Everyone always talks about how easy it is to get business credit, but almost no one explains how to do it.

Part of that is because a lot of the self-proclaimed experts don’t actually know what they’re talking about so they make silly claims and talk in circles. The other part is because many of the real experts don't want the public to learn their secrets, so they don’t talk about the process.

While I can understand why some people would be afraid to let industry knowledge slip out into the public, the truth is a better educated prospect makes a better client anyway, so I like to share my knowledge on business credit. I figure that if someone is going to DIY their business credit, they probably have a pretty good reason, so I want to give them the greatest opportunity at success by sharing everything they need to get it right.

So in this article, I’m going to break down the exact process we follow everyday at Fund&Grow to get our clients capital for their business. You can follow this same blueprint to acquire as much as $250,000 in funding, in a six month window, all on your own.

Pull your business credit report

When we talk about pulling a business credit report, most people are referring to the reports you’ll find at Dun & Bradstreet, LexisNexis, or even Equifax, and while it is a credit report, there is also a caveat here—the report that you can pull as a consumer provides only a fraction of the information that appears on a report that creditors can pull, so you will be missing some important information. There’s not a lot you can do about that unless you want to start a company in the financial industry and sign up for a pricey software subscription to pull these more comprehensive reports.

You’ll also want to pull your personal credit report as well, because at this point, you either don’t have a business credit profile yet, or it’s not yet robust enough to help, so you’ll have to rely on your personal credit. Just be aware that you’ll need to have solid personal credit and provide a personal guarantee until you can build a strong business credit profile to no longer need it, which typically takes at least five years of aggressive effort.

After pulling your business and personal credit reports, you’ll need to review everything, and correct any inaccuracies before you move on to the next phase.

Develop a strategy for business credit

It’s critical to start with the end in mind, so you can maximize the impact of your effort.

Your strategy will determine what types of credit you apply for, and how aggressively you will push forward with it. If you’re just trying to lock down favorable trade lines with a few vendors, you might take one approach, but if you’re trying to get a line of credit that enables you to purchase commercial properties, you’ll need a completely different approach. Your strategy, which is based on how you intend to use your new capital, determines what types of credit will be best for your situation.

This part is so important because it becomes the foundation for everything else you do here.

It’s also important to note that in order to apply for business credit, you will need to own 25% or more of the company, and anyone else who owns 25% or more must also be included on the application.

Begin applying for and using business credit

This is where it starts to get fun because you can finally see the fruits of your labor.

Generally speaking, I like to go all in at this phase because there really isn’t any benefit in moving slowly. So you’ll apply for a few trade lines at vendors that report to the reporting agencies, and carry products you already need to buy—Uline is a perfect example. Then you’ll buy something on terms so you can start developing a payment history.

At the same time, you should apply for 1-3 business credit cards as well. It’s important to make sure these are cards that you can actually use, though. There’s no point in having a credit card just to build credit. Most major banks and credit card companies do offer business credit cards, so you should have plenty of options to choose from.

Now when it comes to using your business credit, things operate a lot differently than your personal credit.

The first big difference is that it’s best to use your credit aggressively, especially in the beginning. And don’t worry too much about utilization percentages, because unlike with personal credit, it’s actually better to use more of the available credit on your business lines. As long as you stay current on your payments,you can operate consistently right up against your credit limit with no negative impact.

Note: If you’re considering requesting more or new credit, you may want to bring your utilization down to 50% or less, but this is the only time to be concerned with that.

As long as you are making your payments on time, you can request higher limits as often as every four months. In fact, this is exactly what you should be doing because it demonstrates a track record of using credit responsibly.

As you continue this cycle of using your business credit, building a stronger credit profile, increasing your limit, and repeating, you will develop access to the capital you need to scale your business.

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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.