We need the ability to run our businesses positively without the constant hammer of insecurity around finances and operations. We still need the safeguard or cushion of credit to maintain peace of mind and progress successfully. Any suggestions??
These are indeed brutal times to grab credit. The Small Business Administration has been expanding its loan-guarantee programs, but still banks have been tight in getting the cash to the small companies that so desperately need it. The result is that many entrepreneurs find the spigot shut off. Frustrating indeed. Here are a few thoughts for getting a capital cushion:-- All is not lost in loan land. There is talk these days that Goldman Sachs and Warren Buffett might create a new lending vehicle aimed at helping up to 10,000 small businesses. We ll have to stay tuned on that. But for now, there is an SBA loan that is lesser known and might be open to you. Called the Micro-Loan Program, it generates loans of up to $35,000 for businesses and certain nonprofits. The average loan is $13,000. But the best thing about the program is that it sidesteps banks altogether, with the lending being managed by community-based nonprofit organizations. You can learn more about it here: http://www.sba.gov/financialassistance/b��-- As the stock market has stabilized, and even rebounded handsomely over the past few months, I m hearing increasingly of a rise in friends and family investments. Typically those investments are made in return for an ownership stake, but they can be structured as loans too. I ve been on both sides of those deals, both lending money and borrowing it from friends.-- Suppliers and customers are often a great, untapped source of capital. They have a vested interest in your financial health, and with the economy improving you might chat with the largest ones about extending credit.Hopefully, one of those solutions will be right for you.
depending upon what your business is...Equipment leasing for acquisition of new equipment. Get the equipment you need today and pay for it over a number of years. 100% financing allows the equipment to pay for itself.If you send out commercial invoices and your clients are taking more than 30 days to pay, you can sell those invoices and get cash for them, its called account receivable financing or factoring.A year ago when banks were extending credit and lines of credit this wasn t so important. You could pay your bills using the line and pay the line when your customers paid you. Now that lines have been reduced or closed businesses are finding it harder and harder to meet expenses because their A/R has increased. Factoring can save you interest on credit card charges and save you money by being able to take advantage of discounts offered by your suppliers.If you need more info on any of these.. please feel free to contact me. I provide both the above services.
The obvious things would be to trim the fat off the edges of your operations, and curb excessive spending both through the company as well as personally on your behalf. start saving more into your companies account... depending on what your gross is vs your expenditures, this may or may not make a lot of difference. You ll probably shoot me for saying this but.... as the company owner, (if you re an LLC) you could take a little less for yourself for a few months as well in order to grow the stockpile a little bit... Do whatever you have to do to put more money in your company bank account. Always remember that your BUSINESS funds are more important than your personal funds. obviously you ve grown used to a certain lifestyle, but it s better to lose a little bit of your own pay than to have to fire a few employees and temporarily ruin their lives. especially in this economy where it s difficult to find real work. Lots and lots of business owners are greedy like that. they d rather lay off employees than take a cut in their own paychecks. As a business owner myself, i think that s B.S. the other option of course is to invest MORE money into the company -wisely- in order to MAKE more money........ highly calculated risks that will bring a return are preferable. Advertising, sales, adding new products or promotions are all things people seem to forget about too. rather than spending a little bit on advertising and getting their names out there a little bit, they d rather......... again........ fire someone to make up for the money they don t have. either way, i have no idea how much of this really pertains to YOUR situation, but.... i hope it s a good start ... good luck
Try credit cards, honestly. Sites like findbizcards have a great portal for small business owners. Look for cards that will give you a 5k-10k limit. This way, you can always have a backup in the back of your head. Good luck.
