Small business growth in the UK is what makes the economy tick – as there are millions of SMBs accounting for 99% of all businesses in the country. This fact is not new to many countries in the world because small businesses are the backbone of many economies. You might have heard that brick-and-mortar shops are dying, or that there are more businesses failing nowadays, but small businesses are still essential in keeping an economy alive. Business growth in the UK still prompts and supports entrepreneurs to thrive.
So now that you have a small business and things are starting to pump in. The increase in profits may prompt you to expand immediately, but it takes a lot of careful planning before you can successfully implement crucial changes. We asked small business owners on what made them decide to finally expand their business, and the answers might give light to your current situation. Here’s their take on the signs that show you’re ready to take the leap in small business growth.
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There’s a Strong Demand For Your Products and Services
You may come to a point that you can’t keep up with the demand. You’ll have to field requests for more stocks, order more items than last month, or hire more people to cater to requests. These are strong indicators that your business is rocking – more and more people are coming to your business for their specific needs. You’re becoming the go-to brand whenever people want to get something. You have to prepare everything well in order to keep up with the demand, and that’s the turning point for expanding your business.
But it’s not enough to just have one month of crazy sales. You need to have a sustained demand for your business in 6 to 12 months. Be sure to track the numbers of your sales. This can be easily checked if you have a POS system with analytics included. If you’re confident that there’s a consistent demand for your brand offerings, then it’s a good time to implement changes for growth.
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You Have a System in Place
There will be certain workflows that need to be set in place for optimum efficiency and productivity. These are essential in running your business, and are part of your employees’ function to keep things running smoothly. Be sure to streamline these processes so that it will keep your business steady for the long-term. You can tweak things here and there or as needed in the future. Make your business a well-oiled machine, and it will sustain you for the months and years ahead.
So what if you want to do major changes that will overhaul your operations? Remember to adapt certain changes incrementally so as not to overwhelm your employees and customers. You don’t want to break things up, rather, you’ll want things to evolve smoothly with the changes.
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You Have a Great Team Ready for Growth
Having a great team that you love working with every single day is an element for success. Great things happen when people work well together, support each others’ growth, and are focused on making things better. It’s a good precursor for growth if you see yourself working with your team five years into the future, and if your team wants to grow with you.
You also have to gauge whether your team is ready to take on more challenges – whether that be doing more work to grow the business or take on new skills. See if your team can keep up with the changes, or hire more staff to help them carry the workload. It really does start with having a good team in place, as they are the forerunners of bigger things for your business.
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You Have a Loyal Customer Base and it Keeps on Growing
A sure sign of a healthy business is having a consistent flow of regular customers, as well as new customers coming in. It means that you’re business is serving well its purpose for the market, and people are sure to come back again and again. Your regular customers keep your business alive every month, and having new customers who will become regulars is a great plus.
You might not even have to do a big load of marketing once your customers rave about you to others. There will come a point that they will literally tell you to grow your business in terms of asking you to open more branches in new locations. Some customers might have heard about you from a friend of a friend, and would seek you out on their own. To elevate your audience reach, a few marketing hacks would enable you to get a bigger market share.
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Cash Keeps Flowing In
You have to take note of your business’s assets and liabilities to see if you can keep yourself afloat. Have you reached an ROI or still breaking even? Have you finally reached a period where you are finally profiting? If you can sustain profits and would like to earn more, then that would mean it’s time to build your business into something bigger.
You’ll need a good financial foundation to carry you through the growth period of your business. There might be unforeseen costs and investments that might not quickly give you a return for quite some time. To sum it all up, you need to be profitable for a long time and sustain a consistent cash flow to be ready for anything.
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You Have Done Your Research and Made an Extensive Plan
As you take note of market opportunities, do further research on how your business can grow. It can be addressing other needs of current customers, potential for getting new leads, or answering to a gap in the market. Create short term and long term plans to achieve your business purpose. Then map out a strategy to ensure that you are following through with your plans.
If you need to hire more people, get the necessary facilities, train current staff, or increase orders for stocks, you’ll need a good financial base to get started. If you need financing to achieve the business expansion you’ve been longing for, a small business loan might help you. You might want to check out the small business loan options you can get here if you need quick financing.
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You Can’t Wait To Get Started For the Long Haul
Is your space at home getting smaller from all the stocks and operations that you have been doing? Is there very little space left in your office or warehouse for all the things you need to store? Those are sure signs that it’s time to expand and get a bigger space. Once you’ve secured a new space for your business, it will be the starting point for greater things to come.
Another thing that would bring excitement is when potential business partners contact you on a regular basis. This shows that your business is gaining a bigger reach out there. More people are taking notice. They want to be part of your venture, and would like to give you an offer. You might be considering some of these business partnerships, or hire additional people that would bring value to your daily operations.
The way that your business is run will depend on your vision. How do you foresee your business in 10 to 15 years from now? How much is the annual turnover do you want to achieve in business every year? How many people do you want to help in your business? Do you plan to pass on your business to the next generation? These might be just future projections, but everything starts with a vision that you’ll continue pushing through until it becomes a reality.
If you can sustain your venture for so many years, and the passion is still there, your business can make an impact in many people’s lives – both for the employees and customers.
See your business expansion as an extension of how you are growing as a person. As you gain a better consciousness of things, elevate your skills and expertise, you’ll be able to help more people and create a difference that you want to see in the world. It’s natural to grow bigger when you have already mastered a certain level in business. With careful planning and a solid strategy, you can achieve greater things for this passion project of yours.
One of the best ways to finally implement your growth strategy is to get a business loan in the UK. Unsecured business loans are a great option for small business owners due to its quick processing and low-doc options. You don’t have to secure a collateral or accomplish a lot of documents just to get the financing you need. For loans under $150,000, all you need to submit is your last 3 months of business bank transactions. For loans over $150,000, you’ll just have to submit simple managerial financial statements.
With just a photo ID, valid business number, and simple documents, you can get the financing you need in as quick as 24 hours with BizzLoans. Get a quote by clicking the button below to jumpstart your financing solution.
No Security Necessary
The main thing that makes unsecured loans more attractive than secured loans is the fact that they’re no security. It might be an obvious thing to highlight but it clearly matters. You won’t be weighed down by the pressure and worry associated with having collateral hanging over you and potentially being lost to the lender if you fail to make repayments. If you don’t want to take the risk of losing your collateral, you just need to opt for an unsecured loan instead. It’ll allow you to avoid any risks associated with secured loans.
Build Up Your Future Credit Score
By taking out a loan and then paying it off on time, you will help to build or repair your credit score. Many companies are dealing with poor credit, but by taking out an unsecured loan with a lender that is happy to lend to companies with poor credit, you can start to turn the situation around. Meeting regular repayment deadlines shows the world that you are able to stay on top of your financial obligations and pay off the money you owe, and that will only help your business going forward.
Why Your Business Might Want to Take Out an Unsecured Loan
There are lots of reasons why your business might take out a loan, as well as reasons not to. You shouldn’t take out a loan to cover running costs, but if you want to do other things, such as the things we’re going to discuss below, an unsecured business loan can be ideal.
Grow and Expand
Most entrepreneurs have big plans for their businesses. They want to ensure that their business is one that’s got a bright future. So if the time has come for you to grow and expand your business, you should think about whether taking out an unsecured business loan might help you to do that. It could be exactly what you need to get your business moving in the right kind of direction. It takes money and investment to grow your business and a loan might just be the ideal solution.
Take on More Clients and Customers
If your business doesn’t currently have the resources to deal with more customers and clients, it could be time to scale things up. However, that’s something that costs money, whether you like or not. Taking out an unsecured business loan could help improve the resources your business has available. It could mean hiring more people so that you have the human resources needed to take on more clients and make more customers happy. The loan will cover the costs associated with doing that and it’ll pay for itself if you’re able to improve your profits as a result.
Fund a New Marketing Campaign
Maybe it’s the case that attracting new customers to your business is where your problems lie. It’s not always easy to get your voice heard and make people aware of why they should be taking notice of your business. An unsecured loan could be used to fund a new marketing campaign that gets your message out there and makes more people interested in your business and what it’s offering. So if you have an idea for a marketing campaign that you think might work but you don’t have the financing for it, consider a loan.
The chance to improve your business in the many ways mentioned above offers you a real opportunity that you might want to grasp. Secured loans can offer the same access to financing but come with more risks to your business. With an unsecured loan, you can reap all the rewards that come with having the cash to invest in your business without having to worry about the risks adversely affecting the business in the future. The chance to improve with fewer risks attached to that chance should not be ignored or dismissed.
The Requirements for Getting an Unsecured Business Loan
There are some requirements you’ll need to be aware of before you take out an unsecured business loan. These aren’t too harsh or restrictive at all, but they are important.
24 Month Limit
When you take out an unsecured loan from Bizzloans, you have to pay the loan back within 24 months. That’s the maximum repayment term that’s on offer. Of course, that won’t be a problem for the vast majority of businesses out there. It’s important that you look at the finances closely and decide for sure that this is something your business is going to be able to do. You’ll have a chance to do this when you get a quote from us, so you’ll know exactly what you’re signing up to.
Business Bank Statements
To ensure your business is in a financial position to take on a loan of the size you’ve applied for, you’ll need to simply submit your business’s bank statements. This allows us to ensure that we lend responsibly and don’t burden you with a debt that is too much for you to take on. It’s in both your best interests and ours that you’re able to handle the loan that you take on.
Photo ID
To ensure everything is correct and proper, and you are who you say you are, you have to submit a photo ID. This is common practice and ensures that all financial transactions are above board and in order. It’s very easy to do and needn’t be a headache for you. Once we are satisfied with your application, you’ve provided the bank statements and we’ve checked your ID, it won’t be long before you have access to the loan you applied for.
Getting an unsecured business loan for your company could be just what it needs right now. It’s a much safer option than taking out a secured loan and you’ll be accepted much faster. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us here at Bizzloans if you’re thinking of taking out an unsecured business loan.
