To loan or not to loan: when to borrow for your business

For most start-ups, the biggest obstacle is lack of money. Whether it's initial start-up capital or regular cash flow, funding is a constant thought on many entrepreneurs' minds. And for good reason too: a lack of funding is one of the most frequently cited reasons for start-up failure. As a result, many start-up owners are turning to loans to make ends meet. These can help keep a business…

How to grow your business: Taking small steps

Many business owners believe that business growth is an easy, straightforward path from small to large and often fall into the trap of trying to grow too quickly too soon. This attempt at rapid business growth usually results in problems like losing track of finances and ineffective business operations. In reality, business growth is a series of small steps that make manageable improvements to…

How to grow your business: The human elements

Most small businesses start with an idea and not much else. As an entrepreneur starting out you have to set up everything, see through every delivery and worry about where each penny is being spent. But sooner or later the business will grow too large for you to do everything yourself, and you will need some help to bring the company forward. A successful business is built on a strong, flexible…

How to grow your business: Investors

This blog is the eighth in a series of blog posts on how to grow your business, where we cover a new topic every week to help you make the most out of your small business. This week, we’re looking at how to make your small business attractive to private investors. Attract investors Plan. Preparation is key when you are planning on approaching investors. You should know exactly what you are…

How to grow your business: Networking

Any budding entrepreneur should have an eye towards growth. From new starters to business veterans, networking will often contribute to your success if it’s done right. In this article, the seventh in our series focusing on how to grow your business, we’re going to discuss what networking is, why it is important and how it can help small business owners to build up their company. Defining…

How to grow your business: The benefits of risk

Richard Branson said one of the distinct skills that the greatest entrepreneurs share is they take calculated risks and “the luckiest people in business are those that are prepared to take the greatest risks”. So in this fifth post in the ‘How to grow your business’ series, we look at why taking risks is beneficial to your business and how to apply risk management principles before going ahead…

How to grow your business: Long-term planning

This is the third in a series of blog posts on how to grow your business, covering various topics in order to help you get the most out of your small business. This week, we will be focusing on the importance of planning far ahead. Why worry about the distant future? Long-term plans tend to promote the fastest growth. A trap that many small businesses tend to fall into is focusing solely on…

Is crowdfunding safe?

In recent years, it has become more and more common for startups and small businesses to be crowdfunded – that is, they are funded by a large number of ‘backers’ who donate small amounts of money on websites like Crowdcube and Kickstarter. Crowdfunding usually offers backers one of two things: rewards or equity. The rewards model offers products or other rewards to their investors depending on…

Small Business: Tax Incentives

If you were to ask a group of small business owners what tax incentives they can enjoy, you are likely to get different answers, as there are quite a few incentives out there and they can be quite confusing. Some may be relevant to you, others may not. To know more about what the UK government offers at present and what schemes are useful to you, it is best to speak with a professional accounting…

What is a good debt ratio?

Debt ratio, also known as the debt-to-asset ratio, is one of the KPIs used to assess a company’s leverage, and indicate what percentage of the business is financed through debt. There are no hard and fast rules about what debt ratio is ‘good’, as it varies by the type of business you are looking at, but it’s a good measure of the financial stability of a business. A business with a poor debt…