Small Business Credit Minute w/ S.E. Day™ | Business Credit & Funding for Small Business Owners

Episode title: Reconsideration Calls That Actually Work — A Script and Strategy Show notes: A business credit denial can leave you wondering what to say next. In this episode, S.E. Day explains how to prepare a reconsideration conversation from a bank underwriter’s angle. You’ll hear how to identify the actual reasons for a denial, separate factual corrections from financial weaknesses and product...

SHOW NOTES Business Credit Disputes: What You Can Correct and How to Do It Right Finding incorrect information on your business credit report doesn’t mean you should start firing off generic dispute letters. In this episode, S.E. Day explains the difference between a legitimate commercial credit dispute and an attempt to remove accurate negative information. You’ll learn how to audit business iden...

Show Notes Strong revenue and good credit may not be enough to secure financing if your company’s legal and compliance records raise questions. In this episode, S.E. Day speaks with attorney Greg Tinch about the compliance gaps that can weaken a business’s credibility before a lender finishes reviewing the application. They examine why forming an LLC is only the beginning—and how inconsistent reco...

Episode Summary A business can have revenue, cash, and credit history and still create avoidable underwriting risk when its records are incomplete, outdated, or inconsistent. In this episode, S.E. Day explains the five-part compliance cleanup every small-business owner should complete before seeking a loan, line of credit, or business credit card. Listeners learn how to align the company’s legal i...

Show Notes LLC vs. S-Corp vs. C-Corp vs. B-Corp - Which Structure Is Best for Building Business Credit? Business owners are often told that the right entity label will unlock business credit. The truth is more disciplined: LLCs, corporations, and eligible S-election entities can all build business credit. The structure establishes the legal and operational container; payment performance, cash flow...

Show Notes The Truth About Small Business Grants—What’s Real and What’s a Waste of Time Small-business grants are real—but they are not a universal source of free money. Most legitimate opportunities are narrow, competitive, restricted to a specific purpose, or delivered indirectly through states, nonprofits, universities, and other intermediaries. In this Funding Readiness Reality Check, S.E. Day...

Show Notes Episode Summary: SBA-backed financing is not one generic product. This episode explains the distinct jobs of the SBA 7(a), 504, and Microloan programs and gives business owners a practical framework for choosing the correct lane. The 7(a) program offers flexible financing for eligible business purposes; the 504 program provides long-term fixed-asset financing through a CDC and senior le...

Show Notes In this episode, S.E. Day explains what a Community Development Financial Institution, or CDFI, is and why small business owners should understand how CDFIs fit into their funding strategy. CDFIs are mission-driven financial institutions that serve communities and borrowers often underserved by traditional lenders. They may include community development banks, credit unions, loan funds,...

Show Notes Episode Summary Many business owners set year-end funding goals without evaluating whether their credit, cash flow, compliance, and documentation are moving in the same direction. In this episode, S.E. Day walks business owners through a practical mid-year funding-readiness review. Listeners learn how to audit business and personal credit, examine six months of banking activity, organiz...

Episode Summary A business credit card without a personal guarantee can help separate company obligations from an owner’s personal liability. However, approval generally requires the business to demonstrate sufficient financial strength through revenue, cash balances, cash flow, commercial credit, or collateral. In this episode, Sandy E. Day explains the differences between traditional small-busin...

Episode Title Credit Card Stacking: Strategy, Myth, and What Can Go Wrong Episode Summary In this episode of the Small Business Credit Minute w/ S.E. Day™, Sandy breaks down the real-world risks and strategic uses of credit card stacking for small business owners. Credit card stacking can create access to short-term revolving capital, but it can also damage personal credit, increase utilization, c...

Episode Summary In this episode of Small Business Credit Minute w/ S.E. Day™, Sandy explains why many business owners are unintentionally damaging their credit profile by allowing high credit card balances to report, even when they pay the cards in full by the due date. The episode breaks down credit card utilization, why statement closing dates matter, how reported balances can affect personal an...

Episode Summary Many entrepreneurs use personal credit cards to pay for business expenses, believing that a credit card is simply a credit card. From a lender’s perspective, however, there is a significant distinction. In this episode of Small Business Credit Minute w/ S.E. Day™, Sandy E. Day explains why business credit cards and personal credit cards serve different purposes, how each affects yo...

SHOW NOTES Episode Title Your LLC Is Not a Magic Shield: Piercing the Corporate Veil and Why Banks Care Episode Summary Many small business owners believe forming an LLC or corporation automatically protects them and makes their business look credible to banks. That is not true. In this episode of Small Business Credit Minute w/ S.E. Day™, Sandy breaks down the legal term piercing the corporate ve...

Compliance Gaps Kill Funding — How to Fix the Legal Signals Lenders Notice Before You Apply Get my free Business Credit Starter Kit at  https://fsbonly.com ⁠ AIDA Elements Attention: Could weak compliance be making your business look too risky to fund? Interest: Many business owners focus on credit scores and revenue, but lenders also look for legal consistency, documentation, ownership clarity, a...

Episode Title Are NSF Fees and Overdrafts Killing Your Fundability? Episode Summary NSF fees and overdrafts may look like small banking charges, but lenders may read them as cash-flow warning signs. In this episode of Small Business Credit Minute w/ S.E. Day™, Sandy explains why repeated NSF fees, overdrafts, returned payments, and negative balances can weaken a business owner’s fundability. The r...

Weak Cash Flow Blocks Funding — Why Lenders Care More About Repayment Than Revenue Get my free Business Credit Starter Kit at https://fsbonly.com . Episode Summary Most small business owners think funding starts with credit scores, collateral, or revenue. But lenders often focus on something more basic: cash flow. In this episode of Small Business Credit Minute w/ S.E. Day™, Sandy Day sits down wi...

Episode Title The 3-Month Cash Flow Every Lender Looks For (And How You Can Provide The Fix With Confidence Episode Summary In this episode of Small Business Credit Minute w/ S.E. Day™, S.E. Day breaks down why lenders pay close attention to the last 90 days of business cash flow before making funding decisions. Business owners often focus on revenue, credit scores, or tax returns, but lenders wan...

Episode Title When History Gets Reduced to a Holiday, Communities Lose the Lesson — How Kensington Juneteenth Turns Family Fun Into Civic Education Get my free Business Credit Starter Kit at https://fsbonly.com Episode Summary In this episode of Small Business Credit Minute w/ S.E. Day™, Sandy sits down with Jamie Boston to discuss the upcoming 5th Annual Kensington Juneteenth Celebration, taking...

Cash Flow Reality Check — Is Your Account Telling a Fundable Story? Get my free Business Credit Starter Kit at https://fsbonly.com Episode Summary Your business bank account may be saying more to lenders than you realize. In this Funding Readiness Reality Check episode, S.E. breaks down how lenders review your cash flow, deposits, balances, overdrafts, and account behavior before deciding whether...

Your Deposits Are Talking—And Your Lender Is Listening Get my free Business Credit Starter Kit at  https://fsbonly.com AIDA Elements Attention: What would your lender learn if they reviewed your last 90 days of business bank deposits today? Interest: Your business bank account may be saying more than you think. Lenders use deposit patterns to evaluate cash flow, repayment capacity, liquidity, and...

Financial Illiteracy Costs Communities—Credit Unions Can Change It Get my free Business Credit Starter Kit at https://fsbonly.com In this episode of Small Business Credit Minute w/ S.E. Day™, I sit down with Lee Morgan, President and CEO of PenAir Credit Union to discuss why financial literacy is more than community outreach—it is a mission-critical strategy for building stronger members, healthie...

The 90-Day Bank Statement Test: What Your Cash Flow Reveals Before the Lender Says No Get my free Business Credit Starter Kit at https://fsbonly.com Your business bank statements may be failing the lender’s review before your application is even fully considered. In this Funding Readiness Reality Check episode of Small Business Credit Minute w/ S.E. Day™, Sandy breaks down The 90-Day Bank Statemen...

Denied by the Wrong Lender? How Credit Unions Underwrite Small Business Loans Differently Than Banks Get my free Business Credit Starter Kit at  FSBOnly.com . Episode Summary Not all lenders evaluate small business loan applications the same way. Banks and credit unions both review risk, repayment ability, credit history, cash flow, collateral, and documentation—but credit unions may also bring a...

Risk Signals Lenders See That You Don’t Know You’re Sending   Get my free Business Credit Starter Kit at https://fsbonly.com Attention: What risk signals is your business sending before a lender even reads your application? Interest: Many business owners think they are being denied because they lack revenue, collateral, or time in business. Sometimes that is true. But often, the bigger issue is th...