The statistics are brutal. 82 percent of small businesses fail within the first few years. And while there are many reasons businesses struggle, one of the biggest is something most entrepreneurs never even think about.

The way they fund their business.

Walk into any bank and try to get a business loan. If your business is new, or if you do not have collateral, they are going to ask you to personally guarantee the loan. That means if your business fails, you are still on the hook. Your personal credit gets destroyed. Your savings disappear. In some cases, people lose their homes.

This is the trap that catches most small business owners. They start a business with good intentions, but they fund it the wrong way. They use personal credit cards. They take out personal loans. They put their family finances at risk without even realizing it.

But here is what most people do not know. There is another way.

The biggest companies in America do not fund their operations with the personal credit of their founders. They use business credit. A completely separate system that builds on the business identity, not the personal identity of the owner.

Think about Walmart. Sam Walton did not max out personal credit cards to expand his stores. He built business credit in Walmart’s name. The company borrowed money based on its own creditworthiness, not his personal finances.

Home Depot. Same story. Starbucks. Same story. Every major company you can think of grew using business credit, not personal risk.

So why do small business owners keep doing it the hard way?

Because nobody teaches this. Business schools do not cover it. Banks do not explain it. Most entrepreneurs have no idea that business credit even exists as a separate system.

Your business has an EIN. An Employer Identification Number. Think of it like a social security number for your company. And just like your personal credit score is tied to your SSN, your business can build credit tied to its EIN.

When you build business credit the right way, you can access capital without personal guarantees. You can get funding that does not show up on your personal credit report. You can protect your family finances while growing your company.

This is not a secret strategy reserved for big corporations. Any business can do this. It just takes knowledge and the right approach.

On January 22, SpaceLab St. Pete is hosting a workshop called The 2.1 Trillion Question. The name comes from the estimated 2.1 trillion dollars in business credit lines available in America that most small business owners never access.

This workshop is for St. Petersburg entrepreneurs who are ready to stop playing the personal credit game. Who want to understand how business funding actually works. Who are serious about building something that lasts without risking everything they have.

If you are tired of funding your business the hard way, this is your chance to learn the other path.

2026 can be different. But only if you do something different.

Learn more about SpaceLab St. Pete and the upcoming workshop at https://spacelabstpete.com/about