by speedadmin | Oct 26, 2022 | Blog
You have to make a lot of decisions when you start a business. It can be overwhelming trying to figure out all your strategies and processes at first. These are a few small business tips to help you grow and succeed.
Focus on Supporting Your Customers
Your ultimate goal should be to provide the best service your customers can find. Your product should be the best quality you can provide, but often, the service your clients receive will determine whether and how often they come back for additional purchases. Some key strategies include returning calls or inquiries within 24 hours, customizing your service based on the client’s desires or needs, and doing everything you can to solve your customers’ problems.
Define Your Credit Policy
If you have decided to offer your customers credit, you will need to develop an invoicing policy. You need to determine your credit period and terms. These invoices are recorded in your accounts receivable, which is listed as an asset on your balance sheet, but if they are not paid on time or ever, they can quickly impact your financial health.
Therefore, you need to put specific things on your invoices. For example, your documents should have a few dates: when the invoice was created, when the product was ordered, and when the invoice is due. Include a clear description of the product and the price per unit. The final cost and quantities should also be included. State the financial terms, including early payment incentives or late payment fees.
Focus on Your Core Business
As you start your business, you and your staff may have great new ideas for additional product lines, but when your business is new, you should stay focused on your niche. Avoid moving into new markets until you have secured your position in your current industry sector and niche. You can also focus your online and offline marketing on this area.
Pursue Effective Time Management
If you have a new or small business, you have probably taken on the roles of several individuals. You may manage and hire employees, do the company accounting, and serve customers. You also have to plan the current and future business strategies, including production, marketing, and finance. You may even manage logistics and IT. The list of your duties may be even larger.
The best way to manage these roles is to adopt time management strategies and prioritize your tasks. You may even adopt technological help for some of your tasks, including your scheduling and task preparation.
Most small business tips focus on creating balance and efficiency. Consider these strategies as you pursue business success.
At Speed of Light Funding, we have a great reputation for helping our customers get the business loans they need as quickly as possible. We offer flexible loans that adapt to your company’s circumstances and are easy to qualify for. We’re friendly and knowledgeable, showing you the best commercial finance options for reaching your goals. With the right loan, your business can grow in amazing ways.
by speedadmin | Oct 19, 2022 | Blog
As the owner of a business, you need working capital. During the early days, cash flow may be minimal. One path toward getting what you need is through a merchant cash advance. Payment for this style of funding comes from future credit card transactions, so having more activity in this department means qualifying for more. Here’s a guide toward securing one of these loans and reaping the rewards.
Researching Possible Providers
There are many companies able to supply loans vying for your attention. Differences abound. It behooves you to compare the possibilities before moving forward. Find out how much each one charges, checking that you’re comfortable with the potential burden. Note that lenders have minimum requirements for acceptance. Find out what they are before completing an application; there’s no need to waste effort if being declined is a foregone conclusion.
Working With Processors
The merchant cash advance outfit you choose to work with needs to know you can satisfy the debt. Verify that the company you’re fostering a relationship with finds your credit card company sufficient. Choosing a merchant cash provider from a preexisting list of acceptable alternatives is one way of assuring an agreeable situation. Another is putting your cash provider first and switching credit card partners accordingly.
Submitting Cash Advance Applications
An advantage to these loans is that applications are much simpler than ones for traditional bank loans. Assuming your documentation is accurate and comprehensive, the process should be a breeze. Providers will want a comprehensive overview of your venture’s fiscal picture. Let them know what business structure you’ve chosen, and include a glimpse into the financial history of your enterprise. Tell them how much you make per year, the frequency of credit card transactions, and how much you expect to gross in the future. While a negative credit score could prevent you from securing an agreement, most merchant cash dealers consider the overall picture before reaching a decision.
Reviewing the Contract Details
Congratulations! You’ve been offered a deal from a merchant cash supplier. Before making the contract official, comb over what’s on the table. Review the rate you’ll be paying and whether any penalties associated with defaulting apply. Read every bit of fine print. If anything is unclear, seek an explanation before signing.
A merchant cash advance is one way of keeping your business growing. Especially for ventures that are just starting, understanding the process of securing one is bound to prove useful.
Speed of Light Funding understands that flexibility is essential to operational growth, which is why we offer a wide variety of business loans. We specialize in quick funding — in some cases, you can get cash within 24 hours. Once the money is in your possession, you can spend it in various ways.
by speedadmin | Oct 14, 2022 | Blog
If you have thought about starting a business or have started one already, you probably want to know how to market it. There are dozens of ways to tell people about your small business. However, some are more effective than others. It depends on your niche and what you are selling. You can use tactics like digital marketing and advertising and social media marketing. These are excellent options that are effective and not costly. Traditional marketing can be expensive, and you lose some of the personalization aspects if your audience is too general. Here are some ways to market your business successfully and grow your customer base.
Digital Marketing
Marketing your small business online includes using ads and SEO techniques. You can create ads easily using various tools. You can create image ads using free or paid tools. Digital ads are great for businesses because you can make them quickly and customize them for different audiences. You can also A/B test ads to see which ones are more popular with your customer base.
SEO techniques are essential because that is how you get long-term traffic. You need a blog or other website to help with SEO, and you need to ensure you are using the correct keywords for your topic. The goal is to rank highly on search engines so people will see your posts or website. Most people do not go past the first page of search results, so the higher you rank, the better.
Social Media
Marketing on social media is an excellent way to connect and interact with your audience. Social media is valuable for small businesses because they can gain an audience and a following for free. To use social media for business, try posting informative or entertaining content. Try not to post anything too out of the ordinary for your brand. When people follow you and routinely look at your posts, they expect certain content. You can always try posting something new, but determine if your audience would appreciate it. Create brand guidelines so that everyone is on the same page about social media posts.
Having a small business can be life-changing and positive. However, let people know you have a business. To do this, you need to market your products and services. Create a website or a blog to help others understand what you do. Start a social media account to interact with your audience and potential customers.
Business owners know that you get what you pay for. When it comes to digital advertising, this principle is essential for success. Don’t risk something as important as your company’s online reputation. Entrust your digital marketing to experts. At Speed of Light Funding, we’ve been providing state-of-the-art marketing services to business owners for a long time.
by speedadmin | Oct 12, 2022 | Blog
When you start a small business, you may feel overwhelmed by the accounting and finance responsibilities and processes. If you aren’t adept in these areas, you could make some serious mistakes that have the potential to damage your business. These are ways to avoid common mistakes.
Separate Your Business and Personal Finances
Separate your business from your personal finances. In the beginning, you may be paying many of your business expenses with your personal funds. However, your company needs to build its own financial stability and record. This separation also insulates you from your business liabilities.
Build Business Credit
You should start building your business’s credit right away. Low or no credit can affect your company’s ability to gain financing. You may be denied even small loans because your firm’s credit isn’t built.
It can be challenging for you to build business credit, but spend some time finding out how the credit impacts the company and how to build it. From securing business credit cards to finding alternative lenders who will provide up-front financing. However, pay close attention to your business credit utilization ratio and keep it below 30%. This prevents you from having to use your personal credit, loans, or funds for company expenses.
Read Financial Contracts
When you are approved for a loan or other financing, you may have hidden fees or other terms on the contract that you need to know. This includes calculating the true APR so you know your borrowing cost per year. Some new small business owners overlook these features. Maybe they are more focused on paying their expenses or they are excited to build their credit, but these terms can have a dramatic impact on your company’s finances, including increasing your debt and payment amounts.
Follow-Up with Lenders
When you are denied a loan, your first task should be asking why. If you don’t know why you were denied, you cannot take steps to fix the issue so that you can secure a loan in the future. Your prospective lenders may also have other ideas, such as alternative financing options, that you may not have considered and would not know about if you didn’t ask for feedback.
Learn Lender Criteria
When you don’t know the criteria, your lender has established for loan approval, you may not be focused on the right areas of your company and its financial situation. You could apply for a loan after loan and never be approved because you don’t understand the criteria for approval and haven’t spent time building your company so that you meet it.
Do the research and work to protect your small business finances.
Speed of Light Funding understands that flexibility is essential to operational growth, which is why we offer a wide variety of business loans. We specialize in quick funding — in some cases, you can get cash within 24 hours. Once the money is in your possession, you can spend it in various ways:
by speedadmin | Oct 5, 2022 | Blog
Cash flow is the measure of the revenue coming into your business versus the funds going out. This ratio is important for your company’s financial health because if you don’t have enough liquid capital, you can’t pay your suppliers, buy inventory, or cover other operating expenses. This balancing act is challenging for many companies, but especially for startups and small businesses.
How Can You Improve Your Company’s Cash Flow?
To enjoy better cash flow, you have three main options. One is to increase the amount of revenue you generate. The second is to encourage your customers to pay you more quickly. Third, you can reduce your expenses or get more time to pay your bills.
The first option is important, but it’s not easy to control. You can’t always determine how sales are going to go during the month, and many small businesses have to deal with seasonal ups and downs as well.
Getting customers to pay you more quickly is a great solution for many businesses because it helps you get liquid capital sooner after you make a sale. Unfortunately, this isn’t feasible in some industries where terms of three to six months for payment are standard.
Lowering your outgoing cash flow is a good goal, but it takes a long time to implement, especially where things such as inventory purchases are concerned. You have to build up sufficient capital to be able to purchase inventory in bulk for greater discounts. Of course, with purchase order financing, you have a shortcut available.
How Can Purchase Order Financing Help With Your Cash Flow?
PO financing focuses on the third option for cash flow, reducing your outgoing expenses. The idea is that when you don’t have to spend as much on inventory or raw materials purchases, you have a lot more working capital available for other operating costs. With the money you save, it’s easier to handle payroll, equipment leases, taxes, rent payments, and other costs.
This type of financing essentially lets you get funds that are set aside directly for your suppliers to complete client orders. You don’t need to buy inventory in bulk. You get what you need right away, make the sale, ship the products, and get paid.
This process is perfect for startups and companies looking to expand their services or market. It lets you start small and work your way up to greater sales. Your cash flow stays intact and your revenue keeps improving, too.
At Speed of Light Funding, we have a great reputation for helping our customers get the business loans they need as quickly as possible. We offer flexible loans that adapt to your company’s circumstances and are easy to qualify for. We’re friendly and knowledgeable, showing you the best commercial finance options for reaching your goals. With the right loan, your business can grow in amazing ways.
