How to Improve Your Funding Prospects as a Small Business

by Mark Halstead March 22, 2016
March 22, 2016

Finding the right financing at crucial moments of development can be essential for any new businesses but the process can also be a real challenge and a stressful struggle if not resolved quickly.


Here’s a look at some of the ways that small business bosses can aim to improve their prospects of securing the loans or the financial backing they need to take a fledgling operation on to the next level.


1 – Consider all available options


It is important for small businesses and for start-ups not to limit their options when it comes to the process of looking and applying for funding. What’s crucial to realise is that traditional lenders are not the only game in town and they are not the only route to financing for ambitious new businesses. In fact, there are a growing array of specialist loan providers offering services online and new ways of raising cash such as peer-to-peer investing are becoming increasingly well-established and widely relied upon.


2 – Know your stuff


Failing to have a firm grasp of the most essential financial figures relating to your business is perhaps the most sure fire way to leave potential investors or lenders cold when it comes to your propositions as a new company. Business bosses aren’t necessarily expected to have an accountant’s eye for financial detail but they must be able to convey a clear message to potential backers about what position their company is in and what sort of role any financial support they get would play in its development.


3 – Be clear about the pros and the cons


Whether their bosses are aware of it or not, virtually every new business will be faced with a variety of stern challenges to their progress and profit-making potential. So to suggest that this might be otherwise for your company is not really the message that anyone scrutinising a funding application wants to hear. It is much better to demonstrate an understanding of the challenges that are out there and to outline how your strategy and attributes will leave your business well placed to overcome them.


4 – Get the right advice


Anyone who has committed to leading a new company or to developing a small business in some way will need a passion for the project they’ve taken on. This passion though can sometimes leave individuals too close to the details and unable to see issues what elements might affect the overall perception of the project as a whole. So getting good advice from the right third parties can be crucial in finalising a loan or a finance application.


5 – Stick at it


Unfortunately, the reality is that trying to find the right funding as a start-up or a small businesses can take time and can become a demoralising process if these applications are knocked back on a number of occasions. What’s important to focus on though is that it might only take one positive response to make it all worthwhile and to give your business the cash injection it needs to start making serious progress.

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