The state of Florida is one of the most business-friendly states in all of America, home to millions and millions of small businesses – just over 2.1 million according to the latest data from the folks at the Small Business Administration, in fact.

Florida is attractive to small business owners for a variety of different reasons, not the least of which is the fact that it has no state income tax.

This allows Florida business owners to pour a lot more of their money and their profits back into their business, but it also allows them to attract some pretty talented individuals from around the rest of the country (the rest of the world, for that matter) to work for them because there’s no income tax, too.

At the same time, however, the statistics show that a lot of small business owners in Florida have less than picture-perfect credit.

In fact, the overwhelming majority of small business owners report having a credit score that is lower than 700 – with the average credit score for small businesses sitting at 669 (less than ideal to be sure).

This has really handicapped small business owners in the state of Florida from being able to pursue financing options that would help them grow and expand their business, build on their dream, and help create the financial future they work so hard to deserve.

With seven out of every ten small businesses being rejected for traditional business loans in Florida at big banks and credit unions (not just in Florida, but throughout the rest of the United States as well), securing financing is considered to be the number one threat to small business success.

Thankfully though there are more than a few things you can do as a savvy entrepreneur to secure the kind of financing you need, getting great business loans for your organization even if your credit is less than picture-perfect.

Let’s dig right in!

Consider Small Business Lines of Credit

One of the easiest ways to gain access to the kind of financing you need in the state of Florida without having ideal credit is to move towards nontraditional lenders and short-term financing programs like business lines of credit.

There are a number of providers operating in Florida (and a handful of national corporations, too) that are comfortable providing a line of credit options to business owners with credit that isn’t the greatest.

These business loans offer fixed monthly payments based entirely on the amount of credit you have pulled from the total available principal, with many of these packages available to any small business that makes $5000 a month in gross revenue (with very few other requirements necessary to hit).

On top of that, these loan application processes are very fast – particularly when you do business with companies like Excel.

This business line of credit organization is known for its seven-minute loan approval process that is based on three core factors – Cash Flow, Personal Credit, and Business Credit History – and they are regarded as some of the friendliest financiers to business owners with credit that could be improved on.

Consider Unsecured Business Loans in Florida

If business lines of credit are not ideally suited to your specific needs you may want to think about moving forward with unsecured business loans, again available from most nontraditional lenders operating in the state.

These unsecured business loans work similarly to a personal loan you might have taken out from a bank, though obviously you’ll gain access to a lot more cash and a lot more capital with this approach.

These business loans usually have daily, weekly, or biweekly repayment terms locked right in, can be processed inside of about 24 hours or less, and usually put the cash and capital you are approved for in your hands inside of 72 hours.

The best thing about these kinds of business loans is that there are no credit requirements necessary in most circumstances, so long as you are pulling in $10,000 or more in average monthly revenue.

You’ll need to provide three months of accounting (and have at least three months of previous business experience under your belt) to gain approval, too.

Consider Merchant Cash Advances in Florida

The last nontraditional lending package we want to touch on here for small business owners with less than perfect credit in the state of Florida is merchant cash advances.

Merchant cash advances (MCAs) will essentially have you “buying” loans and financing from a nontraditional lender with an advance against the merchant account transactions you are pulling in on a regular basis.

These are great nontraditional business loans for those with poor credit because there are no credit requirements whatsoever necessary for approval.

You’ll need three months of operation under your belt, will have to accept credit cards through a merchant account (for obvious reasons), and will need to be willing to repay the debts that you incur through this financing package directly with a portion of every sale charge through your merchant account.

This offers a lot of flexibility and a lot of financing for small businesses that might not have been able to leverage them with traditional lenders. The ability to repay your loan as you go with a tiny portion of each individual sale is a game-changer.

This lets you take on larger business loans than you might have been able to with other approaches all while repaying the loan back consistently from sales that you make later down the line.

At the end of the day, the important thing here to realize is that you aren’t ever going to be handicapped as a small business owner just because your credit score isn’t 700 or above.

While entrepreneurs with 700+ (especially 800+) credit scores can chase down huge financing packages from big banks and national organizations, plenty of entrepreneurs and small business owners in the state of Florida with less than perfect credit are securing the kinds of financing we highlighted above to make their entrepreneurial dreams come true as well.