How To Secure A Much-Needed Cash Injection For Your Small Business
Businesses, just like individuals, sometimes suffer from a lack of funds. It’s part of living in a free market society. A bad idea that doesn’t work well is penalized, while a smooth, popular idea that’s streamlined effectively can glide through its expansion. However, you might have done everything correctly, but unforeseen forces can come along and throw a curve in the whole works too.
You might not be aware that a similar firm in town has been undercutting your prices for the last month, and that’s why your sales numbers have recently dwindled dramatically. You might have been sent a terrible batch of goods to manufacture your product line with, and that’s delayed your production schedule dramatically over the last few weeks.
These unintended and unfortunate circumstances can’t be prepared for, and they’re easy to miss. For a small business though, these things can make or break the success of your firm. It’s not easy to get through the weeks with little capital, and the effects persist. A lack of sales one week means that the money you can re-invest back into the firm is lowered, and this can have a direct impact on your ability to stock your shelves or product line as numerously as you did before. This might result in you increasing your prices and, as a result, temporarily alienating your reliable client base.
As a small business owner, it might be tempting to let panic set in at this point, but that is possibly one of the worst things you can do. Here’s what you should do instead.
Secure A Loan
The best option in this circumstance might be securing small business loans to help you through the upcoming difficult weeks. This can work well if your revenue is strongly seasonal, and you need to make it through the quiet months with ease. Expect to pay interest, but if you can demonstrate that you can meet the demand, this is the simplest quick fix for the entire problem.
Sell Unused Stock at a Discount
If you have perishable stock that needs to be sold, a low price is better than no price at all. Do a large clear-out to salvage what funds you can. If you have old equipment you don’t use, but it is in storage, consider selling it to another startup business that could get use out of it. Don’t be afraid to do a full streamlining of both your storage and employee needs at this stage. Also, don’t be afraid to admit you might not be able to function as well as you once could because of funding.
Do Without
If you’re the business owner, and it’s a choice between paying your employees or simply not taking a cut yourself for the week, you owe it to those you are contractually obliged to first. Don’t be afraid to dip into your savings at this time. If you’ve planned well, you’ll have an emergency fund built for scenarios like this.
Get Creative With Promotion
This is a time to really dive into the battlefield with a strong promotional campaign. Craft flyers, posters, online advertisements and knock door-to-door to sell awareness. Give away samples if you can. If you have a few decorative items around, redesign your interior space. Do anything you can to bring people into your building. If you run a service, consider doing a few jobs for goodwill to potentially bring back repeat paid business. There’s always a way to promote yourself to the general public.
Like with most seasons in life, a bad financial time is only temporary. Take steps to ensure that it doesn’t happen again once you’re through, and you’ll be on your way to expanding at the rate you were doing beforehand. Keep your head up. You’ll make it through stronger at the other side.
