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Business loans and finance for a business just may have gotten good again? The pursuit of credit and funding of cash flow solutions for your business often seems like an eternal challenge, even in the best of times, let alone any industry or economic crisis. Let’s dig in.

Since the 2008 financial crisis there’s been a lot of change in finance options from lenders for corporate loans. Canadian business owners and financial managers have excess from everything from peer-to-peer company loans, varied alternative finance solutions, as well of course as the traditional financing offered by Canadian chartered banks.

Those online business loans referenced above are popular and arose out of the merchant cash advance programs in the United States. Loans are based on a percentage of your annual sales, typically in the 15-20% range. The loans are certainly expensive but are viewed as easy to obtain by many small businesses, including retailers who sell on a cash or credit card basis.

Depending on your firm’s circumstances and your ability to truly understand the different choices available to firms searching for SME COMMERCIAL FINANCE options. Those small to medium sized companies ( the definition of ‘ small business ‘ certainly varies as to what is small – often defined as businesses with less than 500 employees! )

How then do we create our road map for external financing techniques and solutions? A simpler way to look at it is to categorize these different financing options under:

Debt / Loans

Asset Based Financing

Alternative Hybrid type solutions

Many top experts maintain that the alternative financing solutions currently available to your firm, in fact are on par with Canadian chartered bank financing when it comes to a full spectrum of funding. The alternative lender is typically a private commercial finance company with a niche in one of the various asset finance areas

If there is one significant trend that’s ‘ sticking ‘it’s Asset Based Finance. The ability of firms to obtain funding via assets such as accounts receivable, inventory and fixed assets with no major emphasis on balance sheet structure and profits and cash flow ( those three elements drive bank financing approval in no small measure ) is the key to success in ABL ( Asset Based Lending ).

Factoring, aka ‘ Receivable Finance ‘ is the other huge driver in trade finance in Canada. In some cases, it’s the only way for firms to be able to sell and finance clients in other geographies/countries.

The rise of ‘ online finance ‘ also can’t be diminished. Whether it’s accessing ‘ crowdfunding’ or sourcing working capital term loans, the technological pace continues at what seems a feverish pace. One only has to read a business daily such as the Globe & Mail or Financial Post to understand the challenge of small business accessing business capital.

Business owners/financial mgrs often find their company at a ‘ turning point ‘ in their history – that time when financing is needed or opportunities and risks can’t be taken. While putting or getting new equity in the business is often impossible, the reality is that the majority of businesses with SME commercial finance needs aren’t, shall we say, ‘ suited’ to this type of funding and capital raising. Business loan interest rates vary with non-traditional financing but offer more flexibility and ease of access to capital.

We’re also the first to remind clients that they should not forget govt solutions in business capital. Two of the best programs are the GovernmentSmall Business Loan Canada (maximum availability = $ 1,000,000.00) as well as the SR&ED program which allows business owners to recapture R&D capital costs. Sred credits can also be financed once they are filed.

Those latter two finance alternatives are often very well suited to business start up loans. We should not forget that asset finance, often called ‘ ABL ‘ by those Bay Street guys, can even be used as a loan to buy a business.

If you’re looking to get the right balance of liquidity and risk coupled with the flexibility to grow your business seek out and speak to a trusted, credible and experienced Canadian business financing advisor with a track record of business finance success who can assist you with your funding needs.

You may be surprised to learn that nutritional supplements vary significantly in quality and effectiveness. Even products with the same brand name may have very different results varying from some positive effects to no effect or, in some cases, harmful effects.Formulations are often thrown together using ingredients which have had lots of media attention, in an attempt to fill a demand and make some money at your expense. No thought goes into what nutrients are combined with what minerals or what enzymes.The fact is, you can’t simply cram a bunch of popular, high profile nutrients together in a pill and expect them to be of any benefit to your health. Without proper formulation, supplements will not have the nutritional cofactors and phytonutrients your body requires. As a result, your body will not recognize and absorb the nutrients and they will (hopefully) pass through your system with no benefit. I say hopefully because, in some instances, they will actually do more harm than good.Now you are thinking, “How can nutritional supplements harm me?” Read on and I will explain.To ensure nutrition is delivered to the cells of your body, it is necessary that each nutritional supplement contains a formulation specifically matched with quality whole food ingredients. In other words, each product contains the necessary enzymes, minerals and co-factors in the exact balance that is found in nature.This “delivery system” should:

Deliver the nutrients to the blood stream quickly,

Ensure the highest absorption possible,

Provide minerals and co-factors which promote optimum enzyme activity,

Guarantee that the nutrients are delivered to the cells of your body and

Support your body’s natural absorption processes.
What happens if the supplements I take do not have a delivery system?Coordinated enzymes and minerals must be present for nutrients to reach the cells of your body. As a result, certain minerals and co-factors are required in order for enzyme activity to occur. If they are not available, enzyme activity “robs” your body’s nutrient stores to make up the shortfall. Over a long period of time your health may suffer and in some cases, the effects may be irreversible.What is meant by the term “cellular nutrition”? Do the cells in my body actually eat? Yes! In a manner of speaking, they do eat.In 1942, the nutritionist Victor Lindlahr published “You Are What You Eat: how to win and keep health with diet”. (The phrase is actually much older but it appears that this publication is what brought it into the public consciousness) Since that time we have been obsessed with the notion that if we eat a well balanced diet we will ensure good heath and vitality.However, in recent history, nutritionists have discovered that it is not necessarily the nutrition we consume but the nutrition that is delivered to and absorbed by our cells that determines our health. This is why it’s important to ensure that each cell not only receives the nutrients it needs but receives it in a format that is recognizable and easy to absorb (eat).What can stop supplements from reaching my cells?If a nutritional supplement does not have the right molecular structure they may not be able to make the journey through the stomach and into the blood stream.Sometimes this can be a good thing. “Vitamin C from ascorbic acid” (have you seen this phrase on labels?), for example, contains only a fraction of the whole vitamin C. If this fractionated nutrient were to get through, the rest of the co-factors would have to be obtained so that it can be utilized. This “robs” your body of vital reserves and may result in unfavorable health conditions in the future.What happens when vitamins and minerals are not absorbed?When vitamins, minerals and herbs are not absorbed they can get into areas of your body where their presence will cause problems. Iron in your liver, for example, can cause liver damage because your body is unable to dispose of it. Other vitamins and minerals, especially vitamins A, D, E and K can cause similar problems in other organs.So, to answer the question posed at the beginning of this article…… Are Nutritional Supplements a Waste of Money?They can be if they do not include a strategy that ensures Cellular Nutrition Guaranteed but ….If your supplements incorporate a good strategy for Cellular Delivery along with:

100% all-natural raw materials that Obey the Laws of Nature,

Nutrition that fulfill your body’s needs not market trends,

A holistic formulation that does not interrupt or interfere with the harmony and balance of the natural functioning of your body and

Nutrition from whole food complexes (example: whole food vitamin) not fractionated or synthetic sources,
You will be surprised at the fantastic results you can achieve.”Guaranteed Cellular Delivery” – What a concept!

There are several potential financing options available to cash-strapped businesses that need a healthy dose of working capital. A bank loan or line of credit is often the first option that owners think of – and for businesses that qualify, this may be the best option.

In today’s uncertain business, economic and regulatory environment, qualifying for a bank loan can be difficult – especially for start-up companies and those that have experienced any type of financial difficulty. Sometimes, owners of businesses that don’t qualify for a bank loan decide that seeking venture capital or bringing on equity investors are other viable options.

But are they really? While there are some potential benefits to bringing venture capital and so-called “angel” investors into your business, there are drawbacks as well. Unfortunately, owners sometimes don’t think about these drawbacks until the ink has dried on a contract with a venture capitalist or angel investor – and it’s too late to back out of the deal.

Different Types of Financing

One problem with bringing in equity investors to help provide a working capital boost is that working capital and equity are really two different types of financing.

Working capital – or the money that is used to pay business expenses incurred during the time lag until cash from sales (or accounts receivable) is collected – is short-term in nature, so it should be financed via a short-term financing tool. Equity, however, should generally be used to finance rapid growth, business expansion, acquisitions or the purchase of long-term assets, which are defined as assets that are repaid over more than one 12-month business cycle.

But the biggest drawback to bringing equity investors into your business is a potential loss of control. When you sell equity (or shares) in your business to venture capitalists or angels, you are giving up a percentage of ownership in your business, and you may be doing so at an inopportune time. With this dilution of ownership most often comes a loss of control over some or all of the most important business decisions that must be made.

Sometimes, owners are enticed to sell equity by the fact that there is little (if any) out-of-pocket expense. Unlike debt financing, you don’t usually pay interest with equity financing. The equity investor gains its return via the ownership stake gained in your business. But the long-term “cost” of selling equity is always much higher than the short-term cost of debt, in terms of both actual cash cost as well as soft costs like the loss of control and stewardship of your company and the potential future value of the ownership shares that are sold.

Alternative Financing Solutions

But what if your business needs working capital and you don’t qualify for a bank loan or line of credit? Alternative financing solutions are often appropriate for injecting working capital into businesses in this situation. Three of the most common types of alternative financing used by such businesses are:

1. Full-Service Factoring – Businesses sell outstanding accounts receivable on an ongoing basis to a commercial finance (or factoring) company at a discount. The factoring company then manages the receivable until it is paid. Factoring is a well-established and accepted method of temporary alternative finance that is especially well-suited for rapidly growing companies and those with customer concentrations.

2. Accounts Receivable (A/R) Financing – A/R financing is an ideal solution for companies that are not yet bankable but have a stable financial condition and a more diverse customer base. Here, the business provides details on all accounts receivable and pledges those assets as collateral. The proceeds of those receivables are sent to a lockbox while the finance company calculates a borrowing base to determine the amount the company can borrow. When the borrower needs money, it makes an advance request and the finance company advances money using a percentage of the accounts receivable.

3. Asset-Based Lending (ABL) – This is a credit facility secured by all of a company’s assets, which may include A/R, equipment and inventory. Unlike with factoring, the business continues to manage and collect its own receivables and submits collateral reports on an ongoing basis to the finance company, which will review and periodically audit the reports.

In addition to providing working capital and enabling owners to maintain business control, alternative financing may provide other benefits as well:

It’s easy to determine the exact cost of financing and obtain an increase.
Professional collateral management can be included depending on the facility type and the lender.
Real-time, online interactive reporting is often available.
It may provide the business with access to more capital.
It’s flexible – financing ebbs and flows with the business’ needs.
It’s important to note that there are some circumstances in which equity is a viable and attractive financing solution. This is especially true in cases of business expansion and acquisition and new product launches – these are capital needs that are not generally well suited to debt financing. However, equity is not usually the appropriate financing solution to solve a working capital problem or help plug a cash-flow gap.

A Precious Commodity

Remember that business equity is a precious commodity that should only be considered under the right circumstances and at the right time. When equity financing is sought, ideally this should be done at a time when the company has good growth prospects and a significant cash need for this growth. Ideally, majority ownership (and thus, absolute control) should remain with the company founder(s).

Alternative financing solutions like factoring, A/R financing and ABL can provide the working capital boost many cash-strapped businesses that don’t qualify for bank financing need – without diluting ownership and possibly giving up business control at an inopportune time for the owner. If and when these companies become bankable later, it’s often an easy transition to a traditional bank line of credit. Your banker may be able to refer you to a commercial finance company that can offer the right type of alternative financing solution for your particular situation.

Taking the time to understand all the different financing options available to your business, and the pros and cons of each, is the best way to make sure you choose the best option for your business. The use of alternative financing can help your company grow without diluting your ownership. After all, it’s your business – shouldn’t you keep as much of it as possible?