Later you can spread out your requests by asking these agencies separately about 4 months apart. That way you’re not going 12 months without fresh information. Currently, this may not suit your purposes, until the initial inquires are done.

The reason you should get reports from all three credit reporting agencies is because there may be some information on one report that is missing from the others. A creditor may only report to one or two of the credit reporting agencies even if there is a debt in collections. Errors, such as unwarranted debt collections, can be on someone’s credit report without them having even been notified by the claimants.

Note: requesting a credit report could trigger prescreened offers of credit cards. Call 1-888-567-8688 to opt out.

If you decide to take steps to improve your score, before you start, make sure you’re going about it in the right way. For example, closing an account may not improve a credit rating and could have the opposite effect. Some say there is a lot of fraud in the credit repair industry, so don’t jump the gun. The three credit reporting agencies offer some suggestions on how to increase your credit score. Check out the Federal Trade Commission’s website. It has a lot of good information and is a good place to start.

Your landlord/landlady will probably want to run a credit check before leasing to you. This is just to make sure you’re good at paying your debts. Bear in mind, you will want to avoid buying on credit or making rash purchases in business. Don’t make it hard on yourself; you don’t need a super credit rating to get into a lease.

They say it takes about two or three years before a business gets out of the red. In other words, the first two or three years gives you back what you spent. For the massage business, this hardly applies. If you don’t splurge, it doesn’t have to cost that much at all.

Bartering for the goods and services you will need to get your business up and going is helpful as long as you both have a clear agreement and are not vague. You don’t want to overcompensate. Discuss the hours you’re available to repay; you do not want to work off your debt during peak business hours. It would be better to work off the trade during non-business hours.