Building Business Credit From Nothing: The Real Process

Business credit is how you eventually borrow money as a business instead of a person. Here's how to actually build it.

Step 1: Get your DUNS number. Dun & Bradstreet issues DUNS numbers free. Go to their website, register your business, get your number. This is the foundation of business credit — without it, nothing else works.

Step 2: Understand PAYDEX. PAYDEX is your business credit score, issued by Dun & Bradstreet. It goes from 0-100. 80+ is good. It's built entirely by paying your vendors on time — or early.

Step 3: Open net-30 accounts. Net-30 vendors give you 30 days to pay after purchase. They report your payments to D&B. Start with vendors that don't require an established credit history: Uline, Grainger, Quill, Crown Office Supplies. Buy something small, pay it within 30 days (ideally early), repeat.

Step 4: Be patient. It takes 90-180 days to build a meaningful PAYDEX score. There's no shortcut. Anyone selling you a "business credit building program" for $500 is scamming you — the process is free and public knowledge.

Step 5: Move to business credit cards. Once you have a PAYDEX score above 70, you can apply for business credit cards that don't require a personal guarantee. Nav.com is a good resource for finding them.

The whole system is designed to be opaque so consultants can charge you to explain it. Now you know.