University of La Verne SBDC Small Biz Blog

  Learn what is required to fund your small business for start-up and growth. If you are unsure of how the business loan process works or if you qualify then join us for this webinar. In this webinar you will learn about:  Lending resources SBA loan programs Qualifications and requirements SBA loan application process Do's and don't when financing your business What is a CDC? CDCs or Certified Development Companies are private, non-profit entities with a mission to provide business financing to those who aren’t quite strong enough for bank financing. CDCs are certified by the SBA (Small Business Administration) to administer SBA 504 loans, primarily for commercial real estate. There are more than 260 CDCs in the United States. SBA Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) provides the rules, processes, and guidelines an SBA Lender may, must, or should follow. The Credit Box/internal credit policy – determines the lender’s appetite for risk. i.e. minimum FICO scores, collateral requ...

Find out everything you need to start your small business so you can launch your business with confidence. Learn all the steps you need to take to start a business: from developing your plan to market research to filing your licenses in this simple step-by-step webinar, including: Business Planning Business planning resources Get the business plan template (Business Plan Outline)   Financial Projections Training  - Template Marketing Strategies NAICS Code Lookup   LA County Library / Reference USA LA County Demographics Licensing and Permits   Franchise Tax Board - Forms of Ownership LLCs & Corporations Name Search Los Angeles County Name Search for FBN (Sole Proprietorships) San Bernardino County Name Search for FBN (Sole Proprietorships)  Domain Name Search    Licenses & permits lookup Record-Keeping Record Keeping Systems    LA County Library / Lynda.com / LinkedIn Learning Outsourced accounting  ( https://bench.co/ )...

By Joshua Botello Bookkeepers and accountants are professionals that help your business manage the money in your company and are worth their weight in gold. Accountants charge a hefty fee, while some bookkeepers run a simple business. But when do you need a bookkeeper and when do you need an accountant? In this video, I’ll cover what each professional does and stay till the end to find out which one you might need.   What’s a Bookkeeper or Accountant? So let’s start with what is a bookkeeper and what is an accountant. Let’s do a quick rundown before we get into the differences. Bookkeepers are in charge of recording and keeping financial data. The bookkeepers are responsible for keeping track of daily transactions. They are concerned with the day-to-day operations of the company. Accountants are responsible for the creation of reports. They are in charge of summarizing, evaluating, and interpreting the work of the bookkeeper. Accountants deal with financial issues such as cash flow...

  Financial projection are the most intimidating part of starting a business. So much so, that many people want to know how much it's going to take to start up. Many people just skip this step until they actually need it. In this webinar, you will learn: Determine the feasibility of your business idea Calculate the break-even sales volume Prepare financial projections often needed for an SBA loan Download the Google sheet and follow along  here.   You can view only. [ File > Download > Make a Copy ] so that you can create your own spreadsheet for you to keep and update. Start Up Financial projection can be use this to answer a lot of common startup questions like… Will my business idea work? Is my business feasible? How much should I pay myself? How much do I need to sell to be profitable? How much do I need to start the business? Common Start Up Expenses Existing Businesses You can also use this with clients seeking a loan because even if you’ve been in busine...

by Joshua Botello An income statement is the first financial statement that most business owners become accustomed to because it’s the easiest to interpret. Yet many of our clients just starting out are unsure how any of this financial stuff works. In this video, I’ll break down what an income statement is, its major components, and some useful formulas to better understand your business profitability. What is an Income Statement An income statement is a financial statement that shows how profitable a business is at a certain point in time. The income statement is also known as the profit and loss or P&L to show if they are making money by the job, month, or year. The major components of the Income statement include sources of income, expenses, and a net income or net profit to show how profitable the business is. The income statement is helpful because it itemizes expenses incurred by operations. All of these costs have a definitive number and business owners can pinpoint where t...

by Joshua Botello Introduction Many of our small business clients who are looking to get into business, lack the fundamentals in accounting to know how to judge the health of their business. In this first episode of a new series, I will show you the basics of accounting including financial sheets and how to use them. In this video, we are covering our first financial statement, the Balance Sheet. I’ll show what a balance sheet is, the components, and stay to the end on how you can use it for your business.  What is a Balance Sheet  So let's get right to it. What is a balance sheet? A balance sheet is a financial statement that is a snapshot of your business's health. The balance sheet shows your business’s net worth and it is broken down into 3 sections: Assets, Liabilities, and Equity. These 3 sections will always be in balance when looking at this document. This formula is often associated with the balance sheet: Assets - Liabilities = Equity  Typically, you will see ba...

By Joshua Botello Getting a small business loan is an integral part of many small businesses to start up or grow. The most common SBA loans offered for small businesses are 7a and 504 loans. The terms of loans may seem confusing and small business owners may not understand which one they need or qualify for. In this article, we will break down the major differences between the two loan programs and which might be right for your small business. Difference #1: Eligible Business size Each type of SBA loan has business size requirements that may impact your eligibility. Eligibility for 7a loans is determined mainly by industry. For example retail, service or agriculture businesses' sales must not exceed the range of $750,000 - $33.5 million. For 504 loans a business’ net worth cannot exceed $15 million. Meanwhile, the average net profit (after taxes) over 2 consecutive years cannot exceed $5 million. Difference #2: Program Requirements The program requirements for a 7a and 504 loans ...

By Joshua Botello Starting a business is difficult when it comes to finding the money to launch. Not every business owner has savings or credit for a business loan. There are many options for small business owners to get their business off the ground and they don’t always involve getting a business loan. You discover 5 ways to fund your business start-up from bootstrapping to crowdfunding find out which is right for you. So let’s get started. Bootstrapping Bootstrapping a business comes the phrase “pulling up by one’s bootstraps”. Essentially, this means you are going to fund your business yourself. This may mean you have a full-time job and your new business becomes a “side hustle” that you grow. How it works For many business owners with simple ideas or who don’t want or can’t go to a bank to fund their business, this is their option. If you are starting a consulting business or even a small eCommerce business this may be the easiest way, to begin with, the least amount of initial i...

Many Small businesses struggle with their finances whether they are first starting out or if they have been in business a while. Having a firm understanding of your business finances is the key to a successful business, how do you keep track of that? Professor Rick Hasse is a professor in finance and accounting here at the University of La Verne, College of Business and Public Management. In this interview, you'll find out how finances affect your business and how to perform a financial check-up.  How important are finances to the health of the business? Well, I think it could be a very simple answer or it could be very complicated. I'll give you a simple answer. Naturally, finance is the blood of a company. You can have the best idea, the best product, the best service, but if you don't have the necessary capital to get that off the ground and get it to your customers, you ain’t got nothing. So having capital, having access and understanding of capital is key. I like to th...