New small businesses spend almost 50 percent of their sales on marketing, while established businesses spend almost 30 percent annually. This may seem like a lot of money, but marketing is the life blood of a good business. It builds your brand, generates buzz, and wins customers. Unfortunately, too many business owners ignore marketing and it is often the first thing cut when money gets tight. If there’s little to no room in the budget for marketing, there are still some good financing options available to business owners.
For New Businesses
There are a variety of options for start-ups to pursue for marketing financing. Some seek out lines of credit from traditional lenders like banks. This can work if the business has good credit or if the lenders see the business as a low risk investment. Banks will give owners a line of credit to use when necessary. Owners can draw on lines of credit to finance marketing strategies over time. This can be advantageous because you only pay interest on the money used as with a credit card.
Some new business owners also use credit cards to fund their companies. Although this can become overwhelming if money is not managed well and debt begins to accumulate. To avoid excessive debt, some entrepreneurs use family and friends as a source of financing or turn to online crowdsourcing websites to generate cash.
Established Businesses
A line of credit and the other sources of funding mentioned for new companies can be utilized for established businesses as well. Still there are other ways for to attain funding for marketing to keep your company in the green. For example, there is the SBA Express loan program. SBA Express can finance up to $350,000 for the right business. There is no collateral required for loans up to $25,000. However a good business plan and strong credit are required to attain this type of loan.
Business owners can attain an SBA Microloan. These loans range from $500 to $50,000 and are offered by microlenders. Microloans are compatible with small businesses such as retailers, hair salons, restaurants, and so on, that don’t have huge financial needs or don’t’ have great credit.
If your small business has bad credit but needs funding for marketing or other business essentials there is still hope. FAM is an online merchant cash advance organization that helps small businesses reach their financial goals with competitive rates and short term loans. FAM can and will give business cash advances to merchants with bad credit. Contact us to learn more about merchant cash advance loans for small businesses.