Credit

Welcome to our first installment of Counselors Corner ! Today we're going to discuss credit.

I'm hearing from more and more of you that you are finding out too late that your client has poor credit. There's nothing quite like getting to the bank and finding out that your client declared bankruptcy 2 years ago, is there?

As a result of this kind of event, we've decided that we should be asking the tough questions of our clients up front:
* What's your credit score?
*Have you ever declared bankruptcy?
*Have you checked your credit report for inaccuracies within the last year?
*Do you know how to get your free credit report ? (hint: it's not at www.freecreditreport.com !)

I'd like to hear your own thoughts on this subject....how & when do you bring up this subject to your clients? Perhaps we should all use the same standard on what information we gather first from clients?

Because I am often the very first contact prospective clients have with the SBDC, I have started over the last several months to ask clients who call in, "Do you know your credit score?"
I've always explained that a bank will not lend 100% of the start-up cost to them, thus the need for them to have cash available to put into the business, but I've added the credit question now.

This sometimes helps a client to "self-eliminate" before ever becoming a client. We look at it as "gatekeeping" or improving the quality of our clients.