Small Business Finance

Are you a small business owner? If you are, you’ll know that running a small business is one of the most difficult things you’ll ever do in your life. You’re the company’s spokesperson, owner, founder, advertiser and investor. You are its inspiration. It is your livelihood and your passion. And like all passions it is all consuming.

It has you crunching numbers when you should be sleeping. It has you sketching out ideas on napkins in restaurants when you should be eating. But like any love affair the irritations are worth it. You know that almost nothing in your life can match the highs that your business gives you. So stick with it! Give your business all your heart and soul. But be sensible when it comes to your cash.

Business Finance.

Starting your business can be incredibly costly. Buying the machinery, renting the premises, purchasing the advertising space… well you get the picture, you’ve been there. You are also probably aware that the cost of kicking your business into life is so high it can affect your businesses ability to grow later on down the line.

You’ve established yourself as a great business; you know you have the ability to expand and to grow. But you just don’t have the cash to do it. But what is the best way to get that much needed cash injection? You don’t want to be taken for a ride. This is why you need to know about business finance.

Small Business Cost.

The first thing to do when you start investigating small business finance is to look carefully at what you want to achieve. Having clear goals is one of the basic rules of success in business. If you are going to borrow money to support your business you must have a clear aim in mind. That way you can easily track the success of any investment and see how much, making your small business grow will cost. So, determine what you want. Are you purchasing assets, such as land or machinery, or stock? Or are you looking to improve your market position through advertising, or expand into new markets? Whatever you’re doing be clear about your goals.

Small Business Finance.

There are two types of small business finance available to you. The first is the more traditional and common form, known as ‘debt finance’. This involves your company lending money from a financial institution, usually your bank. There are up sides to this deal, you get your cash and you keep all your business. You do have to pay more back than you borrowed in the first place, with the onus on you to repay as soon as possible.

However, if you have clearly identified a use for your money this should present no problem to you and allow you to expand quickly. This is why it is the route taken by the majority of small businesses. If you fail to pay back the money you have borrowed however the consequences are severe, as part of the agreement will involve collateral. Often, this could be your house.

A less common option is that of ‘equity finance’. Ever seen the TV show Dragon’s Den? Then you’ll know what I’m talking about. Equity finance is when an investor gives you the cash you need and in return you give him a share, or a stake of your business. As the investor has no assurances, unlike the bank, he or she requires a much greater pay off if things go well. They want some of those profits! However if things don’t work out, you won’t be sleeping in the streets!

Your Future.

So there are plenty of ways you can offset your small business cost. Small business finance is easy to get if you pitch correctly and your business is heading in the right direction. Whichever mode of business finance you choose make sure you keep following the dream and your passion might end up making you millions.

An earlier article noted that business financing is effectively on life support based on recent reports of reduced business loans made by banks throughout the country. There are several reasons why intensive care comparisons might help to explain what is wrong with working capital financing and at the same time provide a healthy prognosis for impacted businesses. Because commercial financing is proving to be a serious challenge for most small business owners, this analysis should be reviewed by any borrower about to obtain or refinance commercial loans.

During the past two years, banks have lost much credibility and good will. Until the federal government provided massive bailouts for many of them, most of these lenders were on life support themselves. While some of the banks have recovered, others are effectively still in the intensive care process. But whether we are reviewing the healthy banks or ones still recovering, working capital financing for most small businesses is predominantly in what appears to be long-term intensive care. Banks are generally reducing or eliminating a large portion of their business financing activities, as indicated from most ongoing public and private reports. For example, with little or no advance notice, most banks appear to be closing commercial line of credit programs for small businesses regardless of profitability or length of the lending relationship. This is apparently not a temporary move to the sidelines but rather a permanent reallocation of resources to more profitable activities based on the manner in which this is being accomplished.

Lending activity has also decreased significantly for other forms of business financing such as commercial mortgage loans. Commercial loans have essentially been downsized or laid off just as many workers have. The realization that banks are rarely announcing publicly that these cutbacks have occurred is what makes this situation different. Perhaps bankers like to think that when they stop making small business loans nobody will notice. When it becomes public knowledge that their small business lending window is effectively closed, the bankers who placed commercial financing into intensive care are astute enough to realize that their public image will suffer even further damage.

Before they realize that the business financing world has changed before their eyes, it is possible that small business owners might need to connect several dots. As this article and other reviews indicate, banks are simply no longer providing the commercial loan services that they once did. Commercial borrowers should primarily rely on extensive candid discussions with other small business customers of the bank to confirm whether their bank is one of the few exceptions to this new reality. Even in the rare instances in which banks are truly lending “normally” to small businesses, the prevailing trend of less working capital financing coming from traditional banks should not be ignored.

While business financing patients (commercial borrowers) might be in serious condition when they find that their bank will not provide needed commercial loans, experienced small business finance specialists can frequently help in restoring financial health that will facilitate a business getting out of an intensive care situation. In some cases, this involves finding a healthy bank that is willing (and able) to provide “normal” commercial loans and working capital financing. For successful commercial funding it will be necessary to explore non-bank solutions in many other instances.

One of the most challenging and time-consuming tasks for any business owner is to finance even a small business. While it is considered an essential part of running and expanding a business, it should be done properly and carefully so that it won’t hinder the establishment of the business as a whole. Small business finance is basically the connection between cash, value, and risk. Maintaining the balance of these three factors will ensure the good financial health of your business.

The first step that a business owner needs to take is to come up with a business plan as well as a loan system which comes with a well structured strategic plan. Doing this will certainly result to concrete and sound finances. It is of necessity that prior to your financing a business, you figure out what exactly your needs are in terms of small business finance.

In trying to determine your business’ financing requirements, keep in mind that you have to have a positive mindset. As the owner of the business, you should be confident enough in your own business that you will be willing to invest as much as 10% of your small business finance needs from your own pocket. The other 30% of the financing can be from venture capital or other private investors.

In terms of the private equity aspect of your business, you would want it to be around 30 to 40 percent equity share in your company for a period of at least three years and a maximum of five years. But of course, this will still be dependent on the value of your small business along with the risk involved. Maintaining this equity component in your company will assure you majority ownership of the business. As a result, you will be able to leverage the other 60 percent of your small business finance needs.

It will also be easier to satisfy the remaining financing needs of your growing business. You may opt to get the rest from a long-term debt, inventory finance, short-term working capital, and equipment finance. Remember also that as long as you have a steady cash position in the business, many financial institutions will be more than willing to lend you money. In this respect also, it is recommended that you get an expert commercial loan broker who will do the selection of your financing options. This is also a crucial stage as you would want to find the most appropriate financing offer to meet all your small business finance requirements.

These are just some of the important considerations that need to be taken when financing a small business. There are, however, so many business owners who do not pay enough attention to these things unless their business is in crisis. As a business owner, what you should keep in mind always is how you can grow and expand. Therefore, have a small business finance plan as early as possible so that you can make sure that every financial aspect of your business is in good condition.