It’s in every entrepreneur’s nature to want to grow their business, however doing it on a shoestring can be difficult but not impossible.
One of the most important things to think about as an entrepreneur starting a new business is future direction. Are you thinking big? Are you making plans to take the business to the next level?
If you are, then this is an important first step. As soon as you have the vision for where you want to take your business then you will need funds to bring your plans to fruition. This is where a lot of entrepreneurs fail.
They can often end up stuck in a rut without exploring the funding options available and rely on the business itself to generate the funds for growth. Unfortunately as almost every business owner knows, you can’t always rely on sales to fund expansion.
So it is worth considering funding options that will help clear the obstacles to future growth. These can include:
Friends and family
Many successful business have started with help from friends and family. Just make sure you have a proper agreement set up from the outset in writing, just in case things don’t go according to plan.
The bank
Ok this may not be the best source of funding available. You will have a lot of interest to pay and banks won’t just lend to anyone, but if you can present a strong business plan, then there are plenty out there who will be willing to take the risk even if you are a small business owner.
Alternative business finance
Alternative forms of finance are flourishing. Asset based finance, crowd funding, funding from business angels and so on. You may even get better terms than from the bank with these alternatives.