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Business Loans In Canada: Financing Solutions Via Alternative Finance & Traditional Funding
Business loans and finance for a business just may have gotten good again? The pursuit of credit and funding of cash flow solutions for your business often seems like an eternal challenge, even in the best of times, let alone any industry or economic crisis. Let’s dig in.
Since the 2008 financial crisis there’s been a lot of change in finance options from lenders for corporate loans. Canadian business owners and financial managers have excess from everything from peer-to-peer company loans, varied alternative finance solutions, as well of course as the traditional financing offered by Canadian chartered banks.
Those online business loans referenced above are popular and arose out of the merchant cash advance programs in the United States. Loans are based on a percentage of your annual sales, typically in the 15-20% range. The loans are certainly expensive but are viewed as easy to obtain by many small businesses, including retailers who sell on a cash or credit card basis.
Depending on your firm’s circumstances and your ability to truly understand the different choices available to firms searching for SME COMMERCIAL FINANCE options. Those small to medium sized companies ( the definition of ‘ small business ‘ certainly varies as to what is small – often defined as businesses with less than 500 employees! )
How then do we create our road map for external financing techniques and solutions? A simpler way to look at it is to categorize these different financing options under:
Debt / Loans
Asset Based Financing
Alternative Hybrid type solutions
Many top experts maintain that the alternative financing solutions currently available to your firm, in fact are on par with Canadian chartered bank financing when it comes to a full spectrum of funding. The alternative lender is typically a private commercial finance company with a niche in one of the various asset finance areas
If there is one significant trend that’s ‘ sticking ‘it’s Asset Based Finance. The ability of firms to obtain funding via assets such as accounts receivable, inventory and fixed assets with no major emphasis on balance sheet structure and profits and cash flow ( those three elements drive bank financing approval in no small measure ) is the key to success in ABL ( Asset Based Lending ).
Factoring, aka ‘ Receivable Finance ‘ is the other huge driver in trade finance in Canada. In some cases, it’s the only way for firms to be able to sell and finance clients in other geographies/countries.
The rise of ‘ online finance ‘ also can’t be diminished. Whether it’s accessing ‘ crowdfunding’ or sourcing working capital term loans, the technological pace continues at what seems a feverish pace. One only has to read a business daily such as the Globe & Mail or Financial Post to understand the challenge of small business accessing business capital.
Business owners/financial mgrs often find their company at a ‘ turning point ‘ in their history – that time when financing is needed or opportunities and risks can’t be taken. While putting or getting new equity in the business is often impossible, the reality is that the majority of businesses with SME commercial finance needs aren’t, shall we say, ‘ suited’ to this type of funding and capital raising. Business loan interest rates vary with non-traditional financing but offer more flexibility and ease of access to capital.
We’re also the first to remind clients that they should not forget govt solutions in business capital. Two of the best programs are the GovernmentSmall Business Loan Canada (maximum availability = $ 1,000,000.00) as well as the SR&ED program which allows business owners to recapture R&D capital costs. Sred credits can also be financed once they are filed.
Those latter two finance alternatives are often very well suited to business start up loans. We should not forget that asset finance, often called ‘ ABL ‘ by those Bay Street guys, can even be used as a loan to buy a business.
If you’re looking to get the right balance of liquidity and risk coupled with the flexibility to grow your business seek out and speak to a trusted, credible and experienced Canadian business financing advisor with a track record of business finance success who can assist you with your funding needs.
Digital Marketing – The Need For Digital Marketing – Avoiding Bad Companies
Digital marketing in contextThere are 1.5 billion internet users worldwide, and in the UK alone over 884 million minutes are spent online. Internet sales account for £36 billion per year – Brits spend £71 per month on average on online goods and services (reference: see below). It is obvious that a digital presence has now become mandatory as opposed to just desirable. But it can be said that to be absent from Google is to be absent from the internet. I would further this by suggesting that to be absent from the first page of Google is to be absent from the internet. Enter digital marketing.Competition on the internet is fierce. Inadequate digital marketing means low search ranking, poor brand exposure and ultimately loss of lucrative revenue streams.What should I look for in an online marketing company?If you have an interest in your company succeeding online, achieving a page-1 rank on Google is of the highest concern. There are no secrets – Many companies will try to convince you into thinking that search engine optimisation (SEO) is niche and dodgy and only they have the knowledge of ‘advanced’ link building strategies, etc, etc. These are tactics used to gain dishonest sales.An honest and professional digital marketing agency will provide accountability and transparency to its services. Vague weekly reports are not enough. Some sort of regular precise update with current progress, assuring clients that goals are being met, is obligatory. In addition, objectives are agreed during several initial meetings, ensuring both parties are happy and confident in the campaign’s direction.An online marketing agency is not the same as a web designer who provides generic SEO!What benefits are there in hiring a digital marketing agency?A good agency will maximise the impact of your online marketing to get the best return on your investment. After initial meetings, they should get on with their job and leave you to do what you do best – run your business! Most importantly, the solution should be tailored to your needs and objectives, amplifying the power of your marketing campaign just like the generic solutions won’t!