Business Finance Solutions

Melissa Peterman asked:

Espresso stands, dog walking services and several other independent business owners are fighting hard to survive this financial crisis that has frozen funding and restricted access to credit. When business credit lines and small business loans are close to impossible to get from banks, entrepreneurs look to investors, private small business funding firms and of course, family and friends.

Most successful small businesses didn’t get successful because they waited for people to help them out- they used every resource available to them and worked hard to make things happen to get the funding they needed. Today’s surviving small businesses face many of the same obstacles as previous ones- only some of the obstacles are a bit more challenging. That doesn’t mean small businesses should give up- it just means they need to get more creative and look outside the box of traditional lending methods.

How Small Businesses are Surviving

Getting creative means taking risks, shuffling things and stretching your resources. How can your business reach new customers while keeping the ones you have without spending more money? Some business owners are reaching into their personal savings, others are taking personal loans from family members with promises to pay back with interest. Other business owners are not taking a paycheck or asking employees to work a week without pay or take vacations, but there are other ways to stay afloat.

Other Ways Small Businesses Are Coping

• Taking advantage of free advertising- pitching your product yourself by wearing a t-shirt with your business on it. Knock on doors, visit community events like garage sales or hanging out at the local pub.

• Networking- spend some time at a farmer’s market, social gathering or town hall event and get the word out about who you are and what you do.

• Volunteer at places under the title of your company. For example, on behave of your catering business, you are donating 12 cupcakes to the radio station.

• Link your websites to other websites- create links to other websites from your website to create more hits to your site. Write blogs on your website, write emails to the paper about your business.

• Creative customer acquisition- if you only have a brick and mortar store, try going online. Take your product on the road by having a “Tupperware type party with your product to inform the public in new ways”

• Changing prices- announcing a price change will quickly bring in new customers.

• Ordering less product or get creative with product options- it’s okay to play it a little safe when ordering. Think of new ways to sell older products in exciting ways.

New ideas and being persistent as well as optimistic go far in this climate. Rewarding employees either in little ways now or with incentives later to those who choose to stick with you could really help you out in the long run. Due to the economic situation, you may be able to get a smoking deal on your office lease for the next 2-3 months- which helps the landlord and can greatly help your budget and help your business hang on just a bit longer. Many chambers of commerce and some government-run agencies are offering free advice and workshops to help businesses focus on survival tactics as well as advice on how to prosper in this environment. When your business can’t get a line of credit or small business loan to keep you going, you may have to join the rest of America or the world for that matter and take things into your own hands and start thinking creatively.

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