New First Star Capital Home Page

We at First Star Capital have worked long and hard to provide our customers, both new and returning, a solid, informative, and attractive home page. We hope that you will enjoy it.

www.FirstStarCapital.com

We love to hear how we can make our site even more useful to you. Please feel free to contact us whenever you would like.

Many thanks and best wishes,

The First Star Capital Team

How to Avoid Computer Viruses

Everyone shudders at the thought of getting a computer virus. Losing all your files is not what computers hope for at the end of the day. Although there are virus checkers, you still have to be very careful. Computer viruses are triggered when the user is not paying attention or when the user is not being on guard. Here are some tips to keep in mind when you are on your computer:

• Do not download files from people you don’t know. Try to scan the file before you download it.
• Be careful when downloading attachments from your e-mail. If it has a .pif or .scr extension, it is most likely a virus. Viruses can also be embedded in a file that does not have that extension. So be sure to scan the file for viruses before you download the attachment.
• Make sure your virus-scanning program is up-to-date.
• Be sure to get an anti-spyware program.
  

It is better to be safe than sorry. Consider investing time in how viruses work and how you can best protect your computer.

Brad Harmon is the President at a leading financing company, First Star Capital (www.firststarcapital.com). Brad is a frequent contributor to online publications and newsletters, and is the author of this blog on commercial financing topics.

News: Two Prominent Bay Area Commercial Leasing Firms Join Forces

Allegiant Partners Incorporated and First Star Capital, two privately-held equipment finance firms in the Bay Area, have merged making Walnut Creek-based First Star Capital a wholly owned subsidiary of San Rafael-based Allegiant Partners. The acquisition officially commenced July 1, 2008 and both firms are very pleased with the results so far.

First Star Capital was formed nearly four years ago by founder Brad Harmon. The company quickly grew to an equipment finance company funding $10 million annually. The acquisition allows Allegiant Partners, an indirect funding source for commercial leasing brokers nationwide, to enter the direct finance business for the first time.

Allegiant Partners was founded in 1998 and is focused on the underserved niche of high margin asset based loan and lease financing. The company's primary target customer is a promising, capital intensive enterprise in need of equipment financing. By adding First Star Capital, Allegiant expects to almost double their current funding volume in 2009. The synergy created by the acquisition allows rapid growth opportunity for both firms. Allegiant expects to finance over $30 million of equipment in 2009.

Eight out of ten US businesses lease or finance some or all of their equipment. First Star Capital is a commercial equipment leasing firm that offers flexible financing and leasing options to businesses in a variety of industries throughout the country. They specialize in transaction sizes ranging from $10,000 to $2,000,000. Pairing up with Allegiant allows First Star greater flexibilityin credit decisions and the ability to place transactions onto their own balance sheet.

Brad Harmon, President of First Star, says “this marriage of two solid equipment finance companies is exciting for everyone. First Star is now able to offer more financing options to our clients during a time when those options seem to be drying up everywhere else. Allegiant now has a direct sales force. While many lenders and brokers have been forced out of the market due to the current credit crisis, First Star and Allegiant were able to steadily increase market share throughout the 2008 calendar year.”

For more information on Allegiant Partners please visit www.allegiant-partners.com or contact Doug Houlahan, Business Development at 415-451-4045.

For more information on First Star Capital please visit www.firststarcapital.com or contact Kim Shea at 925-256-7200.

5 Ways Leasing Can Benefit Your Company

With traditional banks decreasing their loans, it can be tough getting credit for your company's needs. Leasing can be an excellent solution in light to the present economic environment. Leasing has many benefits, including:

• Conserving working capital - Purchase the equipment and technology you need today while spreading your payments over the useful life of the asset. This allows you to preserve your capital for other day-to-day expenses such as inventory, personnel and marketing.
• Flexibility - Leasing can be very flexible for your company. You are able to add or upgrade through a master lease or add-on addendums.
• Speed - You can be approved with minimal documentation and have the equipment you need in operation.
• Tax Advantages - The IRS does not consider an operating lease to be a purchase, but rather a tax-deductible overhead expense. Therefore, you are able to pay for the equipment with pre-tax dollars rather than after-tax profits.
• Avoiding obsolescence - Leasing is an extremely attractive option for all your computer hardware and software purchases because technology becomes outdated very quickly. Upgrade provisions can be added to most leases, which are a simple way to hedge against obsolescence.

Brad Harmon is the President at a leading financing company, First Star Capital (www.firststarcapital.com). Brad is a frequent contributor to online publications and newsletters, and is the author of this blog on commercial financing topics.

Having a Professional Image

It is important as a small business owner to present a professional image to your clients. There are several ways to prove your professionalism:

• The telephone. If you answer the phone in a casual, unprofessional way, people will think your business is exactly that. Answer the phone in a clear tone. Never use slang terms or words you would use casually, like "sort of," "I dunno," or "kinda." Answer questions with straightforward responses.
• Your voice mail. Make sure your voice mail message is professional. Do not make it sound like a message on a personal phone. In the message, make sure to say the business's name. You can also include your work hours.
• Your identity. This includes your logo, printed materials, and web site. Hiring a graphic designer can be costly. But having a logo made in Microsoft Paint can be even more costly. In this day and time, people judge heavily on the material you give them. If the logo is unprofessional, printed materials are sloppy, and web site unorganized, that will definitely say something to your customers. Hire a graphic design student to do your work. They will usually offer cheaper rates or even work for free so they can build their portfolio.
• Your forms. Again, a lot can be said about the company when they hand out their forms, invoices, and receipts. Make sure your forms are organized, simple, and straightforward.

Thinking through and implementing these small details will really help your business's professional image.

Brad Harmon is the President at a leading financing company, First Star Capital (www.firststarcapital.com). Brad is a frequent contributor to online publications and newsletters, and is the author of this blog on commercial financing topics.

Strengthen Your Website with Videos

Improving your website should always be priority. Visitors (and search engines) love new content. Visitors especially enjoy interactive material. These elements not only allow the viewer to look but to interact and become part of it.

Videos are no new thing to the Internet. However, you can always put videos on your website. It will increase your traffic and sales as the visitor interacts with the content.

Adding a video to your homepage will increase click-throughs. A human's mind can process information extremely quickly. Having only static images and text can turn away a visitor in less than a second. Motion will cause the visitor to stay longer to see everything. It will intrigue the viewer to either stay on the page longer or to move on to another page in your site. Although it will not make all visitors stay, it can most certainly increase your overall traffic.

Uploading videos is as simple as uploading a photo. In your website program, simply add a video in the place you need. Or, find a video website, like YouTube, that can host the video. You can then take the code and plug it into your website.

Watch the improvement in your sales and traffic when you add videos on your website. It could be just what you need to keep up with or beat your competitors.

Brad Harmon is the President at a leading financing company, First Star Capital (www.firststarcapital.com). Brad is a frequent contributor to online publications and newsletters, and is the author of this blog on commercial financing topics.

Promoting Your Business with Directories

When marketing your business, always be sure to submit your business profile to online directories. Many customers base their choices off of reliable listings The following directories are free and are some of the top directories on the web.

• DMOZ.org - DMOZ.org is the king of directories. It take a long time to be listed, but it is well worth the wait.
• Local.com - Local.com helps customers find businesses close to them. They allow visitors to rate companies and write reviews.
• Yellowpages.com - Much like local.com, YellowPages.com is a very strong website that allows you to put your company info online.
• Whitepages.com - Very similar to Yellow Pages.
• Superpages.com - Also very similar to Yellow Pages.
• Brownbook.com - Like they say in their slogan, BrownBook.com is a free directory that anyone can edit. With a high PageRank, BrownBook is a great directory to be added to.
• Merchantcircle.com - MerchantCircle is an online directory but also a business-related community. When you set up your company profile, you can send and receive messages, receive stats of the profile viewed, and make connections to other businesses. It is a unique website that is worth checking out.

There are thousands of other directories on the web. Just be sure to check their PageRank before linking to them.

Brad Harmon is the President at a leading financing company, First Star Capital (www.firststarcapital.com). Brad is a frequent contributor to online publications and newsletters, and is the author of this blog on commercial financing topics.

Attack the New Year with an Advertising Plan

With each new year comes new opportunities. How your company will grow depends upon how you want your company to grow. Sit down and spend some time brainstorming on new marketing approaches and goals for the year.

Ask yourself some of these questions:

• What are your long-term goals?
• What are your short-term goals?
• What is your elevator pitch? Has it changed from the last year?
• What message do you want to get across to your clients? How can you better portray that message?
• How will you introduce potential clients to your company? Will you increase e-mail newsletters, postcards, trade show exhibits, etc? Set a goal for all of your marketing material.
• What products/services will you offer that are different from the older products/services? How will you promote them better than the year before?

Brad Harmon is the President at a leading financing company, First Star Capital (www.firststarcapital.com). Brad is a frequent contributor to online publications and newsletters, and is the author of this blog on commercial financing topics.

A Healthier New Year

It's a new year and with that usually comes new resolutions. Often the ones we probably make the most and hear the most about have to do with health- losing that ten pounds or just getting in better shape. But how does being healthy affect the workplace? Many experts are saying studies show that health equals wealth. Essentially the healthier you are, the richer you will be. This is because not only can you effectively handle daily stresses and germs, but you're also more productive.

This information should not only encourage business owners to take better care of themselves, but also to help their employees maintain good health. Chronic ailments like neck pain, eye strain, difficulty sleeping due to job worries, and headaches all contribute to less productivity and more sick days called in. In the past, most companies have concentrated on keeping their health care costs down by defining "health" as an expense. Today, however, savvy companies are putting emphasis on doing more to keep employees healthy. These companies are finding that healthy employees cost the company less and boost productivity simultaneously.

This year, make your business more productive and more successful by creating a healthier work environment. Adjust office lighting- putting a small lamp next to your computer monitor is enough to prevent eye strain and headaches. Increase ventilation and make sure filters are clean. Encourage workers to go on walks during their breaks, or if it's feasible, provide gym memberships. Also, increasing health care coverage can reduce stress and make it less likely that employees come to work despite being sick and possibly contagious. Investing in health is investing in the future and success of your company.

Brad Harmon is the President at a leading financing company, First Star Capital (www.firststarcapital.com). Brad is a frequent contributor to online publications and newsletters, and is the author of this blog on commercial financing topics.