Ever wanted to get into the shredding industry? Wondering what you should do to get started? Here's the deal, shredding trucks are expensive, and unless you have a ton of cash sitting around, you are typically going to finance it.

Your business needs the right financing at the right time if you are starting up your shredding business or expanding to take advantage of new opportunities. In order to finance your business, you must be prepared with all the important and critical information your creditor will need. If not, you come across some challenges that may really complicate the creating or your new shredding venture.

How much is a shredding truck?

A brand new professional shredding truck is not a cheap consideration. These trucks generally run around the $200,000 mark and up depending on the various options you are considering plus delivery fees.

Besides the purchase price, you must also be prepared for sales taxes and registration fees abdicable to your neck of the woods. Typically your loan is not going to cover these additional costs.

Also, keep in mind that your creditor and manufacturer is going to require some sort of deposit to get your truck on order - and that can mean anywhere from 10 to 20 percent.

What are the major considerations to take into account?

Cash is king!

Business plans don't make payments; Cost cutting doesn't make payments; The only thing that is going to make your payment at the end of the day is your cash.

When it comes to a new startup, since there are lots of uses of cash and there are not very many sources, we are talking in terms of cash reserves. The amount of cash in reserve really depends on your ability to cover operating expenses, the cash to make a whole bunch of payments on the truck, and then some cash left over to live on.

The good news is that start-ups in the shredding industry typically are going to start generating cash from the beginning. Creditors are going to evaluate how likely it is that your start-up is going to have the revenue needed in those first couple of years - that's where this next criteria comes into play.

Do I need a business plan?

A business plan is required for each and every new start-up, and occasionally, these business plans can be way out of line. It's very easy to get carried away and over optimistic with your business plan where your showing $300,000 of profit on $600,000 of revenue in just the first year! That's great if you can prove it - but the key words here are "prove it." If there is no support, no backup for these kinds of numbers, you going to be in the same position as not having a business plan at all, or even worse.

A business plan that doesn't reflect the realities of the paper shredding industry shows an unrealistic understanding of the endeavor your about to start and you may be dead in the water before one sheet of paper even gets shredded.

The bottom line

When it comes to getting your first shredding truck financed, the more preparation time you put into your new endeavor the better are your chances. Besides having a realistic business plan, this also means having a marketing plan ready to go so you can hit the ground running when that new truck arrives.

One quick tip would be to have a website up and running on the internet. It usually takes a few months to have Google and the other search engines even recognize that your website exists. Trust me, you'll be in a much better position having leads coming in prior to actually have a truck than having the opposite... having a truck with no leads and no work. Not to mention, wouldn't it be great to go to a creditor with the proof that your website and other marketing is already pulling in leads and your just waiting on a truck in order to get the cash flowing!

Read the full Paper Shredding Truck Financing Guide at:

http://www.businessnetworkingradio.com/145/paper-shredding-truck-financing