Did you make the life-changing, dream-chasing decision to start your own credit repair business? Congratulations! You don’t have to be an expert to take the leap - there are extensive resources for starting, running, and growing your business. Here are some frequently asked questions and their answers to help you get going:
1. Do I Need a Business Plan for my Credit Repair Business?
While having a business plan in place is not typically a legal requirement, it is essential for operating a long-term successful credit repair business. A business plan is a roadmap to success, written specifically for your business within the credit repair industry. Having it written out from the start will help you understand how your business is put together, monitor progress, and hold yourself accountable.
Go here to learn the components of a business plan, and here for tips on writing a great one specifically for a credit repair company.
2. Do I Need a Website for my Credit Repair Company?
Your website is the virtual face of your business and an essential marketing tool. It’s a great way to capture leads and hook potential customers. Your website should be clear, concise, and professional - with a noticeable call to action.
A few ways that your website helps you market your business:
- Get email addresses by offering resources with gated access
- Offer a free credit audit and contact page
- Use search engine optimization (SEO) to direct potential leads to your website
While many business owners choose to hire a professional website designer, many others create their website themselves. There are many resources online to lead business owners through the process, including these tips on creating an attractive and effective website for your credit repair business.
3. How do I Market my Credit Repair Business?
One of the best marketing strategies for your credit repair business is to get out in your community and talk to people. Most people don’t know that their credit can be repaired, or even if it needs to be. Offer everyone you meet a business card and a free consultation and credit audit.
Here are three other popular ways to generate leads:
- Your website
- Paid ads
- Affiliate referrals
- Testimonial and referral programs
To read more about these and how to incorporate them into your marketing strategy, go here.
4. Do I need a License to Repair Credit?
While - in most states - you are not legally required to have a credit repair license, there are many benefits of getting yourself certified. Going through a training process and earning a credit repair certificate will give you credibility, in-depth understanding of the industry, and better knowledge for doing your job faster and more effectively.
The American Credit Repair Academy can help get you trained and certified.
5. Do I Need to Have a Surety Bond to Repair Credit?
Whether you will need to secure a surety bond in order to legally operate a credit repair business depends on the state in which you run your business. Some states require a Credit Services Organization Bond for business registration, while others do not.
There are many bond service companies available and the amount you pay is generally around 3-4% of the total bond amount.
6. Can I Work My Credit Repair Business Part-Time?
While many entrepreneurs do start their business part-time alongside another job, for your credit repair business to flourish and for you to make a significant ROI - you need to treat it seriously. Experts in the field recommend working like you are training for a gold medal and working your business full time. For more tips from industry experts on growing a profitable credit repair business, check out our free guide.
7. How Do I Name My Credit Repair Business?
Having trouble deciding on your credit repair business name? Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
- Consider the perspective of your target audience
- Choose a name that connects to people on an emotional level
- Don’t choose names that are long or confusing
- Don’t use “inc.” unless your business is actually incorporated
- Don't use any existing trademarks
Once you have chosen a few names, you can usually check their availability on your Secretary of State’s website. After you have decided on one name, you will need to legally register your business with your state, the IRS, and check for any other requirements your state may have. The U.S. Small Business Administration has great information on registering your business name and getting your business off the ground.
8. Where Can I Get More Information on Credit Repair?
Credit Repair Cloud has extensive resources on running a credit repair business, and our blog is regularly updated with articles full of tips and advice. For even more great credit repair blogs, check out this list.
9. Do I Need to Have Affiliates or Referral Partners to Succeed?
While you do not need to have referral partners or affiliates to succeed, industry experts recommend that you do for your business to flourish. When other professionals in your community refer you clients, you are able to have a constant influx of free prospects. Building these professional relationships with other business owners so that you can refer clients to each other is a smart marketing method that should be utilized.
10. How Much Should I Charge for My Credit Repair Services?
We recommend using a recurring revenue model instead of a pay-per-delete model. A monthly recurring revenue model is the key to profit because as you add clients your business will continue to grow. Credit Repair Cloud’s free guide How to Start Growing a Credit Repair Business notes that the largest credit repair firm in the U.S. charges between $59 and $99 per month. Use this calculator to see what a recurring revenue model can look like for your business.
When designing your pricing structure, keep these things in mind:
- Figure out your cost per acquisition based on the time, money, and resources you’ve spent acquiring leads
- Keep your monthly fee affordable - your goal is to have hundreds of clients (or more)
- Remember that with credit repair software, your monthly work will be minimal (around 5 minutes per client per month)
11. What is a Business Operating System and Do I Need One?
Having a business operating system in place is an essential component of running a credit repair business, especially if you plan - and who doesn’t - on your business growing and flourishing.
Components of a successful business operating system:
- Processes
- Systems
- Roles
- Skills
- Structure
Credit repair business experts recommend having this structure in place before you even talk to your first client, and suggest including client intake process, how you will pull credit reports, when clients will be charged, and email automation.
12. What Should I be Teaching My Clients about Credit?
Client education is an important part of credit repair. If clients continue to make poor financial choices, they won’t succeed in building their credit.
Teach your clients the basics of credit and how their financial habits affect their score. Read over this article to learn ten important things to teach your clients about how they can build their credit.
13. What is the Sales Funnel?
The sales funnel is a common visual representation of the sales process. It is used by most business and sales teams as a method for converting cold leads into paying clients. To learn more about the sales funnel and how it can help you get more credit repair clients, go here.
14. Do I Need Credit Repair Software?
Credit repair can be done by hand, however credit repair business software is what enables business owners to create a lucrative stream of income. With credit repair software, an efficient system, and automated processes, business owners can work smarter, not harder. The software makes it so that you can help more clients faster, which of course means you will increase your revenue.
Wondering what features you should look for in your credit repair software? Check out this article for great tips.
15. Should I Provide a Free Credit Consultation?
Providing a free credit consultation takes you just minutes to do with the right credit repair software, and is an important marketing tool. When you take the time to provide this free service you will be able to get to know your prospects and tell them how credit repair can help them. You can offer a consultation on your website, social media, and by word of mouth. Remember, this free consultation is a marketing tool and you shouldn’t be spending much time on them.
Do you have a question that wasn’t answered here? The free guide How to Start Growing a Credit Repair Business provides more detailed information about starting and running a credit repair business!
