Imagine visiting a dealership to buy a new car, only to find out that your application has not only been rejected but that it won’t be accepted anytime soon, because someone, somewhere, has stolen your identity – opening more than 20 different accounts in your name – destroying your credit in the process.
That’s exactly what happened to Tracy Arnett from Elk Grove, California. At just 18 years of age, he had no credit, no car and no clue what to do next. All that he knew was that he needed to drastically improve his credit.
Fast-forward to today, Tracy is now a “Credit Hero” and the founder of First Capital Inquiry Removal – a company that transforms lives through credit repair. When we caught up with him at the end of 2018, First Capital Inquiry Removal was on track to hit an impressive $2.2 million in revenue.
Like Tracy, a first-time business owner, you can use your personal credit experience to build a credit repair empire. Here's what you need to know:
Start Where You Are, With What You Have
According to the report, 2018 Identity Fraud: Fraud Enters a New Era of Complexity, conducted by Javelin Strategy & Research, 16.7 million U.S. citizens were affected by identity theft in 2017 alone – that’s approximately 20% of our population.
However, identity theft is just one item in a long list of reasons why people have bad credit. Poor credit can also present itself through:
- Failing to stick to a credit agreement
- Missed or late repayments
- Only making minimum repayments
- Declaration of bankruptcy
- Choosing the wrong credit card(s)
- Hardship
- High utilization percentage of existing credit
- Having no credit history at all
- Being deployed to the military without the ability to make payments
- Being a victim of a natural disaster
When Tracy Arnett discovered that his identity had been stolen, he appointed the aid of a law firm on his credit repair mission. Unfortunately, after six months of working together, his credit score hadn’t improved much, so he took matters into his own hands.
Despite being busy working two jobs, Tracy managed to improve his credit score faster on his own. And it soon became apparent that he had a “flair for credit repair”. So much so, that he began offering his credit hero services to family and friends.
“I got very fascinated about all of the laws with credit. I started asking all my family members and everybody… I was like ‘how’s your credit, can I see if I can fix it?’” – Tracy Arnett, Founder
Launching a credit repair business was a natural next step for Tracy. He started where he was, with what he had: he worked alone in his spare time. He ran operations by hand. He used the tools that were available to him. He used his story and experience to build a brand that empowered others.
Whatever the starting point, there is always the potential for victory. You don't need to have a ton of money in the bank, extensive industry-knowledge, or a wide network to start a credit repair business. Start where you are and leverage your passion and drive to propel you forward.
Consistently Provide Credit Repair Value
According to Simon Sinek, author of Start With Why, knowing your purpose (or your “why”) is essential for fulfillment and success. He says, “All organizations start with WHY, but only the great ones keep their WHY clear year after year.”
Because, when you have a clear understanding of why what you’re doing matters – why the world needs it – no mountain seems too tall. Tracy’s why inspired him to provide credit repair value to the people who needed it. He realized from his own personal experience, many people need help repairing their credit, but don't know where to turn.
“Helping people is what we’re in business for” – Djamal Littleton, Managing Partner
Find Consistency Through the Process
One of the hardest parts of building a business is being consistent. It’s the overarching reason why 80% of New Year's’ resolutions fail, and a contributor to why half of new businesses fail in the first year. To ensure that you set your credit repair business up for continued success, follow these tips, inspired by Charles Duhigg’s best-selling book The Power of Habit:
- Define what you’re trying to achieve, when by, and how
- Set a fixed date (e.g. a business launch date) that will qualify your goal
- Break down your goal into monthly and weekly bite-sized chunks
- Prioritize these chunks in your calendar (i.e. form a new habit)
- Build the habit into a routine that supports it
- Stop doing things that are detrimental to your goal
- Get others to hold you accountable to your goal
- Track your progress
Credit Repair Cloud helped Tracy find the consistency he needed to become a better ally for his clients.
Providing consistent value means that people will not only trust you, but they will trust you so much they will induce others to trust you too. This means more referrals, more sales, and more prosperity.
Optimize and Scale
Tracy started his credit repair company running operations by hand, but with the ever-increasing workload, it soon became unsustainable. He found himself working around the clock – unable to spend precious time with his family. Keeping the business running, and his clients happy, felt like a 24/7 job.
“Before there was software everything needed to be handwritten. One day I started looking, like I know there’s a software out there that can help me and that’s how I kind of got into the cloud. I don’t even know if I would still be in business if there was no software” – Tracy Arnett, Founder
A byproduct of being busy is that you’re often firefighting so much that you don’t have the time to think about process improvement. However, it is only through putting the important things first – even if they don’t seem urgent – that you’ll be able to optimize and scale towards success.
To optimize and scale First Capital Enquiry Removal, Tracy sought help.
He utilized credit repair business software (Credit Repair Cloud) to train new staff and streamline his business practices. Instead of spending most of his days managing dispute letters, he can reallocate his time toward doing what he loves – spending time with his family.
Tracy’s business allows him a strong work-life balance, while still earning the income that works for him. Are you ready to take the first step toward entrepreneurship?
Join our free live web training and see how you can start and grow a credit repair business today.
