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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.

Business capital requirements in Canada often boil down to some basic truths the business owner/financial mgr/entrepreneur needs to address when it comes to financing for businesses.One of those truths? Knowing the true state of their financial condition and what financing they do and don’t qualify for when it comes to meeting commercial lending requirements in Canadian business.Business Loans In CanadaWhether you are smaller or start-up firm looking for information on how to get a business loan or a larger established firm looking for growth financing or acquisition opportunities we’re highlighting 3 mistakes that commercial loan seekers like your company need to avoid making when addressing, sourcing and negotiating your cash flow / working capital and commercial financing needs.1. Understand the true condition of your company finances – These are almost always successful addressed when you spend time on your financials and understand how your financial statements reflect your access to commercial loans & business credit in general2. Ensure you have a plan in place for sales growth and financial needs as it relates to commercial financing3. Understand that actual hard facts about cash flow which is, of course, the lifeblood of your companyCan you honestly answer or feel positive about all those 3 points. If so, pass Go and collect $ 100.00!A good way to address your company’s finance plans is to ensure you understand growth finance solutions, as well as how to manage in a downturn – i.e. not growing, losing money, etc; It’s never fun to fund yourself in an economic or industry downturn such as the COVID pandemic of 2020!When we talk to clients of new or established businesses it seems they are almost always talking about sales, so the ability to understand and focus on the differences in their profits and cash fluctuations is key.How do cash flow and sales plans and projections affect the type of financing you require? For one thing sales growth usually starts out by consuming your cash, not generating it. A poor finance plan will drag your business down and addressing financing simply gets tougher and tougher.Three basics always emerge when it comes to your search for the right business capital and financing.1. The amount of financing you need2. The type of financing (debt/cash flow/asset monetization) The business loan interest rate will be dramatically affected by whether you choose traditional or alternative financing solutions. Private business loans in Canada come from non regulated commercial finance companies most often known as ‘ alternative lenders ‘. These lenders are typically highly specialized in one ‘ niche ‘ of business financing and may be Canadian firms or branches of U.S. banks and non-bank lenders3. How the financing is structured to be manageable with your day to day operationsWhat Finance Company In Canada Can Meet Your Borrowing Needs & Why Is Capital Important In BusinessLet’s identify and break down key financings your firm should know about and understand if they are applicable and achievable to your business. They include:A/R Financing / Factoring / Confidential Receivable FinanceInventory finance / floor planning / retail inventoryWorking Capital term loansUnsecured cash flow loansMerchant working capital loans/advances – these loans are geared toward short term cash needs and are typically one year in duration. Loan amounts are typically 15-20% of your annual sales revenues.Royalty financeAsset based non bank business lines of creditTax credit financing (SR&ED bridge loans)Equipment Leasing / Sale leasebacks – Equipment financing in Canada is used by almost 80% of all companies looking to acquire new, and used, assets.Govt Guaranteed Small Business Loan program – Government Loans in Canada are sometimes referred to as ‘ SBL’, aka Note: BDC Finance solutions are available from this Canadian non-bricks and morter crown corporation. A small business loan via the government-guaranteed loan program comes with true flexibility around term loan duration, market rates, no pre payment penalties, and of course the low personal guarantee that is required by borrowers. These two ‘ government ‘ loan solutions are often perfect for financing a new business.If you’re focused on not making mistakes in your business finance needs and want to capitalize on the solutions your competitors are probably already using seek out and speak to a trusted, credible and experienced Canadian business financing advisor who can assist you with your cash flow and commercial financing needs.

People see internet business through an extremely narrow lens. You’re either flogging your stuff on eBay or you’re trying to make it big and be the next Mark Zuckerberg. The reality is that there are hundreds if not thousands of different ways in which you can do business online. There are tons of different business models that cater to any goal or ambitions that you might be thinking of taking whether its selling other people’s products online as an affiliate or creating your own products and selling them yourself, or maybe you just want to use the internet as an extension of your already established offline business. The possibilities are endless!The internet is a global population full of enthusiasts of all kinds looking for solutions and products to solve their own personal problems. It’s a global market in which everyday people can take advantage of, all they need is some sort of value to give, or skills necessary to guide people to value that somebody else has created.The Benefits of an Online BusinessLow Start-up Costs:If the entrepreneur deep down has been calling out to you, you might want to consider the start-up costs on an online business. In comparison to a traditional “Bricks and Mortar” businesses the start-up costs are substantially lower for an online business. A business owner who launches their ventures online enjoy a substantially lower start-up cost than those who choose the offline approachThe “real World” business owner must pay for commercial space, physical inventory, printed stationary and allot more. As an internet business owner, your only real expenses will be your domain name and hosting account. Even if you do need to buy inventory or maybe your outsourcing technical skills to get things started your overall start-up cost will be incredibly lower than your offline starting costs.Increase In Earning Potential:If you’re employed full time or working your way up the corporate ladder, your earnings are determined by the amount of hours, and position your in. The time it takes to double your income would be obscene in the offline world, (not impossible, But defiantly harder) say you’re making $80,000 a year, how long do you think it would take to make that $80,000 to $160,000. My guess is a very long time.
Online if you learn to sell one product you can teach yourself to sell 50. If you create 1 successful business what’s to say you can make another, or maybe a few more. There’s a whole market for website flipping. People make a living off creating websites and online businesses and flip them for people who want a business that already has market traction. The truth is that the sky is the limit for your online business.Job Security:When you learn the skills required to sell products online, or create some sort of online revenue the chances are that you’ll be able to repeat this process. If you’re willing to learn the skills necessary to take your business to the next level is up to you. There’s not going to be a shortage of affiliate programs or people online to sell to.Wider network clients and buyers:If you were to start a business in your country’s capital city or the most populated city in the world, you would be pretty confident that the earning power of your business would be astronomical. There are people making a killing in your local cities with successful businesses. Now imagine how many people are online, online you have access to a huge global network of clients and buyers.Online you don’t have to compete against other agencies in your area for the same small pool of customers and clients. Instead you have access to an enormousness pool of people in which you only need the tiniest fraction to make yourself an incredibly comfortable living. You’re free to think as big as you want online. There’s no shortage of people or market space.Free Time:Wouldn’t you love to have the time to do the things you want in your weeks and days? I remember watching some of Ray Higden’s videos about his story of when he was in corporate America. He says he spent more time with picture frames of his kids then actually seeing them.Don’t you hate having to wait for traffic, taking orders from a boss, asking permission for taking holidays? Having an online business fixes all of this. You’re able to work at home when you have an online income. You can spend more time with your family, spend time traveling and best of all having the time to do the things that you want to do.Your business is open and running 24/7Instead of the 9-5 opening hours of the traditional “Brick and Motor” shop, when you set your business up online its open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. You can literally make money while you sleep! You do the work upfront and then you reap the rewards long after you’re done.You’re even able to automate most aspects if not all aspects of your business depending on your business model. There are endless amounts of products available to help automate your business. By doing this you can turn your online business into a valuable asset that will provide for you constant passive income.Freedom to Work from AnywhereYou physical presence doesn’t matter when you’re working online. As long as you have a laptop and an internet connection you’re able to work from half way around the world if you want. Where you work is totally up to you, whether it’s in your favorite coffee shop or if it’s while you’re on holidays the decision is totally yours!The Satisfaction of working for yourselfMy opinion is that creating your own business or enterprise beats working for someone else or underneath someone else. The satisfaction of creating your own income and knowing that it’s you that’s in charge of your pay check infinitely more fulfilling then being another cog in the corporate machine.The principles of Online business success is the same as any offline business. You have to have a great idea, have a good solid business plan and there should be a value proposition for potential clients. With the increase in new technologies getting your business online is become easier and cheaper. The best time to start is right now!If you enjoyed this article or this article helped you in anyway please re-tweet or comment.Andrew