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There has been much talk about the potential changes to the Autism Diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) when the updated, fifth version is published (the projected date of publication is May of 2013). One of the expected changes is to combine several disorders including, Autism,Asperger’s Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) into one category called Autism Spectrum Disorder. Although this change concerns some people, most people in the fields of medicine, community services and education already lump these diagnoses together.The major concern is over the potential changes to the specific criteria that people will have to meet to receive the official diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. In the current manual, a person can qualify for the diagnosis by exhibiting six or more of 12 specified behaviors. The proposed changes to the criteria narrow the field; a person would have to exhibit three or more deficits in social interaction and communication and exhibit at least two repetitive behaviors. The fear is that this will leave out a large group of people who are considered high functioning (including a huge portion of children with the current diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome and PDD-NOS). Currently, scientific, trial testing of the new criteria is under way and this data will be used to make final recommendations.Although changes to the diagnosis will likely affect service delivery in the medical field and the community services field they are not projected to make significant changes in the education field because qualification for special education is not based on a particular diagnosis but on educational needs. Currently the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) defines the educational category of Autism as “a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences.” Each state has their own interpretation of this law so it is worthwhile to search for your state’s educational definition of Autism.Some people fear that a change to the official DSM diagnosis will give school districts a way to stop or decrease services for certain students who currently qualify for services. If schools attempt to do this, many experts believe that children who are on the higher functioning end of the Autism spectrum may still qualify for special education under the category of Other Health Impaired. It is also important to note that a school district cannot discontinue providing a service such as Speech Therapy or Occupational Therapy unless the child exhibits significant improvement and there is no longer a need for remediation in that area.

Even if you are busier than you ever thought it was humanly possible to be with your twin or multiple babies or twin toddlers, that doesn’t mean twin clothing fashion has to take a back seat when dressing your adorable multiples or twins. The year’s hottest baby and toddler children’s wear trends can easily be adapted to twin clothing or multiple clothing. We’re calling it “twin chic.” Just tear a page out of these five key fall and winter children’s twin clothing fashion trends to take you and your twins or multiples from the holidays through the entire winter in fashion.Color. Anything grey continues to be the major color story in the baby and toddler fashion world, but in a big change, last year’s predominant soft rain cloud grey palette expands into more grey family tones. These new shades vary from a soft sandy grey to light smoke grey to heather tones or even to deepest anthracite or charcoal grey. Joining the grey story is a subplot: fuchsia continues strong for children’s wear, either on its own or a great accessory color for paring with more neutral shades. More breaking news: in the fuchsia/ purple family, a brand new shade pops on to center stage — a soft rosy blush lilac that perfectly complements almost any neutral.Twin that Trend. Turn fashion trends into twin clothing trends. For the latest, fashion-forward trend, coordinate the various new grey hues with flashes of color in the accessories — socks or hats in this season’s must-have lilac (this year’s purple), or the new baby soft mint green.For example, pair matching grey t-shirts (smoke, or sand-grey) with new trendy complementary colors, as lilac or light mint, For a cute brother-sister look, stick to the grey t-shirts, but alternate sock colors s with lilac or softest pink for one, and navy blue socks for the other. Or try for the show-stopping “mirror” twin look — one twin with a soft grey T-shirt, and, for example, fuchsia socks, and the other twin wearing a fuchsia T-shirt with light grey socks. For multiples, you might want to “paint,” from light to dark tones, stepping from the lightest, softest grey t-shirt all the way up to charcoal grey for the final multiple. All perfectly coordinated, of course, with matching socks or hats in a complementary colorSnowflakes and reindeer. Coming on strong this year in the adult fashion world, traditional Nordic design elements – reindeer, snowflakes, fox faces, and evergreen pines — are popping up all over designs for babies and toddlers. Go all out with the ‘full Nordic” look, layering chunky knits l over cotton patterned cotton fleece reindeer sweaters, or just add just one snowflake or reindeer design to evoke the soft snows and deep woods of a winter wonderland. Don’t be afraid to mix and match a profusion of patterns, colors, and fabrics — a hallmark of this style — sometimes even in just a single garment.Twin that trend. Just a single snowflake pattern on a cotton sweater takes you and your twins to the height of Nordic fashion, but for the maximum baby or toddler chic, add chunky pieces of different fabrics and textures over soft, patterned basics. Plump for symmetry chic, and dress multiples in matching snowflake patterns — or because no two snowflakes or children are alike, mix variations of Nordic design elements on each child. Tie the look altogether for both twins, selecting one matching piece — identical Nordic-patterned scarves, for example — or match different fabrics and patterns all in the same color family to pull it all together for your little fashionistas.Stars and stripes and polka dots.Last year’s stripe and polka dot explosion bursts over into this year’s fall and winter look, with new star patterns for added excitement. Everything from “business baby” pinstripes to wide broad nautical, sea-faring stripes and polka dots in all colors set the trends. For maximum excitement, pair stripped leggings with polka dot or start patterns. Pull together the look, by keeping it in the family — the same color family, selecting “clashing” patterns in the same or lighter or darker hues. And looking ahead to next year, dots are expanding to large circles of different colors in different sizes — taking off on the emerging trend of matching large blocks of color in a single garment.Twin that trend. Stripes line up on twin baby creepers, leggings, shirts in ‘business baby’ pinstripes, or wide blue and white stripes for the traditional nautical look, or multi-color stripes for color excitement. Mixing it up is a strong trend, so while you’re at it,pair that polka-dot baby t-shirt with striped leggings for true fashion flair, with one toddler in all stripes and the other in color-coordinated polka dots. Or mix and match patterns on both, with one identical accessory — the same polka-dot hat, for example — referencing one another.The folklore look. Taking off from last year’s hippie look, ethnic is in, incorporating velvet pieces, and drawing from Russian, African tribal and other patterns. This ornamental style is marked by passion for decoration, including frogged or toggled coat closings, and all matter of trims and braiding in swirling figure eights decorating sleeves and hems. Mix and match rich patterns with abandon, for a layered, Russian look for your little Ivans and Matryoshkas (Russian nesting dolls)Twin that trend. Perhaps no other style lends itself so well to mixing and matching for your multiples as the folklore look. Give in to your inner lavish, decorative style, randomly matching African batik patterns, with a small flower patterns in the same color pattern. However, avoid costume-y “dolls of many nations look,” referencing rather than reproducing a entire folklore look from one country or ethnicity on each twin.Eco-clothing and sustainability. Not so much a fashion as a way of life, soft clothing made from sustainable, all-natural fabrics such as 100% cotton, merino wool, and or silk is going mainstream, with almost all leading children’s clothing designers and brands offering an all-natural options. The look is recognized by soft prints, colors and dyes or graphics made with non-toxic, sustainable dye transfer prints.Twin that trend. Dress your multiples in coordinating looks and colors. Once your twins are old enough to express preferences, expect that they will choose the softest eco-clothing.

There are several potential financing options available to cash-strapped businesses that need a healthy dose of working capital. A bank loan or line of credit is often the first option that owners think of – and for businesses that qualify, this may be the best option.

In today’s uncertain business, economic and regulatory environment, qualifying for a bank loan can be difficult – especially for start-up companies and those that have experienced any type of financial difficulty. Sometimes, owners of businesses that don’t qualify for a bank loan decide that seeking venture capital or bringing on equity investors are other viable options.

But are they really? While there are some potential benefits to bringing venture capital and so-called “angel” investors into your business, there are drawbacks as well. Unfortunately, owners sometimes don’t think about these drawbacks until the ink has dried on a contract with a venture capitalist or angel investor – and it’s too late to back out of the deal.

Different Types of Financing

One problem with bringing in equity investors to help provide a working capital boost is that working capital and equity are really two different types of financing.

Working capital – or the money that is used to pay business expenses incurred during the time lag until cash from sales (or accounts receivable) is collected – is short-term in nature, so it should be financed via a short-term financing tool. Equity, however, should generally be used to finance rapid growth, business expansion, acquisitions or the purchase of long-term assets, which are defined as assets that are repaid over more than one 12-month business cycle.

But the biggest drawback to bringing equity investors into your business is a potential loss of control. When you sell equity (or shares) in your business to venture capitalists or angels, you are giving up a percentage of ownership in your business, and you may be doing so at an inopportune time. With this dilution of ownership most often comes a loss of control over some or all of the most important business decisions that must be made.

Sometimes, owners are enticed to sell equity by the fact that there is little (if any) out-of-pocket expense. Unlike debt financing, you don’t usually pay interest with equity financing. The equity investor gains its return via the ownership stake gained in your business. But the long-term “cost” of selling equity is always much higher than the short-term cost of debt, in terms of both actual cash cost as well as soft costs like the loss of control and stewardship of your company and the potential future value of the ownership shares that are sold.

Alternative Financing Solutions

But what if your business needs working capital and you don’t qualify for a bank loan or line of credit? Alternative financing solutions are often appropriate for injecting working capital into businesses in this situation. Three of the most common types of alternative financing used by such businesses are:

1. Full-Service Factoring – Businesses sell outstanding accounts receivable on an ongoing basis to a commercial finance (or factoring) company at a discount. The factoring company then manages the receivable until it is paid. Factoring is a well-established and accepted method of temporary alternative finance that is especially well-suited for rapidly growing companies and those with customer concentrations.

2. Accounts Receivable (A/R) Financing – A/R financing is an ideal solution for companies that are not yet bankable but have a stable financial condition and a more diverse customer base. Here, the business provides details on all accounts receivable and pledges those assets as collateral. The proceeds of those receivables are sent to a lockbox while the finance company calculates a borrowing base to determine the amount the company can borrow. When the borrower needs money, it makes an advance request and the finance company advances money using a percentage of the accounts receivable.

3. Asset-Based Lending (ABL) – This is a credit facility secured by all of a company’s assets, which may include A/R, equipment and inventory. Unlike with factoring, the business continues to manage and collect its own receivables and submits collateral reports on an ongoing basis to the finance company, which will review and periodically audit the reports.

In addition to providing working capital and enabling owners to maintain business control, alternative financing may provide other benefits as well:

It’s easy to determine the exact cost of financing and obtain an increase.
Professional collateral management can be included depending on the facility type and the lender.
Real-time, online interactive reporting is often available.
It may provide the business with access to more capital.
It’s flexible – financing ebbs and flows with the business’ needs.
It’s important to note that there are some circumstances in which equity is a viable and attractive financing solution. This is especially true in cases of business expansion and acquisition and new product launches – these are capital needs that are not generally well suited to debt financing. However, equity is not usually the appropriate financing solution to solve a working capital problem or help plug a cash-flow gap.

A Precious Commodity

Remember that business equity is a precious commodity that should only be considered under the right circumstances and at the right time. When equity financing is sought, ideally this should be done at a time when the company has good growth prospects and a significant cash need for this growth. Ideally, majority ownership (and thus, absolute control) should remain with the company founder(s).

Alternative financing solutions like factoring, A/R financing and ABL can provide the working capital boost many cash-strapped businesses that don’t qualify for bank financing need – without diluting ownership and possibly giving up business control at an inopportune time for the owner. If and when these companies become bankable later, it’s often an easy transition to a traditional bank line of credit. Your banker may be able to refer you to a commercial finance company that can offer the right type of alternative financing solution for your particular situation.

Taking the time to understand all the different financing options available to your business, and the pros and cons of each, is the best way to make sure you choose the best option for your business. The use of alternative financing can help your company grow without diluting your ownership. After all, it’s your business – shouldn’t you keep as much of it as possible?