From being in the startup phase to pushing through a growth stage or rising like a phoenix from the ashes of a downturn, there are times when you need to finance essential business equipment. Doing so isn’t cut and dry for many business owners, but rather presents a series of hurdles to overcome in order to obtain the equipment financing they need to start, grow or rebuild the company.
Here are some of the most common hurdles our team of Certified Lease and Finance Professionals (CLFP) see in the industry, and better yet, how you can overcome them.
You’re Trying to Finance Equipment for a Startup
Your startup needs financing to obtain the equipment required to get it off the ground. However, big banks want to see a long track record of growth before financing your equipment lease. Startups don’t have a track record yet.
Look to alternative equipment financing providers, like Global Financing & Leasing Services, LLC (GFLS), who work specifically with startups that don’t qualify for traditional financing. We’re a private company founded in 2009 to serve small- to mid-sized businesses and startups that aren’t attractive to traditional lenders for whatever reason. We look at more than what’s on or not on the application. We look at YOU and match equipment financing options to match your goals and budget.
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You’re Considering Using Personal Credit to Finance Business Equipment
There are very few times when this makes sense, and business advisors caution against mixing your personal credit with your business. Traditional lenders will often require a personal guarantee on an equipment loan if the business doesn’t have a credit history or any collateral to secure the loan. The problem arises if your business cannot make the payments on the loan. Creditors can seize your personal assets, causing you to lose both business and personal possessions. This can lead to declaring business and personal bankruptcies.
Protect your personal assets by keeping equipment financing in the business’s name. Again, work with a lender who doesn’t require personal guarantees, even if your business doesn’t meet traditional lenders’ typical requirements. They are out there because we are one them. While we look at your personal credit history, we take your entire story into consideration.
You Don’t Have a Spotless Credit History
If your credit history isn’t as impressive as you’d like it to be, take deliberate action to improve it. Of course, this doesn’t help you finance equipment in the short term, but it will benefit your business down the road.
For now, show positive aspects of your financial performance history, such as long periods of positive cash flow, how much your business sells each month, how quickly you were able to turn a profit, how well you have managed expenses, and testimonials from long-time, loyal customers, etc.
A direct lender, like Global Financial & Leasing Services, LLC, is willing to see you as more than numbers and considers character and integrity. If you have imperfect credit, we still strive to work with you on getting the essential business equipment you need to succeed. If your time in business or credit history is putting your business’s future on hold, work on improving your personal credit and talk to GFLS about your equipment leasing needs.



As of this writing, 48 states have legalized cannabis in some form, recreationally, medically or both. But, until cannabis is no longer a Schedule I controlled substance on the federal level, those seeking cannabis equipment financing will have a difficult time getting traditional bank funding. Big banks are prohibited from lending money to businesses that profit from controlled substance sales. Even though non-traditional and private lenders are stepping in to fund cannabis equipment financing, startups and those with credit blemishes have a hard time finding solutions.
In November of 2021, the House of Representatives passed the Senate version of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and President Biden signed it in to law. Not only does IIJA’s passage mark the biggest investment in the U.S.’s infrastructure since the New Deal, it also triggers a starting gun for companies that will contract with the government directly or government contractors on projects, ranging from transportation and water to energy, broadband, and rehabilitating our country’s natural resources. Overall, the bill represents approximately $1.2 trillion, which is about $550 billion in new spending with over half of that focused on transportation—an area that requires heavy equipment.


From startups to global corporations and from cash-flush to cash-strapped companies, they all take advantage of and benefit from vendor financing. In fact, the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (
For small business owners, your personal credit history plays a role in obtaining essential use business equipment financing. However, lenders also draw a correlation between your personal credit history and your business credit report—the belief being that people tend to treat their business accounts much like they do their personal accounts. If you’re a new small business owner, your personal credit history will take precedence over any business credit history you’ve yet to build. But, if your business is established, your business credit report pulls more weight on an equipment financing application.
Our team at Global Financial & Leasing Services (GFLS) has heard some pretty scary stories about the process for applying for equipment financing with other lenders, not to mention awaiting credit decisions. The stories range from applicants filling out pages upon pages of tedious financial information to lenders stringing them along only to deny credit. In the end, applicants are left without the equipment they need for their business or starting the entire process over again with a different lender in hopes of a different result. Either way, time and frustration can be avoided if you have a clear understanding of the application process and work with a lender willing to work with you.
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When Other Lenders Say No, We Often Say Yes