Your credit score follows you everywhere. It determines whether you can buy a home, rent an apartment, access business capital, or negotiate favorable interest rates. For Black women building businesses and wealth, credit mastery is foundational.

Understanding Your Score

Your FICO score (300–850) is calculated from five factors:

• Payment history (35%): Pay on time, every time. This single factor has the most weight.
• Credit utilization (30%): Keep balances below 30% of your credit limit. Below 10% is optimal.
• Length of credit history (15%): Older accounts help. Avoid closing old cards.
• Credit mix (10%): A mix of revolving credit and installment loans is favorable.
• New credit inquiries (10%): Limit hard inquiries to when you need them.

Building Business Credit Separately

Your personal credit and business credit should eventually operate independently. Steps to build business credit:

1. Form a legal business entity (LLC or corporation)
2. Obtain an EIN (Employer Identification Number)
3. Open a dedicated business bank account
4. Apply for a business credit card and pay it in full monthly
5. Work with vendors who report to business credit bureaus

Protecting Your Credit

• Monitor your credit reports monthly (free at AnnualCreditReport.com)
• Dispute errors immediately in writing
• Freeze your credit with all three bureaus when not actively seeking credit
• Use multi-factor authentication on all financial accounts

Leveraging Your Score

A 750+ credit score is a negotiating tool. Use it to access business lines of credit, negotiate lower interest rates, and qualify for the investment property mortgages that fuel your wealth-building strategy.