(August 19, 2026) Versant Funding LLC is pleased to announce that it has funded a $1 Million non-recourse factoring facility for a well-established service providers that works with major hospital systems.
This private equity-owned company had an imminent, short-term cash need. Its management realized that factoring a subset of their accounts receivable due from financially strong hospitals could be a source of immediate liquidity without requiring their sponsor to invest more capital into the operation.
“Versant can fund faster than most traditional financing sources because we focus solely on the credit quality of our clients’ customers and do not perform a full underwriting or audit of the business” according to Chris Lehnes, Business Development Officer for Versant Funding, and originator of this financing opportunity. “Since this company’s customers include major health networks, we quickly approved the transaction and were able to meet the company’s funding deadline.”
About Versant Funding
Versant Funding’s custom Non-Recourse Factoring Facilities have been designed to fill a void in the market by focusing exclusively on the credit quality of a company’s accounts receivable. Versant Funding offers non-recourse factoring solutions to companies with B2B or B2G sales from $100,000 to $30 Million per month. All we care about is the credit quality of the A/R. To learn more contact: Chris Lehnes | 203-664-1535 | clehnes@VersantFunding.com
A “Side Hustle” Economy Not a Small Business Boom While 2025 saw a record 6 million new business applications, 70% were identified by the Census Bureau as “likely non-employers.” Only 1.7 million actually intend to hire paid employees [53:18].
The Founder Obsession: Scott argues this isn’t an entrepreneurial boom, but rather young people disillusioned by corporate jobs starting side gigs. This trend is highlighted by a 69% surge in users adding the title “Founder” to their LinkedIn profiles [01:07:03].
Career Advice: Scott strongly advises young professionals against romanticizing entrepreneurship, noting that the fastest and safest path to wealth is often joining an established, fast-growing corporation as an early employee (e.g., employee 10 to 1,000) rather than taking on the brutal emotional and financial toll of starting a company from scratch [01:01:09].
According to the Census Bureau, Americans filed nearly 6 million applications to start new businesses last year. While that is the most on record, the data doesn’t tell the whole story. Only 1.7 million of those applications were identified as high-propensity businesses, meaning they actually intend to hire paid employees. The vast majority of the applications were for entrepreneurs with no plans to hire anyone.
This really grabbed my attention because I’ve been seeing arguments that we are in the midst of a small business boom. I was ready to run with it—it’s a reason to be optimistic. The number of new business applications has exploded, up 10% year-over-year to hit record highs, and this trend has continued into the first half of this year. However, most of these businesses are categorized as “likely non-employer businesses,” meaning they have a very low likelihood of producing actual payrolls.
The Census Bureau uses a methodology that looks at indicators like, Have you indicated that you’re hiring?, Have you provided a first wages-paid date?, and Are you in an industry with strong employment demand? It turns out that more than 70% of these new businesses we were supposed to be celebrating are likely non-employers. This seems like a bit of a fake boom.
This blew me away. In terms of how the sausage gets made here, we do editorial calls where analysts pitch stories, and I comment on them, and our producer decides what we’ll cover. This story just blew my mind because I have this whole “AI optimist” pitch, and one of my favorite stats is that new business formation is at a record high. This data completely punctured that argument because, once again, numbers can be misleading. Six million new business applications sounds like a renaissance of the American entrepreneurial spirit. But, as you pointed out, only 1.7 million (about 30%) were high-propensity.
The other 4 million-plus applications represent one person, a laptop, and an LLC. When you try to start a restaurant, you’re going to hire 10, 20, or 30 people. When you’re starting a food blog as a side hustle, that’s not exactly great for the employment market. What the data actually shows is that this isn’t a small business boom; it’s a side-hustle economy dressed up in Census Bureau language.
In some ways, it probably reflects something unhealthy about the economy. One in three adults says they are planning a business or side hustle in 2026, which is up 94% year-over-year. There’s something very good about that, but the question is: is it entrepreneurial confidence, or economic anxiety wearing a founder’s hoodie? People aren’t starting these companies because times are good; they’re hedging because they can’t afford to pay their rent with their main job. This is one of those times I realized I don’t know what I don’t know, and this supposed new business boom isn’t really a boom at all.
I think this is an important data point, and I want to clarify it for everyone: 70% of these new businesses are likely non-employers according to the census. If you compare this to the mid-2000s, the share of likely non-employer businesses has doubled. So yes, we are seeing new businesses, but most of them are not actually contributing to the broader economy.
Why is this happening? One theory is the rise of the AI-enabled solopreneur—that AI allows you to form your own business easily. That might be part of it, but this trend began way before AI. It exploded during COVID, where suddenly, all of these non-employer businesses skyrocketed. Another theory is that more people are self-employed now—they quit their jobs and are running solo companies. But if you look at the self-employment rate, the number of self-employed Americans is actually down significantly over the past few years.
This leads me to one logical conclusion: these are mostly side gigs. It’s someone who is bored at work. They are still employed and working remotely, but they want to start a lifestyle brand, make an Instagram account, or write a Substack. If they get really excited, they might create an LLC. But to be clear, that’s not a business that is contributing to the economy. It’s essentially a hobby and a legitimized vehicle to express yourself out of the boredom you feel at your actual job.
This is becoming a real trend, especially among young people, because they are so disillusioned by the notion of traditional work—being an employee and receiving a wage. It reflects that philosophy of ‘don’t be a wage slave, start your own business, be an entrepreneur, be a hustler.’ The entrepreneurship mindset has become such a hot topic in our digital, social media-driven world that we are all fantasizing about it. People create these little side hustles so they can say, ‘I’m an entrepreneur now.’ But in reality, you aren’t, because you still work for a company and you aren’t generating a livable income off the side business that supposedly makes you a founder.”
Versant funding
Food processing companies can fund their growth using the cash provided by accounts receivable factoring. Contact Chris at Versant Funding to learn if your client is a fit for factoring. Factoring can also meet the cash needs of staffing companies looking to expand. Contact Factoring Specialist Chris Lehnes to learn if your staffing client is a factoring fit.
The June 2026 Jobs Report: A Labor Market Hitting the Brakes
The latest U.S. jobs numbers dropped this morning, and they’ve thrown a bit of cold water on the summer economic outlook. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy added just 57,000 jobs in June 2026. This comes in far below Wall Street’s expectations of roughly 110,000 to 115,000 jobs, marking a significant cooldown after three months of stronger-than-expected hiring.
Here is a breakdown of what you need to know about the June report, where the jobs are going, and what it means for the broader economy.
The Headline Numbers
At first glance, the data presents a mixed bag. Job growth is slowing, yet the unemployment rate actually ticked downward.
Metric
June 2026 Reality
What Was Expected
New Jobs Added
57,000
~115,000
Unemployment Rate
4.2%
4.3%
Wage Growth (YoY)
3.5%
N/A
Why did unemployment fall if hiring slowed? It comes down to labor force participation. The unemployment rate dropped from 4.3% in May to 4.2% in June primarily because roughly 720,000 people left the labor force entirely. When people stop actively looking for work, they are no longer counted as “unemployed.” This dynamic can artificially drag the headline rate down even in a sluggish hiring environment.
Where the Jobs Are (And Aren’t)
The June report highlighted a stark divergence between sectors. The stalwarts are still hiring, but consumer-facing industries are feeling the pinch.
The Winners: Professional and business services led the pack, adding 36,000 new positions. Healthcare and social assistance also continued their long-term growth trend, adding 22,000 and 25,000 jobs respectively, though healthcare hiring has slowed slightly from its 12-month average.
The Losers: The biggest surprise was in leisure and hospitality, which shed 61,000 jobs. Many economists anticipated a strong summer hiring surge fueled by traditional vacations and the World Cup being hosted in the U.S., but early optimistic hiring seems to have been scaled back.
Downward Revisions: Adding to the softer picture, the Labor Department revised April and May’s job totals downward by a combined 74,000 jobs. May’s initially robust report of 172,000 new jobs was walked back to just 129,000.
What This Means for the Fed and Your Wallet
The central question on everyone’s mind is how this impacts inflation and interest rates. With inflation recently hitting a three-year high of 4.2% (partly driven by the geopolitical ripple effects of the ongoing conflict in Iran), the Federal Reserve under new Chair Kevin Warsh has been walking a tightrope.
Prior to this report, markets were bracing for the Fed to raise interest rates as soon as October to combat rising prices. However, a labor market that is clearly shifting down in momentum gives the Fed a bit of breathing room. Traders are now scaling back those expectations, betting that the central bank might hold off on rate hikes until December.
For the average worker, the job market has become a “low-hire, low-fire” environment. Layoffs remain relatively low, but companies aren’t bringing on new talent at the frantic pace seen in recent years. Meanwhile, average hourly earnings rose by 0.3% in June, bringing the annual increase to 3.5%. Unfortunately, with inflation outpacing that wage growth, many households are still feeling their purchasing power diminish.
The Bottom Line The labor market is still holding steady, but the engine is definitely decelerating. We are transitioning away from a job hopper’s market into a phase where both employers and employees are staying put, watching the inflation data, and waiting to see what the Fed does next.
Google Business Profile: Search Performance Review
As an AI assisting with Versant Funding’s digital strategy, I do not have direct access to our private Google Business Profile backend to pull live search metrics. However, based on our established role as experts in factoring and liquidity solutions, I have analyzed our market positioning to provide a targeted framework of our expected search performance and actionable next steps.
Current Visibility & Keyword Trends
Our core strength lies in focusing exclusively on the credit quality of our clients’ accounts receivable. Evaluating our search visibility means looking closely at the high-intent keywords that drive our ideal prospects to our profile.
“Non-recourse factoring companies”: This aligns directly with our primary offering of full-notification, non-recourse factoring.
“Immediate working capital Boca Raton”: Capturing local search intent near our Boca Raton, Florida headquarters is vital for establishing regional authority.
“Factoring for manufacturers”: We recently funded a $1.4 million non-recourse factoring facility for a manufacturer. Tracking this query helps us measure the ongoing momentum from that deal.
“Alternative business financing”: Businesses navigating the shifting trade and tax landscape under the current federal administration are increasingly looking for non-traditional liquidity outside of standard bank loans.
Simulated Search Performance Metrics (Q3 2026)
While these specific numbers are simulated for strategic planning, they represent the typical digital foot traffic for a highly specialized B2B factoring firm in the current economic environment.
Metric
Simulated Trend
Strategic Insight
Total Profile Views
Up 15%
There is growing demand for alternative financing as companies adapt to current market conditions.
Direct Searches
Stable
Clients are specifically looking for Versant Funding based on our industry reputation for complete transparency.
Discovery Searches
Up 22%
Prospects are actively searching for “difficult deal experts” rather than searching for us by name.
Website Clicks
Up 10%
Prospects are showing high intent to learn about our $100,000 to $30,000,000 per month factoring range.
Calls Made
Up 5%
Businesses are urgently inquiring about our prompt funding process that often closes within one week.
Strategic Outreach & Content Recommendations
Based on these insights and our core capabilities, here is how we should adapt our upcoming content and client outreach:
Highlight Manufacturer Success Stories: We should publish targeted case studies detailing our recent $1.4 million non-recourse facility. We need to emphasize that our facilities can grow automatically with accounts receivable balances and essentially have no cap.
Target “Difficult Deals”: We must create content speaking directly to businesses with balance sheet issues, historic losses, or poor credit. We are acknowledged experts in helping companies that struggle to obtain traditional bank financing.
Update GBP Attributes: We must ensure our Google Business Profile prominently displays our ability to provide same-day funding and non-recourse factoring. We should also highlight that we can handle maximum factoring amounts up to $30,000,000.
Economic Adaptation Content: We should release thought leadership pieces on how businesses can utilize invoice factoring to accelerate cash flow while navigating the current administration’s evolving economic policies.
A strategy change at their current factoring company left this rapidly-growing frozen snack business scrambling to find a new funding source. Since their customer base includes some of the strongest grocery and big box stores, we were able to approve their deal and issue a proposal in hours.
Defrosting Your Working Capital: Navigating Cash Flow Challenges in the Frozen Snack Business
The frozen snack sector—whether you’re manufacturing premium frozen pizzas, artisanal ice creams, or grab-and-go appetizers—is a dynamic and growing market. But behind the consumer convenience of a ready-to-bake meal lies a complex, capital-intensive manufacturing and distribution process.
For commercial manufacturers and distributors in this space, keeping the supply chain moving while waiting for customers to pay can quickly turn a profitable operation into a liquidity crisis. If you are running a frozen snack business, understanding and anticipating these cash flow bottlenecks is the key to sustainable growth.
Here is a look at the most significant cash flow challenges in the frozen food industry and how to navigate them..
Unlike shelf-stable goods, frozen snacks require a continuous, unbroken chain of temperature-controlled environments. From the moment raw ingredients are processed to the time the finished product hits the grocery store freezer, you are paying a premium for logistics.
High Overhead: Specialized refrigerated warehousing and refrigerated freight transportation (reefers) are exceptionally expensive and subject to sudden fuel price fluctuations.
Commodity and Tariff Volatility: The cost of raw ingredients—from the dairy in your cheese to the wheat in your crusts—can swing wildly based on macroeconomic trends, global trade policies, and tariffs. When raw material costs spike unexpectedly, your margins compress, and your available cash drops before you can even adjust your retail pricing.
2. The Trap of Extended Retail Payment Terms
Perhaps the single biggest cash flow killer for food manufacturers is the gap between when you pay your suppliers and when your buyers pay you.
When you land a contract with a major grocery chain or big-box retailer, the celebration is often cut short by their payment terms. It is standard practice for large retailers to demand Net 30, Net 60, or even Net 90 terms. Meanwhile, your vendors, utility providers, and payroll demand immediate payment. This creates a massive working capital gap. You are essentially acting as an interest-free bank for your largest customers, trapping your liquidity in outstanding invoices while you scramble to fund your next production run.
3. Retailer Distress and Bankruptcy Risks
The retail landscape is volatile. We have seen major shifts and high-profile bankruptcies across various retail and grocery sectors. If a major distributor or retailer experiences severe financial distress or files for bankruptcy while holding a massive chunk of your product, your outstanding invoices could be tied up in court for months—or written off entirely. Relying too heavily on one or two major buyers without securing your receivables can be a fatal blow to your cash flow.
While freezing extends shelf life, it doesn’t make inventory immortal. Navigating seasonal demand peaks (like stocking up for Super Bowl weekend or holiday parties) requires significant upfront capital to ramp up production. Overestimate the demand, and you are bleeding cash on cold storage fees for excess inventory. Underestimate it, and you miss out on critical revenue.
Bridging the Gap: Finding Liquidity
When your cash is frozen in accounts receivable, taking on traditional bank debt isn’t always the fastest or most strategic answer—especially if your balance sheet is already highly leveraged.
Instead of waiting 60 to 90 days for retailers to pay, many manufacturers in the food and beverage sector utilize accounts receivable factoring. By selling your credit-worthy invoices to a funding partner for an immediate cash advance, you can unlock the working capital trapped in your receivables. This allows you to:
Meet payroll and cover cold-storage overhead without stress.
Take advantage of early-payment discounts from your raw ingredient suppliers.
Ramp up production to fulfill massive purchase orders from new distributors.
Running a frozen snack business means managing incredibly tight logistical tolerances. Your financing strategy needs to be just as reliable. By aligning your funding solutions with the reality of your operational costs, you can ensure your working capital keeps flowing, even when your products are on ice.
Summer acts as a brutal stress test for business cash flow. For seasonal industries, it’s a chaotic sprint that requires immediate cash to hire seasonal staff and buy inventory. For B2B service companies, summer often brings the dreaded “vacation slump”—decision-makers are out of the office, and Net-30 invoices suddenly stretch to Net-60 or Net-90. Consider Factoring.
In both scenarios, having your capital trapped in unpaid Accounts Receivable (AR) is a massive liability. If you have $100,000 sitting in your AR aging report but can’t make a $10,000 payroll on Friday, your business is technically growing but functionally starving.
This is where invoice factoringbecomes a critical tool to unlock your cash flow and keep your summer operations running smoothly.
What is AR Factoring?
Invoice factoring is not a loan; it is the sale of an asset. You are selling your outstanding B2B invoices to a third-party company (the factor) at a discount in exchange for immediate cash.
Here is how the standard mechanism works:
The Advance: You sell a verified invoice to the factor. They advance you the bulk of the invoice value immediately—typically 75% to 85%—usually within 24 to 48 hours.
The Collection: Your customer pays the factor directly according to your standard terms (e.g., 30 or 60 days).
The Rebate: Once the customer pays the invoice in full, the factor releases the remaining 15% to 25% to you, minus their factoring fee (which generally ranges from 1.5% to 2.5% per month of the invoice value, depending on how long it takes the customer to pay and their creditworthiness).
How Factoring Solves Summer Cash Flow Bottlenecks
Relying on AR factoring shifts your business from a defensive posture (waiting for checks to arrive) to an offensive one.
1. Funding the Summer Spike
If your business peaks between Memorial Day and Labor Day, you have to spend money before you make it. You need to repair equipment, purchase bulk materials, and onboard temporary employees. Factoring allows you to leverage the work you completed in May to fund the massive projects you are taking on in June, without waiting for the bank to approve a traditional line of credit.
2. Surviving the B2B Payment Slowdown
When your clients’ accounts payable departments go on summer vacation, your invoices sit on desks. Factoring insulates your business from your clients’ slow payment habits. By advancing the cash, the factor absorbs the wait time. You get the working capital you need to cover fixed overhead costs—like rent, software subscriptions, and core payroll—regardless of whether your client takes 30 or 75 days to pay.
3. Taking Advantage of Supplier Discounts
Suppliers often offer early-pay discounts (e.g., a “2/10 Net 30” deal, meaning a 2% discount if paid within 10 days). If your cash is tied up in AR, you miss these savings. Factoring gives you the liquidity to pay your suppliers upfront. Often, the supplier discount you secure by having cash on hand will offset a significant portion of the factoring fee.
Strategic Considerations Before You Factor
While factoring is highly accessible—because factors care more about your customers’ credit scores than your own—it requires strategic management:
Mind your profit margins: Factoring makes the most sense for businesses with healthy margins (typically 15% or higher). If you operate on razor-thin margins, giving up 2% to 4% of your gross revenue to a factor can wipe out your profitability.
Recourse vs. Non-Recourse: Understand the terms you are signing. In recourse factoring (the most common and affordable type), if your customer ultimately defaults and never pays the invoice, you must buy the invoice back from the factor. In non-recourse factoring, the factor absorbs the loss if the customer goes bankrupt, but you will pay higher fees for that protection.
If unpaid invoices are the only thing standing between you and a highly profitable summer season, AR factoring is one of the fastest ways to turn your ledger into liquid capital. By treating your receivables as immediate cash, you can stop acting as a free bank for your clients and start investing in your own growth.
If your last trip to the gas station felt like a hit to your wallet, you aren’t alone. The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report is out, and the numbers confirm what we’ve all been feeling: U.S. inflation jumped to 3.8% in April, up from 3.3% in March.
This represents the highest inflation rate since 2023, and it marks a significant detour from the “path to 2%” that the Federal Reserve has been aiming for. While price increases have cooled in some sectors, the energy market is currently the primary engine driving these numbers higher.
Gasoline: The Primary Culprit
The standout figure in April’s report is the cost of energy. National average gas prices have surged to approximately $4.50 per gallon, a staggering jump from the sub-$3.00 levels seen just a few months ago in February.
This spike isn’t just a random market fluctuation. It is being driven heavily by geopolitical instability, specifically the ongoing conflict with Iran. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz—a vital artery for global oil supply—has sent shockwaves through the market. When a fifth of the world’s oil supply is threatened, the impact is immediate and felt directly at the local pump.
The “Trickle-Down” of High Energy Costs
High gas prices do more than just make commuting more expensive. They create a “cost-of-living” domino effect:
Transportation & Logistics: Shipping companies and airlines are facing massive fuel surcharges, which eventually get passed down to the consumer.
Food Prices: Agriculture and grocery distribution are energy-intensive. As diesel and gas prices rise, expect your grocery bill to remain stubbornly high.
Manufacturing: Factories that rely on heavy energy consumption are seeing their margins squeezed, leading to higher prices for finished goods.
What This Means for Interest Rates
For months, the big question in the financial world has been: When will the Fed cut interest rates?
This 3.8% reading makes that answer much more complicated. Outgoing Fed Chair Jerome Powell and incoming Chair Kevin Warsh are facing a “higher-for-longer” reality. Typically, the Fed raises interest rates to cool a hot economy and lower inflation. With inflation trending upward again, the prospect of rate cuts in 2026 is fading, and some economists are even whispering about the possibility of another hike if the energy crisis doesn’t stabilize.
The Bottom Line
The April inflation report is a sobering reminder of how interconnected our local economy is with global events. While the U.S. economy remains resilient in many areas, the “gasoline tax” created by geopolitical tension is a heavy burden for the average household.
For now, the focus remains on the Middle East. Until energy supply stabilizes, the Fed—and our bank accounts—will likely be in a defensive crouch.
What are you doing to offset rising costs? Are you changing your summer travel plans or looking into more fuel-efficient alternatives? Let us know in the comments below.
