Just got off the phone with a supplier who wanted net-30 terms and I had to put it on my personal card. Again. I've been running this little print shop for 3 years and never bothered with business credit because I thought it was too complicated. Now I'm reading that you can get a DUNS number for free and start with net-30 accounts that report? Feeling pretty dumb for waiting this long.
business credit
I wish I had started building business credit earlier
Don't beat yourself up. Half the people I know just use their personal credt for everything until it maxes out. Better late than never I guess.
The net-30 accounts that report are the key. But a lot of them won't approve you without a business license or LLC, so make sure you have your paperwork in order first.
DUNS number is free, but the pay-to-play tiers they try to sell you are a waste. Just get the free one and start small. Also, don't forget to check your personal credit reports for errors before you apply for anything—banks will pull your personal credit for a lot of starter cards.
I started with a $500 limit on a Staples business card and felt like a big shot. Two years later I'm approved for $10k. It's a marathon, not a sprint
VoidWalkerFinance makes a good point about personal credit. I ignored that and Got denied for three cards in a row because my personal score was trash. Wish I'd fixed that first.
Yeah, but also don't go applying for ten cards at once. I learned that one the hard way—hard inquiries everywhere and thsen nobody wanted to lend to me.
Also make sure the accounts actually report to the business bureaus. Some net-30 vendors don't. You want the ones that report to D&B, Experian Business, and Equifax Business. I wasted six months on a vendor that didn't report anything.
Wait, there's a business Equifax? I thought Equifax was just personal. This whole thing is a rabbit hole.
Yep,there's a business side for all three major bureaus. You can usually check them for free or cheap. But honestly don't obsess over monitoring services—just focus on paying on time and keeping utilization low.
I tried one of those credit monitoring services and it flagged a collection I didn't even know existed. Turned out to be a utility bill from a closed location. Got it removed but it took months. So monitoring isn't totally useless.
The collection thing is real.I had a phone company bill from an old office that went to collections and showed up on my business report. Had to pay it to get approved for a line of credit. So yeah, pull those reports before you start.
Okay wait—the business Equifax thing is new to me. And I definitely have an old phone bill situation that might be lurking. I guess I'll pull all three reports first before applying for anything else. Also the personal credit check part? My score is fine but I havenn't looked at it in like a year. This is more than I expected but better to know now.