Whether you are just starting your small business, or you have had it going a while and times are just tough now when it comes to money, there are things you can look into to help keep your business afloat, or get it started in the first place. Money is a must when it comes to any kind of business. Beyond your startup funds, it’s every businesses hope that they will be out of the red quickly, and stay that way, and continually be pulling in funds.
However, there are many things that can go wrong and cause any business, new or old, big or small, to have funding problems. Maybe the economy is bad, maybe you had an emergency (like a flooded building or a building fire), or maybe you just haven’t been putting enough work into promoting your business and people just don’t know you are there.
If you’re ready to start, or save, your business, here’s how to do it.
Get A Loan
If you need money to get your business up and going, or you’ve fallen on some recent hard times, but you normally have decent credit, a business loan could be the right step to take. Sometimes the money you need won’t go so directly into your business though, and a different type of loan might be the better option.
Maybe your work vehicle broke down, or your own personal car is having some issues. You need to get to work, so you may want to look into getting a car loan. Just remember, you need to pay your loans back on time to keep your business in good standing.
Try Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is a great way to get the loan you need without needing to pay it back. However, most crowdfunding done by both people and businesses relies on your own family and friends, and where you are promoting your campaign. If you only share it on one social media site, and don’t recruit others to share it too, you probably aren’t going to get all the money you are working toward.
Talk To Backers
If you feel like a loan is too much for you, or you already have enough of them you are paying back, and crowdfunding hasn’t worked, then you may want to look to get backers for your business in some other way. You could look for philanthropists with money that are looking to help up budding small business or struggling mom and pop shops.
You could also consider applying for some small business grants. You can find them for all sorts of businesses, and for many needs. You may find a hardship grant that can help you get your business back up on it’s feet, or maybe one to help launch a new business.
Promote More
What kind of effort are you putting into promoting your business? If you haven’t been working on advertising, online and off, your business is going to get stale. Make sure to use all the promotional tools that are out there for businesses of any size, from business cards to blogging.
Get a personal loan
In some countries, people have used personal loans to start up business, against collateral. While this is not the best way to go when starting a new business, it often has its own sets of benefits of initiating access to hassle free funds. However one must also be aware of the issues and drawbacks if your personal loan history gets affected due to inability to pay back any loan undertaken from a banking and financial institution worth its salt.