Thijuana Booth is the founder of Xcellerated Business Funding, which is a commercial loan consulting firm. XB Funding has been highly successful for many years and there are several reasons for this success. Indeed, the finance industry can be incredibly tenacious and competitive – only the most efficient and strongest market leaders survive, so it’s a testament to XB Funding that they are still thriving.
Thijuana was able to answer some questions we had about the company, how it remains competitive and some advice for young finance gurus coming through the ranks.
Thijuana, what does Xcellerated Business Funding do?
Answer: Well Xcellerated Business Funding is a subsidiary of Booth Equities Inc.
We are a Commercial Loan consulting firm, based out of Brooklyn New York. We form strategic relationships with Small Business Owners, Developers, Manufactures, Distributors, Attorneys, CPA’s, Entrepreneurs and various other professionals to facilitate the financial needs of the small business owner. We are able to do this because we have a vast network of Direct Preferred Lenders whom we have partnered with to offer the best competitive rates and terms in the industry. We pride ourselves on being the one stop shop for business owners nationwide. We like to view ourselves as the business owner’s financial problem solver. Whatever your issue is Xcellerated Business Funding has a solution to satisfy that need and get you pass that financial hurdle.
How does XB Funding work and how does it differ from other financial agencies?
Answer: Well, we work like most companies. A business owner come to us because they may have been turned down by a traditional banking institution for various reasons such as poor credit. There are times when a business owner is in a very bad situation and require capital fast to make payroll or need a new piece of equipment to grow their business. Conventional banks are approving less than 30% of the loan requests that come through their doors. Where are the other 70-75% of businesses supposed to go if they are told “sorry we can’t fund you”? What if you are already in business and hit a rough patch due to the downward economy. Conventional lending will deny someone if they don’t have a certain credit score. We don’t just look at a client’s credit solely to determine if they are creditworthy. We look at their credit and other parameters to determine if they qualify, such as do they have collateral or cash flow. See, with conventional banks they are under certain restraints that private lenders are not, therefore we can do more with the clients they deny. We traditionally are able to fund more than commercial banks as well because of the resources at our disposal. Most of our clients have been denied by the big banks and come to us and we get them funded because we look at the importance of that relationship and want to help the owner get out of that capital crunch they find themselves in. There are tons of business owners out there with low credit scores, but they have assets that have a value to them; they own homes, businesses, inventory and they may have a little cash flow. This is where our creativity shine and we develop a win win situation for the small business owner that get them over that hurdle and leave them financially healthy. What research tell us between 50-80% of businesses fail for lack of access to capital. Xcellerated Business Funding is on a mission to change that.
When you have clients with unique money needs, that are always looking for creative ways to either expand their business or perhaps they simply want operating capital, or entrepreneurs looking to achieve their dream of becoming a CEO’s of their own company, to start ups looking for seed capital. As one of many in this highly competitive field of finance you have to constantly come up with innovative solutions that meet that business owners need as each situation may be very different.
What are the main services you provide?
Answer: We provide a plethora of services to our clientele from Personal/Business Credit repair, Credit build, Commercial Real Estate financing, Business Lines of Credit & Business loans, (Cannabis financing, we finance the land, equipment and CBD/Hemp inventory) Personal & Business Aviation, Account Receivables/Payables, Celebrity Financing for Athletes, Healthcare financing, Hotels & Motels Financing, Bars & Restaurants financing, SBA, Asset Based Lending, and Equipment leasing. We are particularly proud of our start up product for entrepreneurs. We understand that for most start-ups getting capital without requiring revenue, financials, bank statements, or a business plan. We can get entrepreneurs and existing business owners with a good credit score of 680 and above anywhere from $25,000- $150,000 with no docs. This isn’t all of the services we provide, many more are on our website, XBFunding.com. As I previously indicated we want to be that owner’s one stop financial solution. We take into consideration that this client may have come to us because they were already turned down, so we try not to turn clients away for any reason. We solve problems that just what we do.
How do you assist businesses with financing their accounts receivables?
Answer: This is another product that is perfect for existing businesses that require cash flow for operating costs or even payroll, start-ups, and businesses that are in bankruptcy. There are some businesses that must wait on their vendors to pay them for months sometimes. They obviously can’t wait that long to pay staff. So we will sell their invoices to a third party, known as a factoring company. The factoring company will pay the business owner the value of the invoices, and as payment become due on those invoices, the vendors whose invoices were sold pay the factoring company directly. The business owner receives the cash he so desperately need and a win win situation is created.
What have been some of the big challenges XB Funding has encountered throughout its history?
Answer: I would say that Xcellerated had most of its challenges at the beginning. For me personally, it was a learning curve as I did not have a background in finance. My career was in healthcare but I went to training and dedicated myself to learning as much as I could as I continue to do; Also, I aligned myself with the right people who were considered pioneers in this industry. So when you are looking up at your peers and they are winning big on the highest level; that inspired me to push forward and work harder and I aspired to surpass my peers.
Another challenge was finding the right ISO’s to help the company grow. It’s sometimes hard to find talented people to work for a start-up company on a commission basis because they are relied upon for the financial growth of the company at that point, simply put all hands on deck. As with any business there are growing pains, but there also is light at the end of the tunnel. At one point as a business owner, one day you look up and your business is thriving and on the road to profitability. As a business owner you recognize your dream is now a reality and you are successful. The highest compliment is when your peers are looking up to surpass you. It validates you and gives you a sense of achievement.
What would be your top three tips to young business owners in need of financing?
Answer:
- Always remain diligent and focused
- Always stay humble and true to oneself
- Never let anyone out work you
- Never let lack of funding deter you, it’s out there, you just have to look for Xcellerated Business Funding if you are told “NO”
Lol, yeah I know its four tips but they are all vital jewels to an aspiring entrepreneur, or any business owner for that matter.
How do you differentiate XB Funding from your main competitors and how does this make your agency a better choice?
Answer: My company was built with certain core values in mind, Inclusion, respect, professionalism, determination and team work. Our mission is to foster as many relationships with residents in communities throughout the nation that will better enrich their lives, businesses and neighbourhoods. We love working with entrepreneurs who have a dream, passion, and vision. Most times they have everything accept access to capital which we can help them with. We can at least make it easier to get them started, which wasn’t a possibility before. Every day I run into hard working individuals who have an exceptional skill that is currently a hobby for them, yet they love what they do. I try to convince them to turn that hobby in to a revenue generating business. I explain to them how Xcellerated will go about assisting them in ascertaining that goal. I feel as though I am winning if I can help them recognize the entrepreneurial leader that resides in them and they progress to success and become pillars in their own communities, what is that old adage? “each one teaches one”.
We go to seminars/conference trainings to constantly learn from leaders in the industry and stay at the forefront of the finance world. We are constantly learning and growing to better serve our clientele. We also do a ton of networking, everyone in the office is out in the field every day meeting and greeting people just to let them know we are there to assist them if need be. We also go out at least twice a month to various business zones in the city to meet business owners intimately by walking door to door just to engage in conversation and inform them of our services. We found in our experiences people still want face to face introductions as it gives them comfort in knowing they aren’t just speaking to a random person over the phone. We feel that in this business you can’t really facilitate relationships if you are sitting behind a desk all day. This industry is based on developing relationships; and you got to go to the people not wait for them to come to you.
We partake in Meetups, SBA roundtables, and are affiliated with numerous associations where we can connect with our peers/lenders/small business owners.
