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.