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Finding credit and marketing online - Q & A

Jay from Las Vegas calls to ask the Sloans how to find that extra line of credit, and also how to increase marketing opportunities for his online business.

Rich Sloan: And we're gonna go now to Jay in Las Vegas.  Welcome to the show, Jay.

Jay:  Hi, guys.  How are you doing? 

Rich Sloan:  Doing great.  How can we help you today?

Jay:  You know, I founded a company.  I don't know if I could tell you guys the name or not.

Rich Sloan: Sure.

Jay:   It's called Hip Wear, HipWear.com, five and a half years ago, and we've had steady growth with the Web business and have expanded into retail stores, including a new upscale retail boutique in Las Vegas.  Fortunately, but unfortunately, I have funded the business entirely myself over the last five years.

Rich Sloan:  You're a hell of a guy.

Jay:  I'm a hell of a crazy, risky guy here, I guess.

Jeff Sloan:  Exactly.

Rich Sloan: It all starts with that.

Jay:  It does, I guess.  As with any retail business, cash flow is king, and I'm looking for additional funding avenues and/or a line of credit, if possible, to help grow the business and the infrastructure and to keep us going through the slow periods.

Rich Sloan: This is a classic line of credit situation.  You've got revenues coming in, right?  Obviously.

Jay:  We do.

Rich Sloan: Yep.  And you've kept good records and books, and everything's clean and no problems?  I mean other than obviously you'd like to be earning more profit.  Other than that, the business is doing fine?

Jay:  The business is doing fine.  Unfortunately, I went through a wicked divorce --

Rich Sloan: Okay.

Jay:   -- a year and a half ago.

Rich Sloan:  Uh-huh.

Jay:  And credit has suffered because of it.  So personal loans may or may not be difficult to obtain.

Rich Sloan:  Okay.  Well, you know, definitely take a shot at a bank, going after a line of credit.  As you said before, you've got a very good business plan.  Make sure you've got good, clean records that you've kept for the business, financial records, and take a shot at going for a line of credit, maybe starting with something small, proving yourself along the way.  A line of credit, again, a revolving thing, is the kind of thing where you can draw down funds.  It's tailor-made for cash-flow situations.

Jay:  Right.

Rich Sloan: You can draw down funds when you need them and pay 'em back when you've got extra money in the bank.  And you can continue -- it's called a revolving line of credit -- in that manner.  But, you know, if you start with something small and then prove yourself, they do, over time would be willing to increase the amount of available line of credit to you. 

If that doesn’t work, any chance for any kind of home equity situation?  Do you have a home that you can pull some equity out of?

Jay:  I do have a home and I could possibly do that.  I also have family with money that I could try and bring into the business.  I just don’t like to mix family, friends and business.

Rich Sloan: Right.

Jay:  It's a risky avenue to go down.

Rich Sloan: Right.  Well, until I heard the situation about the credit maybe being a potential issue, line of credit is exactly where you want to go.  Take a shot at that.  If that doesn’t work, give us a call back.  Maybe we can explore some other avenues, but that should be your front line of activity on this.

Jay:  Can I ask you guys one more question?

Rich Sloan:  Sure.

Jeff Sloan:  Sure.

Jay:  Since I have you here?  Okay.  So marketing.  Obviously I deal with dot-com Web site, easy-to-do banner advertising, easy-to-do keyword marketing searches, optimization, which we've done all of that.  Just with your experience, any other suggestions?

Rich Sloan: I would say offline marketing is key.  Do you have a logo or a brand that is prominent on your clothing?  Is it obvious that it's Hip Wear?

Jay:  We do.  It's a very branded website.

Rich Sloan: But beyond the Web -- I'm thinking beyond the Web.  You need to make sure that you get some very cool people cruising around in high-traffic areas.  There's nothing like working with influencers to get your product out there.  And if you want to read a great article about this, check it out at StartupNation.com.  I think the title of the key moves article is "Celebrities Are Wearing Her Product," I think is the name of the article.  And it's about Tina Aldatz, who created Foot Petals, and how she worked, for example, with celebrities to really raise the awareness level and the demand for her product.  That is exactly what will benefit you.  If you get your product on some really hip, high-profile people, I think it will go a long way for you.