The New Year is a time to start fresh for both your personal life and your business. Who knows, 2017 may be your best year yet. As we start to think about what we want to do differently this year, it may seem overwhelming. There are a lot of options. But just remember, not everything needs to change.
Sometimes it is the little things that can make the biggest impact on your business. Maybe you are thinking about organizing your finances differently. Money is a big focus in many people’s lives and managing it can be tough. Running your business, making sure the books are in order, and making sure you are putting enough back into your business are all important things to focus on in the new year. Maybe you have been putting off buying that new truck for your home and garden business? Or maybe you have been thinking about opening a second location for your restaurant but need the immediate funding to make it happen. A small business line of credit could be your answer. But it is not the only option for you. In fact, there are a lot of options available to you including a merchant cash advance. Why not make a commitment in 2017 to research opportunities for your company?
5 of the Most Common New Year’s Resolutions
We have already talked about financial resolutions which are extremely popular. But there are many other commitments people choose to make during the month of January. Whether you are looking to start something new or break a bad habit, setting a goal and sticking to it can often be more important than achieving the goal itself. Remember, the journey is the reward.
Stay Fit and Healthy
It is no secret, the number of new gym memberships that are opened during the month of January is drastically higher than the rest of the year. This is in part thanks to the New Year’s Resolution craze; as well as, most people gaining a few pounds thanks to mom’s fudge or Grandma’s cookies over the holidays. So, if you run a gym or two, how do you plan to grab a good portion of those people looking for a deal on a new membership. If the deal is too good to pass up, you may even grab new members from your competition.
This may be the number one resolution but studies show that most people do not stick to it past February.
Learn Something New
Now if you are in business and this is your goal, now is the time to learn how to apply for a small business line of credit. Knight Capital Funding can help and you will have accomplished your goal. Just kidding. We know that most goals to learn something new are not necessarily business related. But if you own a business why aren’t you setting your goals up for personal and business success? This year, if this is your New Year’s Resolution, we challenge you to learn something new for you personally and for you professionally. Your family and employees will thank you.
Fall in Love
Now, we may not be able to help you fall in love but we do know that most people can’t fall in love if they don’t first love themselves. Try doing some things just for you early in the year. This will help you realize how important and valued you are. That way, when you do find that perfect person, you are ready to share everything about yourself. Why not take the time to fall in love with your work as well? As business owners, we can often lose sight of why we started our business in the first place. But this doesn’t have to be the case. Focus on the passion you once had and try bringing that joy back into your work.
Enjoy Life to the Fullest
As business owners, we can often get consumed by our work. There are days we don’t think about anything but our business and this can be tough on our personal lives; as well as, our professional lives. How can you expect investors to invest with you if you aren’t passionate about your work anymore? This year, why not make time for yourself. There is no better time than the present to start enjoying life to the fullest.
For many New Years is a chance to start fresh. To rediscover why you are passionate about something or to fall in love. It is a magical time of year that few take advantage of outside of saying they are going to do something.
As we celebrate new beginnings this year, why not make a commitment to yourself? Set a goal to learn something new and no it does not have to be how to get a small business line of credit (if you don’t want it to be). Whether you are learning something new, getting healthier, or falling love, make 2017 your best year yet.
Raise your hand if you remember the day the first iPhone was announced? When Steve Jobs stood on the stage and announced a product that would change the world like no one could have ever imagined, the world seemed to stop for a minute. This month marks the iPhone’s 10th Anniversary. That is a decade of new iPhones, new features, and iOS updates.
It is easy to think about all the shiny new devices that Apple has released in the last ten years. It is also easy to think about the company’s success including a very public stock split. But remember, Apple wasn’t always successful. And even in the last 10 years they have faced fierce competition and continued to persevere and innovate. Your small business can have the same success as Apple but you must believe.
4 Things You Can Learn about Small Business Loans from Apple
It is no secret; Apple may be the most successful business ever and as small business owners, there is a lot we can learn from them.
Focus on the Benefit You Are Providing to Your Customers
Apple’s design is always focused on what benefits it can bring to the life of their customer. They are known for thinking about things to make a customer’s life easier before the customer even thinks about it. That’s what we call innovation.
Within your company, you can also think about the benefits of your product. Even if you are working in an industry that you feel has limited room for innovation, there is still room. Who would have ever thought the process to apply for small business loans would change, but Knight Capital Funding is living proof it has. Focus on the benefits you are offering to your customer and let them enjoy them.
Think About Your Customers, First
Apple has continued to modernize their designs as the customer has demanded it. The first iPhone was, in today’s standards, a brick. It was heavy and clunky. But as technology has advanced, Apple has too. Even the headphone jack has gone through a massive change. No longer are you plugging headphones into their own jack. Now, the headphones plug is the charging jack.
Although many customers have complained, not everyone is since this has reduced the number of holes for things to get stuck in. No more pocket lint stuck in the jack for iPhone users.
Although you may not be innovating with hardware, you can continue to adapt your model. Whether you are running a restaurant and changing your menu with the season or you are running a construction business which requires you to continue to learn new techniques. Maybe you own a franchise and are looking to expand into new markets. All things are possible but don’t let yourself hold your business back. Especially if it is purely for financial reasons.
Empower Through Options
Whether you are thinking about your customers or your employees, there is a lot of power in options. People want to feel like you are giving them a choice. Even if you run a simple coffee shop, let your employees assign themselves to their positions for the day. Maybe one day they will be the cashier and then making the coffees the next.
Just like your employees need options, your customers do too. There are not many people in the world that want the same thing day in and day out. Give them the option to choose. Make them want to come back to try something new because you have given them too many things to try in one visit.
Never forget, empowering people to make decisions can help you run a successful business. Remember, Apple gave people the power to choose their storage size. The started out with the 8 GB, 16 GB, and the 32 GB options. Over the years, with the number of apps, photos, numbers, and downloads available, the company realized the phones required more storage. So Apple adjusted. The 8 GB and the 32 GB models no longer exist due to customer demand. Now you can find the 32 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB. Talk about listening to your market.
The Right Team Matters
Having the right supporting cast to run your business is key to success. When you imagine the team behind the first iPhone what do you think about? Is it a room full of tech guys? Or do you think about the people who bought the first iPhone? Apple is all about the people including their customers.
Remember, how your customers feel when they walk into your store matters. You must think about the whole experience you are offering not just the product or service. Make sure you are creating a warm and inviting atmosphere. Your customers will appreciate it.
As this year marks the 10th Anniversary since the iPhone made its debut, we celebrate a decade of innovation around the world. When you think about how connected our world is and how far ahead of its time the iPhone truly was, it is incredible. So, what will your signature product be?
Small businesses have the power to change the world but you must believe just like Steve Jobs did. He believed in making the people of the world’s lives easier and did just that. At eBusiness, we believe in making your lives easier when it comes to applying for small business loans. With our simple application for our merchant cash advance, you won’t even believe that you are applying for funding.
The New Year is a great time to commit to being a better boss for your employees. It is the perfect time to figure out what motivates them and how you can keep them engaged in their work. Engaged employees are more likely to perform better and stay with the business. In a world where the millennials will make up the largest generation in the workforce by 2020, we must find ways to keep our staff engaged. This is a generation that was raised with a new model of phones coming out each year so how can we expect them to keep a job for longer than they keep their phone? The millennials are stereotyped to be mobile and ever changing and unlikely to stay with a company past their two-year anniversary. But that can be changed if they are kept engaged and continue to advance their responsibilities within the business.
6 Ways to Be a Better Boss in 2017
Communicate
The best bosses are willing to listen more than they talk. And remember that communication is not always just about what you are saying. It is also what your body language is saying. And typically, our bodies are saying a lot, often without us knowing. Nonverbal communication is actually more telling than words. Remember that people are not always good listeners but most people are observers. Make sure your employees know that they can come to you with problems or concerns. Be open and willing to listen and when needed, offer advice.
Understand the Demographics
As the world is changing, it is more important than ever to have a diverse workforce. That means many generations working together under one roof. Not only is it generational but it is also racial, religious, and many other demographics. Diversity covers a wide range of things and it is more important than ever to include it in your workforce.
When you look around at your team, you may just discover what drives and motivates them.
Value Differences
Never think that because one of your employees thinks differently from you that it is a problem. The best bosses understand and appreciate the differences their employees bring to the table. You never want to hire a team that is just like you because you will continue to get the same outcome. The best bosses hire the people who challenge them because they know it will deliver the best results.
Focus on the Basics
Before you write off someone on your team for not mastering a high-level skill. Make sure that you have worked with them on the basics first. Strong foundations that are built up over time can lead to long-term success at a company. Don’t ask someone to apply for an advance commercial loan with multiple terms and conditions if they don’t even know where to start to get a small business loan. Remember, you can’t build the house without a strong foundation and you can’t get a complex loan without understanding the small business loan process.
Take a Step Back
Sometimes the thing that your employees need the most is for you to give them a chance to try. How can anyone learn if the boss is always hovering around? After all, people often learn the most from their failures. That is not saying you ever want anyone on your team to fail or make costly mistakes but when you can afford to, it is wise to let them try alone. Let them come to you asking for help.
Give Everyone a Role
The best teams are the ones where everyone knows where they fit. How can you expect anyone to buy into your business model if they don’t know what their role is? Make sure your employees know how they fit into the future of your business.
If you are considering opening a new store, why not hire a manager for that location from your current employee base. This not only keeps you from having to hire a new manager and build that trusting relationship but it shows your current employee how much you value their knowledge about your business.
Remember, the small business community was built on relationships and people. As the boss, it is important to remain self-aware and constantly looking for ways to improve. In the long run, being a better boss can help your business in more ways than you can ever imagine.
We promise the feeling you get as you develop employees is more rewarding than all the profits in the world. The first time you can teach an employee how to get a small business loan because you have inspired them to go out on their own will be the best day since opening your own shop. Remember, growing the small business community is about working together and helping others achieve their hopes and dreams and the first step is learning how to get funding like a small business loan. Who knows, you may go from being a boss to a mentor.
If you’ve tried applying for a business capital loan and were rejected, you know what the sting of being turned down can feel like. Don’t be discouraged; the future of business funding can be found in a Merchant Cash Advance (MCA). Find out how this new breed of business funding offers entrepreneurs alternatives to traditional lending options.
It’s Not a Loan
One of the most common misconceptions of MCAs is that they’re a type of business loan. Unlike a loan, which works as promise to repay a borrowed amount of money, an MCA is the sale of a portion of the revenues that your business has yet to make. These future revenues become the leverage you can use to fund your business now. Knights Capital sees the value in your business’s future, unlike traditional banks who are only worried about your past performance.
If You Qualify
Another misconception that business owners face, is that it is difficult to find funding for their particular industry. Seasonal businesses for example, generally have difficulties when it comes to getting a bank loan. That’s because banks like to see steady predictable monthly revenue and tax returns for at least 2 years. Seasonal businesses have an exceptionally hard time meeting these types of requirements. Knight Capital Funding provides Merchant Cash Advances to seasonal businesses every day. Click here to see if your business qualifies.
A Breed of Its Own
Never before have business owners had so many options to choose from when funding their company. We are all part of this new era of entrepreneurialism and access to working capital is available like it never has been before. Want more info on how Knight Capital Funding can empower your business with a MCA? Contact us now!
In 1999, only a handful of providers offering merchant cash advances (MCAs) existed. In 2009, that number had increased to more than 50. For business owners frustrated at being turned down for loans by traditional lenders, MCAs offer an alternative source for acquiring business capital. But how are MCAs changing the business funding landscape?
Changing the Face of Business Funding
In the past, businesses seeking access to quick capital had very few alternatives if banks and lenders declined their loan applications. MCA providers are transforming the business funding landscape by creating diversity and competition.
Diversity Among Providers
With this increase in providers, business owners need to be aware that not all funding sources are the same. Business owners should consider the following characteristics when comparing MCA providers:
- Speed – How long does it take to process and approve an application for a cash advance?
- Payment Terms – MCAs work by purchasing a portion of a business’s future receivables. How much is the total purchase price? What is the percentage of daily receivables purchased?
- Information and Documents Required – Many MCA providers ask for a credit card history and gross revenue reports for evaluation.
- Help and Support – Communication is key. You need a provider that will quickly address your questions and concerns.
Forging a Funding Future
MCAs are stepping up efforts to increase public awareness of their services, and collectively, they are forging a funding future for many business owners. Knight Capital Funding is an industry leader of Merchant Cash Advances. Contact us today for more information on how an MCA can help your business grow and thrive.
Imagine that you are close to celebrating your business’s first anniversary. You’d like to expand your business space, but you’re not sure how to acquire the capital you need. What if you had a way to finance your business’s ambitions using funds accessible to you in as little as 72 hours? You can access this funding with a merchant cash advance (MCA). But how does an MCA compare with a traditional business loan? Below we break down the differences between loans and MCAs, proving that all funding isn’t created equal.
Basics of Business Loans
Business loans require you to borrow against both your business and personal assets, as collateral for the loan. In addition, lenders offering business loans generally consider the owner’s credit history when making a decision whether to approve the loan. A less-than-stellar credit history can greatly reduce a small business owner’s eligibility. When you can’t acquire a loan for your business, you don’t have much leverage for future business development.
MCAs Defined
Merchant cash advances (MCAs) give business owners access to quick capital with payment terms that match the success of your business. Cash advances are ideal for businesses who use the funds to amplify their business’s revenues. Requirements are typically minimal, such as the minimum requirements for an MCA from Knight Capital Funding:
- Businesses must be in operation for at least six months.
- Businesses must generate at least $10,000 in revenue per month.
- Businesses must prove a strong commitment to future business growth.
Typically, MCAs work by applying a predetermined percentage of a business’s credit card transactions and future receivables towards payment of the cash advanced. Click Here for more info on how it works.
