“But that doesn’t make any sense!” a friend told me, after I explained that putting a large purchase on her business credit card that was nearly her full credit limit would not hurt her credit.

“If I go over 30% of my limit on my personal cards, my score drops like a rock,” she explained.

I replied with, “It’s actually 10% but that only applies to personal credit. Business credit is completely different.”

For the next twenty minutes, we talked about some of the ways that business credit works differently than personal credit. I told her what to do, and just as important, what not to do. I explained how to get business credit, and from there, how to get the highest limit possible. And I also shed light on the common credit myths I hear every day in the business credit industry.

And in this article, I’m going to break down a lot of the information we discussed in that conversation. If you apply this knowledge in your business, you should be able to secure $250,000 in funding for your business within the next six months and achieve the big, hairy, audacious goals you’ve set for it.

So let’s get started…

There isn’t a “central” source for your credit report

One of the things I hear that people who DIYed their business credit were most frustrated by is the fact that there isn’t a central source to obtain your business credit report. This makes it a lot more difficult to see where you stand and improve your score.

On the personal side, you have Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax, which track the same types of data and run similar algorithms to process a score from that data. Everything is pretty straightforward. But on the business side, it’s far more fragmented. You do have companies like Lexisnexis and Experian Business, which act as business credit reporting bureaus, but their data is often shockingly incomplete.

That’s why when applying for business credit, it’s important to know which reporting bureaus a particular creditor may use in evaluating your application. From there, you should pull as comprehensive a report as you can—keep in mind there is a lot of data you won’t have access to as a consumer, but this is a good starting point to see where you stand.

Relationships and history matter more than anything else

A lender will usually pull a business credit report before extending credit to you, but that won’t always be the case.

For example, if you already have an account with American Express, they will often provide—and may even proactively offer—business credit based solely on your good history with them. Many creditors will weigh your business credit history with other lenders even if it doesn’t show up on your business credit report. And for business owners who don’t have a business credit score yet—your personal credit score can be used until you can establish a strong business credit profile.

Nurturing these relationships with creditors can also lead to opportunities you may not have thought possible.

For example, one of our clients faced a significant slowdown a few years ago, and ended up a bit behind on an American Express account. But he communicated with the creditor throughout the process, and continued to pay down the debt. Because he was willing to have the tough conversations, demonstrated a commitment to his obligations, and developed a closer relationship with the creditor, not only did the company give him far more flexibility through that slow period, they also ended up lending him four times more than the original debt in a completely separate credit line less than a year later.

This highlights the importance of nurturing relationships with your creditors, and that you should use your credit, communicate, and request increases regularly in order to do that.

You’ll need a personal guarantee, but not forever

With personal credit, you always sign a personal guarantee, which means that you will be personally liable for that debt.

Contrary to popular belief, business credit starts off the same way. That’s because your company doesn’t have a credit profile yet, so lenders can only rely on you as an individual. This means you absolutely will have to sign a personal guarantee, making you personally liable for that debt in the event that your company is unable to repay it.

Not to worry—this is completely normal. Now, over time, if you utilize your credit properly, you may be able to eliminate this requirement in some cases, but this will take a minimum of five years of consistent effort to build a business credit profile that will enable you to get funding without a personal guarantee. Keep in mind—some creditors will always require a personal guarantee for all but the largest companies.

Using credit more aggressively improves your score

If you know much about how personal credit works, you’ve probably heard that keeping your balance under 30% of your limit boosts your score dramatically, and keeping it under 10% has an even greater impact. But did you know that if you managed your business credit in the same way, you would end up with a lower credit score for your business?

It’s crazy when you think about it, because it’s like lenders understand that people need capital to run a business and reward us for using credit in a business environment, but penalize us for the same behavior in a personal environment.

I generally recommend running your business credit up to about 50% of your limit and paying it off each month. There’s no harm, from a utilization standpoint, in going higher, but I don’t recommend running them all the way to the limit too frequently because it could leave you in a dangerous financial situation if you have a slow period in your business.

Using credit more aggressively helps you get a higher limit

You might consider running your credit up to the limit and pay it back down a few times before asking for a credit limit increase. This will help to demonstrate that you’re responsible enough to handle a higher limit.

Remember, the amount a creditor is willing to lend you is based on perceived risk, so by proving that you can responsibly manage the credit they’ve already provided, the more likely they will be to raise your limit.

It’s important to point out that it’s not just about using your credit—it’s about managing it responsibly. This means it’s fine to run it up each month, but also make sure to pay it down each month. The latter is the part that matters the most. It doesn’t carry the same weight to run your business credit to the max and then just pay the minimum because that’s just a sign of living beyond your means.

This is the key to securing enough credit to achieve your goals.

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Amanda Webster is the COO of Fund&Grow, which helps entrepreneurs get the business credit they need to run and scale their companies. She is recognized as one of the leading experts in the industry, and is regularly asked to speak on the topic on stage and in the media.