Fair Isaac, the company that develops the formula to determine credit scores looks at the average statistics of consumers and factors that into your score, called a (FICO). According to Fair Isaac the average consumer will have:

One inquiry on their personal credit report in a given year
54% of credit holders carry a balance of less then 5,000 on all debts other then a mortgage
Have access to 12,190 on all credit cards combined

Now are entrepreneurs, like you, the typical consumer? I asked one of my clients (J.G.). No., said J.G.. You will see that as an entrepreneur, we have several more credit needs then the average consumer. So when the personal credit bureaus compare us to the average consumer, our credit consumption is not normal. Which is why your credit score lowered since starting your business. That’s not fair said J.G. My reply, If you don’t understand how the system works, you’re right.

Let’s look at J.G.’s situation. He has applied several times with suppliers for various credit lines over the last year. Each inquiry will likely drop his credit score approximately 5-10 points. The credit bureaus as suppose to lump three together and only drop 5-10 for the three, we’ll see if it happens. He also has a 60,000 line of credit available and carries a balance of 42,000. Both the amount of credit and balance are more then the consumer average which can hurt his score as well. This is without looking at anything else in the business or his personal life.

If J.G. had just taken the time to develop a business credit profile and start establishing basic lines of credit in the business name and then slowly build the businesses credit over time, he may never have ended up without the ability to buy the home he and his family wanted.

This is why I have written books and developed products and services with our company, Business Credit Services, to provide an education to the entrepreneur on how to become the typical consumer again and separate your personal and business life.