<![CDATA[ACCESS FUNDING CENTER

<![CDATA[ACCESS FUNDING CENTER - Blog & News]]>Sat, 25 Jan 2025 20:52:19 -0500EditMySite<![CDATA[Customer Financing]]>Wed, 02 Mar 2022 03:21:35 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/customer-financing

A study done by the Deloitte Center for Financial Services appears to indicate that 84% of all consumer financial transactions initiated through digital payments were default payments. Relevant to customer financing default payments of digital payment transactions are the main method of payment for online shopping utilizing mobile apps and mobile wallets. If you are a small business owner, you probably know that default payments on eCommerce sites as well as mobile apps/wallets are only expected to increase over the next several years, if the current trends continue.
According to the above-mentioned study, payments made on websites using default payment options accounted for 74% of all such payments. If you are a small business owner and thinking of offering financing for your customers, you probably know that discretionary payments are a preeminent form of payment and this is only expected to increase.
Also noteworthy, is that of the 84% of transactions previously mentioned and designated as default payments, approximately 30% were non-discretionary. So about 54% of default payments are discretionary (that is, not used for such things as rental payments, utility payments, car payments, mortgage payments, etc.).
To the small business owner interested in extending customer financing to increase sales, this is a very optimistic figure (54%) and implies that depending on their ability and willingness to make monthly payments consumers have a significant percentage of their budget available to make consumer purchases, the payments of which are primarily made on online marketplace sites as well as websites.
This is all the more reason why offering payment plans to your customers makes good business sense.
Customer financing has kept pace with technology and the growth in digital commerce continues to transform consumer payment methods. Providing financing for your customers is a win-win, in which both your customers and you benefit greatly.
Customer financing can position you to close sales which you might otherwise not be able to do. You can provide flexible monthly payments to your customers, reduce late payment problems and collect your payments on time rather than wasting time and energy pursuing your customers in an attempt to get them to make their monthly payments in a timely fashion. By offering financing to your customers you can enhance your cash flow by increasing your sales and thereby significantly increasing your profitability.
One study indicates that up to thirty percent of consumers would have likely passed on big-ticket items if they had not been offered a six-month payment plan. Payment options will increase revenue especially in regard to expensive services or products.
Monthly payment plans can permit consumers to pay for things they very much want, but couldn’t otherwise afford, without maxing out their credit card(s) or paying a large single cash payment with money they just don’t have.
Offering payment options to your customer will not only increase the average purchase value but can mean the difference between a customer purchasing a product or service, or simply not doing so. Customer financing gives the small business owner a competitive advantage in the market place and will increase your cash flow and profitability.

]]><![CDATA[Entrepreneurship and the Free Market Process]]>Sat, 22 Dec 2018 21:22:30 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/entrepreneurship-and-free-market-process

Most entrepreneurs know a little secret. The government can’t run the economy. However, some people think the role of government is to be responsible for making sure the economy rumbles along at an even speed, going neither too fast or too slow. The problem is the economy is made up of many individuals, and not even the government can control what they choose to do.

government regulations limit free market

Actually, what the government should be doing is influencing the economic environment as little as possible through limited regulation, decreasing taxes, improving monetary policy and reducing government spending.

As a general rule, the less government intervention, the better. The government has succeeded in the past in disrupting the marketplace during the Great Depression of the 1930s, to a lesser extent in the ‘70s, as well as during the panic of 08’-09’.

The Trump administration has rightly perceived the problems of compounded tax increases and antigrowth regulations from Dodd-Frank, ObamaCare and other Washington regulatory agencies such as the FCC, the EPA and the NLRB.

Again, the entrepreneur knows instinctively, that the less government intervention there is, the better off everyone is. For example, it was the government’s growth retarding intervention which brought about the housing bubble of the mid 2000s. It should be noted that not all bubbles are bad. The good kind of bubbles develop when large number of people realize a good opportunity. During the 1980s there was a boom in personal computer sales, which was in turn followed by a severe shakeout which saw companies such as Atari and Commodore fail.

Google fractionalized Microsoft and others in the late ‘90s as the importance of search engines was recognized. We saw something similar with mobile phones with a dozen different brands competing for market share. The Apple iPhone now dominates where Nokia used to be preeminent.

The point is that good bubbles, such as the two mentioned above, are a sign of a vibrant economy The excesses are ultimately squeezed out, and capital migrates to a more positive environment. Whereas,bubbles that are artificially produced by the government and its fiscal policies, such as the housing bubble are catastrophic.

The housing crisis, for example, occurred because, as per government policy, banks granted mortgages to people who couldn’t afford them. Then those borrowers stopped making their payments. As a result the market crashed and everyone got hurt by unnecessary government meddling.

Likewise, some people think that the government should be responsible for smoothing out business cycles. How can the government possibly do this when economists have puzzled over business cycles and the ups and downs in the economy for well over two hundred years? The entrepreneur knows that the ups and downs of the economy are simply the natural ebb and flow of the free marketplace. The free market speaks to what people want and destroys what people don’t want. Trying to moderate and/or arrest this free market process of creative destruction leads inevitably to stagnation. Europe and Japan are examples of this.

Entrepreneurs know that the more government tightens its grip, the less the economy is going to grow. The reason for this is because the economy can not be manipulated or controlled like a machine. The path to prosperity has always been reduced government intervention and a free market.

" Need help meeting payroll, consumer receivable financing may be your answer. Call us today for more information"

]]><![CDATA[Free Enterprise Has Been Propagandized]]>Fri, 02 Nov 2018 15:45:17 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/free-enterprise-has-been-propagandized

Free Enterprise: alternative accounts receivable financing

Some people would like you to believe that free enterprise hurts the poor. The opposite is true! Free enterprise lifts people up from poverty. Since the year 1970 the percentage of the world’s population living on the equivalent of less than a dollar a day has fallen by more than eighty percent.

This was not the result of the United Nations developing projects which help the poor. It was not the result of foreign aid. It was free enterprise that achieved this. For example, in China it was free trade and foreign investment, not aid which lifted 400 million Chinese people out of poverty between 1981 and 2001.
While there has never been a power for aiding the impoverished that has come close to free enterprise, some people would have you believe that free enterprise is driven by greed. However, what really drives entrepreneurs is a strong desire to control their own future. An entrepreneur desires to create value in her life and the lives around her. Only free enterprise allows people the freedom to accomplish that.
Other propagandists would have you believe that free enterprise creates envy. However, the Pew Research Center found that 88 percent of Americans said they admired other individuals who acquire wealth through hard work.
According to the World Values Survey, this view is unique to America. In a culture that rewards initiative and offers opportunity, free enterprise fosters aspiration and ambition. In countries which have less economic freedom, and fewer entrepreneurs there is more economic stagnation, more envy, more resentment and as we all should know by now, there is more political and social upheaval. We see this in places like Europe, where sadly, people demand more social benefits instead of demanding to keep more of their earnings.
Still others would have you believe that free enterprise caused the Great Recession. However, the reality is that it was the relative lack of free enterprise, corporate cronyism and statism which actually caused the Great Recession. It was two decades of misguided government policy which created the conditions that led to the housing bubble. It was car companies, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and big banks who lined up first in the bailout line. This was a poisonous mix of corporate clients and big government, not free enterprise. Free enterprise is the solution, not the problem. The reason this is true is because it is the small business owner who puts her capital on the line to either earn a profit or suffer loss.
I have saved my favorite criticism of free enterprise until last. It seems to me to be the most ridiculous criticism; but, a line of propaganda which impressionable young people tend to believe.
I once read of a college professor in economics, whose students would insist that it was not fair for wealthy people to have more than poorer people. So halfway through his college course on economics the college professor proposed that a quarter of the points earned by the top half of the class be passed onto the students in the lower half of the class in order to improve grade equality. According to the college professor, at that point, all discussion about fairness ended.
As long as we live in a free society, and people are therefore free to earn money, some people will work harder and smarter and will earn more money than others. Most Americans believe that the redistribution of wealth is not fair . . . but that rewarding accomplishments is not only fair but ultimately beneficial to all within a society (whether rich or poor).
Free enterprise, like the freedom of religion, freedom of assembly and the freedom of speech makes our country more fair, not less fair.

"Alternative funding with consumer contract type of accounts receivable financing has helped many businesses obtain the capital they need to improve cash flow. Call today at 864-603-3539 to learn more"

]]><![CDATA[Reflection on Entrepreneurship Part 10: Wealth Creation]]>Mon, 29 Oct 2018 18:27:42 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/reflection-on-entrepreneurship-part-10-wealth-creation

The most essential ingredient in wealth creation is knowledge (and knowledge is a gift of God). Knowledge leads to surprises which we call innovation because innovations are unmanageable and unpredictable (more about that later). Innovations by their very nature can’t be managed or planned and innovations create wealth which positively affects culture.

More freedom leads to more knowledge which leads to more innovation which leads to a more powerful economy. Conversely, less freedom leads to less knowledge which leads to less innovation which leads to less economic growth. This raises the question as to why all governments do not embrace this self evident process. The reason (as alluded to earlier) is that innovation implies surprise and is and therefore more difficult for government to control. The operative word here is control. This lack of predictability and control make some people very uncomfortable. The desire to eliminate surprise and to control people is very much part of the warp and woof of communism and socialism.
In Europe with its failing welfare states we see this move to eliminate surprise and at the same time we see the increasing role of government with large bureaucracies and more regulatory law. So every new crisis, whether real or imagined brings more unnecessary laws and a corresponding lack of freedom. As one career politician said, “Never let a crisis go to waste”.

Most of these regulation like Dodd-Frank and Sarbanes-Oxley debilitate freedom and slow the expansion of knowledge. These Acts divert the small business owner’s energy away from innovation and consume their time and energy with compliance. These Acts also raise barriers of entry for new entrepreneurs. The entities who benefit from government regulations are the big corporations because they have the lobbyists, lawyers and accountants to address the problem of unnecessary government regulations.
The good news is that this move away from freedom can be and is being reversed. We saw this in Chile in the 1970s, in Eastern Europe after the fall of Communism, in New Zealand in the 1980s, in India and China in the 1990s, in Canada in the first decade of the 21st century, in Israel in the 1980s, and in America during the Reagan Administration (and now during the Trump Administration).
The future can change as fast as our minds can change, because the above is essentially an economy of the mind. We can be sure that when unnecessary government regulation and taxation diminishes knowledge and thus prosperity will follow.

]]><![CDATA[Reflections on Entrepreneurship Part 9: Wealth in America]]>Sat, 22 Sep 2018 15:11:22 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/reflections-on-entrepreneurship-part-9-wealth-in-america

Consumer Contract and Receivable Financing

The United States of America has had the most prosperous economy in the world for over a hundred years. But, why is that?

There are numerous reasons why the above is true; but, one reason is that America places a higher premium on the free market over government control of the market. However, America has not always operated that way. It was only after the government failed repeatedly to accomplish sustained economic growth, and only after entrepreneurs were given a free hand, that the United States started to develop the most successful economy in the world.
For example, Jacob Astor formed the American Trade Company and created an incredible business marketing furs throughout the world. It wasn’t long before the government decided they wanted a piece of the fur business, and subsidized their own fur company, run by the self promoting Thomas McKenney. Although McKenney had the federal government backing him, he lost money every year while Astor continued to be profitable. Finally Congress realized its mistake and stopped subsidizing McKenney.
However, twenty years later in 1840, the government attempted to get into the telegraph business, and in doing so steadily lost money each month. In 1845 expenditures exceeded revenue by six-to-one, and sometimes by ten-to-one. Deciding there was no value in the telegraph, government turned the invention over to the entrepreneur.
Telegraph entrepreneurs showed the press how stories could be instantly reported over distances of hundreds of miles. Stock brokers, bankers and insurance companies were shown how they could instantly monitor their investments over long distances. As the quality of service improved entrepreneurs were instrumental in stringing telegraph lines not only across the country but across the Atlantic Ocean.
The government failed in the telegraph business because incentives for government bureaucrats differ greatly from those of the entrepreneur. Washington bureaucrats received no profits from their efforts and their losses were passed onto the taxpayer, so there was no incentive to improve service, find new customer or expand to more cities.
However, entrepreneurs like Ezra Cornell, the founder of Western Union did exactly what the government failed to do. He created a cheaper and better service, created more customers and became extremely profitable. Through the efforts of entrepreneurs like Cornell, just fifteen years after Congress privatized the telegraph, both the costs of construction and the rates for service linking major cities were as little as one-tenth of the original rates established by Washington bureaucrats.
During the 1840s the government also failed in the steamship business. At this time regular steamship travel began between New York and England, with the government backing ship owner Edward Collins. Collins was a man more skilled at political lobbying than at business, and while the government funded Collins, Cornelius Vanderbilt started his own steamship company.
Collins didn’t feel a need to improve, or to even provide safe and regular service. Two of his four ships sank, killing hundreds of people. Apparently his mind set was if he lost money the government would always be there to bail him out. Vanderbilt on the other hand, cut the costs of steamboat travel, filled his ships with passengers and built and incredibly successful business because unlike Collins he knew if he did not serve his customers well he would lose his business.
You think we would have learned our lesson by now that economic prosperity comes from the energies of entrepreneurs exercising their ingenuity in a free market place, and not from the government; but, have we?

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]]><![CDATA[Reflections on Entrepreneurship Part 8: Imagination]]>Fri, 14 Sep 2018 01:22:43 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/reflections-on-entrepreneurship-part-8-imagination

If you don’t get a little excited, at least once in awhile, about a wild and crazy brainstorm you’ve just had, you’re probably not going to rank very high on the imagination scale for entrepreneurs. Think of the most outlandish idea you have ever had, and then ask yourself if you had persevered in promoting that idea if you would have succeeded.

Example: In 1923 a young entrepreneur had a wild and crazy idea to explore human imperfections as a means of entertainment. The vehicle he would use to examine the foibles of humanity would be drawings of animals, and this he believed would be incredibly delightful to an audience.

Come again?

Yep! That was precisely the brainstorm Walt Disney had when he arrived in Hollywood in 1923. He had little more than a pencil to start with, and a vision of creating cartoon characters. He wrote, produced, directed and animated everything himself. In the early days it took hundreds, if not thousands of separate drawings to create a moving cartoon character. Walt rented an office for $5 a month and lived on baked beans. He was an entrepreneur with an imagination! He believed he was onto something incredible and no one could convince him otherwise.

My daughter spotted a mouse in the middle of the night and in her consternation awoke the whole family. After the mouse was trapped, dad disposed of the creature, because no one else in the family wanted to get close to it. My point: people in general do not find mice particularly appealing. Yet, this was the particular cartoon vehicle Disney would use to entertain the world. Who but an entrepreneur with an incredible imagination could have come up with that idea.

Mickey Mouse was the biggest star in the world in 1933, in which year Micky received over 800,000 pieces of fan mail and Walt’s one man operation was transformed into a company employing over a thousand animators. Then Walt envisioned a full length animated movie. At that time black and white was the norm; but, Walt wanted the movie to be done in color and he wanted it to be art in motion. Three years in the making and released in 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs became an instant success.

Disney followed up with: Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi, afterwhich his theme park became the fantasy destination of every child, since its opening in 1955 until today.
Take away for the entrepreneur: Imagination which leads to “brainstorms”, which leads to an unswayable conviction in the viability of said “brainstorms”, which in turn leads to organized perseverance, ultimately leads to success . . . no matter how “mousy” the idea.

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]]><![CDATA[Reflections on Entreprenuership Part 7: Capitalism and Reality]]>Thu, 16 Aug 2018 00:49:50 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/august-15th-2018

When I was in sixth grade back in 1960, I was taught that socialism was a viable alternative for certain countries at certain times in their economic development, and just because capitalism worked well in America, we should not believe it would work everywhere in the world. I liked my sixth grade teacher. He intended well; but, what he was teaching us, as I discovered later in life did not correspond to reality. He was a great guy and during recess he taught us how a backfield was intended to function with a quarterback, a fullback and two halfbacks. Like the game of football, the world has changed; but, common sense is still common sense and reality is reality.

Long story short, socialism just doesn’t work. It never has and it never will. Here’s why. Whether we care to admit it or not, we are all greedy and desirous of the things which material wealth provides. This is just part of who we are as human beings. Under any financial system imaginable people want more and better things. This is a large part of the reason why there have been wars, murders etc. throughout history. Whether we are talking about fascism, communism, a monarchy, socialism, capitalism or an environment with no financial/political system of any type(if this is possible), people just want more and better things.

The interesting concept about capitalism, which sets it apart from other systems is that by its very structure and nature, in order for a person to succeed he or she must serve other people and serve them well. Some people like to criticize capitalism by saying it makes us greedy. Part of the problem of this type of critique of capitalism is that it presupposes a kind of optimistic humanism in which human beings are perceived as being basically good. The problem with this supposition is that it simply ignores the reality of history.
People are not basically good. Among many other things about us human beings, we are greedy. We have intense and insatiable desire for material wealth. It’s just in our DNA. It’s a big part of who we are. Just look at the insatiable desire we have for more and better technology. No matter how fast our IPhone works we want it to work faster, and faster and faster.
To be fair, not all people are insatiable in their desire for more and better stuff, and while some people desire more and more things to set them apart from others, not all people are this way. Think of Mahatma Gandhi for example. He didn’t have an insatiable desire for more and better stuff. He was very happy to live a quiet rural life tending goats and weaving his own cloth to make his garments. Yea. During a visit, one of his benefactors was well remembered for saying to Gandhi, “You know it is costing us a fortune to keep you in poverty”.

The quality of capitalism which sets it apart is that it provides a means by which a person must provide a superior product or service to another person in order to prosper. It provides a system whereby we must serve others well in order to do well for ourselves. This is what separates capitalism from other economic systems. In other economic systems a person succeeds only by serving those elites who are in positions of power, be they warlords, kings, dictators etc.

The reality is that entrepreneurship, functioning within a free market economy which capitalism provides, leads to an accumulation of wealth both for the “poor” and for the”rich”. Whether poor or rich, one must serve the needs of others in order to succeed.
If you doubt this, all you have to do is compare free-trading Vietnam to protectionist Laos, free-trading Bangladesh to protectionist Pakistan or free-trading Colombia to protectionist Venezuela. Poverty is declining in countries where capitalism is allowed to flourish within a free global trading system.
The same is true not only in Vietnam, Bangladesh and Colombia; but, look at China after 1979, or India after 1991. When trade barriers are removed and capitalism is allowed a foot hold , people have time to invent and create and buy and sell other things. The economy is invigorated and poverty diminishes.

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]]><![CDATA[Reflections on Entrepreneurship Part 6: Intelligence]]>Wed, 11 Jul 2018 20:27:34 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/reflections-on-entrepreneurship-part-6-intelligence

Entrepreneurship and Intelligence

I did my undergraduate studies in psychology. For some reason, I was fascinated by IQ tests. I was intrigued by the concept of measuring a person’s intelligence. I quickly learned three things about IQ tests:

~ IQ tests only measure a person’s intellectual performance on a given test.
~ IQ test are vocabulary driven.
~ There are many things which IQ tests do not measure.

IQ tests only measure a person’s intellectual performance on a given test, they are driven by vocabulary and there are many deficiencies relevant to the scope of any given IQ test. That is to say, an IQ test can be helpful in terms of discerning if a person is a good candidate for law school, seminary or graduate studies in such disciplines as English, history or political science. At the same time, because of the very nature of the test itself, it is not necessarily a great barometer in terms of predicting whether someone might succeed as as a farmer, carpenter, potter, tour guide . . . or entrepreneur.

For similar reasons as those given above, grades in high school and/or college are not necessarily a good predictor of a person’s ability to succeed as an entrepreneur. The “old timers” used to call what transpires in high school and college as, “book learning”. That is actually a pretty accurate description of what transpires in high school and college. You are given an assignment to read a chapter in a history book for example, and then you listen to the teacher or professor lecture about the things which you just read, after which you are given a written test wherein you are evaluated on your capability to recall what you read and what you heard the teacher or professor say.

Hearing and reading and then remembering what we heard or read are helpful life skills; but, there are many other necessary abilities required to succeed as an entrepreneur.

Before I enumerate some of those many skills, it is important to note that fundamentally the greater problem is that our institutions of education focus on preparing a person to get a job. The problem is that our educational system does not intentionally prepare a person to become a “job creator”. Our system simply assumes that jobs will be available for qualified individuals without designedly facilitating creative environments to nurture our future entrepreneurs. Moreover, universities and colleges are producing graduates who have collectively amassed debt in the billions of dollars, while rarely graduating and finding employment in their chosen course of study.

But, I digress . . .

There are many abilities which our educational system either cannot or does not equip a student with, which are vitally necessary for the entrepreneur. Following is a short list of some of this abilities:

~ Ambition
~ An Appreciation And Respect For Capitalism
~ Initiative
~ Courage
~ Imagination
~ Leadership
~ Risk tolerance
~ Attitude
~ Creativity
~ People Skills
~ Intuition
~ Humility
~ Good Business Instincts

The true entrepreneur is not at all discouraged by an average or below average IQ, or average or below average grades. For the entrepreneur somehow knows in their heart, that one way or another, they will succeed. The entrepreneur knows in their “knower” that intelligence as our culture defines it, and as our institutions of higher learning cultivate it, is not the determining factor in their achievement. There is something inside the entrepreneur that bids them, “Go forth . . . engage . . . problem solve . . . learn . . . innovate . . . accomplish”.

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]]><![CDATA[Reflections on Entrepreneurship Part 5 : Capitalism, World Poverty, and What Makes It Work]]>Fri, 06 Jul 2018 22:35:37 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/entrepreneurship-part-5-capitalism-world-poverty-and-what-makes-it-work

“Intellectuals” in America around the 1920’s through the 1930’s somehow came to believe that capitalism was an inherently flawed economic system. Capitalism was thought to somehow constrain the economic well being of the populace and thereby to suppress freedom. The remedy to this imagined problem was viewed to be a greater amount of calculated government authority.

Entrepreneurship and Capitalism

This reformation of “intellectual” thought was consummated by contrasting the perceived economic reality of the time, with all of its inequity and deficiencies, with a totally imaginary state of affairs. In other words the real was compared with the unreal.

However, at the time of this writing in the spring of 2018 we now have almost an entire century of government intervention into business. It is no longer necessary to compare the real with the imagined. We can now compare the real with the actual.

In the 1920s and 1930s American “intellectuals” were hypothesizing about what they imagined to be the soon realized utopia of Russia. We can see clearly now that this imagined utopia never materialized. I can remember as a sixth grader in the 1950s hearing about the great Soviet Five Year Plan. Apparently we as Americans were to be in awe of this great Russian economic strategy. It simply never happened. Marx and Engels wrote in The Communist Manifesto, “The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win.”

Capitalism And What Makes It Work

There are several dynamics which enable capitalism to serve humanity well. The first is entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship presupposes the existence of free people functioning within a free market and a free society. Freedom creates a subsoil for creativity to flourish. With creativity comes new products and services (some of which people were not aware that they needed or wanted). In order for entrepreneurship to flourish, free people must be ruled by law.

The rule of law within a free society assures that contracts will be respected. The rule of law within a free country also paves the way for property rights and insures that the government cannot take what rightfully belongs to citizens. In order for capitalism to flourish there must also be free trade which is in effect fair trade. That is, there must be open access to markets and people all over the world without barriers, and in order for there to be free trade there must be the freedom for goods, services, people and ideas to move from one distant location to another.

Capitalism, Entrepreneurship and World Poverty

According to a recent study 84 percent of Americans are not aware of the tremendous strides that have been made against poverty world wide. Two thirds of people surveyed believe that hunger world wide has worsened. However, contrary to what most people have been led to believe, the percentage of people world wide living at starvation level poverty has fallen some 80 percent since 1970.

This has not been because of government redistribution, the policies of the World Bank, the actions of the United Nations, or the policies of the International Monetary Fund . . . it has been the result of entrepreneurs functioning within an environment of free market capitalism.

Hope you enjoyed our series. More to come about entrepreneurship in the coming days. In the mean time, if you're looking for funding for your consumer contracts, please click here. To learn more about consumer receivable funding, click here.

]]><![CDATA[Reflections on Entreprenuership Part 4: Risk]]>Mon, 25 Jun 2018 23:51:52 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/entreprenuership-part-4

Entrepreneurship and Risk

Recently some friends asked me what I did. I explained that twenty-two years ago I started a small business as a consultant in the factoring industry. From there I expanded into actively investing in the stock market. I continued to grow my business by purchasing REOs from banks, and having them remodeled and sold. Eventually I grew into financing residential construction projects.

I explained that the vision I had always had for the business was to not have any employees, inventory, receivables, equipment, fixtures, company owned vehicles or a brick and mortar presence. In other words, I shared with my friends, that the vision I have always had was to keep overhead at an extremely low level. I went onto explain that my wife and I shared equally in the business, and both had offices at home. I was very transparent about the fact that I firmly believed keeping expenses at a ridiculously low level contributed to my ability to persevere in the business.

My friends asked if there was risk. I answered directly that indeed there was risk; but, because I was able to keep my overhead extremely low, it was manageable risk with which I felt comfortable.

Later in the day I reflected upon the conversation and the nature of risk. While I greatly appreciated the fact that my friends appeared to have a certain modicum of respect for what I had achieved, I began to feel their question relevant to risk was somewhat odd. The reason I felt their question was somewhat odd was because I felt their question ignored the obvious reality that there is risk in everything we do. There is certainly risk involved in working for someone else. They were all in their sixties as I was, and had a lifetime of experience. Surely they knew as well as I there was risk in being in business for yourself, as there is risk in working for someone else.

Upon reflecting upon the conversation further, I admit that a darker side of my personality wanted to ask them if there was not risk associated with working for someone else . . . risk of being laid off, fired, having your hours cut, having your wages or benefits reduced, having your pension funds misappropriated, having to relocate to a different part of the country where you and/or your family are not comfortable with or having to travel outside the country for extended periods of time on a regular basis? Is there not the risk of having to share an office or cubicle with someone whom you dislike or with someone who dislikes you? Is there not the risk of having to work for a boss who takes credit for what you do, or expects you to do things which you believe to be unethical. Is there not the risk of having to work for a boss or an employer who disrespects you, passes over you for a promotion or doesn’t give you the pay raise you think you deserve?

I believe my friends knew as well as I there is risk in working for someone else as there is risk in being self-employed. I believe a better question might be that which Simon and Garfunkel ask, “Would you rather be a hammer than a nail?”

]]><![CDATA[The 76th Infantry Division - A Memorial Day Tribute]]>Mon, 28 May 2018 02:25:46 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/the-76th-infantry-division-a-memorial-day-tribute

The Ardennes Counteroffensive was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. It took place from December 16th 1944 until January 25th 1945. The Germans intended to split the Allied lines, encircle the Americans, and destroy four Allied armies. The Germans desperate surprise attack, although not successful in outflanking the Americans did succeed in bulging the German front lines. While the Germans referred to this offensive as Operation Watch on the Rhine, it came to be popularly known as the Battle of the Bulge.

The Germans, unsuccessful in outflanking the Americans, dug in like a Grizzly bear defending his den from a pack of determined wolves. With all the assets they had at their disposal the Germans assumed an incredibly strong defensive position to keep the Americans from a final advance on Berlin . . .

May 1, 1945
The 76th moved to a position in Reserve near Champlon, Belgium. Their mission was to back up general Patton’s Third Army, then in the process of reducing the Ardennes “Bulge”.

After a short stay in Champlon, the 76th relocated to Luxembourg where it assumed a defensive position along the Sauer river in preparation for an attack upon German defenses on the opposite bank.

As part of a general offensive launched by Patton’s Third Army, the 76th, were the first to reach their objective. They crossed the Sauer River near Echternach and then continued their attack against one of the most formidable sectors of the Siegfried Line. The 76th shattered all counter attacks which the Germans launched. For 36 hours engineers bridged the swollen river, while under attack from hostile weapons of every kind. The engineers of the 76th were called in to produce where other engineers had failed. As the 76th crossed the Sauer the Germans were dug in with one pillbox every 40 yards. To put this in perspective there was one pillbox every 35 yards on the airfields of Iwo Jima. The 76th not only crossed the Sauer under heavy fire from well fortified German positions; but, they inflicted double the casualties on the enemy, as they advanced . . . and most importantly the 76th took and held the bank of the Sauer River.

After gaining control of the final bridgehead over the Sauer River and after going through the Siegfried Line on this front, the 76th pivoted 90 degrees to the east and attacked the Germans as they (the 76th) crossed the Prum and Nims Rivers. The 76th then turned to the south-east and again attacked the Siegfried Line, this time from the rear, and ripped it apart all the way to the north bank of the Moselle River at Trier.

Shortly after Trier fell, the 76th regrouped and dug in along the Kyll River while they prepared to cross the Kyll. This time the 304th drew the assignment of “cracking the ice”. The 304th crossed the Kyll at several places near Preist with negligible casualties, climbed cliffs the enemy believed impassable and captured more than 200 of Adolph’s finest in their bed sacks.

The 76th and the 304th continued to advance across several intermediary rivers until they temporarily halted on the west bank of the Moselle river with Wittlich as the center of operations.

The 304th infantry crossed the Moselle at two places in order to secure and protect bridging operation undertaken at Mulheim.

The 76th then received orders to move 70 miles to the vicinity of St. Goar on the Rhein. The 76th defended along the Rhein while further offensive preparations were being made. Assaulting Divisions passed through the 76th, and then the 76th followed through, once again assuming the offense and this time attacking almost directly east from St. Goar. The 76th advanced several miles beyond Usingen and took all assigned objectives until halted by Corps order and directed to shuttle to an area in the vicinity of Homberg.

The 76th had barely closed at Homberg when it was again committed to the offensive. The 76th when later combined with the 6th Armored Division, formed the spearhead of the Third Army drive which plunged across Germany to within spitting distance of the Czechoslovakian border in less time than it takes to tell the story. During the drive the 76th advanced so rapidly that in one day a distance of 35 miles was covered. The movement was stopped only by a direct order to seize and hold the bridgehead over the Mulde River, in anticipation of a junction with the Russian Armies. Thus halted, the 76th made the deepest penetration into Germany of any allied troops at that time.

The 76th blazed a path of fire across Germany, while Engineers close on the heels of the Infantry ,and sometimes preceding them, bridged river after river and removed with equal dispatch and efficiency countless mines and road blocks.

The 76th was known as the “Onaway” Division because they had trained in a part of Wisconsin where the Chippewas once lived. Onaway was the alert cry of the Chippewa Indians and so it was adopted by the 76th as their War Cry.

The war cry of the 76th was heard from Echternach to Limbach as they advanced 400 miles in a little over two months. Th 76th captured over 25,00 Prisoners of War ranging from Major Generals to Nazi upstarts of the Hitler Jugend, and the number of towns the 76th captured and occupied ran into 4 figures. East of Altenburg, just 100 miles south of Berlin, 120 airplanes including 75 Training Airplanes and FW 190s were captured. Over 5,000 American, British, French, Polish and Serbian soldiers were freed from their captivity, while thousands of suffering souls were liberated from what was then known as slave labor camps, but is now known by the euphemism of concentration camps.

This Memorial Day, I am greatly humbled by the courage of my father who served in the 76th. Many of these young men were literally teenagers . . . eighteen and nineteen years old. They faced down not only pillboxes positioned every forty yards in strategic crossfire positions; but, such German weapons as automatic mortars which launched as many as thirty mortars at a time. They bravely advanced right into the German bulge, into the teeth of the bear, placed a bayonet at the throat of the enemy and helped end the war on the western front. - written by Anthony C.

We at Access Funding Center appreciate our service men and women. Thank you for the sacrifices you've made. For businesses looking for consumer contract financing, please contact us at 864-603-3539.

]]><![CDATA[Reflections on Entrepreneurship Part 3: Vision]]>Tue, 15 May 2018 21:38:31 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/reflections-on-entrepreneurship-part-3

Entrepreneurship and Vision

Continue on towards what? Towards one’s goals? W. Edwards Deming taught something to the effect that goal setting in business and then working to achieve those goals is like trying to drive your car while looking through the rear view mirror. I believe what Deming is trying to get people to see is that the world is changing so rapidly that attempting to persevere through the adversities of any business environment is like trying to hit an ever moving target which is constantly redefining itself. If you don’t think the world is changing so fast that goal setting in the traditional sense is lacking in intuitive necessity, just look at the intraday and interday action of the stock market.

Deming’s Model:
~ Plan
~ Do
~ Check
~ Act
~ Adjust

Deming’s model of Plan-Do-Check-Act-Adjust is a much more reasonable and reality based method by which to proceed in business. I would say it this way. Every entrepreneur should have a business plan which is in effect a vision. It should be a stable and reasonable vision, yet a vision which is constantly evolving. What Deming is saying is after you have planned, then do that which you have planned and then check it and take responsible actions according to observable data and so make whatever adjustments are necessary.

]]><![CDATA[Reflections on Entrepreneurship Part 2: Failure]]>Mon, 14 May 2018 17:31:53 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/entrepreneurship-part-2The Entrepreneur and Failure

launching an idea for your new company requires financing

I suspect at some point in time it becomes self-evident to successful entrepreneurs that past failures have been their very best friends in life. As a sophomore in high school I enjoyed advanced geometry as much as any subject I studied and probably spent about two hours every night doing homework.

Yet throughout the whole eternity of my sophomore year I received only Cs and at least one C minus handed to me by the teacher as if my test paper was a defecatious offering of my German Shepard contained in a plastic bag. My point is that as a sixteen year old young man I was blessed to have the experience to consistently study hard only to be rewarded with Cs, which I considered as a reward of anything but success.

People who have played sports at any level know exactly of what I am speaking. I can remember a basketball game I played at the beginning of my senior year in which we lost by a score of 77 to 33. I had worked for six years to be a starter on our varsity basketball team. I had practiced my jump shot outdoors in the heat of summer and refused to stop my practice even in the midst of rain storms. I had persisted in basketball after a bout with Osgood Schlatter Disease during which time I could not run for nine months. Because I could not play I served as the team manager. The reward for my persistence was a stern close-up look of reality. Dedicated, consistent, and organized hard work is many times rewarded by humiliating defeat at the hands of competitors who are clearly and unquestionably superior in every way. The fellows I played against in that game were bigger, quicker, stronger, more skilled in every facet of the game and played together much better as a team than we did.

However, in the dark silence of the long bus ride home I was offered a priceless gift which I willingly received. My persistence had been rewarded with the priceless reward of a nonreward.

At 68 years of age I see clearly now that many disqualify themselves from entrepreneurship because they expect recognition and respect for what they perceive to be a job well done, and sadly have acquired no facility whereby they can persevere without the acknowledgement of a job well done (which their pride demands).

In my experience, the courage to enter into entrepreneurship and persist until one succeeds derives from the ability and willingness to endure repeated failures, and to then continue on. ~ Anthony

If you're an entrepreneur or business owner looking to increase your working capital, you can contact us at 864-603-3539 for more information. Access Funding Center specializes in consumer contract financing.

]]><![CDATA[Reflections on Entrepreneurship Part 1: Definition]]>Sat, 21 Apr 2018 23:34:20 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/entrepreneurship

In order to benefit the business community, we are officially starting a series on entrepreneurship. Please stay tune to what's to come!

Entrepreneurship: A Definition

What is entrepreneurship? One definition I came across spoke of entrepreneurship in terms of a capacity and willingness to start a business relevant to the risks involved in doing so. I believe this is an adequate understanding of what entrepreneurship is. It does however raise the question as to what defines capacity and willingness, and the definition also raises further questions relevant to the nature of risk.What is entrepreneurship? One definition I came across spoke of entrepreneurship in terms of a capacity and willingness to start a business relevant to the risks involved in doing so. I believe this is an adequate understanding of what entrepreneurship is. It does however raise the question as to what defines capacity and willingness, and the definition also raises further questions relevant to the nature of risk.

Entrepreneurship and Courage

I believe that entrepreneurship has a lot to do with the courage to live with the possibility of failure and the ability to deal with failure when it does occur. So where does this courage derive? At the heart of what I will call, entrepreneurial courage, there lies, or ought to lie a certain modicum of humility. How so?

I remember back in the 80s when George Shin became the owner of the Charlotte Hornets, one man I knew said that George had more money than sense. I think that deep in their heart every entrepreneur knows that there is someone close to them who will think them foolish should they try and fail. Likewise, entrepreneurs soon discover when they succeed there will be few significant others willing to offer praise.

Entrepreneurs face criticism and foreboding warnings for being bold enough to try from people who will think them foolish if they succeed, and are usually rewarded by the silence of friends and family when they do succeed.

]]><![CDATA[Consumer Receivable Financing and the Economy]]>Fri, 09 Mar 2018 18:27:18 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/consumer-receivable-financing-and-the-economy

Is there any doubt that after a little over one year into President Trump’s first term in office that our nation’s economic outlook has dramatically improved? Animal spirits are high, incomes are improving, joblessness is declining and realism is slowly triumphing over foolish skepticism.

IBD quotes several of President Trump’s critics as he entered office last year. “Investors ignoring the risks in Trump’s presidency” (Market Watch), “Why the Trump Economic Boom Will Never Come” (Foreign Policy), and my personal favorite, “Trump is being handed a great economy. What happens when it goes south?” (Washington Post).
So what has President Trump accomplished relevant to the economy as it relates to consumer spending and the advantages to entrepreneurs to utilize consumer contract financing to help their customers and provide a cash flow advantage for themselves.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average during President Trump’s first year in office rose over 31%. To put that in perspective, that is a greater increase in the DOW than any other President since Franklin Roosevelt. During President Trump’s first year in office unemployment fell from 4.8% to 4.1%. This means that during Trump’s first year in office 2.2 million jobs were added to the economy. Minorities experienced their lowest unemployment rates ever in December of 2017 and unemployment claims were at a 45 year low.
Related to all of this, consumer confidence is soaring. The Consumer Confidence Index at the end of February of 2018 stands at 130.8. That’s an increase from January at which time the CCI was at 124.3 So if you are a business which sells products or services directly to consumers there are good times ahead. In order to prosper during these times and gain a competitive edge it is necessary to to offer financing to your subprime as well as your prime customers. Installment contract financing or consumer receivable financing can enable you to convert prospects into customers. You can receive online approval for your retail installment contracts while your prospective customers are still in your store or at your website.
Once the sell is completed you can sell your consumer notes and get immediate cash for your receivables. In this way you can improve your cash flow dramatically. Instead of waiting a year or two to receive monthly payments, you can cash out your consumer contracts and pump capital back into your business to increase your profitability.
At the same time that you offer financing for your customers you can also relieve yourself of the time and expense involved in servicing your consumer receivables. Likewise if slow pays turn into no pays you can have collection work done without having an in-house dedicated back office to your collection work.

]]><![CDATA[Vocational Training School Finance Program]]>Tue, 20 Feb 2018 18:48:50 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/vocational-training-school-finance-program

Vocational or trade school finance program

Are you an administrator at a vocational or trade school? Do you want to increase your enrollment? Consumer receivable financing program for your potential students could be a way for you to help you increase your enrollment and thereby help your students succeed.

Many post high school students who initially did not want to enter into higher learning institute may after a few years of working at entry level jobs decide to obtain a trade or skill set that will provide a solid and steady income. Many of these students do not want to obtain a 4 year degree which may seem vague, therefore, these students may opt for a 1-2 year training program that a vocational or trade school provide.

Some students may qualify for loans or grants and others may be scholarships, but a lot of students will be willing to pay for the education if the career path will lead them to financial stability where they'll be able to pay back their financed amount in a short time. If you want to learn more about these financing programs, please give Access Funding Center a call at 864-603-3539. We'll be glad to guide you through the process. Besides consumer finance programs, we can also help you with bad debts and collection. Give us a call today!!

]]><![CDATA[How your business can benefit from accounts receivable financing for consumer contracts]]>Thu, 08 Feb 2018 14:27:59 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/how-your-business-can-benefit-from-accounts-receivable-financing-for-consumer-contracts

Starting a small business is like a dream come true for many entrepreneurs. However, maintaining success is the real challenge. Hundreds of companies fail every year because of lack of investment. They do not have enough money to manage the project and meet the demands of their customers. It results in closure of the company. The business owners do not know that there is a solution for every problem. All they have to do is look around. The accounts receivable financing for consumer contracts can solve all the investment and payment related issues that small business organizations might have been dealing with.

With the help of receivable financing, small businesses can grow their business and meet the cash flow requirements. In case that you are not eligible for a loan and you do not have the money to pay for the raw material required to manufacture the products simply get receivable financing services.
With the help of consumer contract factoring companies can have a loan up to 90% of the account that is receivable amount once the tasks have been accomplished. The service providers assure that the company has been able to complete its project. Most of the people have a misconception that receivable financing is not a reliable source of business financing. They think that is a trap that will have you caught up with the never-ending debt. The reason for this doubt is that they do not know about the benefits of the system. Here are some of the interesting ways receivable financing will help in the growth of your business.
No bad credit score
It has been noticed that most of the small business organizations have been suffering from debt. They do not have the money to pay off their debts due to which they have a bad credit score.

They are in the needs of business growth
Company needs money to introduce new services and products so they can grab the attention of new customers
They do not have enough income and they are not eligible to apply for loan

The installment contract funding will be the perfect solution. You might not get enough money to invest in the new project. However, with the money, you can easily pay off your debt. It will help you to get your positive credit score back. It means that you can apply for a loan to use the money for the accomplishment of new project.
Processing of consumer contract to save money
A common issue that most of the companies have to deal with is the late payments by customers. In order to develop a strong relationship with customers they allow them to have the products so they will return for more. However, they do not know that this delay in payment will severely damage their business.
With the help of installment contract funding contract, you can generate the revenue that you deserve. The contract company will take control of the payments. They will assure that customers pay for the products in limited time. It will allow the companies to have cash for consumer notes to assure that growth of business will not be affected. It will allow the companies to make more sales and they can save the profit for further investment.
Meet project requirements
It is important for every business organization to meet the requirements of the customers and assure that they provide quality results. Often due to lack of investment companies have to use the low-quality raw material to assure that they will meet the demand. It has a negative impact on the reputation of the company because customers cannot afford to have a lower quality product. With the help of cash for consumer notes, it will be easier for the companies to manage their projects within the given time and quality of products will not be affected it will provide them a chance to grab the attention of more customers and that is how the business grow positively.
Business-friendlyThe biggest attraction of receivable financing is that it has a business friendly approach. You will feel like the funding services have been specially designed for your business. Within few days you will notice that the productivity of your company will increase and there will be no going back. You will not have to deal with debt or lenders at your back threatening you regarding the payment of their loan. There are no collaterals but you have to assure that you invest in the growth of your business.
The wait is over
One of the best services of receivable financing is that you will never have to wait. Once you apply the company will quickly verify you as the owner of the business and within limited time you will have the cash in your hand. Unlike a bank that in general nitpick at every financial detail, consumer receivable funding sources are generally more lenient in providing the capital you need. The mission of receivable financing is to provide you the help when you need it not when the difficult time has passed. It is the most reliable type of financing that you should select for your small business development.
Bottom line
Once you have planned that you are going to get the receivable financing services make sure that you wisely select the lender. There are many lenders available online but not all are trustworthy. Some have launched their websites so they can get your accounts details. During the selection of the company, one should compare the services provided by the different platforms. Do not select the first one that is shown in your search results.
Access Funding Center has been providing the consumer receivable financing services for many years. We know how to help the clients deal with the problem they have been suffering from. Different financing packages are available, you can select the one you find most appropriate. You can consult our specialists. We will help you in the selection of the services that will be most appropriate. Call today at 864-603-3539.

Contributor: shoaibashraf12. Ask how you can be a guest contributor.

]]><![CDATA[Gaining A Competitive Edge Through Installment Contract Financing]]>Mon, 08 Jan 2018 15:31:42 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/gaining-a-competitive-edge-through-installment-contract-financing

Amazon.com recently started its innovative Amazon Key service. Thirty-seven major metropolitan areas within the United States now can receive packages from Amazon inside their front doors. All these Prime member customers have to do is to install smart locks equipped to provide single-use entry codes for packages to be delivered directly to their homes.

By the way, Wal-Mart has the same type of idea. In September, Walmart stated it is in the process of testing the delivery of groceries directly to a customer’s refrigerator. This will be accomplished with a smart-lock pass code and home-security cameras, thus allowing the home owner to monitor the procedure inside their home.

How is the small business owner to compete?
Zion Market Research says the following, “Globally, the market for smart-home technology is projected to grow from Twenty-four billion in 2016 to fifty-three billion in 2022, driven by uses like security monitoring, energy efficiency and remote health monitoring of an aging population.”
If you are a “ma and pa” entrepreneur you need every competitive edge available to compete against the giants. It is to your advantage that at the writing of this article (1/6/18) consumer confidence is high, as are the “economical animal spirits”.
If you own a small business that sells a viable product or service directly to consumers either through a brick and mortar presence and/or an online presence, you need to take advantage of every technology available to you to compete with the big boys. A strong cash flow environment is absolutely essential if you are to prosper.
Installment contract financing, sometimes known as consumer contract financing or retail installment contract financing will enable you to sell your consumer notes and usually within twelve to twenty-four hours receive cash to gain a competitive edge.
Let’s say for example that you are a jewelry store with a local, regional or national presence . . . or let’s say you have developed a innovative in house family fitness exercise machine that you want to sell directly to consumers over the internet.
Installment Contract Financing can enable you to accomplish the following:

   ~ Provide financing to your prime customers
   ~ Provide financing to you subprime customers
   ~ Immediately sell your consumer contracts(consumer receivables) for capital

This procedure is sometimes known as factoring your consumer contracts or factoring consumer receivables. It will enable to greatly improve your cash flow position and use appropriate technology to gain a competitive edge.

Call us today to see if we can offer a solution for you!

]]><![CDATA[New Year Resolution]]>Fri, 22 Dec 2017 02:39:38 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/new-year-resolution

Customer financing for gym membership and exercise equipment

As you know, this is the time of year when most everyone indulge in extra helping of food and drinks. Did you know that the average person eat more than 7,000 calories just on Christmas Day alone? Year after year, the number one New Year’s resolution is either weight loss or be fit and healthy. One research mentioned a 315% increase in searches for “gyms” or fitness related terms.

If you are in the industry of fitness, eg selling exercise club memberships or selling gym or workout equipments, there’s not a better time to market than right now. However, most of your clients may not have the financing to afford the equipment or membership you provide due to other obligations from the holiday season. A 3rd party customer financing may come into play for you in jump starting your sales.

Here are some of the benefits with customer or consumer financing with a 3rd party:

Increase sales - you can offer financing not only for your “A” credit clients but also your subprime clients with various financing terms.
Instead of waiting for months for your full payment, you can convert the notes you’re holding into immediate cash and therefore help your business grow.
Makes billing a breeze - the 3rd party will help in servicing current and future contracts and minimize your inhouse expense of maintaining an efficient accounting department.
Better and more competitive pricing - by offering financing to your clients, he or she may be able to afford the low monthly pricing
Collection made easy - in the case of collection, the 3rd party financing source will handle that for you.

Access Funding Center is here to help you achieve your financing goals as you grow your business.
Call us today at 864-603-3539 for more information.

]]><![CDATA[Tax Cuts and Retail Installment Contract Financing]]>Mon, 27 Nov 2017 18:08:23 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/tax-cuts-and-retail-installment-contract-financing

What has been missing from our economy in recent years? The answer is quite simple. In a word, what has been missing is GROWTH!

Businesses which offer the following types of products or services to consumers will benefit from the new legislation in proportion to their ability to offer creative financing to their customers through such services as consumer receivables financing (retail installment contract financing):

Vacation Club Memberships and Timeshare Sales
Fitness Equipment
Business Opportunity Seminars
College Preparatory Counseling and Tutoring Sales
Jewelry Sales
Elective Medical Surgery
Emergency Life Saving Devices
Cell Phone Sales
Medical Billing Schools
Computer Certification Schools

The above are just a few of the types of businesses which will benefit from the discretionary income that will be generated from the proposed Tax Cut and Jobs Act.

Indeed there will be an abundance of discretionary income generated from the proposed Tax Cut and Jobs Act currently being discussed by both houses of Congress. Under the House bill, the annual GDP per household will be permanently higher by an inflation adjusted $4,098. While under the Senate bill the annual GDP per household will be permanently higher by an inflation adjusted $4,403. After nearly two decades of stagnation in median real incomes, these are significant increases in household incomes. These boosts in household incomes will go a long way toward ending the early 21st-century economic malaise that began after the dot-com boom went bust.

Likewise seeing an increase of 3% GDP from an average of a 2% increase in GDP will result in a monumental impact on our economy. Our historical GDP has been 3%, not 2%. Seeing our GDP increase by just 1% from 2% to 3% is really a functional increase of 50%. Those companies who are positioned to offer sub-prime financing to their customers, while at the same time being able to sell their consumer receivables (retail installment contracts) to generated cash flow, will be well positioned to be competitive in a booming economy.

Companies who sell products and/or services directly to consumers can not only benefit from providing sub-prime financing to their customers; but, they can then sell their consumer contracts and generate capital for growing their business.

Access Funding Center, Inc. provides a consulting service related to the process whereby companies can not only provide financing for their prime as well as their sub-prime customers but can also create much-needed cash flow through the subsequent sale of their retail installment contracts.

]]><![CDATA[Liquidity and the Factoring of Consumer Contracts]]>Mon, 14 Aug 2017 21:31:54 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/liquidity-and-the-factoring-of-consumer-contracts

In a social setting, I am sometimes asked, “What is it that you do?” I usually reply something to the effect of, “Well, I own a brokerage business in the factoring industry”. I try to keep my explanation as simple as possible. The person to whom I am speaking usually nods their head politely, and we move onto another topic.

However, if the person to whom I am talking is a business owner and sells products or services to consumers, I will ask if he needs financing for his subprime customers. Usually the business owner has financing available through a retail installment contract for his "A" credit customers, or his "A" credit customers can easily find consumer financing on their own. But usually I hear that there is not financing available for his/her less creditworthy customers.

Generally, the business owner is interested in consumer receivable financing for his less creditworthy customers. So then I usually ask, “Would you be interested in not only providing credit for your sub prime customers, but also being able to cash out your retail installment contracts and receive immediate cash rather than slowly receiving monthly payments for the next year or two?” The answer is usually yes.

So when asked, “What is it that you do?” I could say something to the effect of, “I help businesses who sell products or services directly to consumers to realize market liquidity through assets such as their consumer notes.”

Liquidity involves the trade-off between the speed of the sale of any given asset and the actual price which any given asset can be sold. The reason a business owner will answer yes to whether or not he/she would prefer to be paid sooner rather than later is because they understand that by increasing their cash flow, they can increase their profitability. Oftentimes, small business owners are not aware of the possible high degree of liquidity of their consumer contracts.

However, liquidity also implies the concept of selling an asset without causing a dramatic change in the asset’s price. When a business owner chooses to sell their retail installment contracts, they do so at a price. There is a discount charged for the service of assuming the risk associated with waiting to be paid monthly over a period of time. There is sometimes also a refundable reserve which is held back to further mitigate against the possibility of loss to a funding source, who is purchasing the consumer receivable.

An asset such as a consumer note’s market liquidity is a relative term. It is related to the business owner’s perception of whether the discount and reserve associated with the sale of their consumer receivables reduces the price of the receivable a significant degree. Any business owner is the best judge of this question. However, consumer receivable financing works best in an environment where the profit margin is large enough that the business owner is comfortable with the costs of factoring their consumer notes, due to their enhanced cash flow as it relates to profitability.

]]><![CDATA[Accounts Receivable Factoring and Amazon: Part II]]>Fri, 28 Jul 2017 20:45:49 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/accounts-receivable-factoring-and-amazon-part-ii

If you are a small business owner retailing consumer products or services and you are not offering consumer receivable financing to your subprime as well as prime credit rated customers you are at a considerable disadvantage in today’s marketplace. Even as our economy at the time of this writing, is in the eighth year of expansion, the retail industry itself is facing an existential crisis. For example, the parent company of both Sears and Kmart stores, Sears Holdings, said recently that it had ”substantial doubt” as to its survival prospects. This is due largely to the fact that it has lost more than ten billion dollars over the last six years.

Urban Outfitters likened the troubled retail industry to a housing bubble that has popped. In the age of Amazon.com retailers are taking a hard look at the future of their industry.

The thirteen billion seven hundred million Amazon recent acquisition of the natural foods grocer Whole Foods Market stunned the marketplace. In addition Amazon was said to be considering an entrance into the pharmaceuticals market, industrial supplies, auto parts, message apps and business lending.

To compete in today’s marketplace the entrepreneur who is marketing products and/or services directly to the consumer will have to become more creative. One way to achieve this is through accounts receivable factoring. Accounts receivable factoring, sometimes known as consumer receivable financing or installment contract financing, is a way of offering creative financing to customers not only with A credit but with credit scores as low as 620.

By factoring consumer notes the small business owner is making use of a liquid asset which they may not realize they have. A consumer note, for example, in the form of a retail installment contract can be sold in order to create capital for such things as:

To Launch An Advertising Campaign

To Take Advantage Of Supplier Discounts

To Make Quarterly Tax Payments

To Make Payroll

To Bring On More Productive Sales People

To Eliminate Unnecessary Back Office Staff Doing Accounts Receivable Work

To Initiate A Creative Marketing Concept
By utilizing consumer receivable financing a small business owner can create liquidity through selling their consumer notes and thereby not having to qualify for a loan or a line of credit. By factoring their consumer receivables the small business owner is not taking on the burden of bad debt; because they simply are not taking out a loan, they are selling an asset.

In many instances where the business owner’s profit margin is considerable and cash flow is of utmost importance this makes sense to do. In today’s market place where the small business person has to compete with giants, the small business owner needs to take advantage of every asset they have in order to be competitive. Consumer contracts are one asset which many people are not aware that they can put to use for themselves in order to create immediate cash flow, and so increase their profitability. The beauty of this method of non-traditional financing is that it does not show up as debt on your balance sheet, because you have not taken out a loan, rather you have sold an asset.

]]><![CDATA[Liquidity, Cash Flow and Consumer Contract Financing]]>Thu, 22 Jun 2017 22:39:50 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/liquidity-cash-flow-and-consumer-contract-financing

What exactly is liquidity and cash flow and how does it relate to consumer contract financing? In a certain sense liquidity has to do with a business’s ability to convert non-cash assets to cash or to otherwise obtain cash to address specific obligations. The prudent entrepreneur is always about the business of appraising current amounts of liquid assets as they relate to future cash flows. Business owners who work directly with consumers, providing products and/or services may not be aware that the consumer notes which they hold, for example, in the form of a retail installment contract, may be in effect, a very liquid asset.

At the same time cash adequacy may be directly or indirectly affected by such things as seasonal business. Year end financial data may or may not be representative of seasonal cash flow inadequacies. Quarterly and monthly financials will probably be more helpful in analysing seasonal cash flow effects.

The analytically minded business owner can determine cash adequacy in several ways by closely examining the following trends.

Cash flow created from the harvesting of value from assets
Cash flow created from operations minus cash payments needed to pay debt on dividends, principal and capital expenditures
Cash flow created from operations (net income plus noncash expenses less non cash revenue)

Cash flow that can be created from the harvesting of the value of assets may not always be readily apparent. For example consumer receivables in the form of retail installment contracts can be sold as a portfolio and/or on a monthly basis so as to create cash flow for such things as the purchase of more inventory, or the payment of quarterly taxes, or addressing payroll issues, or taking advantage of discounts offered by suppliers, or for generating capital for an advertizing campaign etc.

The greater point is that liquidity for growth may be readily realized through assets that are in the form of consumer notes. These notes can be readily sold to enhance cash flow and thus improve profitability.

This can be done on a regular and ongoing monthly basis, it can be done on an as needed monthly basis, it can be done through the sale of a large portfolio of consumer receivables (consumer contracts) and/or it can be done by some combination of all of the above.

In appraising financial flexibility the small business owner should evaluate how quickly their assets can be converted to cash, the capability of acquiring additional financing, the extent of nonoperating assets, and the ability to change operating and investing activities. One of the helpful benefits of consumer receivable financing is that the conversion of a retail installment contract to cash usually only takes about twelve to twenty-four hours or less.

It is important to note that excessive financial flexibility may reduce the rate of return. For example, while holding cash strengthens liquidity, at the same time it significantly reduces your rate of return on that cash. Open lines of credit will ensure that capital is available when necessary; but, there is usually a cost associated with lines of credit. Cash and open lines of credit will surely move the entrepreneur in the right direction, and are self-evident helpful tools when utilized correctly. At the same time consumer contracts may not be readily recognized as viable routes to liquidity. Consumer receivables can be sold, and can create cash flow to supplement such things as lines of credit and cash, or consumer receivables can be used to create liquidity when lines of credit and cash are simply not available.

]]><![CDATA[“Mom and Pop” Financing for their Customers]]>Mon, 10 Apr 2017 20:20:52 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/mom-and-pop-financing-for-their-customers

The renegotiation of trade agreements and/or the use of tariffs could result in consumer prices for goods and services increasing dramatically. Unfortunately, this would probably have a greater negative effect on poorer Americans than on richer Americans. It will be interesting to see if there will be a role for wage subsidies, tax credits and retraining programs for those Americans who will have seen their jobs displaced by automation or globalization. Whatever scenario plays out, small and medium sized businesses which offer products or services directly to consumers will have to provide ever increasing creative financing for their customers, as consumer prices are bound to increase as tariffs are employed and as trade agreements are negotiated.

In order to compete businesses will have to be able to offer financing not only for their customers with excellent credit ratings, but also for their customers with subprime credit scores.
Assisting “the forgotten man and woman,” a chief message of the Trump presidential campaign can best be realized by promoting faster economic growth. In order to achieve this, there must be tax reform that includes not only lowering the corporate tax rate, but expanding the earned-income tax credit.
Many “mom and pop” businesses today, do provide financing for their customers; however, it is “mom and pop” who actually extend financing to their customers. “Mom and pop” inadvertently become a lending institution tying up their own capital and thereby limiting their possibility for meaningful growth. There is a better alternative.
Instead of carrying notes themselves, “mom and pop” can sell their consumer contracts (retail installment contracts) and so generate an increased cash flow for themselves in this very competitive market. That is to say there is a way for small and medium-sized businesses to not only offer consumer financing, but to offer it to “the forgotten man and woman” with credit scores, in some instances as low as 600-620.
Access Funding Center, Inc. provides a consulting service whereby small and medium sized businesses anywhere in the United States can sell their consumer receivables (consumer notes) after providing financing for their prime and subprime customers. By selling their consumer notes, businesses that provide products or services to customers, don’t have to become a funding source themselves. Instead they are able to free up their capital and do whatever it is that they do best in order to improve their profitability.
The improvement of a business’ cash flow environment through consumer receivable financing, and thus the resulting profitability is crucial, because through the last ten years, we have witnessed the worst recession since the Great Depression. In addition we have seen government spending and taxation, as well as a massive expansion of federal regulation on commerce. These last ten years have also marked one of the weakest recoveries ever measured by GDP growth.
In the meanwhile,wage growth among the least affluent of Americans has remained stationary while the labor-force participation remains close to an all time low among prime working age individuals. The real GDP growth has been sabotaged somewhere between 1% and 2% in recent years. This is far below its post war, pre-crisis movement of 3%.

]]><![CDATA[Accounts Receivable Factoring and Amazon]]>Tue, 24 Jan 2017 21:18:08 GMThttp://www.accessfundingcenter.com/consumer-accounts-receivable-contract/accounts-receivable-factoring-and-amazon

Amazon’s primary objective has been to have a foothold in every aspect of our lives. It’s monumental growth has increasingly brought their objective into clearer focus.

A little more than ten years ago Amazon.com introduced a service that business welcomed because it saved them money by positioning them to only pay for the computing power and storage capacity they actually utilized. This pilot project is now a household word and is known as cloud computing and is called Amazon Web Services. Amazon Web Services currently has more than one million users per month. Amazon Web Services will probably surpass thirteen billion in 2016 sales. To put that number in perspective, in size and growth it approximates what Amazon accomplished in its first eleven years.

How can small and medium size businesses which offer products and services to consumers compete with this behemoth for market share? Are you leaving “money on the table” because you are not offering accounts receivable factoring to your customers? Are you leaving “money on the table” because you are not offering financing to your subprime as well as your more credit worthy customers? Would you like to be able to offer accounts receivable financing to prospective customers with credit scores as low as 600?

Amazon Web Services’s parent company will likely have seen revenue near 145 billion for 2016. In addition, Amazon is extending its reach into new businesses of every imaginable nature with the goal of continuing to increase its sales and share price.

If you think you have an advantage because you are a brick and mortar presence in your community, keep in mind that physical stores are now an integral part of Amazon’s plans for the future.

In order to be competitive in the coming years, small and medium size corporations will have to be able to offer financing to both their prime and subprime prospective customers. The beauty of accounts receivable factoring (accounts receivable financing) is that you can not only offer immediate financing to your prime and subprime customers; but, you can also immediately “cash out” your retail installment contracts by selling them to the same funding source which is providing the financing for you.

By this means you can create for yourself immediate cash flow instead of waiting one, two or three years to get paid slowly month by month. Through the simple process of accounts receivable factoring you can, for example, eliminate your bad debt by leveraging off your customer's’ credit so as to concentrate on marketing and expanding your business.

By enhancing your cash flow position you can also become more competitive by being able to meet increasing demand and by taking advantage of early payment discounts and volume discounts. More importantly, since the funding source can also service your accounts as well as do collection work on your delinquent consumer contracts, you can concentrate on marketing and expanding your business.

Enhanced cash flow through consumer receivable financing is the key to the competitive edge which small and medium size businesses need to compete with the behemoths in today's marketplace.

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Entrepreneurship and Risk ​

Entrepreneurship and Vision ​

Entrepreneurship and Risk

Entrepreneurship and Vision