Boulevard, provider of the client experience platform purpose-built for appointment-based, self-care businesses, today announced the launch of Boulevard Capital. This new financial offering gives Boulevard-powered salons, barbershops, spas and medspas access to essential growth funding without the challenges of traditional lending. Based on demonstrated business performance rather than credit history, Boulevard Capital offers self-care business owners the fast, flexible funding they need to reinvest in their businesses and drive continued growth.
“For years, the self-care industry has been underserved by lenders who understand little to nothing about how these unique businesses work,” said Matt Danna, co-founder and CEO of Boulevard. “Traditional small business loans have only been accessible to business owners who don't actually need them. It’s also no secret that the women- and minority-owned businesses that make up a significant portion of the self-care industry have long struggled to access the loans and lines of credit on which small businesses depend. With Boulevard Capital, we developed a unique offering based on our deep understanding of the industry, making funding more equitable and accessible to self-care business owners from diverse backgrounds so they can invest in their continued growth.”
The brick-and-mortar small businesses that permeate the self-care industry often operate with low margins that severely limit their investment in growth, particularly through avenues like additional marketing, increased headcount, better equipment, and location expansion. Boulevard Capital addresses this challenge by providing eligible customers with fast, flexible funding to make critical investments in their businesses.
Boulevard Capital enables customers to bypass the months of waiting, credit checks, and tedious paperwork that accompany traditional loan applications – a process that often ends in rejection anyway, especially for minority-owned businesses. According to a Small Business Credit Survey conducted by the 12 Federal Reserve Banks, Black and Latino-owned firms are less than half as likely as white-owned firms to be approved for financing.
This is especially impactful for the self-care industry, where, according to the latest Annual Business Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau, 48 percent of all personal care businesses are minority-owned, compared to just 20 percent in other industries. Additionally, 57 percent of those same businesses are female-owned, compared to just 22 percent across other industries.
Fast, flexible funding built for self-care businesses
With Boulevard Capital, customers are pre-qualified based on the financial performance of their business. The rich sales and cashflow data captured by its platform gives Boulevard a real-time, holistic, and unbiased understanding of a business’s health, enabling it to create individually tailored offers that align with the specific needs of that business. Once approved, businesses can accept as much or as little of the offer amount as they need, with funds landing directly in their bank accounts in as little as 24 hours.
Funding secured through Boulevard Capital carries no compounding interest or late fees, and requires no personal guarantees. Businesses only pay a transparent, one-time capital fee based on the total offer amount. The balance is paid automatically through a fixed percentage of daily sales so that customers can reliably predict their cash flow throughout the process.
Elevating the self-care industry
Boulevard Capital is the latest in a long line of company innovations aimed at disrupting the status quo, elevating the self-care industry, and empowering business owners and professionals alike to redefine the client experience. Boulevard’s commitment to innovation and regular delivery of industry-first capabilities such as Precision Scheduling™ underscore why its platform is used by more than 30,000 self-care professionals in more than 3,000 hair salons, beauty salons, spas, nail salons, barbershops and medical spas across all the U.S. to book more than 1 million appointments every month. As a certified payment facilitator (PayFac), Boulevard is also trusted to process over $2 billion in payments yearly.
Already renowned for delivering intuitively designed salon software that helps customers create memorable client experiences by streamlining everything from online booking and business management to email marketing and payment processing, Boulevard has also rapidly emerged as the medical spa software of choice for the fast-growing medspa industry. According to a new customer impact study, users of Boulevard’s medspa software grew revenue by 30% on average in the first year alone.
About Boulevard: Boulevard offers the first and only client experience platform purpose-built for appointment-based, self-care businesses. Boulevard empowers business owners and professionals alike to deliver personable, enjoyable experiences to their clients through online appointment scheduling, messaging, marketing, and payments that are simple, elegant, and reliable. Founded in 2016, Boulevard has earned the trust of thousands of salons, spas, and medspas across the nation by delivering the world-class technology and genuine, human, personable service they deserve. To learn more, visit joinblvd.com.
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Originally posted on Salon Today
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