Creativity in the C-Suite...Another Way to Fund!

I’ve always believed in the adage, “A good idea has many fathers.” As such, especially in our numbers driven industry, it’s important to foster good ideas about new services, products and the way we work with our customers from every level of an organization…Even the C-suite!

We operate in a connected world and business leaders need to be more connected than most. We need to see the big picture, pay attention to the details and if we’re really good, predict the future. We also need to come up with the ideas, or at least recognize them when we learn about them, that will take our businesses forward. That’s what we see in the future of the “bank only” merchant cash advance option. At Merchant Cash and Capital we call it the “B2B Cash Advance Program.”

The industry already services hundreds of thousands of small business merchants with cash advances for growth and other purposes based upon monthly credit card receipts. For years this has been the basic model of operation. But, what about the substantial number of businesses that require quick and easy access to capital who don’t accept credit cards or don’t produce enough in monthly credit card receipts to qualify under the normal MCA guidelines? Tens of thousands of businesses could use the capital infusions the industry provides daily but either don’t think they’ll qualify or, because of our lack of creativity, the industry hasn’t produced a means of addressing their needs. These businesses would make great customers but because of the rigid requirements we have in place to protect our livelihoods we’ve left money on the proverbial table.

That’s not the case anymore.

The industry has many good ideas about products and services that it can lead to growth and those ideas can come from anywhere within our organizations or from outside. Just remember, a good idea is a good idea no matter where it comes from. As important, it must be recognized as a good idea and then implemented.

In a B2B Cash Advance Program such as the one from MCC, funding is simply based upon total monthly revenue, which is verified by bank deposits. Revenue is driven with the collection of a fixed percent of a merchant’s future bank deposits as opposed to credit card sales. Merchants funding in this fashion are entitled to the same advantages as any other merchant; streamlined underwriting, quick decisions and minimal paperwork requirements.

The lesson of the B2B Cash Advance Program is that we must continue to encourage innovation and thinking way outside the box. To continue to be profitable and build new relationships we must make our products and services more readily available to a wider audience. We must embrace new ideas from all sources. As leaders, we must push the boundaries of what we are currently doing and venture beyond our comfort zone as we strive to deliver new opportunities to our customers and open doors to new business.

Contributed by
Stephen Sheinbaum, President and CEO, Merchant Cash and Capital, LLC