Nutrition and natural remedies are now taking hold of many people. They are looking for alternative ways to recover their health or to heal their ill condition. Many know that drugs are good for an emergency or for short term use to get past health dangers. But continually using drugs for years or a lifetime can cut your life short from dangerous side effects.By learning some nutrition basics or advanced principles, you can decide what is best for you and you will have an idea of how to handle sickness or an ongoing disease. Most people that I have talked have very little knowledge about nutrition and the amount that they do have is received from friends or relatives at the dinner table.Yes, there are many people that know a lot about nutrition and most are concerned individuals, avid readers, or educated and know the importance of nutrition. They study and take courses in nutrition and become a good source for other people.Nutrition is actually a science and as such can get quite complex in theory. Nutrition is concerned with the chemical make of food, how this food is digested, how it is absorbed, how it is used to promote health, and how it is used to prevent and eliminated illness.For the normal person, the nutrition they need to learn is the practical side of nutrition. To learn some theory or reasons for practicing good nutritional habits is essential to keeping good nutritional habits going.The very first principle a person should learn is the idea of an acid and an alkaline body. This is a practical nutritional that can be used to gain excellent health. Learn what acid and an alkaline body are and start using nutrition to move your condition to an alkaline body. Much research exists showing that all diseases exist when you have an acid body. An acid body produces disease because pathogen, cancer, and other diseases thrive under acid conditions.With nutrition, you can determine what level of acidity your body has and how to move your body into an alkaline state. You can learn how to monitor your ability to reduce acid in your body and as you do, you can adjust your eating habits to gain maximum health. Nutrition says your body is electrical, so you are constantly supporting biochemical and bioelectrical reactions. You can learn the basic principles that cause these reactions and supply the foods that create and build the right cell structures. Its all in the food you eat, the way you eat it, the way you cook it, the way you absorb it, and the way your body uses it.Learning and using nutrition is so important that it should be taught in grammar and high school, but it is not. But, now as an adult, you have the opportunity to correct this big oversight. Learn nutrition so you know what you have to do to keep healthy as long as you live. You can learn nutrition by taking some online courses that teach you the natural way to use nutrition.

There are several potential financing options available to cash-strapped businesses that need a healthy dose of working capital. A bank loan or line of credit is often the first option that owners think of – and for businesses that qualify, this may be the best option.

In today’s uncertain business, economic and regulatory environment, qualifying for a bank loan can be difficult – especially for start-up companies and those that have experienced any type of financial difficulty. Sometimes, owners of businesses that don’t qualify for a bank loan decide that seeking venture capital or bringing on equity investors are other viable options.

But are they really? While there are some potential benefits to bringing venture capital and so-called “angel” investors into your business, there are drawbacks as well. Unfortunately, owners sometimes don’t think about these drawbacks until the ink has dried on a contract with a venture capitalist or angel investor – and it’s too late to back out of the deal.

Different Types of Financing

One problem with bringing in equity investors to help provide a working capital boost is that working capital and equity are really two different types of financing.

Working capital – or the money that is used to pay business expenses incurred during the time lag until cash from sales (or accounts receivable) is collected – is short-term in nature, so it should be financed via a short-term financing tool. Equity, however, should generally be used to finance rapid growth, business expansion, acquisitions or the purchase of long-term assets, which are defined as assets that are repaid over more than one 12-month business cycle.

But the biggest drawback to bringing equity investors into your business is a potential loss of control. When you sell equity (or shares) in your business to venture capitalists or angels, you are giving up a percentage of ownership in your business, and you may be doing so at an inopportune time. With this dilution of ownership most often comes a loss of control over some or all of the most important business decisions that must be made.

Sometimes, owners are enticed to sell equity by the fact that there is little (if any) out-of-pocket expense. Unlike debt financing, you don’t usually pay interest with equity financing. The equity investor gains its return via the ownership stake gained in your business. But the long-term “cost” of selling equity is always much higher than the short-term cost of debt, in terms of both actual cash cost as well as soft costs like the loss of control and stewardship of your company and the potential future value of the ownership shares that are sold.

Alternative Financing Solutions

But what if your business needs working capital and you don’t qualify for a bank loan or line of credit? Alternative financing solutions are often appropriate for injecting working capital into businesses in this situation. Three of the most common types of alternative financing used by such businesses are:

1. Full-Service Factoring – Businesses sell outstanding accounts receivable on an ongoing basis to a commercial finance (or factoring) company at a discount. The factoring company then manages the receivable until it is paid. Factoring is a well-established and accepted method of temporary alternative finance that is especially well-suited for rapidly growing companies and those with customer concentrations.

2. Accounts Receivable (A/R) Financing – A/R financing is an ideal solution for companies that are not yet bankable but have a stable financial condition and a more diverse customer base. Here, the business provides details on all accounts receivable and pledges those assets as collateral. The proceeds of those receivables are sent to a lockbox while the finance company calculates a borrowing base to determine the amount the company can borrow. When the borrower needs money, it makes an advance request and the finance company advances money using a percentage of the accounts receivable.

3. Asset-Based Lending (ABL) – This is a credit facility secured by all of a company’s assets, which may include A/R, equipment and inventory. Unlike with factoring, the business continues to manage and collect its own receivables and submits collateral reports on an ongoing basis to the finance company, which will review and periodically audit the reports.

In addition to providing working capital and enabling owners to maintain business control, alternative financing may provide other benefits as well:

It’s easy to determine the exact cost of financing and obtain an increase.
Professional collateral management can be included depending on the facility type and the lender.
Real-time, online interactive reporting is often available.
It may provide the business with access to more capital.
It’s flexible – financing ebbs and flows with the business’ needs.
It’s important to note that there are some circumstances in which equity is a viable and attractive financing solution. This is especially true in cases of business expansion and acquisition and new product launches – these are capital needs that are not generally well suited to debt financing. However, equity is not usually the appropriate financing solution to solve a working capital problem or help plug a cash-flow gap.

A Precious Commodity

Remember that business equity is a precious commodity that should only be considered under the right circumstances and at the right time. When equity financing is sought, ideally this should be done at a time when the company has good growth prospects and a significant cash need for this growth. Ideally, majority ownership (and thus, absolute control) should remain with the company founder(s).

Alternative financing solutions like factoring, A/R financing and ABL can provide the working capital boost many cash-strapped businesses that don’t qualify for bank financing need – without diluting ownership and possibly giving up business control at an inopportune time for the owner. If and when these companies become bankable later, it’s often an easy transition to a traditional bank line of credit. Your banker may be able to refer you to a commercial finance company that can offer the right type of alternative financing solution for your particular situation.

Taking the time to understand all the different financing options available to your business, and the pros and cons of each, is the best way to make sure you choose the best option for your business. The use of alternative financing can help your company grow without diluting your ownership. After all, it’s your business – shouldn’t you keep as much of it as possible?

Does this story sound familiar to you?You graduated from nutrition school totally jazzed about building your holistic nutrition practice.  You thought you had all the pieces in place for a successful nutrition business – the counseling program, the website, the business cards, the brochure, and the fire inside to spread your message about holistic health and nutrition.  You’re doing workshops, meeting referral partners, launching events, and coaching clients…you’re working your butt off!  And yet you’re almost dead broke.I know your story, because I had the same experience!Until one day I realized….why waste your valuable time and money building your practice using unproven strategies and trial and error, when it’s possible to discover the biggest mistakes – and the most effective strategies – of Holistic Nutrition Professionals who have careers that are already thriving?I mean, how much money and time could you save if you could analyze, understand and MODEL real-world, profitable holistic nutrition practices?With this in mind, I interviewed ten top holistic nutrition pros to discover EXACTLY how they built their booming careers.  And I learned that there are three keys to success in holistic nutrition.1.    PassionMost holistic nutritionists got into this career because they had a personal experience with nutrition that utterly transformed their own lives. They have a deep, burning conviction in the transformative power of nutrition, and a driving desire to help other people experience that transformation.2.    PersistenceWould you believe that even Dawn Jackson Blatner, author of the best-selling “Flexitarian Diet” and featured nutritionist in magazines and TV shows all over the country, was turned down over and over again for almost every job she got? Even this brilliant and gifted nutritionist, who has made an indelible mark on the industry, had to push past “NO” a hundred times. Kathie Swift, Dr. Mark Hyman’s featured nutritionist in “UltraMetabolism” had to spend years convince top doctors about the benefits of nutrition and functional medicine before she could help create the now world-renowned nutrition and medical programs at Canyon Ranch Spa and Resorts.These trailblazing holistic nutritionists had a driving passion for their work, and they simply didn’t take “no” for an answer!3.    Passive IncomeThere is no doubt about it – the most successful holistic nutritionists are able to go beyond the traditional model of seeing individual clients and being paid by the hour.  These savvy nutrition pros know exactly how to package, price and market their services, so that they have products and services practically selling themselves when they’re asleep, at the gym, or on vacation at the beach!By leveraging this kind of passive income stream, the top holistic nutrition pros have been able to easily explode their practices into the six-figure mark and beyond.So what does studying and modeling the careers of successful Holistic Nutrition Pros mean for you?If you’re someone with a passion for nutrition, who wants to turn that passion into a career…It means that it IS possible to make a great living while doing you love to do, instead of going to a job everyday that drains you.If you’re a practicing holistic nutrition pro, but you’re not getting enough clients or making enough money…This means the difference between getting two clients this month, and getting TEN clients this month.For both practicing nutrition pros and nutrition-pros-to-be….This means the potential to add a ZERO onto your currently yearly income…by helping people transform their lives through the power of food.