Category Archives: Business Loans

A lot of people believe that just like God sent mothers because he couldn’t be everywhere when talking about their emotional and caring nature, even doctors were sent by God to take care of the health-related aspect. If we fall ill, whether physically or mentally, the first thing that comes to mind is to fix a doctor’s appointment. We, as humans, rely on this specific group of professionals to the extent that even though they may be strangers to us, we completely believe that they want the best for us. It is the hope that doctors may be able to take away our pain, that gives us the strength to go through difficult times with reference to the same.

When speaking about growth, every professional looks at it in a different way. Even with doctors, some choose to climb their way up by doing great work and being part of multi-specialty hospitals, while others may choose to start hospitals of their own. Some may even prefer practicing privately, but contrary to the fact that today a lot of doctors are misunderstood regarding their morals, majority still wish to do good work and help people in need in their own unique ways of healing people. As mentioned earlier, doctors give hope to patients who are in need of treatments irrespective of what illness they may be facing, and it is that fact that makes us want to help doctors who aspire to start businesses of their own.

Certainly nobody prefers calling a hospital a “business” and if the two terms are put together, it is looked at rather negatively. However, when speaking factually, there is no denying that to start a hospital, irrespective of whether a businessman or a doctor runs it and irrespective of whether the owner is business oriented more than wanting to help people and vice versa, it does cost quite some money and time that one may need to invest in order to succeed.

A doctor starting from scratch, without having much savings of his/her own or ancestral money, may need to start smaller as compared to a business man who may already have enough. It may therefore be difficult for a person starting from scratch to get a loan from a traditional
lender.

However, the good news is that you can now get a business loan being a doctor from online business loan lenders, who offer small business loans to small and medium sized businesses. When we say businesses, even tiny hospitals and clinics are included. Online loan lenders understand that everything needs a decent amount of money to be invested in, which is why they offer business loans to doctors as well.

The best part about these loans is that they help people who wish to start small, offer their talents to the world by pushing them to start their business without much thought and confusion. When it comes to doctors, every good doctor deserves to grow since the world needs more people like them, to help them get through their tough times. It could be harmful to deprive the world of such massive talent and empathy, which is why online loans for small business owners including doctors who just start practicing may be the right choice to make.

The skillset of your employees can be very helpful in developing a good relationship between your brand and your customers. When it comes to business, it’s all about “selling” your product or service, irrespective of what it is. It may be a spa offering rejuvenating experiences in many ways, or a car dealership showroom selling the best brands.

Irrespective of what your business has to offer, the relationship built between your brand and your clients is an important one, as a good one can go a long way.

Building a good relationship with your clients can turn them into loyal customers, and can also help boost your brand value and gain more clients through word of mouth. When a salesperson is rude or discriminatory, the brand can develop a bad image thus eventually leading it to a river of losses.

On the other hand, if your employees (especially those ones who are in direct contact with your customers) make a good impression, your brand will certainly grow and can also eventually see a mountain of profits. In order to be in the latter situation over the former, it is important to train your employees well and continuously work on development of their skills.

It could be implementing skills related to knowledge about what they are selling, communication, marketing and more.

Let’s take a look at how business loans can be used for skill development of your employees:

1. Communication Skills

Most people who step into a store, look for a salesperson to help them out as they believe that the salesperson could possibly lead them to what they are looking for. Of course, there are buyers who visit a store to purchase a specific item, but those cases are rare. When a buyer interacts with a salesperson, he expects him to be knowledgeable and polite too. If the person selling the product seems disinterested, even the buyer may give up and want to visit another brand instead.

It is therefore quite important to help improve the communication skills of your employees, since that could make for 50% of the reason as to why a buyer chooses to buy or not buy a product of your business.

In order to do so, investing in communication and behavioural classes, holding workshops and more can help to a large extent, and since it may require investing in a number of employees, you could always opt for a small business loan for the funds needed to do so.

2. Knowing the Product

It is very important for your employees to know what they are working on and what they are selling. If they don’t, you may be unintentionally giving them a blank slate to work on, and they may be verbally selling an item that doesn’t actually exist, just to their knowledge and understanding. This can create a lot of trouble in many cases. Misinformation by your employees can hamper your brand’s image thus reducing the number of buyers, and can sometimes also get you into legal trouble. We don’t want that, do we?

Take a small online business loan to invest in the knowledgeable aspect of your employees, when it comes to knowing every little detail about your product or service.

3. Understanding the Market

This is a very important aspect of any business- to understand the market. One has to understand their target market, their competition, potential buyers and more, and in order to do the same they must be knowledgeable about the market segment that they may be dealing with. It is important for every employee of the company to understand this, so as to be able to efficiently explain things to consumers. Workshops, meetings, etc. can be used to train your employees regarding the same. But it all does cost money.

Business loans for skill development can come handy in such situations as well.

Here is How Skill Development Loans Can Help your Business:

When one chooses to start a business of their own, it is imperative to invest well in every aspect of the business in order to succeed. Skill development, even though not necessarily part of production, is quite an important area to invest time and money in, in order to do better. Here are the various ways through which it can help your business earn profits:

Brand Image: If you have a bunch of employees who do not know how to behave well, who cannot communicate well and who may be disinterested in their job, it can majorly hamper growth of your business. A disinterested employee is the result of a disinterested customer. Nobody today has the time to go through a ton of research before they invest in a product, and if the person selling it cannot explain the same in a short and professional manner, a potential customer may end up losing interest and hop onto another brand instead.

On the other hand, an employee who is good at communication, body language and is also knowledgeable about what he is selling can convince even just a person strolling on the road to buy his/ her product. This helps generate profit and build brand image since people may spread the same by word of mouth.

Growth: It is inevitable that if your employees know how to sell a product, your brand shall grow and well. Investing in the skillset of your employees, helps them sell more of your products, thus helping you achieve your goals in a time much lesser than you had imagined while setting up your firm. You can now achieve a breakeven point months before you had thought you would.

Apply for a Business Loan for Skill Development

At Business Advance Funding, we serve as an alternative lender of business loans and are happy to assist you loans to invest in the skillset of your employees. Applying with us is as easy as it can get, with the entire process being online. Even our eligibility terms are very simple, which makes it easy for all small business owners to get funded by us.

Spas across the world are seeing steady growth in demand and supply. With an average growth of 2.7% annually, the past decade has been fruitful for most spa owners. In a steadily growing market which faced challenges during the heavily impacted days of the pandemic, the stability has only just returned to the industry while a lot of spas are re-establishing their strengths and, in some cases, regaining their foothold over their competition. Loans, have in the past and continue in the present, to help spas sustain and grow. Here we present 5 proven ways in which spas across the globe have benefited through loans and you could use one or more of these to help your spa business cross previously unattained milestones. So, let’s dive right in!

1. Marketing and Promotions

Broadly considered as the single most potent use of business loans – with potential for great returns on each dollar spent – marketing and promotions are often seen as the best investments towards the growth and development of a business, no matter what the industry may be. Spas are no exception. Spas across the globe have seen benefits of marketing and promotion and today thanks to the strength of online tools, marketing and promotions have the potential to give returns like never before.

2. Adding New Services

Diversification is considered as one of the best ways to make a healthy model of a business with potential for lasting progress. Adding new services is one of the easiest ways in which a spa can diversify. Oftentimes, spas use business loans to fund adding new services such as:

• Salon and beauty
• Swimming pools
• Fitness facilities
• Additional spa services
• Sauna and steam rooms
• Yoga, Pilates, martial arts and other such facilities and training

3. Managing Cash and Capital

Cash and a healthy rotation of it, can make the difference between a healthy, profitable business and one that’s unable to keep up its profits – even when there’s ample revenue flowing in. Cash and a healthy working capital are absolutely essential in virtually all kinds of business models that spas can have. At times when business situations bring about challenges in maintaining a healthy cash flow, a business loan can be employed to help.

4. Creating a Franchise Model

If your spa business has progressed well and you’ve created a brand that’s secured a good reputation, chances are that your next endeavor in the growth story of your spa business is to create a franchise model and work on giving out franchisees. Such a plan is likely to come with initial costs that later pay off well over time. Compromising in costs of creating a franchise model often leads to disaster. If added funds are needed for creating a franchise model with limited or no compromises, a business loan can help you with the funds you need.

5. Business Expansion

There are many more ways in which a spa business can expand using funds from a business loan, some of which may be:

• Adding new offerings
• Adding real estate space
• Adding new floors
• Opening new outlets
• Moving to larger facilities
• Partnering with other businesses
• Adding stores and eCommerce facilities
• Acquiring a competitor or a complementing business

Should You Consider an Alternative Business Loan?

Business loans can be procured from traditional sources like banks and SBA lenders or less traditional sources like alternative business lenders. As a spa business owner, you should consider alternative business loans if one or more of these scenarios applies to your business:

• Your business/personal credit scores are unhealthy
• Your need for funds is urgent and there is little room for compromise
• You don’t have enough documentation for a traditional loan
• Your business is ineligible for a traditional business loan or has been rejected before
• Your business has faced multiple loan rejections
• You do not wish to wait for a time-taking loan approval or go through the tremendous formalities that are needed for a traditional loan

Apply for a Spa Business Loan

At Business Advance Funding, we serve as an alternative lender of business loans and shall be happy to discuss funding your spa business with the loan it needs. Once you ascertain your need for a business loan and choose us, the easy part is to apply for the loan, as the application process is simple and starts with just a brief online application. Once you fill and submit all relevant details, our team works to get in touch with you and create a loan offer to suit your needs.

Providing business service continuity is often a topic discussed when a business remodeling plan or project is under consideration. There are many ideas and initiatives that can help a business provide continued services to customers while remodeling to various extents, is carried out within the business.

Here, we discuss certain points that can be used as a ready referral in such situations.

Why Consider Service Continuity?

There are lots of advantages that service continuity can provide to your business as well as your customers, especially if your business is likely to benefit from customer retention in the long run – which is probably going to be true for most businesses. Here are some of the top advantages:

• It can save your business from losing customers permanently
• It can create or increase trust within customers
• It can help employees stay efficient and in-touch
• It can provide additional exposure and a new experience to employees
• It can help maintain cash flow

Providing Services through Alternate Channels

One of the ways in which many businesses provide continued services during remodeling, is to provide services through one or more alternate channels. Businesses often consider these options:

1. Providing services through online channels: One of the most preferred solutions for both businesses and consumers today, is online distribution. Moving services online is possible today, across most industries.
2. Providing Services on Call or In-Person: Another solution that is preferred by many businesses is to move to telephonic or in-person service provision.
3. Using Facilities of a Business Partner: If you have a business partner whose infrastructure or facilities can help you continue providing services to your customers, considering such a move can be a great decision.
4. Using Facilities of a Friendly Competitor: Some businesses may choose to move their customers to a friendly competitor when the understanding and relationship is good enough for it not to be an absolute business threat. Any such decision must only be taken after a careful consideration.

Temporary Business Continuity Set-Ups

Some businesses consider setting up temporary facilities that are dedicated to provide continued services to their customers while their existing facilities are undergoing remodeling. Such facilities may not provide full services or may simply be makeshift solutions designed to be cost effective but perhaps having less longevity. Where feasible, such a set-up may provide multiple advantages to both the business and the customers.

Funding for Business Remodeling and Service Continuity Projects

A good business remodeling plans as well as a service continuity plan always defines the source of funds that shall make the whole plan feasible to enact. While it is typically clear where expenses towards business remodeling can be allocated, here a brief list of where funds towards service continuity are often allocated:

• Communicating with customers
• Investing in the facilities required
• Investing in the distribution channels
• Performing marketing activities to create awareness

Once you have understood what funds are needed, you may need to consider a funding solution. At Business Advance Funding, we provide simplified and easy-to-apply business loans which you can use towards the remodeling as well as service continuity project of your business. A simple online loan application is all it takes to get you started towards a suitable business loan.

There’s no doubt that the market today lays much emphasis on diversification. Many businesses have survived and even grown despite all the turmoil, solely due to their ability to diversify or their pre-existing diversity, from times before the pandemic even started.

Cash can often be considered as a tool when it comes to diversification. If you plan on diversifying your business (and there are many different ways in which this can be done), cash can be of great help. A strong cash flow and healthy availability of liquid funds can help your business safely and efficiently implement various parts of a diversification plan.

In What Ways can a Business Diversify?

Traditionally, when one thought of business diversification, it was seen as a largely macro subject where a business served multiple industries. Today however, diversification is much more than that and there are many ways in which various degrees of diversification can be achieved by a business. Let’s look at some effective ways in which a business can be diversified.

1. Diversify to serve multiple industries: This is perhaps the most traditional form of business diversification. Oftentimes however, such an option is only available to larger businesses with huge turnovers. For example, a steel manufacturing company could diversify into automobiles and military equipment.
2. Reaching a new market: Another rather traditional option, this often works for businesses of smaller turnovers too. For example, a consumer goods business can consider diversification into the B2B market or vice versa.
3. Reaching a new audience: With the help of a good marketing strategy and some fine-tuning of the existing products and services, most businesses can consider such a diversification. For example, a kid’s retail store can diversify the business by simply restricting retail to just kids, or, a restaurant can consider adding food delivery partners.
4. Evolving services and products in new ways: In a response to new circumstances, needs, wants and customer priorities, a business can diversify its services and products. For example, a daily needs store can add OTC drugs to their inventory.
5. Add distribution channels: Most businesses tend to have limited distribution channels. However, distribution channel options in many industries and sectors are constantly evolving and opening up new opportunities which can be utilized by various businesses. For example, a clothing store can open an online store and also take up partnerships with various other online stores.

6 Ways in Which Cash Can Help Your Business Diversify

Working towards business diversification can serve a business in the short and long run. One of the tools that can ease the implementation of most diversification plans is cash. Liquid availability of funds can be a great difference maker and here are 6 ways in which most diversification plans can see cash being helpful:

1. Procuring material that implementing diversification plans may require: In most cases, a diversification plan shall require for added inventories and various other materials, such as promotional material.
2. Upgrading infrastructure: Most diversification plans may require businesses to consider upgrading their existing infrastructure to some extent, in order to be able to implement the plan effectively.
3. Investing in new outlets: If the plan features new outlets in a different location or perhaps online outlets, there’s a quite certain need for funds to be allocated towards the outlet.
4. Training and hiring team members: These are often an absolutely essential investment when a new product or service line is introduced by a business. Training or recruiting can also be critical when an entry in a new market is being considered by a business.
5. Marketing and advertising: When a diversification plan involves reaching out to new markets, audiences or creating awareness about new services or products, marketing and advertising can be a great investment.
6. Hiring consultants: Many business experts would agree that consultants can add much value when a new project is being considered – especially one related to which the existing team within a business may not have much expertise in.

Need Extra Cash? A Business Loan Could Help

Many businesses that see a need for extra cash for implementing their diversification plans and projects, choose loans as the source. If you’re in such a need, feel free to get in touch with our team and we shall be happy to assist you and work towards a suitable solution.

Businesses see rises, falls, challenges and struggles throughout their life. Many situations and circumstances can create the need for borrowing quick loans. While quick loans can be crucial and helpful, they can also come with challenges of their own. Understanding the advantages, disadvantages and ideal uses of any loan can help a business reduce risks and also utilize loans better.

Through today’s article, our team of experts seeks to guide readers about the advantages, disadvantages and purposes of one of the most frequent choice of a quick business loan option – the merchant cash advance, which is made available by alternative business lenders such as us, at Business Advance Funding. As you read ahead, you shall be able to understand ways in which your business can best utilize merchant cash advances while minimizing risk and maximizing the potential of its uses.

Advantages of a Merchant Cash Advance

Depending upon what your lender offers, the advantages of merchant cash advances can be many. Here, we share a set of benefits that tend to be common to almost all merchant cash advances available through many of the best reputed alternative business lenders.

1. Easy Application Process: Alternative business lenders do not require the vast amount of paperwork and cumbersome application processes to be completed the way a traditional business lender like a bank would. A few simple fields and basic documentation followed by a signed agreement typically suffices for the purpose of application.
2. Easy Eligibility Terms: Typically, such a loan would only require that the business is registered, safe from bankruptcy and has a healthy cash flow since over a period of 6 months.
3. Short Turnaround Times: Most established direct lenders of alternative business loans are able to approve and credit merchant cash advances in less than a week. At Business Advance Funding, we typically release most loans in roughly 2 working days.
4. Flexibility: Many lenders tend to offer flexible repayment terms for merchant cash advances – i.e. they may offer convenient ways to customize deadlines, loan tenures and other such features of the loan.
5. Acceptance of Bad Credit Scores: If you need a quick business loan while you have a bad credit history or score, chances are that one of the few options available to you is a merchant cash advance.

Disadvantages of a Merchant Cash Advance

Knowing the advantages of a loan can help you understand how it could benefit your business. Knowing its disadvantages can help you understand how to safeguard your business from its limitations and potential threats, so they your business doesn’t take a hard hit from any of the disadvantages.

1. Higher Interest Rates: Alternative business lenders approve loans that may fall under higher risk categories. Loans with higher risks associated, tend to have higher interests associated with them.
2. Shorter Loan Tenures: Alternative business loans tend to have short tenures – typically from 3 months up to 2 years. Traditional loans may extend even up to 20 years in some cases.
3. Limited Verification and Stringency: Not as much of a disadvantage as it is a potential threat, the ease of the eligibility and application process directly reduces the stringency of the loan approval. This may lead at time to a loan being offered to a business that is at higher risk than the owner may realize. And in some cases, it may also lead to a business spiraling into a debt cycle. This risk can be reduced by ensuring strong business forecasting and choosing loans of amounts that pose less risk to the business.

Uses

A merchant cash advance can be used with much flexibility. While most lenders do not limit the usage options of the loan, here are the most common purposes that businesses tend to borrower merchant cash advances for:

1. Working Capital: The availability of a healthy amount of cash can be very crucial in the smooth operating of a business. Some businesses use a quick loan like a merchant cash advance when the availability of liquid funds goes low.
2. Equipment Financing: Purchasing, hiring or renting our business equipment can be expensive but it also can bring good returns. For this reason, many businesses choose such loans for this purpose.
3. Repairs and Refurbishment: Businesses often invest amount borrowed from loans towards repairs and refurbishments of their infrastructure, equipment, vehicles and more.
4. Maintenance Contract Renewals: Maintenance contracts often prove to be worth more than their face value and many business owners find value in investing loaned amounts towards this expense.
5. Diversification of Products, Services and Distribution Channels: Off-late, diversification has been a key for businesses to survive and grow amidst the turmoiled times. For businesses hadn’t foreseen what came with the pandemic, preparedness was hard. Loans have widely helped many businesses with the funds needed to diversify products and services and also the distribution channels of these products and services
6. Marketing Plan Implementation: Once a marketing plan is drawn up, funds may be required to implement it. Since investing in marketing is considered as one of the best investments across all industries, many businesses borrowing quick loans tend to utilize the funds borrowed by investing them towards implementing marketing plans.
7. Business Sustenance: Another very important aspect of a quick loan is that it is often used towards supporting business sustenance through tough times, like low seasons, disaster-hit periods, relocation periods, etc.

Often times, business owners tend to invest funds borrowed through a merchant cash advance, towards more than just one such use.

Apply for a Swift Online Merchant Cash Advance

Once you have understood the above facts related to merchant cash advances, it becomes easier to take decisions related to the loan. It also becomes likelier that the decision of taking the loan shall end up being a good one. We at Business Advance Funding, are dedicated to ensuring that our borrowers get a swift service through our online business lending platform. Applying for a business loan with us in simply a matter of filling up the online application form and submitting the details, which enable us to process a quick pre-verification and get in touch with you so we could work with you towards designing a loan offer to suit your business’ needs.