Business and Personal credit

Quoting Real Person

Hi Bo,

I have read through you blog and you seem like "the guy" to talk to
regarding my situation. I am a small business owner. I just started my new company one month ago. I recently checked my credit report and found I have a POOR Beacon Score of 563 through Experian. I need help establishing my business credit as well
as fixing my POOR personal credit.

This is my own fault as I did not take my credit seriously and for years relied on cash payments for everything. I had no idea how much this would hurt me down the road and figured I didn't need credit. This comes from being raised by a "creditaphobic". My family didn't believe in credit. It was taboo to even talk about it in my household when I was growing up. This stemmed from my fathers experience when his mother ran up major bills on her Sears Card when they first came out some 10,000 years ago. So needless to say I didn't take it seriously enough to follow through with establishing a good credit record. This was foolish on my part and I am paying for it now.

Recently I have had a major change of heart and realization that credit is something you need. When you sign that paper, that is your word. Even more than your word it is in writing and might as well be written in blood. It is what you say you are and tells others if you are dependable and that they can trust you. This realization I hope has not come too late and I hope and pray I can fix what took me years to mess up.

Back to my new corporation. I started it on April 19th 2005. I filed all paperwork and now am the proud owner of a few dozen sheets of paper with some really cool sounding legal language on it which says I own a new Florida for profit corporation. YAY! I know it really does mean something, and I am proud to own my own corporation. But creditors and banks don't look at it that way, and surely don't share in my enthusiasm.

Every bank and creditor I talk to says I need to give them my personal information to apply for a business credit card under the corporate name. What can I do to get a business credit card, or establish credit for my new corporation? Is it possible to apply for and receive a business credit card "without" using my personal credit score? What suggestions do you have to establish my business credit and fix my personal credit at the same time? What Beacon score would you suggest to apply for a credit card for business or personal, and would it be wise to apply for credit at this juncture? I have 3 inquiries on my credit for the year unfortunately and don't know where they came from and don't want anymore. Would it be a good idea to just apply for as many credit cards as possible at one time and play the numbers game or would I be wasting my time and lowering my score for no reason?

I would like to use the business credit cards for start up capitol and to purchase initial inventory and equipment. If you know of anything that might help I would be greatly appreciative. I have checked the SBA, FTC, BBB, FirstGov.com, and a myriad of other sites for any information regarding what kind of beacon score I need for a credit card of any type but have found very little information regarding actual scores needed. I know all cards are not created equal and requirements vary by creditor, but there has got to be a general rule of thumb here. What's the minimum Beacon score I should have when applying for an unsecured credit card? Am I wasting my time with a score of 563?

Wow! I know that a lot of questions but I have never done this before and never had a credit card in my life. The closest thing is my Debit Card through my bank and credit union. I have 4 bank accounts with 1 bank and 1 credit union. 2 business accounts and 2 personal account with 3 Debit Cards.
I have not applied for any cards yet and don't want the inquiries on my credit report. I don't even know if inquiries would hurt me at this point.
Help please...
Regards,
REAL PERSON

To be a corporation that relies on it's own merit it has to be at least three years old. So you have to rely on your personal credit until that days comes. When that day does come try to transfer everything to the corporation to isolate yourself from finacial ruin.
I would max out whatever i had until that day. Asssuming you will make. If you don't. It would probably be wise to file BK as you will not be able to repay without a business. I know this from from best friends activity in GA.
You need a 640+ Beacon