Provides Small Businesses with the Tools and Support
Needed at every stage of their growth
ATLANTA, GA – April 21, 2023 - In a post-pandemic environment, small businesses will now be able to maximize their personal and business credit scores to qualify for the most affordable financial products like credit cards and loans thanks to a new partnership between Opulence and eCredable.
This new partnership is critical given that small businesses are the economic engine of the economy, and the changing employment landscape has seen an extraordinary rise in the number of new small businesses in the U.S. 2020 saw nearly 4.3 million new businesses – an increase of 23% over the 3.5 million businesses that were started in 2019. In 2021, we witnessed an even larger number of new businesses – 5.4 million or 25% more than the prior year. There were 5.1 million new businesses in 2022, and we are on a similar pace for 2023.
First-time entrepreneurs depend on their personal credit and make personal guarantees when applying for financial products like credit cards and loans. But this leads to significant financial exposure and impacts the limited credit capacity available to them. Building business credit allows the small business to transition using their business credit as soon as possible. There are almost 40 million businesses that lack a business credit score which can be a major inhibitor in acquiring financial products needed by small businesses to grow and access larger credit lines and loans.
This extraordinary expansion has stretched the resources necessary to support the growth of these young businesses. Opulence works directly with small businesses to help them build better business plans, which includes how to secure funding to launch or grow a business. "We are excited to partner with eCredable to help entrepreneurs build their business credit," said Roketa Johnson, CEO of Opulence. "Our goal is to provide small business owners with the tools and resources they need to grow and succeed, and we believe that this partnership will be a game-changer for many entrepreneurs."
eCredable is focused on start-up and micro-businesses (typically less than 10 employees) to help them maximize their personal and business credit scores to qualify for the most affordable financial products like credit cards and loans. “Your credit scores are critical to getting any credit application approved, and most small business owners have very limited knowledge of how business credit works,” said Steve Ely, CEO of eCredable and former President of Equifax Personal Information Solutions. “We provide a solution that includes education and a credit-building service to help them maximize the use of their personal credit while they start building their business credit for the future. Working with Opulence gives us the opportunity to serve a larger audience that we know we can help”.
Relying on personal credit is a fact of life for start-ups and young companies. Without a prior business track record, they must make personal guarantees when applying for credit cards, lines of credit, and business loans. This results in harming their personal credit by reducing their credit capacity, creating legal risks for their business, and not building a business credit score for the future. eCredable Business Lift guides them on how to start building business credit profiles at all four major business credit bureaus – D&B, Experian, Equifax, and Creditsafe. This allows the business to start building a stronger profile that will eventually allow them to apply for business loans and other services in the name of the business and avoid making personal guarantees.
Upon enrollment in eCredable Business Lift, a start-up will automatically have their business credit reports set up at participating business credit bureaus. Their eCredable Business Lift monthly subscription is also reported to all four business credit bureaus helping them kick-start their business credit scores.
For more information on the partnership with Opulence, Inc. and eCredable, please visit www.ecredable.com/opulence.
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About Opulence
Opulence is a mission-driven company founded in 2018, and headquartered in Atlanta, GA to address the challenges faced by minority entrepreneurs when launching, building, or scaling their businesses. The company is dedicated to providing support and vetted resources to these entrepreneurs, helping them achieve success in their ventures. Through a collective of innovative solutions, Opulence helps entrepreneurs grow and succeed with a commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction. For more information, visit www.opulence247.com.
About eCredable
eCredable is focused on Financial Inclusion for the 50 million adults and 20 million small businesses that are “credit invisible” in the U.S. For consumers, we empower them to report accounts – like phone and utilities – to TransUnion which directly impacts credit scores like FICO Score® 8 and VantageScore® 3.0. For small businesses, we empower them to report these types of accounts and many other business accounts to business credit bureaus, resulting in a stronger business financial profile. The company was founded in 2009, and is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia. For more information visit www.eCredable.com and www.Business.eCredable.com