Here's what you need to know about retail business loans

Key quotes:

• "However, because most traditional lenders will require you to prove that you’re able to repay the money in order to secure the funds, securing a loan can prove to be quite difficult for small business owners with less than stellar credit."
• "Overall, peer-to-peer financing is an excellent method for obtaining a small business loan with bad credit."
• "Though microloans are a great way to secure a small business loan with bad credit, you do need to factor in the high cost of borrowing the money."
• "The good or bad news depending on how you look at it is, credit card companies only require a minimum monthly payment that is based on a percentage of the entire balance."
• "Taking on a partner in order to secure a small business loan with bad credit does present certain risks."
• "Family and Friends Round of Financing Another creative method of securing a small business loan with bad credit is to borrow the money from people within your social and business network."

Key quotes:

• "This essentially means that if small business merchants want to increase their sales, they can’t sit waiting in their stores hoping that customers will magically find them."
• "Below we’ve outlined a small business sales funnel — as it relates to retailers — to help you picture and understand how and when to engage your potential customers."
• "SEE ALSO: The Comprehensive Guide to Local Store Marketing Event Marketing: Create an Experience A great way to increase retail sales and introduce your business to new customers is to create an experience that aligns with your brand."
• "The overall goal of this section of the small business sales funnel is simple: Every single person who walks through your doors should spend money in your store."
• "Yes, you’ll never get 100 percent of your visitors to spend, but by providing the best in-store experience possible, you’ll maximize your chances to acquire new customers and boost sales in the process."
• "Customer communication is key to creating a great experience and is integral to learning how to increase sales in retail."

Key quotes:

• "Despite the perceived simplicity of the business model — purchasing inventory and selling goods and services to customers — a lot more goes into the process of running a retail store."
• "Before securing funding or renting a space or any other step required to get your retail store off the ground, it’s important to have a business plan in place."
• "When hiring, consider facets like: The front of the house and on your floor isn’t your only priority in running a successful retail business; back-office operations are equally important."
• "An integral part of ringing in orders, tracking revenue, managing inventory, and keeping an eye on all data related to your operations, today’s POS systems go far beyond processing payments and acting like a glorified cash register."
• "With an iPad POS solution like ShopKeep, it’s possible to handle virtually all back-office tasks in a single interface, managing everything from operational analytics to employee management with a few easy clicks."
• "In order to help ensure your customers have a positive experience while shopping at your store, you need to make your business is properly staffed."

Key quotes:

• "S Corp An S Corporation is more attractive to small business owners opening up a retail store than a C Corp because it’s a hybrid of a corporation and partnership."
• "SEE ALSO: 26 Inexpensive Customer Appreciation Ideas Employees and Staff As much as you’ve said to yourself that you don’t need to hire employees or you can handle it all yourself, chances are you’re going to have to hire some employees."
• "Once you’re done with that, we recommend buying the domain name for your business and creating accounts for it on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter."
• "Here’s are some of the major tools you’ll want to account for: Point of Sale (POS) System Sure, you can use a cash register if you really want to, but most small business retailers will get significantly more value out of a tablet-based POS system."

Key quotes:

• "Equipment financing involves receiving a loan to buy new or used equipment for your business."
• "While many people know equipment financing can be used to purchase heavy construction machinery like forklifts or steamrollers, the truth is that lenders offer financing for pretty much any equipment a business needs, including furniture, software, delivery vehicles, appliances, and food trucks."
• "Here’s What You Need to Know Although it can vary from lender to lender, equipment financing usually requires no large down payments from small business owners to get started."
• "Lenders know cash flow is critical for small businesses, which is why they will often cover 100 percent of equipment costs up front."
• "During this time, you will likely consider applying for a business loan from a bank to cover your many expenses like marketing, hiring new employees, or buying more inventory."
• "“Equipment financing may hedge inflation risk because instead of paying the total cost of equipment up front or with a large down payment in today’s dollars, the stream of payments delays your outlay of funds,” the ELFA suggests."