Route 100 Located in Maryland

ABOUT MARYLAND ROUTE 100 (MD 100)

Maryland Route 100 (MD 100) is a major east-west highway connecting U.S. Route 29 (US 29) in Ellicott City (just north of Columbia) and MD 177 (Mountain Road) in Pasadena. MD 100 also connects to Interstate 95 (I-95), US 1, the Baltimore–Washington Parkway (MD 295), and I-97. The highway connects Howard County to the west with Anne Arundel County and Chesapeake Bay to the east. MD 100 also provides access to the Baltimore–Washington International Airport (BWI) and the Arundel Mills shopping mall.

The eastern section of MD 100 in Anne Arundel County is known as the Paul T. Pitcher Memorial Highway. The name comes in dedication to Paul T. Pitcher, an Anne Arundel County executive, who originally conceived the highway.

Maryland Route 100 began in the 1970s as two separate roads, both having the MD 100 designation. The first was known as the Mountain Road Extension, stretching between Governor Ritchie Highway and the old Maryland Route 3, now Interstate 97.

Small business owners usually struggle with expansion plans against meager cash flows. That’s why First Down Funding is a critical part of small business development in Maryland. Get Pre-approved in minutes for small business Funding in Maryland. Apply online or contact us so we can expedite your request. We are your Maryland Business Funding source. Apply today for business funding in Maryland.

ROUTE 100: A KEY PLAYER IN THE MARYLAND ECONOMY

A GOLDMINE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

If you own or manage a business along Maryland’s Route 100, you know what an essential part of the state’s economy this popular thoroughfare is. Having grown by leaps and bounds since its official designation in the 1970s, when it was created by merging two separate roads, Route 100 is a goldmine of opportunities for small business owners.

Stretching from east to west and connecting US Route 129 and Maryland 177, Route 100 also provides easy connections to US 1, Interstate 95, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, and Interstate 97. With access to Howard County and Ellicott City in the west and Anne Arundel County and the Chesapeake Bay in the east, including Pasadena, Route 100 also gives motorists a gateway to the Baltimore-Washington International Airport and the Arundel Mills shopping mall.

The range of businesses along Route 100 is extraordinary:

  • Restaurants
  • Automotive retail and repair
  • Schools and daycare centers
  • Medical facilities
  • Big box and discount stores
  • Gyms and fitness centers
  • Home improvement and construction stores
  • Drugstores
  • Furniture and decor vendors
  • Office parks
  • Hotels and motels
  • Houses of worship
  • Postal and shipping companies
  • Eldercare and assisted living facilities
  • Bookstores
  • Hobby shops
  • Parks and golf courses
  • Casinos
  • Meeting and event centers

It’s no wonder businesses are eager to capitalize on this bustling center of Maryland commerce! Running a business on Route 100 offers substantial car and foot traffic, as well as the ability to share customers and co-promote with other businesses. Suburban traffic from both Baltimore and Washington makes Route 100, in between the two, a natural location to leverage a customer base from both major cities.

However, the same elements that make small businesses so eager to invest along Route 100 can hold them back when it comes to financing their ventures. Because Route 100 has become such a competitive marketplace for businesses of all kinds and sizes, funding may be out of reach for many smaller enterprises.

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ALTERNATIVE FINANCING FOR SMALL BUSINESSES LOCATED ON ROUTE 100 IN MARYLAND

HURDLES WITH CONVENTIONAL LENDERS

Many small businesses are discovering that it’s not so easy to obtain traditional funding for their ventures along Route 100. There are, sadly, multiple reasons for this roadblock:

  • Small businesses are less appealing to conventional lenders like big banks.
  • Rigid guidelines for business lending are hard for small businesses to meet.
  • Many lenders are not knowledgeable about how small businesses operate, how they contribute to the economy, and how much potential they have.
  • Traditional funding sources look only at statistics for small businesses as a group, rather than at the merits of individual companies.
  • Some lenders believe startup businesses should only be funded by venture capitalists, grants, and other types of private financing outside regular small business loans.
  • Lenders have tightened their requirements and are even less willing to fund small businesses during periods of economic downturn and unpredictability.
  • The same lenders seem to pop up everywhere, and small business owners aren’t aware of other options.

Many small businesses lack the credit scores, cash reserves, income, collateral, or ability to put together a complex business plan, as required by these traditional lenders. It becomes a chicken-and-egg situation. How can a business become established enough to meet all those requirements without the funding to get started in the first place? Have you encountered some of the typical small business challenges below?

LOW CREDIT

If you have low credit as a business owner, you may not meet the threshold for a small business loan with more traditional lenders. Just like when applying for a personal loan, you will be asked to show your creditworthiness.

The problem is many people have poor credit scores for a variety of reasons not related to their ability to pay back a business loan. And poor credit is often considered anything under 700, which can be tough to get with just a few dings. Some very responsible business founders have lower credit because of:

  • Divorce
  • Prior serious illness
  • Predatory lending
  • Poor debt-to-income ratio due to student loans
  • Credit bureau errors
  • Slow reporting
  • COVID-19 setbacks
  • Living responsibly with a low credit limit
  • Multiple algorithms used to derive scores

You may also have low or no credit because you’re on the younger side and haven’t had a chance to establish a credit history. Likewise, people who are from outside the United States may not have built up a credit profile either.

 

CASH FLOW LIMITATIONS

There are many legitimate reasons why your business may be experiencing cash flow limitations right now, which is another hurdle to clear with traditional business lenders. Perhaps your debt-to-income ratio is unappealing to these institutions because you are paying down another loan or have some other type of debt.

You may be a new business, in which case your income hasn’t come up to speed yet. Or perhaps your business was affected by the recent coronavirus pandemic, even indirectly, and your cash flow is tight. How can you make adjustments to your business plan to accommodate new health restrictions if you can’t get the funding you need?

 

LACK OF COLLATERAL

Secured business loans, such as many offered by the Small Business Administration (SBA) ask for collateral from the recipient. This is something you put up for the lender in case you default on the loan. It might be real estate or business property, which the lender can then take instead of payments if you are unable to make good on the loan. However, if you’re just starting out in business or haven’t been established that long, you’re unlikely to have the kind of collateral that would satisfy a conventional business loan lender. Using something like your personal home can be risky and is generally not advised for business collateral.

 

INSUFFICIENT CAPITAL INVESTMENT

Traditional business lenders want to see that you or someone else has a stake in your business. To fulfill this requirement, they may ask for capital investment. That means either you, a business associate, or an outside party has put up some cash already. These lenders don’t like lending to businesses that rely on only one funding source. In this business climate, though, it can be tough to find capital investors. You may have already used all your own personal savings to start the business.

 

MULTIPLE LOAN APPLICATIONS

You may think that applying for a slew of business loans at once would give you the greatest selection. You envision yourself picking and choosing from a handful of approved loans to get the best deal possible.

Traditional lenders don’t like to see multiple loan applications within a short period of time. How do they know you’ve applied elsewhere? Every application results in a credit check by the lender, which prospective institutions see when you fill out their loan application. What’s a business to do if it’s turned down for a loan? Stop applying for funding? This hardly seems fair.

 

STARTUP STATUS

Like it or not, some business lenders don’t like to see startup companies asking for a loan. Startups are often viewed as risky investments. What is considered a startup business? Generally, any enterprise younger than about two years old. This is another one of those catch-22s. How are you supposed to establish a business track record if you can’t open a business to begin with?

 

WEARING TOO MANY HATS

This isn’t something that shows up directly on your business loan application. Rather, it’s likely reflected in how your application and supporting documentation is assembled. When you’re the owner of a small business, you have to do a lot of jobs that in larger businesses are filled by multiple employees.

It’s tough to be the CEO, CFO, COO, and head of HR all at once! Plus, many business owners juggle these roles with their personal lives as well. Being stretched this thin can make it difficult to prepare the kind of documentation you need for a traditional small business loan. And these plans aren’t simple to compose. People go to school for advanced degrees to learn how to write a business plan and perform business forecasting. It’s a daunting task even for business owners with an MBA.

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR SMALL BUSINESS FUNDING ON ROUTE 100 IN MARYLAND?

Whether You Need To Prepare For Seasonal Sales Boosts, Replenish Stock Or Stay Afloat, We Have A Small Business Funding Option For You on Route 100 in Maryland.

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FIRST DOWN FUNDING: A MUCH-NEEDED ALTERNATIVE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES LOCATED ON ROUTE 100

Fortunately today, there are alternatives to traditional lenders when it comes to small business funding for your Route 100 business. First Down Funding is pleased to serve as alternative financing for small business loans. If you’re a business owner who has not been able to get the funding you need, we urge you to check out our many types of loans for different industries, including:

  • Business expansion funding
  • Bridge financing
  • Unsecured business funding
  • Business funding for women
  • Business working capital
  • Retail store funding
  • Restaurant financing
  • Business equipment funding
  • Hotel and motel funding
  • Beauty business funding
  • Business line of credit
  • Commercial truck funding
  • Financing for bad credit
  • Automotive business funding
  • Short-term financing
  • Invoice and receivables financing
  • Revenue-based business funding
  • Merchant cash advances

We recognize that small businesses drive the American economy, and we’re here to help make small business funding more accessible.

SMALL BUSINESSES LOCATED ON ROUTE 100: BUSINESS FUNDING OPTIONS YOU SHOULD EXPLORE

Perhaps you’re already frustrated from trying to find a conventional lender. Or maybe you’re eager to skip the stress and improve the likelihood you’ll succeed with your loan. Whether it’s startup financing you need or bridge funding to boost your cash flow, at First Down Funding, you will be welcomed with the opportunity to access financing for your Route 100 small business.

THE MULTIPLE BENEFITS OF FIRST DOWN FUNDING

We think you’ll appreciate the many benefits of working together with First Down Funding:

  • A loan approval rate that exceeds mainstream banks and conventional lenders
  • A team of loan professionals that values your business’s individuality and invests the time to learn about your goals and what makes your enterprise unique
  • A swift decision process with rapid delivery of your funding once a loan is approved
  • Reduced requirements for documentation–no more slogging through years of tax returns and bank statements
  • A reasonable and flexible repayment schedule that won’t saddle your business with outlandish debt from the outset
  • The ability to choose what you want to do with your funding, since you know your business best
  • A wide array of financing products that provides customizable options sure to suit your one-of-a-kind needs

Unlike traditional funders, we don’t rely on standard financial metrics or collateral in providing financing solutions. Our innovative approach gives small businesses the tools they need to launch and expand. Your future projects are harnessed to put together a funding package and repayment plan that works for your needs.

Integrity, innovation, respect, passion, results, and support are the tenets of our customer interactions. While we specialize in working with businesses here in our home state of Maryland, we fund businesses all across the United States, from Florida to Washington and from California to New York. Our services are available in 50 states, as well as in Washington, DC.

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FROM SURVIVING TO THRIVING WITH SMALL BUSINESS LOANS

Many businesses, if they’re able to open at all, are merely surviving, treading water and not growing in the ways they always dreamed. Our aim is to take your business from surviving to thriving with small business loans that solve real problems for you.

SIMPLIFIED APPLICATION PROCESSES

We understand you have a business to run, and that takes time. We use a simplified application process so you’re able to focus where your skills are needed. You will love how uncomplicated the First Down Funding application is. Prequalify online, and enjoy our soft credit pull, which does not affect your credit score and is not visible to other lenders.

RAPID LOAN DECISIONS AND FUNDING

With big banks and government loans, you can wait anywhere from 30 to 90 days for loan approvals and funding. We think that’s too long. At First Down Funding, you can apply for financing online and receive approval as quickly as the same day. We won’t make you wait needlessly and possibly miss valuable business opportunities. We strive to let our clients know within 24 hours if they’ve been approved for funding, and our funding time is between 24 and 72 hours.

TAILORED LENDING APPROACHES

There are no cookie-cutter solutions with First Down Funding. We treat your business like the unique entity that it is. With a variety of lending terms, business lines of credit, and financing for virtually every industry, you’re sure to get a funding package that is tailored to you.

SHORT-TERM FUNDING

Not every business needs a long-term loan. We have funding with a shorter borrowing time–from three to 18 months. This is a great tool if your business needs quick cash, such as for a business improvement opportunity that can’t wait. It’s also ideal for poor credit, as the minimum credit score is only 525.

EQUIPMENT FINANCING

Need equipment for your business now and not sure where to turn? Try First Down Funding’s specially designed financing for equipment purchases. You can borrow up to 100 percent of equipment value with a funding term equivalent to the expected life of the equipment.

BUSINESS LINES OF CREDIT

Some businesses elect to take out a line of credit rather than a loan. The advantage of this service is that you only pay interest on the funds you have drawn upon, so you don’t pay interest on funds you’re not utilizing.

BRIDGE LOANS

Bridge funding is ideal for businesses that need cash for a short period in between rounds of funding or when revenue is imminent. It gives you a quick infusion of working capital, so your business can keep on schedule without interruption.

BACK ON TRACK WITH TROUBLED CREDIT

First Down Funding offers small business owners a viable solution when their credit is not where they want it to be, often due to events outside their control. You get funding for your business so you can get back on track and make your business visions a reality.

STAYING RESILIENT DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

During these unpredictable and challenging times, we want the business community to remain safe and healthy. We offer a comprehensive resource center so you can stay up to date with COVID news and make your business as resilient as possible.