Genie Lending’s blog provides helpful information and advice about business loans and alternative finance methods. Learn more today.
2017 is a fresh start for you and your business, so why not take this opportunity to get your finances back on track. We all have good and bad periods, but let a profit loss go on for too long and you could be in big trouble. While you may need to borrow to keep the business afloat, you also need to be able to pay it back as quickly as possible, or it could spiral out of control. Read more →
Cash flow can be a significant problem for many SMEs, as they try desperately to bridge the gap between outgoings and income. It takes valuable time to chase up unpaid client invoices, and you don’t want to upset suppliers or your staff by paying late. There are a few quick fixes to try for the New Year, but if cash flow is an ongoing issue then it’s a good idea to look at everything together and come up with a strategy. Read more →
Whether you’re setting up a new business or planning to expand in 2017, there are various options to explore when it comes to business growth funding. Gone are the days where you had to beg your local bank for a traditional business loan with no proof of revenue. There are many different alternative finance options available to entrepreneurs and business owners to make their dreams become reality. Read more →
Have you got a great business idea that you’ve been holding on to for a while? 2017 is the year to bring it to life. Become a budding entrepreneur and start your own business, before somebody beats you to it! Of course, setting up a business isn’t quite as easy as simply selling your idea to people – although you will have to sell your business idea to banks or funders to get started. If you’re new to the concepts of business plans and profit forecasts then you may need to get some help from a mentor or advisory company. Read more →
Are you focused on business growth in 2017? Whether you want to double your customer base or open new stores nationally, business owners should always be focused on growing and developing. If you want to make 2017 your best year yet, here’s some expert tips for business growth for the year ahead.
Small and medium sized businesses are faced with a broad range of challenges as they expand. Many start-ups and SMEs fail to reach their potential because they either aren’t prepared for growth or don’t have the capital needed for essential business growth. Business leaders need a growth strategy in place from the start to ensure nothing can unexpectedly hold them back.
If you run an SME then take note of these five ways you can head in the right direction – upwards.
Hopefully you didn’t launch a business without a clear and concise business plan – or you probably won’t get very far. The fact is that almost all business need a capital injection to grow at all, which means you’ll have to pitch your business plan to investors. To secure the funds you’ll need a strong business plan which demonstrates how much money you’ll need and how the investment will affect the business. Access to finance is difficult for small businesses, but alternative options such as peer to peer lending can be promising.
The quickest way to grow a business is to bring in more sales. More sales means more revenue to play with. Place an emphasis on customer service and explore low cost marketing techniques which could influence sales. If you go the extra mile for each client, they will become a return customer and tell their family and friends about your company – word of mouth positive marketing is free!
Just because you started the business doesn’t mean you should continue to do all of the work single-handed. The biggest mistake most business owners make is trying to juggle too many jobs and then not doing any of them well. If you plan on expanding, you’ll need a core team to help run the business and the sooner you find these suitable employees, the better. Establish a core team who can help you grow the business and preferably have valuable experience to bring to the company.
In order to grow, you need to spend a substantial amount of time on tasks which promote business growth. If you feel like there’s never enough time in the day, and the majority of your time is taken up by activities which aren’t driving business growth, then it’s time to start outsourcing. It’s a cost effective way of managing the business without having the expense of hiring in-house staff. From accounting and IT to HR and marketing, you need to free up your time to spend it wisely.
As a business owner you have to strive for improvement every single day. Take a step back from business operations regularly to see what you could be doing better. Improvements alone can lead to business growth, but remember that if demand increases in line with the company expansion, then your service will also have to develop.
In this ever changing world we live in, you can’t simply rely on the one market or one customer persona to buy your products. As new technology and markets emerge, unfortunately others die as a consequence. Always take the time to do research in your sector to find out what products or services could be on the horizon. Will they put your business at risk? Or can you fight the competition? One way to secure the company is to find a way to appeal to more people. Can you develop a new product to widen your remit? Change your marketing tack to appeal to different types of audiences?
Customer feedbackYour customers can tell you where you can add value to your business, for virtually no cost to you. It’s relatively easy to set up a customer questionnaire, and the data you receive can be vital for driving growth. Customers can help you discover what is and isn’t working, so you can see the areas which need improvement. You could also ask them what else would they like you to offer, to make their lives easier – this feeds into the first tip, so you can open up to a new market.
It’s very difficult to grow as a company without the people who make it work. Business growth almost always requires extra staff, and it’s hard to expand a team when an employee leaves to work elsewhere. If you don’t focus on an employee retention strategy, for every person you hire another could resign. Listen to HR or hire an expert if you don’t have your own department.
Growth and expansion within a company often requires capital. Make sure you don’t find yourself half way through an exciting expansion project with no money to finish it. At some point, businesses need finance – even successful businesses with money rolling in. To keep up with demand, you need to invest in your business and sometimes you’ll need help. Look at our short term alternative finance options.
If your business is growing, then so too should your marketing strategy. Medium sized enterprises have medium sized budgets, and large companies have large budgets for advertising. For example, take this year’s Christmas advert wars between the big retailers, such as John Lewis and Marks & Spencer. You need to keep up with those you’re competing with. Evaluate your current digital strategy too, including SEO, social media and content marketing, or you’ll soon be forgotten on the internet.
Many business owners want their venture to grow and flourish – but it’s very difficult to achieve without a cash injection. Unless an individual has a way of self-funding a new business, through personal savings or an asset to sell such as a second property, they almost certainly have to take out a loan. Alternatively they look for an investor but will then have to share profits, which some business owners don’t like the idea of. Read more →
There are many different reasons why you may need a loan. You could be using the cash to buy a new car, start up a business or simply pay off outstanding bills. There are many different financial solutions available, and depending on the purpose of the loan there could be an option which is more suitable than another. The decision is also based on how much money you need to borrow, and how quick you can pay it back. Let’s take a look at some of the different loans available and which one suits you best. Read more →
Christmas is just a couple of months away, which means that business preparations for the year’s busiest shopping season should be well underway. Many department stores and restaurants have festive decorations and gifts on display from September onwards, but it’s the organisation back of house which is the most important for delivering top customer service at Christmastime. Read more →
A merchant cash advance (MCA) is a flexible way to borrow money for retail businesses or other companies with a reliable cashflow. If you own a small or medium sized business and take care payments, then a MCA offers a number of advantages. Read more →
Are you considering starting your own property portfolio? As the government and the media constantly focus on the growing number of renters, it can seem like a great career opportunity or a second source of income. However, there is a lot more to becoming a successful property investor than simply getting a buy to let mortgage. Read more →
