Nearly every small business finds itself in a situation where they are a little short on funds for filling orders with. A brand new startup is particularly prone to this. Basically, it goes like this: your business is fairly new, and until now your orders have been fairly steady. You’ve been able to keep up with them, but now orders are spilling in. While it’s great your business is bringing in customers, you simply don’t have the organic funds to fill them with. What do you do?
While this is quite a predicament – albeit one that is also fairly exhilarating and exciting – here are several things you can do to get the funds to fill those orders. Don’t start to panic before you look over these unique strategies to help you overcome a shortage of funds.
Strategy #1: Negotiate Terms With Vendors
A lot of vendors completely understand that these things happen – they work with a lot of other businesses, after all, and have probably seen it happen time and again. Just how much your particular vendors will negotiate depends entirely on them. They may allow you to make a partial payment, or promise to make a payment on goods later. Unfortunately, some vendors will not allow any negotiating, and sometimes later payments result in surcharges or fees. It’s worth speaking with them, but be sure you understand everything involved ahead of time so there are no surprises on your next bill.
Strategy #2: Borrow From Other Projects
Sometimes it may not be that you don’t have enough funds, but rather you don’t have enough funds set aside particularly for this. You can take a look at your budget to see if funds can be borrowed from other areas of your business, like marketing, cleaning services, etc.
The nice thing is there are no fees associated with this strategy, and you may even find business projects you don’t need at all. Like maybe you don’t need to hire a cleaning service, because paying one of your employees for an extra hour or doing it yourself is cheaper and more efficient. Or maybe there are marketing areas not bringing in customers, and those can be trimmed off. The downside of this, however, is that you may temporarily blur your budget.
Strategy #3: Bank Loans
Bank loans are the most traditional way businesses get funds. If you are already in good terms with a bank, you may be able to take out a small loan to help pay for your materials so you can get your orders out on time. If you aren’t already in good terms with a bank, however, it can be very difficult to qualify, and the process may take quite some time. There are also fees and monthly payments associated with loans, so those will have to be considered into your future budget.
Strategy #4: Business Credit Cards
Getting a business credit card is another option when you are short on funds. It is simple, quick, and you’re already familiar with how it works. Nearly every vendor on the planet will take credit cards, and it’s something you’d be able to fall back on again in the future. Unfortunately, it can also be incredibly expensive, with high interest rates and fees. It is also very easy to overspend with a business credit card.