doesn't wanna give you money, so that's what we mean when we say basics. 62 00:05:00,549.48979592 --> 00:05:04,569.48979592 And then of course as we go up the scale, it gets a little bit more complicated. 63 00:05:04,574.48979592 --> 00:05:06,129.48979592 That's when we start getting into the credit. 64 00:05:06,519.48979592 --> 00:05:08,649.48979592 That's when we start getting into, all right, so good. 65 00:05:08,949.48979592 --> 00:05:10,329.48979592 You've got a dedicated address. 66 00:05:10,329.48979592 --> 00:05:13,599.48979592 You've got the phone number, you've got the email, you've got the website, you've got the bank. 67 00:05:13,889.48979592 --> 00:05:25,784.48979592 But how much money is in that bank account? because they're measuring something called a bank rating, which basically says, Hey, are you keeping at least $10,000 revolving in your account over a 90 day period? So that's not all. 68 00:05:25,784.48979592 --> 00:05:26,384.48979592 There's 20. 69 00:05:26,384.48979592 --> 00:05:31,904.48979592 But those are some of the things that we are talking about when we say pre-qualify before you even apply. 70 00:05:31,904.48979592 --> 00:05:36,384.48979592 Because if we could have just told you, Hey, these are the 20 things that the bank is definitely gonna check. 71 00:05:36,394.48979592 --> 00:05:44,804.48979592 And if you've got a no on any of these things, that doesn't mean that it's a deal breaker, but that means for every no you have that conversation is definitely going to get harder and harder. 72 00:05:44,894.48979592 --> 00:05:47,654.48979592 So fix this stuff first, then apply. 73 00:05:47,664.48979592 --> 00:05:48,324.48979592 That's what we do. 74 00:05:48,329.48979592 --> 00:05:48,809.48979592 That's great. 75 00:05:49,199.48979592 --> 00:06:08,319.48979592 And what do you say is I guess for all of those like qualification things that you assess of yourself before, trying to apply, what would you say, how long does that process usually take for someone to go through that? Yeah, so it depends on what part of the process, because there's some things that you could have fixed in a day if someone just told you to fix them. 76 00:06:08,329.48979592 --> 00:06:11,749.48979592 For example, getting the address, getting the phone number, getting a website, getting an. 77 00:06:12,532.82312925 --> 00:06:19,82.82312925 All that stuff you could have knocked out in an eight hour workday, right? But then there's some things that you have no control over for the time. 78 00:06:19,82.82312925 --> 00:06:24,97.82312925 For example, if the bank wants to see 90 days of bank history, 90 days have to pass. 79 00:06:24,107.82312925 --> 00:06:30,291.15646258 If the bank wants you to have been in business for two years, there's nothing you can do about that until two years have actually passed. 80 00:06:30,296.15646258 --> 00:06:39,1.15646258 Or if it's something more complicated the bank wants you to have a certain credit score, which would be at least a six 50 or or higher, ideally six 80 to 700. 81 00:06:39,6.15646258 --> 00:06:52,396.15646258 You can't just go fix your credit score overnight unless you go do something shady and get one of those trade lines that you go buy someone else's piggyback credit and don't do that But for the normal person, no, you're not just gonna go fix your credit overnight. 82 00:06:52,406.15646258 --> 00:06:54,926.15646258 To answer your question, there's some things that you can fix right away. 83 00:06:54,936.15646258 --> 00:06:57,486.15646258 Then there are other things that will take more time. 84 00:06:57,816.15646258 --> 00:07:12,246.15646258 And for the ones that take more time, it's really a matter of how much money are we talking, because if we're talking less than a hundred thousand dollars, you probably could have gotten by without those things that may take longer, like the two years in a business or the 90 days of history and all that. 85 00:07:12,256.15646258 --> 00:07:15,526.15646258 If you're talking something that's over a hundred thousand dollars. 86 00:07:15,856.15646258 --> 00:07:16,186.15646258 Yeah. 87 00:07:16,186.15646258 --> 00:07:18,356.15646258 They want as many things to be in line as. 88 00:07:19,34.48979592 --> 00:07:19,874.48979592 Okay, I got you. 89 00:07:19,884.48979592 --> 00:07:20,604.48979592 And. 90 00:07:20,614.48979592 --> 00:07:34,589.48979592 in terms of how you help businesses go through this process? Are you saying okay here the check boxes? Are, do you have any training modules involved or is there anything more in depth and just okay, here's the checklist get these done. 91 00:07:34,589.48979592 --> 00:07:38,219.48979592 Yeah, So we do we do actually offer a business credit building course. 92 00:07:38,229.48979592 --> 00:07:46,839.48979592 we are actually redoing that entire course because if anyone's been on our website, you'll see there's all these very awesome animated videos and they're very easy to understand. 93 00:07:46,839.48979592 --> 00:07:54,759.48979592 And so I want our entire approach to be like that just because I think a lot of people get bogged down with all the technicalities of. 94 00:07:55,262.82312925 --> 00:07:56,642.82312925 Business finance, so serious. 95 00:07:56,687.82312925 --> 00:08:00,764.48979592 I just want it to be easily explained so that someone will actually finish it. 96 00:08:00,769.48979592 --> 00:08:03,314.48979592 And we're gonna be giving that course away for free. 97 00:08:03,419.48979592 --> 00:08:11,922.82312925 The course that we had it was 4 97, and then we also offer one-on-one coaching where someone will literally hold your hand through the process for a year. 98 00:08:11,932.82312925 --> 00:08:16,762.82312925 But the new one is gonna be completely free for people just because I want people to actually get funded. 99 00:08:16,762.82312925 --> 00:08:20,2.82312925 I wish someone would've helped me get funded when I was starting out yeah, definitely. 100 00:08:20,2.82312925 --> 00:08:28,967.82312925 And can you tell us more about your story, about how did you go from where you were until you started Oxford Pierpont and then where you are now with my business? Yeah. 101 00:08:28,977.82312925 --> 00:08:30,267.82312925 Boy, what that story. 102 00:08:30,367.82312925 --> 00:08:32,557.82312925 I used to be a normal guy. 103 00:08:32,567.82312925 --> 00:08:33,737.82312925 I was a normal guy. 104 00:08:33,737.82312925 --> 00:08:38,454.48979592 I had a normal nine to five job and honestly, I was very happy with that job. 105 00:08:38,769.48979592 --> 00:08:40,34.48979592 Things outside of my control. 106 00:08:40,44.48979592 --> 00:08:43,354.48979592 Mainly my sickle cell cause I have sickle cell disease blood disorder. 107 00:08:43,359.48979592 --> 00:08:48,269.48979592 So that reared its ugly head and ended up having a stroke that took this this eye. 108 00:08:48,329.48979592 --> 00:08:51,9.48979592 So vision in this eye, definitely this ear, blind in this eye. 109 00:08:51,14.48979592 --> 00:08:55,184.48979592 I lost my job over it, so I had this cushy job, had my wonderful office and all that stuff. 110 00:08:55,184.48979592 --> 00:08:56,684.48979592 I never would've left that job. 111 00:08:56,689.48979592 --> 00:08:58,39.48979592 But it was a blessing in disguise. 112 00:08:58,159.48979592 --> 00:09:02,952.82312925 End up losing my job, knee jerk reaction to figure out how we're gonna pay the bills and stuff. 113 00:09:03,207.82312925 --> 00:09:06,807.82312925 Start a business basically doing all the stuff I've been doing at the job. 114 00:09:06,817.82312925 --> 00:09:08,377.82312925 I thought I was gonna get another job. 115 00:09:08,437.82312925 --> 00:09:12,184.48979592 To be quite honest, I did not think I was gonna be doing business stuff. 116 00:09:12,189.48979592 --> 00:09:14,74.48979592 I thought I was just gonna be okay. 117 00:09:14,74.48979592 --> 00:09:20,814.48979592 I'm just gonna do some freelancing on the side, until I managed to find another job to replace my income. 118 00:09:20,819.48979592 --> 00:09:21,994.48979592 And here we are now. 119 00:09:21,994.48979592 --> 00:09:25,144.48979592 That was all the way back in 2016, and now it's 2023. 120 00:09:25,144.48979592 --> 00:09:28,334.48979592 And still, not only at it, but doing quite well. 121 00:09:28,499.48979592 --> 00:09:29,309.48979592 That's how that happened. 122 00:09:29,309.48979592 --> 00:09:29,939.48979592 That's really great. 123 00:09:29,949.48979592 --> 00:09:32,159.48979592 And a blessing in Disci is in disguise for sure. 124 00:09:32,169.48979592 --> 00:09:32,319.48979592 Yeah. 125 00:09:32,509.48979592 --> 00:09:36,144.48979592 It was a blessing because That was April that I ended up losing my job. 126 00:09:36,144.48979592 --> 00:09:38,544.48979592 It was April 4th, 2016, so I lost the vision. 127 00:09:38,574.48979592 --> 00:09:41,344.48979592 February 29th, Lee, Peter of 2016. 128 00:09:41,404.48979592 --> 00:09:44,464.48979592 And then by April 4th I'd officially lost my job. 129 00:09:44,469.48979592 --> 00:09:56,229.48979592 What I didn't know, cuz I'm not a fortune teller, is by December of that same year they were gonna be closing down the entire Atlantic office and they moved that entire staff and all those jobs to Mexico. 130 00:09:56,239.48979592 --> 00:09:58,459.48979592 So I was going to lose my job anyway. 131 00:09:58,469.48979592 --> 00:10:00,569.48979592 But I did not know that obviously. 132 00:10:00,579.48979592 --> 00:10:05,829.48979592 So by the time December rolled around, I mean I had gotten my head start in April. 133 00:10:06,109.48979592 --> 00:10:08,954.48979592 I was back in a comfortable position. 134 00:10:09,54.48979592 --> 00:10:12,984.48979592 Whereas if I had lost my job in December with everyone else, I don't know how things would've gotten. 135 00:10:13,34.48979592 --> 00:10:14,854.48979592 Yeah, everything happens for a reason, yeah. 136 00:10:14,864.48979592 --> 00:10:15,614.48979592 Yeah, I guess so. 137 00:10:15,614.48979592 --> 00:10:17,384.48979592 And It worked out for you which was nice. 138 00:10:17,434.48979592 --> 00:10:17,754.48979592 Yeah. 139 00:10:17,764.48979592 --> 00:10:18,274.48979592 Eventually. 140 00:10:18,274.48979592 --> 00:10:23,524.48979592 Yeah, because e eventually asterisks with any with any entrepreneur if you've been in business for a while, yes. 141 00:10:23,829.48979592 --> 00:10:28,489.48979592 Then you already know there's this myth of there's glory of entrepreneurship. 142 00:10:28,559.48979592 --> 00:10:35,294.48979592 And people don't usually talk about the I'll call it the uphill battle before you get to the top of that glorious mountain. 143 00:10:35,384.48979592 --> 00:10:38,554.48979592 And there were some times I almost did not make it to the top of the mountain. 144 00:10:38,914.48979592 --> 00:10:43,764.48979592 I still would not say I'm at the top of that mountain, but I'm making a good pace all the way up there. 145 00:10:43,764.48979592 --> 00:10:44,214.48979592 That's good. 146 00:10:44,224.48979592 --> 00:10:48,597.82312925 And we've had a couple of other, funding episodes in the past. 147 00:10:48,602.82312925 --> 00:10:51,107.82312925 We had a few that were on VC funding. 148 00:10:51,107.82312925 --> 00:10:57,112.82312925 And, another one was really talking about going the, angel investing in that route as well. 149 00:10:57,292.82312925 --> 00:11:10,269.48979592 So what are your pros and cons with business loans and what type of business owner fits well into a business loan versus VC funding or angel investing? So I like investors. 150 00:11:10,329.48979592 --> 00:11:13,359.48979592 The problem with that though is you have to be quite prepared. 151 00:11:13,629.48979592 --> 00:11:19,359.48979592 As a business owner and a business to even have a fruitful conversation with an investor. 152 00:11:19,394.48979592 --> 00:11:30,624.48979592 Just because investors no different than the bank, they have the same kind of question, which is, if I give you my money, instead of it being default, it's more am I going to profit from from this relationship, and. 153 00:11:30,634.48979592 --> 00:11:47,336.15646258 in my experience, having talked to all the business owners that I've spoken to and even considering my own personal experience, my own background, you have to know a lot about your business and about yourself before you're really able to go and have a strong conversation with an. 154 00:11:47,732.82312925 --> 00:12:01,292.82312925 and the amount of planning and the presentation, and no, get me wrong, some people can have an idea today and within a month they're ready to go and do full presentations and go raise money and get to all the series rounds of funding. 155 00:12:01,562.82312925 --> 00:12:04,382.82312925 That's not the average person though, at least not in my experience. 156 00:12:04,772.82312925 --> 00:12:13,212.82312925 Most people have more of a haphazard approach to starting a business, which goes something like, I got really inspired by this idea, so I'm gonna go start that business. 157 00:12:13,572.82312925 --> 00:12:14,772.82312925 I hate my boss. 158 00:12:14,827.82312925 --> 00:12:22,57.82312925 I'm gonna go start that business or it is I've always been thinking about this thing and I guess eventually I should go ahead and do it. 159 00:12:22,62.82312925 --> 00:12:23,287.82312925 You know what, it's new year. 160 00:12:23,287.82312925 --> 00:12:24,637.82312925 I'm gonna go ahead and start the business. 161 00:12:25,27.82312925 --> 00:12:26,707.82312925 It's often something like that. 162 00:12:26,717.82312925 --> 00:12:32,297.82312925 And what happens there is you end up having people, they start the business in this theory. 163 00:12:32,447.82312925 --> 00:12:37,957.82312925 And not to say that this is necessarily wrong, but they start it in a very looking for the dollar. 164 00:12:37,967.82312925 --> 00:12:42,857.82312925 I want to get this product or get this service to the customer and make the money right away. 165 00:12:42,867.82312925 --> 00:12:45,27.82312925 And the planning just happens along the way. 166 00:12:45,37.82312925 --> 00:12:53,197.82312925 And so then you come to talk to someone like me because now you need to hire people, you need to get services, you need to get all these things to grow your business. 167 00:12:53,557.82312925 --> 00:12:58,691.15646258 And then you find out, oh, you started your business, but you didn't do all these basics. 168 00:12:58,991.15646258 --> 00:13:02,451.15646258 The bank's not gonna want to give you any money, You gotta go fix all this stuff first. 169 00:13:02,461.15646258 --> 00:13:07,861.15646258 So imagine trying to have that conversation, but with an investor and you're so unprepared. 170 00:13:07,871.15646258 --> 00:13:13,836.15646258 So that is how a lot of people end up going the loan route, just because it is a shorter route for a lot of people. 171 00:13:13,836.15646258 --> 00:13:14,706.15646258 It's very direct. 172 00:13:14,716.15646258 --> 00:13:19,459.48979592 And if you've got a good business plan, you actually do need the money for something that is gonna be profitable. 173 00:13:19,699.48979592 --> 00:13:28,469.48979592 It's not the worst thing in the world to, let's say take a hundred thousand dollars, you hire people, you develop new products, you go buy more supplies, whatever it is. 174 00:13:28,469.48979592 --> 00:13:34,169.48979592 And now that a hundred thousand turns into, let's say three to 500,000, right? So you multiplied your money. 175 00:13:34,179.48979592 --> 00:13:38,419.48979592 of course now you can pay your loan back and it's healthy and everyone's happy as long as you have proper planning. 176 00:13:38,509.48979592 --> 00:13:46,229.48979592 So our job is just to help clean up that mess that most people do inevitably make accidentally that business administration mess. 177 00:13:46,239.48979592 --> 00:13:47,889.48979592 Get people prepared for funding. 178 00:13:48,189.48979592 --> 00:13:52,989.48979592 Get them to the funding, make sure that they're happy with the funding that they got, because some money is expensive. 179 00:13:53,44.48979592 --> 00:13:55,294.48979592 And then they can go into the next steps. 180 00:13:55,504.48979592 --> 00:14:03,747.82312925 And if you're a healthier business, Now, if you do want to go talk to investors, you can now have a better presentation because you have a proof of concept. 181 00:14:03,747.82312925 --> 00:14:04,287.82312925 You've proven. 182 00:14:04,287.82312925 --> 00:14:06,817.82312925 Hey, at the very least, we have a customer base. 183 00:14:06,817.82312925 --> 00:14:10,237.82312925 We know what we're doing, and this is a business that I want to continue doing. 184 00:14:10,247.82312925 --> 00:14:10,637.82312925 Gotcha. 185 00:14:10,637.82312925 --> 00:14:13,827.82312925 So you would say more of a beginning, starting out. 186 00:14:13,827.82312925 --> 00:14:15,957.82312925 Maybe you don't have the big business plan. 187 00:14:16,107.82312925 --> 00:14:22,119.18676561 Those are the types of people you would suggest, hey, probably doing some type of business loan first, you can get your. 188 00:14:22,434.18676561 --> 00:14:35,964.18676561 feed under you, you start seeing that customer base like you mentioned, and then being able to say, okay, after I've got that significant amount coming in, then you can say, oh, okay, now I can go to an investor and now it's time to scale to the next level yes. 189 00:14:35,979.18676561 --> 00:14:40,904.18676561 And within context too, because of course if you were able to go and do bootstrap. 190 00:14:40,914.18676561 --> 00:14:51,34.18676561 Funding where you're raising money from friends and family and maybe you have personal investors that you just happen to know, by all means, go take that money because it's way cheaper money. 191 00:14:51,274.18676561 --> 00:14:55,544.18676561 I don't know if people realize this, but money is actually expensive, especially if you get it from the wrong place. 192 00:14:55,549.18676561 --> 00:15:05,369.18676561 So by all means go get that money first before the average person that we talk to, they don't have those kinds of connections or resources and they don't even know where to even begin the conversation with the bank. 193 00:15:05,379.18676561 --> 00:15:06,979.18676561 And so that is the gap we're filling. 194 00:15:06,989.18676561 --> 00:15:07,679.18676561 Yeah, definitely. 195 00:15:07,889.18676561 --> 00:15:14,399.18676562 And I'd love for you to expand more on this idea of money is expensive depending on where you get it. 196 00:15:14,409.18676562 --> 00:15:14,679.18676561 Yeah. 197 00:15:14,679.18676561 --> 00:15:17,799.18676562 So let's say, for example, I'll give you a very good example. 198 00:15:18,99.18676562 --> 00:15:23,199.18676562 Let's say that the ideal credit that they asked for for from the lender was six. 199 00:15:23,712.52009895 --> 00:15:25,572.52009895 They said, Hey, we need you to have a six 80. 200 00:15:25,582.52009895 --> 00:15:33,532.52009895 We'd also like you to have at least $10,000 in monthly recurring revenue, right? So you're able to show you've got some business and you're able to show you've got good credit. 201 00:15:33,537.52009895 --> 00:15:38,517.52009895 You maybe have $5,000 and maybe your credit score is six 20. 202 00:15:38,757.52009895 --> 00:15:41,617.52009895 Okay? So now you're having to make concessions here. 203 00:15:41,627.52009895 --> 00:15:44,537.52009895 Now the bank asked for six 80 and $10,000. 204 00:15:44,687.52009895 --> 00:15:45,617.52009895 You do not have that. 205 00:15:45,627.52009895 --> 00:15:49,202.52009895 How is the bank supposed to guarantee their loan? They're gonna charge you more interest. 206 00:15:49,322.52009895 --> 00:15:49,982.52009895 That's one way. 207 00:15:49,992.52009895 --> 00:15:56,202.52009895 Or they'll give you one of those repayment terms where it's like you'll have to pay every month and we'll withdraw the money from your account. 208 00:15:56,585.85343228 --> 00:16:01,735.85343228 Or they'll give you lower payments, but they'll stretch it out over a longer period of time. 209 00:16:01,745.85343228 --> 00:16:06,575.85343228 So by the time you're done paying, you actually paid way, way more than a loan actually was. 210 00:16:06,905.85343228 --> 00:16:09,515.85343228 Not to mention all the interest that accumulated along the way. 211 00:16:09,525.85343228 --> 00:16:15,45.85343228 So that's what I mean by money is expensive, but you have to really do that mental calculation, not even mentals. 212 00:16:15,55.85343228 --> 00:16:26,985.85343228 Basic math of, Hey, if I'm supposed to be getting this much, how much am I actually going to end up paying back when it's all over? That is the expense that we're talking about when we say money is expensive, and that's not even just business loans. 213 00:16:26,985.85343228 --> 00:16:39,365.85343228 This loans in general, if you go buy a car and the car is a hundred thousand dollars, but by the time you're done with it, you've paid 150,000, that money, that a hundred thousand dollars that they gave you could cost an extra $50,000 for you to acquire it. 214 00:16:39,375.85343228 --> 00:16:41,85.8534323 Or if we tell you. 215 00:16:41,95.8534323 --> 00:16:44,275.8534323 If they're looking for a six 80 credit score, you've got a six 50. 216 00:16:44,285.8534323 --> 00:16:45,485.8534323 We tell you, just wait. 217 00:16:45,815.8534323 --> 00:16:47,405.8534323 Just go spend some time. 218 00:16:47,405.8534323 --> 00:16:49,85.8534323 Go talk to a credit repair person. 219 00:16:49,85.8534323 --> 00:16:53,885.8534323 Go get that extra 30 points because now your interest rate will be lower. 220 00:16:54,125.8534323 --> 00:16:55,205.8534323 You're like no, no, no. 221 00:16:55,205.8534323 --> 00:16:55,230.8534323 no. 222 00:16:55,235.8534323 --> 00:16:56,435.8534323 I need the money today. 223 00:16:56,490.8534323 --> 00:17:04,840.8534323 Now that money's going to be expensive because if you couldn't pay with time and patience, you're gonna have to pay now with money in the form of a higher interest rate. 224 00:17:04,930.8534323 --> 00:17:07,677.5200989 So that is what I mean when I say money is, Yeah. 225 00:17:07,677.5200989 --> 00:17:13,917.5200989 And that also comes into consideration if you're thinking about going for other types of funding as well. 226 00:17:13,917.5200989 --> 00:17:19,872.5200989 So like a business loan versus, going through a VC or going to a angel investor, things like that. 227 00:17:19,922.5200989 --> 00:17:22,982.5200989 They're going to be expecting a certain amount of return. 228 00:17:23,172.5200989 --> 00:17:23,592.5200989 Yes. 229 00:17:23,597.5200989 --> 00:17:25,352.5200989 So from your business. 230 00:17:25,502.5200989 --> 00:17:33,847.5200989 So you might receive, the business loan, which is gonna cost you, say 10%, 7%, or something like that over the time, the course of the loan. 231 00:17:33,857.5200989 --> 00:17:39,905.8534323 a investor might be expecting a 16 or 17% return in five years. 232 00:17:39,905.8534323 --> 00:17:43,425.8534323 You gotta look at, how much do you expect to grow in five years? Yeah. 233 00:17:43,635.8534323 --> 00:17:52,155.8534323 And would it actually be cheaper to pay the business loan? And that interest versus an interest of the investor who's expecting so much more. 234 00:17:52,365.8534323 --> 00:17:53,685.8534323 So exactly. 235 00:17:53,805.8534323 --> 00:17:54,405.8534323 Exactly. 236 00:17:54,405.8534323 --> 00:17:55,395.8534323 To it play too. 237 00:17:55,400.8534323 --> 00:18:18,65.8534323 And to put that in context for people too, because there are always pros and cons to most parts of life, right? So sometimes, and there are these situations where it was worth it to take the expensive money and take it now because you believe so strongly in your idea and in your business plan and in the team that you have around you that taking that one time. 238 00:18:18,75.8534323 --> 00:18:21,525.8534323 Block of expense is going to be worth it because you need to act now. 239 00:18:21,555.8534323 --> 00:18:27,675.8534323 Maybe it's an opportunity that you're taking advantage of, maybe certain connections or whatever it is that creates that urgency. 240 00:18:27,945.8534323 --> 00:18:30,695.8534323 And then sure enough, you did the things that you said you were going to do. 241 00:18:30,909.1867656 --> 00:18:39,254.1867656 you go, now you do triple or quadruple or how much of your money ensure you had to pay back way more than you probably would have if you had just waited. 242 00:18:39,584.1867656 --> 00:18:46,304.1867656 But now you're in a better situation where going forward you don't even necessarily have to take that type of loan again. 243 00:18:46,314.1867656 --> 00:18:52,660.8534323 In those cases, it's worth it, right? So each business owner, you've gotta do a cost benefit analysis for yourself. 244 00:18:52,660.8534323 --> 00:19:03,509.1867656 What I mean by cost benefit analysis is, What are the pros? What are the cons? And which side ends up weighing more And if the pros end up outweighing all of those cons, then fine, take the expensive money. 245 00:19:03,509.1867656 --> 00:19:07,859.1867656 But at least be aware of the fact that the money was indeed expensive. 246 00:19:07,869.1867656 --> 00:19:08,469.1867656 Yeah, definitely. 247 00:19:08,469.1867656 --> 00:19:20,339.1867656 Because you might be thinking oh, we're going to be able to maybe buy out this other competitor they're trying to sell, and if you don't buy them out at a certain time, then somebody else is going to come in and Yes, buy them. 248 00:19:20,339.1867656 --> 00:19:20,519.1867656 Yeah. 249 00:19:20,524.1867656 --> 00:19:22,559.1867656 You're competing for that acquisition. 250 00:19:22,559.1867656 --> 00:19:27,269.1867656 And if you don't get that acquisition, then you know it goes through your competitor, which could be even worse for you. 251 00:19:27,449.1867656 --> 00:19:29,849.1867656 So it might be that, oh, okay, we need that money now. 252 00:19:29,849.1867656 --> 00:19:31,379.1867656 Or you're trying to buy, yeah, we need it now. 253 00:19:31,449.1867656 --> 00:19:32,259.1867656 Some type. 254 00:19:32,409.1867656 --> 00:19:37,209.1867656 Product to be able to hit the market before your competitor hits the market with a similar product. 255 00:19:37,389.1867656 --> 00:19:37,449.1867656 Yeah. 256 00:19:37,519.1867656 --> 00:19:39,589.1867656 Those things definitely come into consideration as well. 257 00:19:39,594.1867656 --> 00:19:41,919.1867656 I think that's a good point to bring up for sure. 258 00:19:41,919.1867656 --> 00:19:42,129.1867656 Yeah. 259 00:19:42,309.1867656 --> 00:19:44,829.1867656 As, as long as the decision is not made in ignorance. 260 00:19:44,829.1867656 --> 00:19:46,329.1867656 So that's the biggest thing. 261 00:19:46,334.1867656 --> 00:19:49,274.1867656 You knew what you were getting into, and it was a sound decision. 262 00:19:49,444.1867656 --> 00:19:50,234.1867656 Yeah, definitely. 263 00:19:50,534.1867656 --> 00:20:02,459.1867656 And what would you say is the biggest struggle that you see for small businesses trying to get business? For small businesses the biggest one is under capitalization because so many other things are related to that. 264 00:20:02,504.1867656 --> 00:20:05,519.1867656 So for example, you might need consulting. 265 00:20:05,609.1867656 --> 00:20:06,539.1867656 Maybe you need marketing. 266 00:20:06,539.1867656 --> 00:20:07,799.1867656 Maybe you need a better website. 267 00:20:07,829.1867656 --> 00:20:09,389.1867656 Maybe you need better people. 268 00:20:09,699.1867656 --> 00:20:12,729.1867656 Maybe you need better equipment, you could need a number of things. 269 00:20:12,739.1867656 --> 00:20:15,169.1867656 All of those things are usually attached to a dollar. 270 00:20:15,179.1867656 --> 00:20:15,539.1867656 Alright. 271 00:20:15,549.1867656 --> 00:20:19,394.1867656 and if you had just had the money, you could have gotten that improved website. 272 00:20:19,394.1867656 --> 00:20:22,754.1867656 You could have paid the consultant who didn't tell you what you need to do here. 273 00:20:22,754.1867656 --> 00:20:28,204.1867656 You can afford to have not just better staff, staff that has paid very well and is now committed to the job. 274 00:20:28,204.1867656 --> 00:20:34,54.1867656 Or if you had to get certain supplies, maybe you can get a better deal on those supplies cause you're able to buy and book. 275 00:20:34,444.1867656 --> 00:20:39,212.5200989 All of these things come right back to the capital that your business actually has. 276 00:20:39,222.5200989 --> 00:20:52,97.5200989 And so under capitalization is a huge one to me, and it's, 90% of businesses, they're not even gonna make it for the first five years, right? Year five comes and they're not still in business for one reason or another. 277 00:20:52,102.5200989 --> 00:20:55,577.5200989 But that reason often has something to do with not having enough money. 278 00:20:55,587.5200989 --> 00:20:59,852.5200989 And to take that argument a step further, having a strong credit. 279 00:20:59,862.5200989 --> 00:21:06,852.5200989 Is almost more important than having access to just the money because so many things depended on the credit score. 280 00:21:06,862.5200989 --> 00:21:17,362.5200989 And there's that huge myth out there that says, oh, you can just go get an an e i n and you won't have to put your social down on anything, and no one's gonna ask you for personal credit checker. 281 00:21:17,372.5200989 --> 00:21:31,310.8534323 No, that's not how it works, and so I meet a lot of business owners where, they've not really cared for their personal credit, thinking that they're just gonna go build business credit that's gonna be the final determining factor of everything. 282 00:21:31,640.8534323 --> 00:21:35,110.8534323 And then they'll be able to get all the money that they need just through their business. 283 00:21:35,410.8534323 --> 00:21:50,824.1867656 Eventually that story is, But for the average person, there's so many things that the bank wants you to have before they're willing to give you money with no kind of personal guarantee that the average person shouldn't even be factoring that in as a possibility, at least not early in the business. 284 00:21:51,184.1867656 --> 00:21:55,109.1867656 Now you're two years old, you've got strong business credit. 285 00:21:55,109.1867656 --> 00:22:05,904.1867656 You've got, At least 15 relationships with vendors and other accounts, and you've got at least 30,000 coming into your business and you're keeping at least 10,000 of that revolving in your account every 90 days. 286 00:22:05,904.1867656 --> 00:22:07,824.1867656 And a whole host of other things. 287 00:22:08,34.1867656 --> 00:22:08,964.1867656 Yeah, sure. 288 00:22:09,204.1867656 --> 00:22:16,284.1867656 Go around putting your e i n on whatever you need to put it on, and you know the number of people that ask you for your social are gonna get shorter and shorter. 289 00:22:16,294.1867656 --> 00:22:19,874.1867656 But listen to the things I just rattled off and that was the only part of it. 290 00:22:19,884.1867656 --> 00:22:28,419.1867656 So yeah, to answer that question, under capitalization and then poor credit, those are the two biggest factors that are really hurting a lot of small business owners. 291 00:22:28,429.1867656 --> 00:22:29,39.1867656 Gotcha. 292 00:22:29,159.1867656 --> 00:22:35,814.1867656 And you're really hoping that through my business credit, you can help business owners to overcome those challenges. 293 00:22:35,824.1867656 --> 00:22:38,824.1867656 We can at least help people get the information that they need. 294 00:22:38,834.1867656 --> 00:22:48,434.1867656 And not to reinvent the wheel here because I mean it's 2023, just about everything that you could possibly want to know is either on Google or YouTube or both, Google, YouTube, same company. 295 00:22:48,434.1867656 --> 00:22:55,352.5200989 Anyway, the issue though is sorting through all of that, right? Finding the needle in this enormous haystack of inform. 296 00:22:55,362.5200989 --> 00:23:00,947.5200989 And so I wish that I personally had someone that said, Hey, do this, then do that. 297 00:23:01,277.5200989 --> 00:23:03,47.5200989 But this is the actual information. 298 00:23:03,52.5200989 --> 00:23:04,517.5200989 These are the actual lenders. 299 00:23:04,517.5200989 --> 00:23:08,237.5200989 There's just so many people saying different things out there. 300 00:23:08,247.5200989 --> 00:23:11,427.5200989 So we just want to be able to just simply point people in the right direction. 301 00:23:11,432.5200989 --> 00:23:17,369.1867656 Say, Hey, this is what you do to get your business funded, and we genuinely are just wanting to get people. 302 00:23:17,874.1867656 --> 00:23:23,574.1867656 That course that we're building, you could easily sell it for about a thousand dollars, but you're coming to us because you need money. 303 00:23:23,814.1867656 --> 00:23:25,584.1867656 So maybe we should just give you the course. 304 00:23:25,589.1867656 --> 00:23:29,699.1867656 is it expensive to make such a glorious and gorgeous course that we're making? Yes, it is. 305 00:23:30,89.1867656 --> 00:23:40,799.1867656 But if we're now able to help people, they're able to get funded and we're able to really serve our mission, we build better relationships anyway, so I'll take the profit on the backend. 306 00:23:40,809.1867656 --> 00:23:41,259.1867656 Definitely. 307 00:23:41,259.1867656 --> 00:23:48,119.1867656 And by building that relationship you're able to create, better relationships and see more businesses succeed, which is Yes. 308 00:23:48,219.1867656 --> 00:23:49,159.1867656 The real goal Yeah. 309 00:23:49,159.1867656 --> 00:23:55,835.8534323 And where do you see business funding and everything going in terms of the industry over the next kind of coming. 310 00:23:56,444.1867656 --> 00:24:03,609.1867656 I think it's actually gonna get a little bit harder just because, already interest rates are increasing on the federal level. 311 00:24:03,609.1867656 --> 00:24:07,779.1867656 Money is fundamentally like the US dollars fundamentally getting more expensive. 312 00:24:07,784.1867656 --> 00:24:12,444.1867656 It's getting more expensive for banks to lend money, which is the whole point of what Jerome Powell. 313 00:24:12,454.1867656 --> 00:24:15,299.1867656 The Fed Chairman, what they're trying to do is lower inflation. 314 00:24:15,659.1867656 --> 00:24:18,449.1867656 So inflation happens because there's just too much money floating around. 315 00:24:18,459.1867656 --> 00:24:26,579.1867656 So you've gotta basically get some of that money out of the economy and slow down how much keeps getting pumped into it by increasing interest rates. 316 00:24:26,639.1867656 --> 00:24:29,339.1867656 So making it harder for people to borrow new money. 317 00:24:29,349.1867656 --> 00:24:33,39.1867656 All of that makes it harder to facilitate the loan process. 318 00:24:33,49.1867656 --> 00:24:36,44.1867656 not necessarily a bad thing because again, inflation is way worse. 319 00:24:36,54.1867656 --> 00:24:41,679.1867656 I'd rather have cheaper milk and eggs, over the long term cheaper gas, but that does make it harder. 320 00:24:41,959.1867656 --> 00:24:44,209.1867656 However, there are things that also make it easier. 321 00:24:44,359.1867656 --> 00:24:45,679.1867656 AI is a huge one. 322 00:24:45,779.1867656 --> 00:24:50,109.1867656 So we just talked about, the enormous amounts of information that are out there and how. 323 00:24:50,119.1867656 --> 00:24:54,49.1867656 Technically have access to everything that you need to know via the internet. 324 00:24:54,49.1867656 --> 00:24:56,239.1867656 It's just a matter of finding the right information. 325 00:24:56,249.1867656 --> 00:25:04,419.1867656 AI is that emerging technology that's really going to help the people that are paying attention leapfrog everyone else if you're paying attention. 326 00:25:04,719.1867656 --> 00:25:12,979.1867656 And so you're able to build your business faster, you're able to sort through information faster, and you're able to be a more attractive business to banks much faster. 327 00:25:12,989.1867656 --> 00:25:13,484.1867656 Yeah, definitely. 328 00:25:13,484.1867656 --> 00:25:29,487.5200989 And what do you see as that tool do you have any in mind that you're thinking like, oh, this is the AI tool that, businesses latch onto or anything? I think everyone everyone who should be paying attention should know by now, but chat g PT is definitely like the king of the ais now. 329 00:25:29,497.5200989 --> 00:25:31,317.5200989 My whole staff uses chat. 330 00:25:31,427.5200989 --> 00:25:35,577.5200989 G P T I personally made sure I trained everyone on chat, T P T. 331 00:25:35,587.5200989 --> 00:25:38,827.5200989 like I argue with chat, G P T and I use it every day. 332 00:25:38,887.5200989 --> 00:25:40,267.5200989 I use it for stupid questions. 333 00:25:40,267.5200989 --> 00:25:41,827.5200989 I use it for serious questions. 334 00:25:41,837.5200989 --> 00:25:52,362.5200989 And it's funny because it speaks to human evolution as a whole, how we can go from just being, stick and torch to suddenly light bulb and it's Whoa. 335 00:25:52,397.5200989 --> 00:26:10,547.5200989 How could I ever have survived with a stick and torch? How was I getting by with a candle? I can't imagine if I had to do my work by a candle, or I remember when I was a kid, right? There were these things called encyclopedias at this place, this mystical place called the library, long before the internet was what it was. 336 00:26:10,557.5200989 --> 00:26:12,927.5200989 and that's how chat G p T feels for me. 337 00:26:12,957.5200989 --> 00:26:13,917.520099 In my adulthood. 338 00:26:13,917.520099 --> 00:26:23,587.5200989 It feels like the internet all over again because you're now suddenly able to do these incredible things that literally two months ago you were not able to do. 339 00:26:23,782.5200989 --> 00:26:25,232.5200989 And so it's maddening. 340 00:26:25,242.5200989 --> 00:26:31,542.520099 And so anyone who's paying attention, chat, G B T is just That is like the gold staring right in your face. 341 00:26:31,552.5200989 --> 00:26:31,722.5200989 Oh yes. 342 00:26:31,727.5200989 --> 00:26:35,897.5200989 I've been following it a little bit here and there on, on YouTube and watching some videos on it. 343 00:26:36,102.5200989 --> 00:26:36,582.5200989 It's impress. 344 00:26:36,582.5200989 --> 00:26:37,932.5200989 I've played around with it too. 345 00:26:37,932.5200989 --> 00:26:42,422.5200989 It's impressive what it can do and especially the artwork with. 346 00:26:42,427.5200989 --> 00:26:44,912.5200989 DALL-E, have you looked into DALL-E? Oh yes. 347 00:26:44,942.5200989 --> 00:26:46,622.5200989 Yeah, that's like in mid journal. 348 00:26:46,752.5200989 --> 00:26:47,172.5200989 Wow. 349 00:26:47,522.5200989 --> 00:26:48,842.5200989 Oh my gosh. 350 00:26:48,932.5200989 --> 00:26:51,367.5200989 They, it comes up with some really amazing stuff. 351 00:26:51,372.5200989 --> 00:26:51,577.5200989 Yeah. 352 00:26:51,577.5200989 --> 00:26:53,917.5200989 And yeah, it's just crazy what AI can do. 353 00:26:53,977.5200989 --> 00:26:54,177.5200989 Yeah. 354 00:26:54,187.5200989 --> 00:26:54,457.5200989 Yeah. 355 00:26:54,467.5200989 --> 00:26:55,457.5200989 We're paying attention. 356 00:26:55,457.5200989 --> 00:26:59,462.5200989 This is this is a whole new gold rush opportunity for a lot of people. 357 00:26:59,467.5200989 --> 00:27:05,442.5200989 If you're paying any close attention, and I'm not saying gold Rush in the sense that you have to go and sell AI-based services. 358 00:27:05,452.5200989 --> 00:27:07,517.5200989 even in the fundamentals of your own business. 359 00:27:07,817.5200989 --> 00:27:13,687.5200989 We give people a prime example of just how we use AI in or specifically chat g p t in our own business. 360 00:27:13,697.5200989 --> 00:27:17,797.5200989 I'll give you just this morning, right? So we have a client this is at Oxford now. 361 00:27:17,802.5200989 --> 00:27:24,107.5200989 But we have a client, they also have a podcast and so we are helping them get their podcast published and everything like. 362 00:27:24,117.5200989 --> 00:27:33,657.5200989 And so I tell chat, G p t I say I have a social justice podcast, and I want you to write an email for me to welcome my new newsletter subscribers. 363 00:27:33,667.5200989 --> 00:27:34,87.5200989 Boom. 364 00:27:34,177.5200989 --> 00:27:34,687.5200989 Does it. 365 00:27:35,47.5200989 --> 00:27:36,667.5200989 And the email is glorious. 366 00:27:36,667.5200989 --> 00:27:40,417.5200989 It's got all the placeholders for the macro subject line, everything done. 367 00:27:40,422.5200989 --> 00:27:46,112.5200989 We have this YouTube video that was just done on food insecurity amongst children in the United States. 368 00:27:46,292.5200989 --> 00:27:49,212.5200989 Can you write me a YouTube description? Done within seconds. 369 00:27:49,392.5200989 --> 00:27:50,982.5200989 Beautiful YouTube description. 370 00:27:50,992.5200989 --> 00:27:53,572.5200989 Here's the transcript from the entire episode. 371 00:27:53,842.5200989 --> 00:27:57,262.5200989 Please summarize this and turn it into 20 Instagram posts. 372 00:27:57,652.5200989 --> 00:27:58,132.5200989 Boom. 373 00:27:58,252.5200989 --> 00:28:07,832.5200989 Done with hashtags, So all of that, and when I say boom, done, I'm literally meaning 60 seconds we're talking about things that would've taken any one of my. 374 00:28:08,542.5200989 --> 00:28:10,952.5200989 At least an hour at the least. 375 00:28:10,952.5200989 --> 00:28:14,889.1867656 And that's if they were working diligently, and I don't know how diligently they work sometimes. 376 00:28:14,894.1867656 --> 00:28:19,544.1867656 So instead of 60 minutes, that entire job got cut down to 60 seconds. 377 00:28:19,544.1867656 --> 00:28:24,609.1867656 Just imagine if any regular person had to read an entire hour long transcript. 378 00:28:24,969.1867656 --> 00:28:33,729.1867656 And then take quotes out of that transcript and turn those into Instagram posts and instead you've got a chat bot that just instantly did it with the hashtags. 379 00:28:33,739.1867656 --> 00:28:42,575.8534323 That is what I'm talking about when I say it is a golden opportunity for people to really grow their business and just really excel in the way that was not even possible a couple of months ago. 380 00:28:42,580.8534323 --> 00:28:43,620.8534323 That is super exciting. 381 00:28:43,625.8534323 --> 00:28:46,400.8534323 Yeah I've used it too as it's incredible what it can do and Yeah. 382 00:28:46,400.8534323 --> 00:28:49,430.8534323 And super exciting for where we're headed, so That's awesome. 383 00:28:49,610.8534323 --> 00:28:49,670.8534323 Yeah. 384 00:28:49,675.8534323 --> 00:28:57,567.5200989 And for my business credit, where do you see you guys going over the next six months? Hopefully well, since you said six months six months, we've got the course up. 385 00:28:57,622.5200989 --> 00:29:07,712.5200989 We are building a social platform, so remember I said all of that noise of all these people who are trying to teach business credit and offer services, and you've got all these lenders. 386 00:29:07,717.5200989 --> 00:29:08,282.5200989 There's just all these. 387 00:29:08,292.5200989 --> 00:29:11,992.5200989 Wild West parties out there, just independently doing their own thing. 388 00:29:12,292.5200989 --> 00:29:25,420.8534323 And so we're working on a Facebook style platform that puts everyone into one place where if that's your thing, that's your niche, you're able to put all of your business services, all your information into one place, which is our platform. 389 00:29:25,820.8534323 --> 00:29:30,630.8534323 So all of our customers who are coming, they're looking for credit, they're looking to learn about credit. 390 00:29:31,20.8534323 --> 00:29:37,760.8534323 We've got a constant feed of fresh information being generated by all the people who say they do these things. 391 00:29:38,90.8534323 --> 00:29:42,90.8534323 All the lenders who want to talk about their loans, everything is in one place for them. 392 00:29:42,90.8534323 --> 00:29:48,425.8534323 In addition to, the training course that we're gonna give away for free, and just a lot of other resources, all that stuff is on there. 393 00:29:48,435.8534323 --> 00:29:48,620.8534323 That is next. 394 00:29:48,870.8534323 --> 00:29:49,70.8534323 Yeah. 395 00:29:49,70.8534323 --> 00:29:49,430.8534323 That's awesome. 396 00:29:49,430.8534323 --> 00:29:50,980.8534323 Six months, next 90 days really. 397 00:29:51,40.8534323 --> 00:29:51,280.8534323 Yeah. 398 00:29:51,335.8534323 --> 00:29:52,115.8534323 That's exciting. 399 00:29:52,120.8534323 --> 00:29:59,990.8534323 And I like asking this question cuz I get a lot of very different responses and it's just really interesting to see what different entrepreneurs are learning. 400 00:29:59,990.8534323 --> 00:30:02,555.8534323 So what are you currently learning right now? Ooh. 401 00:30:02,565.8534323 --> 00:30:07,695.8534323 So since 20, this has to be maybe since 2015. 402 00:30:07,705.8534323 --> 00:30:08,725.8534323 2016 maybe. 403 00:30:08,735.8534323 --> 00:30:11,75.8534323 I've read about 10 articles every single day. 404 00:30:11,75.8534323 --> 00:30:12,895.8534323 I use Flipboard to facilitate that. 405 00:30:12,905.8534323 --> 00:30:23,560.8534323 Just because, and I tell my kid this all the time, only stupid people know everything, If we had to go over what I'm like just currently working on, or what I'm currently learning about, I'm learning about new cancer treatments. 406 00:30:23,565.8534323 --> 00:30:27,495.8534323 I know that probably seems random, but I really like learning about stuff like that. 407 00:30:27,495.8534323 --> 00:30:28,845.8534323 So future technologies. 408 00:30:29,235.8534323 --> 00:30:34,625.8534323 So they now have basically a cancer treatment that, trains your T-cells to go and eliminate the cancer cells. 409 00:30:34,805.8534323 --> 00:30:37,900.8534323 So that's an emerging technology, I'm learning about. 410 00:30:37,900.8534323 --> 00:30:41,247.520099 So that platform that we just talked, building our own miniature Facebook. 411 00:30:41,257.520099 --> 00:30:43,237.520099 I'm learning about the software to build that. 412 00:30:43,247.520099 --> 00:30:48,580.8534323 I'm constantly learning about chat, G B T and related ais because I love all of it. 413 00:30:48,630.8534323 --> 00:30:53,910.8534323 Just seeing the things I'm able to tell my people to do, just, I don't know, like a kid So excited. 414 00:30:53,910.8534323 --> 00:30:55,530.8534323 You can just see it, right? Your face. 415 00:30:55,830.8534323 --> 00:30:56,840.8534323 You're super excited. 416 00:30:56,850.8534323 --> 00:30:59,395.8534323 Yeah, so I'm on, I'm definitely learning about that. 417 00:30:59,450.8534323 --> 00:30:59,900.8534323 And. 418 00:30:59,910.8534323 --> 00:31:01,70.8534323 Yeah that's this morning. 419 00:31:01,80.8534323 --> 00:31:01,980.8534323 Those are the big things. 420 00:31:01,980.8534323 --> 00:31:02,250.8534323 Yeah. 421 00:31:02,520.8534323 --> 00:31:02,730.8534323 Chat. 422 00:31:03,10.8534323 --> 00:31:04,260.8534323 T p t is a huge one. 423 00:31:04,320.8534323 --> 00:31:05,890.8534323 Really? Atomic habits. 424 00:31:05,945.8534323 --> 00:31:06,395.8534323 Yes. 425 00:31:06,395.8534323 --> 00:31:06,845.8534323 That one too. 426 00:31:07,115.8534323 --> 00:31:07,505.8534323 Yes. 427 00:31:07,575.8534323 --> 00:31:08,325.8534323 That's a good one. 428 00:31:08,325.8534323 --> 00:31:26,50.8534323 I was listening to a podcast episode where they were interviewing James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, and it was really good because he was talking about, we have to imagine ourselves as being that person that does those things that we want to be. 429 00:31:26,50.8534323 --> 00:31:26,140.8534323 Yes. 430 00:31:26,320.8534323 --> 00:31:38,540.8534323 Rather than saying I am trying to do something, but rather I am not the person who he gave an example of if you are a smoker and somebody offers you a smoke, you say oh, I'm trying to quit. 431 00:31:38,540.8534323 --> 00:31:41,450.8534323 Versus another person who says, oh, I'm not a smoker. 432 00:31:41,480.8534323 --> 00:31:41,540.8534323 Yeah. 433 00:31:41,670.8534323 --> 00:31:52,480.8534323 Completely changing those different mindsets and might seem like very trivial and very insignificant, but saying, Oh, I am not a smoker versus I'm trying to quit. 434 00:31:52,480.8534323 --> 00:32:04,10.8534323 It's just completely two different ways of thinking, and that person that identifies as not a smoker will choose to do things that a person who is not a smoker will do. 435 00:32:04,10.8534323 --> 00:32:08,510.8534323 So if somebody offers a cigarette, a non-smoker doesn't like even consider it. 436 00:32:08,510.8534323 --> 00:32:09,530.8534323 Doesn't even think about it. 437 00:32:09,540.8534323 --> 00:32:10,320.8534323 It's not an option. 438 00:32:10,370.8534323 --> 00:32:10,810.8534323 Yeah. 439 00:32:10,815.8534323 --> 00:32:13,310.8534323 But a person who is trying to quit, it's ugh. 440 00:32:13,320.8534323 --> 00:32:15,210.8534323 Man, I wanna smoke, but no, I shouldn't. 441 00:32:15,350.8534323 --> 00:32:16,520.8534323 it's a different complete. 442 00:32:16,520.8534323 --> 00:32:16,610.8534323 Yeah. 443 00:32:16,610.8534323 --> 00:32:19,190.8534323 And then you're, they're thinking about it for, another three hours. 444 00:32:19,430.8534323 --> 00:32:23,280.8534323 But a person who's not a smoker, it's not even an option and not a question. 445 00:32:23,300.8534323 --> 00:32:23,540.8534323 Yeah. 446 00:32:23,550.8534323 --> 00:32:24,585.8534323 Yeah, I love his book. 447 00:32:24,590.8534323 --> 00:32:25,365.8534323 I love his story. 448 00:32:25,410.8534323 --> 00:32:26,340.8534323 It's amazing. 449 00:32:26,390.8534323 --> 00:32:31,790.8534323 And I think it's something that we can definitely all use to just build a better life. 450 00:32:31,850.8534323 --> 00:32:33,230.8534323 And I think that's, it's really. 451 00:32:33,240.8534323 --> 00:32:33,930.8534323 Yeah, for sure. 452 00:32:33,980.8534323 --> 00:32:37,970.8534323 I love it and I'm almost done with the book I probably have like maybe another 50 pages to go. 453 00:32:37,970.8534323 --> 00:32:43,975.8534323 But yeah, that's that and the psychology of selling by Brian Tracy reading that too Yeah, that's a good one too. 454 00:32:43,985.8534323 --> 00:32:56,565.8534323 And for any of the ecopreneurs in the audience here, what is one tip that you would give them to help them either grow their business or start a new business? Fix your credit because that opens the door for everything else. 455 00:32:56,565.8534323 --> 00:33:01,665.8534323 And why say fix their credit? Six 80 or higher, if you are not, at least at a six 80. 456 00:33:01,675.8534323 --> 00:33:04,370.8534323 that is it's still just not, it's not good enough. 457 00:33:04,490.8534323 --> 00:33:13,100.8534323 So once you are at that six 80, I kid you, not so many other things are way easier for you just because you fixed that one thing. 458 00:33:13,310.8534323 --> 00:33:21,430.8534323 So take it seriously, fix your credit because it is way easier to start a business with money than it is to start without money. 459 00:33:21,770.8534323 --> 00:33:27,350.8534323 When I was starting there was quite a long period where it was ramen noodles and rice and beans. 460 00:33:27,360.8534323 --> 00:33:30,975.8534323 and let's not have to be doing a business that way. 461 00:33:30,975.8534323 --> 00:33:34,75.8534323 You know where it was? How can I put it? Okay, here's a good way to put it. 462 00:33:34,85.8534323 --> 00:33:41,375.8534323 So many people in the real world, in the regular non entrepreneur world, their whole thing is this concept of living paycheck to paycheck. 463 00:33:41,772.520099 --> 00:33:54,17.520099 No one ever thinks about the fact that their employer may very well be living payroll to payroll So start your business with a healthy level of capital, right? Do that by making sure you have healthy credit. 464 00:33:54,252.520099 --> 00:33:55,692.520099 Of six 80 or higher. 465 00:33:55,812.520099 --> 00:33:58,942.520099 Okay? Don't do any underhanded credit repair methods. 466 00:33:58,972.520099 --> 00:34:06,22.520099 Now, we're not a credit repair business, so there are 1,001 companies out there that'll help you with that, but take the time to really fix your credit. 467 00:34:06,22.520099 --> 00:34:10,702.520099 That is the one thing that I would tell everyone, because everything else gets easier. 468 00:34:10,852.520099 --> 00:34:17,455.8534323 If you had just fixed that one thing, I could have gone into the importance of marketing or knowing about your customers or having a business. 469 00:34:17,915.8534323 --> 00:34:25,535.8534323 None of that matters though if you don't even have the money to really see those things through to the end in a proper way, fix your credit so that you can do that. 470 00:34:25,545.8534323 --> 00:34:25,930.8534323 Yeah, definitely. 471 00:34:25,930.8534323 --> 00:34:35,985.8534323 Cuz if you have the credit to go out and find the funding, you can pay for consultants or you can pay to take courses on all of those other things, So yes. 472 00:34:35,990.8534323 --> 00:34:37,840.8534323 If you can just have access to money. 473 00:34:37,840.8534323 --> 00:34:41,380.8534323 Not even just a little bit of money, but there's so much money out there. 474 00:34:41,380.8534323 --> 00:34:46,900.8534323 If you can just convince the bank that you are not someone who's going to go and default on the loan. 475 00:34:47,290.8534323 --> 00:34:50,470.8534323 There's this running joke, the bank likes to give money to people who don't need it. 476 00:34:50,480.8534323 --> 00:34:57,490.8534323 So you can help strengthen that argument by just simply having solid credit showing that you are a healthy business. 477 00:34:57,490.8534323 --> 00:35:07,120.8534323 Once you are getting into the whole business credit side of things and showing that you know how to use your money and so on, and you can continuously get access to millions of dollars, they will give you the money. 478 00:35:07,120.8534323 --> 00:35:10,429.1867656 It's kind of their job, You just have to convince them that you're the right person. 479 00:35:10,429.1867656 --> 00:35:11,929.1867656 So start by fixing your credit. 480 00:35:11,939.1867656 --> 00:35:12,599.1867656 Yeah, definitely. 481 00:35:12,659.1867656 --> 00:35:13,139.1867656 That's great. 482 00:35:13,139.1867656 --> 00:35:13,829.1867656 Great tip there. 483 00:35:13,839.1867656 --> 00:35:21,159.1867656 And if anybody wants to reach out to you, learn more about what you do, learn more about Oxford Pier Pond or my business credit. 484 00:35:21,164.1867656 --> 00:35:24,979.1867656 How can they get in touch with you? Yeah please visit my business credit.com. 485 00:35:24,989.1867656 --> 00:35:28,959.1867656 I paid extra money for that domain just so that it would be easy for people to remember. 486 00:35:29,4.1867656 --> 00:35:32,4.1867656 So definitely go to my business credit.com. 487 00:35:32,59.1867656 --> 00:35:35,749.1867656 It is a service of our bigger company, which is Oxford Pierpont. 488 00:35:35,754.1867656 --> 00:35:37,194.1867656 And you can learn more about that. 489 00:35:37,194.1867656 --> 00:35:38,454.1867656 We do business development. 490 00:35:38,504.1867656 --> 00:35:41,834.1867656 We basically focus on all the stuff that happens after you have. 491 00:35:42,375.8534323 --> 00:35:44,475.8534323 That is a good way of explaining what Oxford does. 492 00:35:44,485.8534323 --> 00:35:47,570.8534323 And if you Google Oxford Pier Pot, they know who we are. 493 00:35:47,580.8534323 --> 00:35:49,650.8534323 We have the first two or three pages to ourselves. 494 00:35:49,655.8534323 --> 00:35:50,75.8534323 that's good. 495 00:35:50,85.8534323 --> 00:35:51,965.8534323 You, you did well with that seo. 496 00:35:51,975.8534323 --> 00:35:57,485.8534323 Yeah, for a while we were an SEO company, so I guess I should know how to do a little bit of you definitely should. 497 00:35:57,495.8534323 --> 00:35:57,985.8534323 yeah. 498 00:35:58,115.8534323 --> 00:35:58,595.8534323 That's great. 499 00:35:58,650.8534323 --> 00:36:02,665.8534323 Bob it's been so great having you here on Green Business Impact. 500 00:36:02,665.8534323 --> 00:36:04,585.8534323 I've had such a great time talking to you. 501 00:36:04,595.8534323 --> 00:36:15,565.8534323 Loved exploring all the things that you're into and what it takes to build good business credit, and really helping entrepreneurs and other entrepreneurs who are small business owners trying to make it through. 502 00:36:15,575.8534323 --> 00:36:18,215.8534323 Whatever the world throws at us and make this world a greener place. 503 00:36:18,215.8534323 --> 00:36:34,120.8534323 So thank you so much for joining us on the call and I thank you for having, hopefully we'll have you back on another day and we'll, you'll be able to tell us about how your awesome social site is going and yeah, the, how the course is going, how it's helped, a bunch of people be able to go from there. 504 00:36:34,120.8534323 --> 00:36:34,600.8534323 So yeah. 505 00:36:34,600.8534323 --> 00:36:35,710.8534323 Thank you so much for coming on. 506 00:36:35,720.8534323 --> 00:36:36,620.8534323 Thank you for having me. 507 00:36:36,620.8534323 --> 00:36:37,400.8534323 It's been a pleasure. 508 00:36:37,400.8534323 --> 00:36:44,420.8534323 And final takeaway, if I just had to say one last thing to everyone, definitely do not be discouraged in your business because it is hard. 509 00:36:44,480.8534323 --> 00:36:48,50.8534323 It is definitely hard if you do not have a plan, if you don't have good funding. 510 00:36:48,55.8534323 --> 00:36:54,215.8534323 But if you just fix those basics, business it's really a pleasurable experience and there are so many rewards at the end of it. 511 00:36:54,215.8534323 --> 00:36:57,665.8534323 So hang in there, fix your credit and have fun Bye everyone. 512 00:36:57,675.8534323 --> 00:37:12,15.8534323 And if you enjoyed this interview with my business credit and Bob Hunter and how they are helping small business owners understand what they need before they go to try to apply for a loan and allow them to succeed in receiving a business loan. 513 00:37:12,45.8534323 --> 00:37:19,815.8534323 Once you've completed all the necessary steps and you're interested in understanding what other options are out there, especially in terms. 514 00:37:20,195.8534323 --> 00:37:21,35.8534323 Angel investing. 515 00:37:21,65.8534323 --> 00:37:24,305.8534323 Then I invite you to check out this interview with funder. 516 00:37:24,365.8534323 --> 00:37:46,475.8534323 They're creating a platform that de connects investors to startups, and it does so much of the heavy lifting in terms of vetting on both sides, making sure investors are vetted to actually invest in startups and for startups, having their deck vetted in everything else so that investors have an easier time so that they can easily just match them all through the platform. 517 00:37:46,505.8534323 --> 00:37:48,815.8534323 So make sure you check out this interview with.