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Before seeking an SBA (Small Business Administration) loan, borrowers should analyze several key business finance issues. This article will serve as an overview of the most important business loan and commercial real estate loan factors to assess before buying a business investment with an SBA loan in order to avoid numerous potential misunderstandings about a complicated business financing process.

Finalizing an SBA loan and refinancing a Small Business Administration loan are two of the most problematic commercial mortgage and business loan scenarios for business owners. There are practical business finance solutions for both of these common business investment problems.

Are SBA Loan and Business Finance Programs Difficult?

There are usually two schools of thought about getting a Small Business Administration loan to buy a business:

(1) Avoid this kind of commercial loan at all costs.

(2) Use such a business finance loan whenever possible.

These conflicting investment financing viewpoints are due to a commercial mortgage business loan process that is perceived as complex and difficult by many commercial borrowers.

In reality SBA loan programs are more practical than they often appear. It is critical to the success of a Small Business Administration loan program to be working with a business finance advisor and lender that is proficient at this difficult commercial mortgage and commercial loan process. There are many potential commercial financing problems to avoid when attempting to obtain a small business loans, and very few lenders are skilled in this business financing area.

Expecting Business Investing and Financing Difficulties: Business Loan Refinancing

One of the major investment drawbacks of an SBA loan has historically been the difficulty of refinancing the Small Business Administration business financing later. Current options have revised the situation and it is more feasible to arrange refinancing. It is still accurate to say that refinancing is not routinely available, but more importantly it is much easier to obtain than it was in prior years.

Advance commercial real estate loan and commercial loan planning can avoid some of the SBA loan refinancing problems. First and foremost, if the original business financing is arranged without a small business loan, this will make later business refinancing easier than if a Small Business Administration loan is involved. This means that commercial borrowers should at least consider if the initial business loan requires this form of commercial financing before proceeding.

Finalizing Small Business Financing: Two Common Commercial Loan Misunderstandings

One of the most frequent criticisms of an SBA loan program is the amount of paperwork required to complete the business loan and commercial mortgage process. What many commercial borrowers fail to understand is that any business financing process is likely to involve substantial paperwork and formal documentation requirements. In the end the key is working with a business finance advisor that understands what is required and can facilitate the submission procedures.

Beyond the paperwork concerns, a more critical and real problem is working with an SBA lender that is not very good at successfully completing Small Business Administration loan requirements. There are not many commercial lenders who are routinely effective at finishing this complex loan process with timely and successful results.

Alternatives to SBA Loan Financing – Conventional Real Estate Investment and Business Opportunity Loan Options

Conventional business finance options should always be considered simultaneously with the possibility of obtaining an SBA loan. As noted above, the feasibility of refinancing a business loan or commercial real estate loan in the future will depend heavily on the choices made by a commercial borrower when obtaining the initial commercial mortgage.

A conventional business loan or commercial mortgage might be more feasible than many borrowers realize. Refinancing is likely to be more successful if an experienced business finance lender and advisor are involved.

“Access to timely and relevant information has always been the purpose of business management software, but traditional systems have often left small- and medium-sized businesses with an expensive infrastructure and outdated reports,” says Michael Emaus, President and CEO of eEnterprise (www.eEnterprise.com), a global integrator of NetSuite, the world’s leading on-demand business management software. “In contrast, Web-based solutions level the playing field.”

Owners of small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) often underestimate the necessary expertise or the budget to implement and support a traditional on-site Information Technology business management solution. “In essence, business owners can think of on-demand, Web-based applications as a revenue stream, while the traditional Information Technology department requires both an initial investment and abundant expenses to support it. Managers need real-time, actionable information in order to grow and gain profitability, but instead become distracted with untimely and distorted reports,” says Emaus.

In contrast, on-demand, Web-based applications such as NetSuite allow business owners and department managers to focus on the “Information” necessary to grow the business while the traditional requirements of “Technology” – updates, security, hosting, and support – are intuitive. “NetSuite on-demand removes traditional IT requirements, and the expenses required to support that infrastructure,” says Emaus. “In that sense, on-demand is the great equalizer, allowing small- and medium-sized businesses to have the sophisticated tools that are available to their big business counterparts.”

For example, NetSuite integrates four major components – sales (CRM), back office (ERP), support, and eCommerce – and makes them accessible in a single system via the Internet. As a result, when an employee, a partner, a vendor, or a customer enters information, it is available to the enterprise in real time, regardless of location. Previously reserved for the Fortune 500, this integrated solution is particularly crucial for businesses with growing market pressures to offer support for real-time partner, vendor, and multi-location relationships.

As a result, managers and owners can spot data trends as they occur and drill down to determine the factors involved. “Small- and medium-sized businesses can focus their attention on the information, not the technology, and quickly make informed decisions based on actionable data,” says Emaus.

For the growing small-and medium-sized business, traditional software continues to require a significant investment with the goal to have many disparate systems talking with one another. Generally, in today’s SMB environment, accounting is not integrated with sales, sales are not shared with support and eCommerce is a report that is fed back to sales and accounting. For the NetSuite workplace, each employee, vendor, partner location, and global resource shares a common communication network. “In today’s world of virtual offices and multiple locations, the inherent drawbacks of traditional software are taking their toll on small business,” says Emaus. Not only are businesses faced with a variety of computers and operating systems that may not readily “speak” to one another, but redundant resources are hired in each location to support the enterprise. “With an on-demand solution, timely access provides better managerial control of the business.” says Emaus.

“With the continuing explosive growth of e-commerce, small- and medium-sized businesses that are able to reap actionable information from a rich online platform are uniquely positioned to compete in the online marketplace,” says Michael Emaus, President and CEO of eEnterprise (www.eEnterprise.com), a global integrator of NetSuite, the world’s leading on-demand, Web-based business management software. “Today, e-commerce demands sophistication, in terms of the online shopping experience, which products are presented to customers, and how sales are tracked.”

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, e-commerce sales rose to $25.2 billion during the first quarter of 2006, an increase of more than 25 percent over sales during the first quarter of 2005. Adjusted for seasonal variations, the first quarter 2006 growth of e-commerce over fourth quarter 2005 was more than double that of retail sales overall.

“Although online sales currently represent only about three percent of all retail sales, that number is sure to climb,” says Emaus. “It’s crucial that online retailers position themselves to take advantage of this trend. NetSuite business management software integrates a flexible e-commerce platform with the critical, real-time information e-tailers need to make sound decisions.”

With NetSuite, online retailers can easily increase sales by automating up-sell and cross-sell recommendations on the shopping cart page, as well as by allowing customers to purchase and use gift certificates and coupons online. “Because accounting is integrated into NetSuite’s e-commerce solution, a customer can shop with a gift certificate any number of times, until the balance is used,” says Emaus. “An e-tailer can even offer downloads for purchase, using NetSuite’s ability for password protection and license codes.”

Behind the scenes, NetSuite gives a business owner or marketing team real-time, actionable information that they can leverage to increase their exposure to potential customers. “Instead of simply seeing which paid keyword campaigns are driving traffic to the site, an online retailer can see which campaigns are generating the most sales revenue, and make adjustments as necessary,” says Emaus.

The same holds true for inventory management, since NetSuite allows just-in-time restocking by dynamically calculating reorders based on seasonal demand or historical sales data. “Successful e-tailers don’t have inventory sitting around, nor are they caught with an item out of stock,” says Emaus.

He continues, “NetSuite removes the limits imposed by a traditional Web architecture and provides the online retailer with a marketing powerhouse. Small- and medium-sized businesses simply don’t have the resources to support the in-house staff necessary to design and maintain the e-commerce solution that NetSuite provides. Best of all, NetSuite is a Web-based application that can ‘turn on’ fully supported global resources in about five minutes.”

With the growth of online sales clearly outpacing traditional retail sales, NetSuite helps small- and medium-sized businesses level the playing field.

WHAT IS ECOMMERCE?

According to Wikipedia, electronic commerce or ecommerce, as it is more commonly referred to now, is defined in the following excerpt:

“Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce or eCommerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown extraordinarily since the spread of the Internet.”

From small businesses to major corporations, ecommerce has been the buzz word on everyone’s lips for the last few years. Although it’s been a hot topic whose benefits have been heavily written about and reviewed by a myriad of different resources, there still remains a lot of misconception in the minds of companies who want implement an ecommerce system within their business strategy. Many contemporary businessmen think of ecommerce as merely setting up their website and selling the products online. The reality is that ecommerce is not simply a website selling online products – in fact, ecommerce is a complete drift of your business strategy from conventional to online.

In order to be successful, businesses must realize that ecommerce requires a complete business model – just as you operate your businesses, similarly, you need to form a model for ecommerce business. And since this is different from conventional business, the model also needs to be different. However, although they may be aware of the importance of ecommerce from a business standpoint, most of us need to turn to the experts in order to properly facilitate ecommerce strategies so that our online presence is maximized.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ECOMMERCE INTERNET SOLUTION

In today’s increasingly competitive online merchandising methodologies, ecommerce-enabled web sites have become a must-have for nearly everyone with an online presence. At Ecommerce Partners, for example, they specialize in custom enterprise level ecommerce solutions, in other words an ecommerce solution provider that empower some of the country’s most recognized brands by giving them the ability to simplify their businesses, manage product offerings and provide their consumers with unparalleled service on the web.

DID YOU KNOW…Approximately 60% of all ecommerce shopping carts are abandoned before checkout because of confusion, impatience or mistrust? Avoid this common mishap and consult one of our team experts to find an ecommerce solution to fit your company’s needs, budget and goals. We’ve streamlined our web designs to make each shopping experience not only easy, but memorable, even for the least-experienced user. Don’t forget to ask us about ECP eShop (cart functionality checklist), an innovative custom shopping-cart solution that will provide your company with the service, expertise, and tools to build a successful Web business. E-Shop will enable your business to reach new markets while increasing your bottom line – without the need for experienced technical staff!

They offer the following benefits:

• Flexibility – Our team will customize ECP E-Shop to support your unique business requirements.

• Business Focus – Our software puts the manager in control of your Web business, eliminating the need for technical staff to run a powerful e-commerce system – all through an intuitive Web interface.

• Scalability – ECP E-Shop works as well for 10,000 products as it does for 10, without additional performance or service issues.

• Integration – Our solutions work with your existing site, our suite of e-business solutions, and leading third-party transaction and fulfillment technologies.

• Best-of-Breed Features – ECP E-Shop goes beyond transactions, offering the best tools available to build and grow your business successfully.

With nearly a decade of experience in custom ecommerce, EcommercePartners.net, understand the importance of your company’s unique identity – they will tailor your website to meet your specific needs, each and every time.