4 Alternative Funding Ideas for Businesses

When you run a business, making sure that you have adequate funding to cover all of your necessary expenses is absolutely vital. Ensuring that you have enough capital to pay rent, buy stock, pay your staff and everything else that you need to purchase is essential to making sure that your company runs smoothly and that you don’t end up hitting financial problems. But, what happens when you need extra funding fast? If you already have a loan from the bank and it’s unlikely that you’re going to get another one, how can you make sure that you have the funds you need to get through a tough period, pay off a looming debt, or keep your business afloat? Here are just some things that you can do to make sure that your business gets by.

Short Term Loans

If you have tried everything and don’t seem to be getting much luck, taking out a short term loan to help you cover emergency business expenses could be the answer. Although this might not be the best of options if you have a lot of expenses to pay as short term lenders don’t tend to offer more than a few hundred pounds at a time, it can be a great way to get quick cash for a small, unforeseen expense that you need to pay quickly. However, bear in mind that you will need to repay it, and not doing so could damage your credit rating and have an effect on your business.

Read more: How to Introduce Customer Financing in Your Business

Your Savings

Most entrepreneurs are willing to invest some of their savings into their business, but the sensible ones don’t throw every single penny that they’ve saved in right at the beginning. If you’ve held back some savings for emergencies, now’s the time to use them – dipping into your own money rather than turning to credit is a lot simpler and has less possibility of you running into trouble later on, as you won’t need to deal with a lender.

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is a method of raising money by asking a large amount of people to donate a small amount of cash each towards your project. If your business has a lot of fans, or you need money in order to fund a project that people will love, this can be a great way to raise the cash that your business needs. There are a number of crowdfunding sites which you can use in order to make sure that the people who you’re asking for money have peace of mind that your request is legitimate and can donate to your cause with trust and confidence.

Angel Investors

Depending on the amount of funding that you need and the stage at which your business is at, you may manage to impress an angel investor. Most angel investors are experienced entrepreneurs themselves, therefore they are great people to ask for financial help when it comes to running your business in return for an equity stake. If you’re willing to put together a great pitch and give up a share of your business in return for funding and often even more help and support, this could be the best route for you to go down.

Whether you already have a bank loan and need more funding or have been denied a bank loan for any reason, there’s no need to panic just yet as thankfully, there are a number of alternative methods that you can turn to in order to fund your business. Which funding method so far seems to be the best fit for your company? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Read more: Four Realistic Ways to Fund Your Next Business Project