Get Business Finance Through a Small Firms Loan Guarantee
Ensuring that your business has an effective funding solution is key to your business success. Before you can do anything with your business you need the finance to be able to fulfil your business needs. So how do you go about gaining the business finance that you need?
There are many avenues that you can approach when it comes to gaining your start up business finance such as bank loans, investors and credit cards as well as overdrafts; however in order to gain any form of business finance you need a well thought out and structured business plan. On the other hand there are occasions when you may have a viable business plan but you are still struggling to get finance in order to expand or start up your business; this is where a Small Firms Loan Guarantee can help.
Small Firms Loan Guarantee is also known as SFLG and is a joint venture between the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) as well as a number of participating lenders. An SFLG was put in place for people who have tried and failed to get a conventional loan. They are available for most types of businesses and business purposes but it should be noted that there are still some restrictions and exclusions, which is why it is important that you check these against your business before making an application for a SFLG; this can be said for any form of finance. You should check that your business is able to apply before applying for any form of finance to save yourself time, money and effort.
A Small Firms Loan Guarantee is most suited for small to medium businesses that have trouble trying to gain a conventional loan. They are extremely helpful to small and medium businesses as you won't have to offer assets as security. But before you apply for a SFLG you should take a good look at your business and carefully think about the needs of your business. When doing this you should keep questions such as the following in mind:
o What is the money needed for?
o How much money do you need for your business?
o Have you investigated all of the forms of finance that are available to you?
I suppose you are now wondering what exactly a Small Firms Loan Guarantee offers you, well the main features and criteria of a SFLG are as follows:
o A guarantee to the lender covering 75% of the loan amount, for which the borrower pays a 2% premium on the outstanding balance of the loan, payable to BERR
o The ability to guarantee loans of up to
Alternatives to Traditional Business Bank Loans
Many businesses are finding it difficult to secure funding. Most banks are not lending money to businesses that don't have exceptional credit and large amounts of collateral. There are a few new programs available to business owners that can't find funding through traditional avenues.
The first program is a Merchant Advance, this is based on your credit card receivables. Generally, you can expect an advance of 125% of your monthly credit card sales. For example, you do $10,000 a month in credit card sales, your advance amount could be up to $12,500. With a $12,500 advance, your total pay back would be around $16,500. The terms vary from six months to one year. You will receive the cash in around 7 business days. You will more than likely have to switch your credit card processors, but most companies will meet or beat your current processing fees. Since this program is based on your previous sales there is no collateral necessary, and bad credit is not an issue. The amount available with this program is $5,000 to $300,000 per location.
The second program is a Fast Cash Business Loan, this program is based upon both your credit card receivables and all sales totals. The Fast Cash Business Loan is based more upon the stability of your business, than just credit card sales alone. This program is difficult to tell you what you might qualify for; it is based more upon your individual business all around, and marginally on your personal credit (minimum of 600 FICO score). You will receive the cash in around 7-10 business days. The amount available with this program is $5,000 to $100,000 per location.
The third program is a Success Business Loan, this program is again based more on your overall sales. The Success Business Loan works much in the same way as the Fast Cash Business Loan. There are two main differences between the Success and Fast Cash Business Loans. The first is the amount available; the Success Business Loan has $100,000 to $2,500,000 available per location. The second is the length of time; the Success Business Loan takes around three weeks to provide funding.
The fourth program is an Invoice Factoring Advance, this program is based on your accounts receivable. You can receive up to 85% of your receivable accounts. This program generally takes about a week to receive funding. Approval for this program is based upon the credit worthiness of the account holder, not the business owner.
With the decline of traditional bank lending, there are a few programs available for businesses that do not have the ability to be approved for a traditional bank loan, or the time to wait for the funds (2-3 months).
Business Start-up Finance For Your New Venture
When it comes to starting your own business one of most important factors to take care of is your start-up business finance. There are many funding options open to you, with the main forms being categorised as either debt finance or equity finance.
It has been said that roughly 60 or 70% of all new business ventures call on their local bank as their first attempt to gain start-up finance. Gaining a bank loan to fund a business start-up is one form of debt finance. This debt finance comes in the form of a bank loan that typically has to be repaid at an agreed interest rate. The way in which banks usually agree to bank loans is by securing your loan against an asset. The way in which this works is if your business then fails to repay the loan, the bank can then claim the asset. So what exactly is this asset? An asset stands as usually a house/premises or equipment that is owned by your business.
The main problem with a bank loan is your company then becomes locked into a tight payment schedule that could cause problems for small businesses. There are also other forms of debt finance that are starting to prove just as popular with small business, such as credit cards and leasing. The term leasing refers to the borrowing of money to buy specific equipment/machinery. In this case small businesses borrow against the store sales.
All forms of debt finance means that you are borrowing against reserves rather then giving someone ownership of your shares. The main thing that you have to keep in mind when it comes to debt finance is finding the aspect of funding that is right for your business; there is however one flaw to this theory; what if no form of debt finance is right for your business? To answer this predicament I bring to your attention, equity finance.
Although the definition of equity finance slims down to pretty much being risk capital, it is the saviour of many small/new businesses who are either turned down for a bank loan or merely can't keep up with the repayments.
Equity equals true risk capital as there is no guarantee that the investor will get there money back. The big advantage however is that the money that is invested into your business from equity finance never has to be repaid. Investors to your business are prepared for risk capital in return for a growth share of your business profit.
The investors behind equity finance give you the money that you need to get your business off the ground and to cover all aspects of your business start-up costs such as rent, the purchasing of equipment and staff wages as well as all of your utility bills for the first few months.
Whatever finance you decide to use for your business venture, make sure you make a realistic and informed decision based on your business needs. There is a lot to take into account and you need to ensure that you have all of your business information sorted before making any decisions.
Business Funding Options
Are you after funding for you new business venture? Maybe you even went on the television program Dragons Den but left without funding? If you have been on Dragons Den and were turned down funding you need to ask yourself why. What did the dragons tell you? You shouldn't ignore their advice, if they said your business was a stupid idea and it would never make money, believe them and move on. So many people leave the den thinking they know better and carry on their dream but spend years wasting time on a business that will never succeed. However if the dragons liked the idea but just didn't think it was investable because of the return on their investment wouldn't be worth their while, you should still keep looking for the funding and keep your business dream alive.
Funding a business is a very important part of a new business startup up. There are plenty of options open to you; you just need to know what to look for. Most people turn to their bank first and try to get a bank loan. Bank loans can appear attractive as you don't have to sacrifice any ownership of the business however their interest rates can be high and you might spend a long time paying the debt off. Plus with a bank loan you will have to pay it back even if the business fails.
Another option available to you is equity finance which is where you sell partial ownership in exchange for cash. This can be in the form of a business angel or a venture capitalist. With business angels you get the added advantage of advice and support from your investor. Angel investors tend to be very successful in their own right and have similar businesses to you. They often save struggling businesses from ruin and set them back on the right track.
Venture capitalists investors are another type of debt financing. Sometimes these types of investors become partners within the business and use their skill and experience to turn the business around or help it off the ground. Most of them take an active role but some simply provide the funds and let you run the business yourself. If the business succeeds they typically make a larger return on their investment than for instance interest rates on savings accounts. This is why venture capitalists' look for businesses to invest their money in. Equity financing is far more expensive if your company is successful but far less if it fails.
Business grants are another option available to you and they could be just the type of funding your need. Grants are sums of money that are given to business and do not need to be paid back. However grants generally come with terms and conditions which must be met to ensure you don't have to pay the grant back. The trouble with grants is that they are hard to come by. They are provided by central, regional and local government, the European Union, and a number of other national and local bodies. Most grants are given to limited companies, partnerships and sole traders. Unfortunately the location of your business will be crucial with regards to obtaining a grant.
Finding funding couldn't be easier with the internet. There are lots of business angel companies which offer the chance to meet with investors. Some online sites have members' areas where those looking for finance can post their business funding needs. Investors also can become members and look through all the investment opportunities and chose who and which company they wish to invest their money with.