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Chris Motola

Expert Analyst & Reviewer

Expertise: Business payments, crytocurrency, business funding

Education: MS Interactive Media, University of Central Florida

Chris has been writing about small business topics since 2003. In 2015, he joined Merchant Maverick, where he writes about business financing, payment processing, and demographic trends in entrepreneurship. Chris has been featured in Fox Business, ABC News, Yahoo Finance, GoBankingRates, Newsweek, BizJournals, and other publications. He has a Bachelor’s of Arts in English Writing Arts from SUNY Oswego, and a Masters of Science in Interactive Media from the University of Central Florida. He currently resides in the Hudson Valley region of New York.

Merchant Maverick Archives for Chris Motola

The 7 Best Commercial Construction Loans

When searching for a great commercial construction loan, you’ll want to keep in mind the size of the project, how quickly you need funding, and the resources you have available to use as collateral or downpayment. For many small businesses, an SBA 504 loan will be the best option for major construction projects. Others may be better served by bank loans or alternative loans.

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Jul 10, 2023 Filed under: Business Loans
Best startup loans

The 6 Best Startup Business Loans For 2023

It can be harder for startups to qualify for business loans since many lenders want to that a business is profitable before they lend it money. One way to get around this Catch-22 is to use personal loans to finance the early stages of a business.

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Apr 20, 2023 Filed under: Business Loans
equipment financing

The 6 Best Equipment Financing Companies For Small Business

Equipment financing is low key one of the more complicated types of business financing. Not only do you want to keep in mind factors that apply to all business loans like interest rates, your ability to qualify, and term lengths, but you need to consider how the equipment you’re purchasing retains (or doesn’t retain) its value and utility over time.

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Apr 13, 2023 Filed under: Equipment Financing

2023 Best States For Black Entrepreneurs

The Mid-Atlantic and Southern regions are fortifying their reputation as the best states for Black entrepreneurs, with the Gulf states of Louisiana and Florida joining their ranks thanks to an increase in Black business creation within their borders. This is the finding from Merchant Maverick’s annual report on the Best States for Black Entrepreneurs.

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Feb 13, 2023 Filed under: Data Reports, Small Business

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Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.

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