I’ve spoken to close to 4,000 prospective credit repair business owners over the last 8 years. For the most part, their first inclination is to buy software to process dispute letters. Why? Because that’s what they’re told by what they read on the internet. Credit Repair Cloud, Dispute Suite, and many other credit repair software development companies are trying to sell their product so naturally, they’ll market them as necessary and the only thing you’ll need for a startup credit repair business.
The major problem is that these companies don’t tell you about some of the most important aspects of owning and operating a credit repair business. Once you decide to buy credit repair business software, now you need to also build a website, and find a merchant services company to take credit cards. Then you need to have a solution to pull credit for your clients and oh yes, get a surety bond or otherwise be certified to do business in your state. This business model is clumsy, expensive, very time-consuming, and ultimately, very limiting.
But that’s not the biggest issue with that business model. What you must realize is that if you go in this direction to start a credit repair business, you’ll be tied to that business and not be able to earn any income from it unless you are working. I’ll discuss the reasons why below.
Factor in Time Freedom
If you’re interested in a startup credit repair business, the first thing you should do is to determine what you want that business to do for you. That may seem obvious. Your initial answers may be that you want to make money by helping people achieve a higher credit score. Or something along those lines.
But making money is not a well thought out answer. Why? Because I have personally owned a business in another industry that made me money. But I was tied to that business 6 and 7 days a week. That business made no money unless my wife and I were working. That was and is a poor business model. We got burned out after a few years and we were not enjoying life.
Yes, of course, you want to make money. Of course, you want to help people increase their credit score to buy a home and other things. But ultimately you also need time freedom. You need that business to make you money and help people increase their credit score when you’re not working. That way you can enjoy the money your business is generating.
How to Create Time Freedom - Infrastructure
So, how do you create time freedom as a credit repair business owner? There are 2 key components or elements to a credit repair business that will allow you to have time freedom. The first is the infrastructure. In a startup credit repair business, you need to have all the pieces in place (pull credit, draft dispute letters, website, merchant services, etc.).
Make Sure You Can Compete for Business
But having those basics will only allow you to be just another credit repair company that’s competing with the other 65,000 credit repair companies. Of those 65,000 are the big ones like Lexington Law, CrediRepair.com, Sky Blue, and more. How are you going to compete? How are you going to differentiate your company if all you do is credit repair? And, you’re a startup credit repair business on top of it.
In order to compete in today’s credit repair market, you need more. You need online reporting for your clients giving them the ability to check on the progress of deletions and their credit score. You also need to offer more than just the removal of derogatory items. Online credit monitoring, identity monitoring, and ways to build positive credit are important to help you stand out against the competition.
Customer Support
This will make you more competitive but the other key component in your infrastructure should be a Customer Support staff. Think about it. How are you, perhaps working your business on a part-time basis, going to take calls from clients that have questions about their account? If you can’t get back to them for 5 or 6 hours because you’re at your job or other business, that will not be good long term for your business growth. You need people that are standing by to answer the phone and answer your client’s questions 8 hours a day, Monday through Friday.
How to Create Time Freedom - Duplicate Your Efforts
The second and most important element that you need in your startup credit repair business is the ability to duplicate your efforts. That is the ability to have others go out and bring on clients in your city, your state, or anywhere in the U.S., and you get paid on their production, sales, and efforts. In that way, you will not be limited as in the business model I described above.
Everyone that teaches entrepreneurship from Robert Kiyosaki to Tony Robbins, Stephen Covey, and more talks about duplication of efforts. It’s a simple fact. If you can’t duplicate, you can’t scale and grow your business. Worse is that you won’t be able to take time away from your business and still make money. After a few years, you’ll perhaps find yourself like I was with my accounting business years ago. Frustrated, burned out, and ready for something different.
A Startup Credit Repair Business Model That Works for You!
OK, so I know it sounds like I just gave you a utopia that can’t be achieved in a startup credit repair business. But that’s not true. In fact, I started working with a business model in 2012 that had everything I’ve described. It allowed us to build a 6-figure income working now just 3 or 4 days a week. My wife and I travel frequently. When we do work, we work from home. And, here’s the key. It didn’t take me months to build and start it. I didn’t have to contract with several different companies to put it all together. And, it didn’t cost me thousands of dollars to get it going.
What I recommend is that you take a few minutes to watch a video that I produced describing the details of this startup credit repair business model. Then, if you like what you see, just below the video you’ll be able to schedule a phone appointment with me or someone on our team. We aren’t here to sell you at all. We’re here to answer your questions and further explain the details to you. In that way, you’ll be able to make an informed decision as to whether this business model is right for you.
This article which was originally posted in 2020 is updated regularly and was last updated in July 2023.