Herman Dolce Jr. is the founder and chairman of Bella Sloan Enterprises, a financial education company focused on helping entrepreneurs and small business owners understand and utilize the power of business credit to secure funding for their ventures.
He created the Bella Sloan Academy to teach the strategies and techniques he used to build his businesses. In this interview, Herman shares some of these strategies and explains how others can use business credit to take their companies to the next level.
What inspired you to start Bella Sloan Enterprises?
The reason why I started this company was because I was searching for freedom. I came to the realization that working for someone else was not going to give me the freedom and opportunity that I needed and desired to reach my goals. In addition to that I wanted to leave something for my children that was more legacy based.
I remember needing permission to go on a babymoon with my wife after she was pregnant with our firstborn. When I came back from the vacation I did not have any more paid time off to actually be with my daughter. That was the main motivator that helped me start my company.
What is business credit used for?
The main use for business credit is to leverage that credit in order to grow and expand your business. Leveraging cheap 0% interest business credit cards go a long way for many startups who cannot afford the interest payments when they are first starting out their business.
Business funding is like gasoline on your business that helps you expand very quickly. You can use this money for buying inventory, advertising, or even rent payments.
Why do you think now is the time to learn about business credit?
What are some of the biggest misconceptions about business credit?
Some of the biggest misconceptions about being able to get business credit are that you need to have a good credit score or your business needs to be about two years old. While it is best practice for those to be in place, you are still able to get business credit only using your business EIN and if your business is under 2 years old.
There are many lenders that will give you funding if your business is 6 months old and will give it to your business just based on your business credit score which is not connected to your personal credit score.
What are the main steps involved with using business credit to get funding for a business?
The main step in getting funding for your business is first of all setting up your business entity. Whether it is an LLC, s-corp, or c-corp, just getting the entities is the first step. Secondly, it’s to set up your business properly to ensure you get the maximum amount of funding.
Such as having a proper business address, website, business phone number, and a proper business email. Finally opening up a business checking account. Setting yourself up as a legitimate business does volumes to help you get funding from many different vendors.
What is one of the biggest wealth creation strategies you’ve learned as an entrepreneur?
One of the most amazing wealth creation strategies that I have utilized in my line of work is using cheap money to make cash flow happen. For example, I would liquidate a business credit card at 0% interest and invest in commodities that give me five to 10% interest on my money.
Since I am already utilizing 0% interest money all of it is profit. Once the 0% interest runs out on these introductory rates for these business credit cards, I pay off the principal and then get another business credit card at 0% interest and repeat the process.
What are your future plans for Bella Sloan Enterprises?
The future plans for this company are to bring financial literacy to high school and college. In the first seven years of this company, we have spent the majority of our time teaching adults about wealth, and financial freedom strategies. The earlier we teach this information the better it is for all generations.
What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs?
The best advice I can give to all entrepreneurs is to continue to be consistent and disciplined. When motivation runs out discipline must take over.
