Ways to raise finance for your business
Cashflow is the lifeblood of any business, but I find that most business owners leave it too late to consider their options or procrastinate as they do not know which finance solution is right for their business.
Whilst I was a bank manager, yes a few decades ago, it was easier for the businesses to consider such requirements as the banks were the primary funders and the options were overdrafts, loans or mortgages, simple! Today, there are so many more options and options that were previously considered as ‘last resort’, such as invoice finance, now have a greater level of consideration and value appreciation.
You may need finance to grow your business, refinance or simply survive.
From experience, I know that raising finance is not easy in the current economic climate, however good financial information will improve your chances of success.
Do you know your numbers? See my article on LinkedIn here.
To support your finance application consider analysing your financial accounts, produce a financial forecast and consider providing a ‘what if’ forecast of your business. This sensitivity analysis shows your understanding of your business and how it would still perform if external factors were to impact your business, such as an interest rate rise, key team changes or a reduction in customers or sales values.
Your business could be financed in a number of different ways and quite often a combination is used. Some of the options are:
- Your own personal monies
- Conventional bank finance – overdrafts, commercial mortgages, business loans, commercial investment mortgages
- Asset finance – hire/lease purchase, finance lease, operating lease, contract hire, sale and leaseback
- Invoice discounting and factoring
- Equity finance
- Private investors – business angels
- Peer to peer lending
- Supply chain finance
- Grants
- Specialist industry finance
I would suggest that you explore the appropriate options for your business and from my experience the key considerations in relation to your choice of finance should be:
- Speed of decision
- Price – interest rate and fees
- Security required (read the small print!)
- Convenience
- Flexibility
- Quality of service
If you need support in finding the right finance solution to suit your business, then do contact me and I can put you in touch with some great contacts in my network to assist you.
https://entrepreneursmentor.co.uk/raising-finance-for-entrepreneurs/