Tips for Growing Your Small Business

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So you run your own company.  Things are going fairly well but you don’t seem to be growing quite as fast now as you were a few years ago.  Every business knows, you have to continue growing to continue thriving.  You have been trying a bunch of different ideas to try and continue growing your business but nothing really seems to be working for you.  Well here are a few tips to try and help continue growing your small business.

The first thing you should do to help your business grow is something called prospecting.  Prospecting is the act of finding people that have a want and need for your product or service and also the ability to pay for it.  Many people may want what you have to offer but finding people that will pay for what you offer is the key.  Prospecting is not simply finding and selling to someone.  You must build a working relationship with the person.

Next, another thing you can do to help grow your small business is by getting your name out there.  Flyers, billboards, sponsoring local sports teams, and anything else along those lines that is getting your name out to the masses is going to be beneficial to your company.  In recent years, social media marketing has made a huge impact on small businesses.  Social media marketing is very little cost to a company but can get their name out there on a massive scale.  Being known is vital to any company’s growth.

Last, never underestimate the power of what great customer service can do for your company.  By having great customer service, people are going to tell other people about how well your company treats people and this will expand your clientele.

Continuous growth is a much desired trait for every company.  Follow these tips and keep your company afloat.  Continuing growing is the best way to continue thriving as a company.

Using New Money for Old Debt

It happens to every company.  You have debt from a while ago that is still piling up and you are not quite sure on how to pay for it.  All of a sudden, you get some new investors in your company and now you have some extra money.  You think, well I should pay off all of my old debts right away since I now have extra cash.  Though it seems like an obvious thing to do, it may not be the best choice for you and your company.  Here are a few reasons on why you should not use new money to pay for your old debt.

The first reason you may not want to use this new money to pay off the older debts is because the expected return the investor would be demanding may be more than the interest that the debt is accumulating.  If an investor is demanding a 10% return while your interest on the debt is only around 5%, you would rather not have to pay the investors return.  Using that money to pay off the older, 5% debt could cause you to get into a hole and the investor will be expecting his return.

Another reason you may not want to use the new money to pay off that burdensome old debt is because you may need to use that money to invest immediately to try and turn a profit.  If you are to use the money to finance projects first, pay the debt off after the investments shows a return.  This way you are making money currently without spending all your money on a debt.

Debt is a tricky thing.  Sometimes it can be good, sometimes it can be bad.  Regardless of if it is beneficial or not, it is going to need to be paid.  But, don’t waste your recent money on paying off that old debt if it could harm you in the long run.

Is all debt bad debt?

Why Not All Debt is Bad Debt

As is the case with all businesses in the world, they are always going to be facing debt.  But, debt is not always a bad thing.  Debt can be used for many reasons such as upgrading facilities, investing in new technology, and even for financing new products.  How a company uses the debt and handles the debt is what makes the all the difference in the world and determines whether the company will be successful or not in the long run.  There are many incentives for a company to have debt.

First, one major reason that a company wouldn’t mind having debt is because it can become a major tax break for a corporation.   Tax rates on corporations are extremely high and the government allows corporations to deduct their debt from their corporate income taxes.  This highly encourages companies to continuously spend money because it will save them money in the long run.

Another reason that a company may not mind having debt on their books is because  having debt would be cheaper than financing projects through equity.  Equity financing becomes expensive because while you are not obligated to pay shareholders any form of dividends, they are still going to expect a certain rate of return.  Financing through debt eliminates that shareholder expectation on an investment and a bank loan will typically result in a lower rate of interest.

Debt can be extremely beneficial to a company as long as it is handled in the proper way.  Improvements, repairs, and things of that nature would not always be possible if it weren’t for debt.  As the saying goes, ”you have to spend money to make money.”  Spending money is the only way for a company to ensure it will continue to grow and prosper.

What should I do when I need to settle my debt?

Getting Debt Settled

Taking care of your debt can be one of the biggest reliefs a person or company can feel.  Debt seems to have a way of building up and becoming more and more of a burden over time, especially if that debt is delinquent.  Delinquent debt can haunt you for a long time if it is not taken care of.  Getting on top of your debt and reaching a debt settlement is an important and necessary job.  Here are a few tips for debt settlement.

The first thing you should do to settle debts is to call the creditor when you begin to get behind on your bills.  The creditor is going to expect payment on time and if you do not call them, they have no way of knowing your situation.  If the recent delinquent payments were because of a greatly unexpected bill such as a car issue or medical emergency, they may be willing to help out.  Creditors want to get paid so they will work with you somewhat and cut a little bit of slack if it means they will be getting paid eventually.  Sometimes they will work with you, sometimes they won’t.  Asking is the best way to help yourself out.

The next thing you will need to do to settle all your debt is develop a budget plan and stick to it.  Developing a budget will be one of the most useful tools you can use to settle debt.  When developing your budget plan, map out your expenses for various items such as rent, insurance, etc and then figure out how much money you can put towards the debt per month.  Avoid unnecessary expenses such as fancy dinners, jewelry, and anything of that nature and focus solely on getting ahead of your debt.

Getting ahead of your debt and settling it can be a truly overwhelming feeling, so be careful not to get yourself back into the same boat.  The easiest way to pay your debt is to not have any.  If you’re willing to get your debts settled but still focus on running your business, contact American Corporate Turnaround to get help in restructuring your debt.