Alternative Financing Vs. Venture Capital: Which Option Is Best for Boosting Working Capital?

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?

Natural Skin Care – Know Which Natural Ingredients Can Help Protect Your Skin

Now that winter’s harsh weather is finally beginning to wane, it’s time to assess your skin’s moisturizing needs. The harsh and arid climates produced by indoor heating and outdoor wind may have diminished somewhat, but their effects on your skin likely have not. Flaky legs, hands that resemble tiny road maps, and cracked lips serve as reminders of the past dry months. Just as you may change your wardrobe to accommodate the warmer weather, it’s time to “dress up” your skin for spring!Human skin is an incredible feat of nature. Not only does it protect our organs from the elements and help to regulate body temperature, but it’s our first barrier from infection, as well. Actually, the skin is considered an organ in itself — the body’s largest, in fact. And, since moisturizers and creams account for nearly 23 percent of the cosmetics market, it’s apparent that we care a good deal how our largest organ looks to others. But, before you slather on that oil-laden cream or lotion, it’s important to understand how the skin functions and to dispel a few myths about moisturizing products to boot.What is Natural Skin Care?Just place, ‘natural skin care’ is helpful for your skin in a natural and chemical-free manner. ‘Natural skin care’ supports to facilitate the skin to take care of itself. A lot of natural skin cares procedures are essentially the similar as those for body care in general.
Eight Leading Ways For Natural Skin Care* The first and the most important natural skin care action are – ‘Drink a lot of water’. Almost 8 glasses of water is an essential each day. It helps in redden out the pollutants from the body, in a natural way. It helps in the general maintenance of the body and endorses good health for all organs (not just skin).* Overall cleanliness is also a valuable way of natural skin care. Everyday shower, wearing clean clothes and sleeping on a clean mattress/pillow are all concerned with overall cleanliness. After all, clean skin is the most essential thing to keep the skin disorders ward off.* Habitual exercise is the next thing for natural skin care. Exercise improves the flow of blood that helps in getting liberate of body pollutants and keeping you hale and hearty. Exercise also facilitates in thrashing stress, which is the most terrible foe of good health.* Vigorous food and eating routines are also suggested for natural skin care. Some sort of food (e.g. oily food) is known to basis acne and should be stayed away as much as possible. Your food intake should be a healthy combination of a range of nutrient-providing foods. Crude fruits and vegetables are known to give bloom to your body and help out in getting free of body pollutants* A fine sleep is also helpful in sustaining good health and in defeating tension. As a natural skin care actions, a good sleep delays drooping of skin.* Defeating strain is one more natural skin care treatment. Stress affects overall destruction to body and health. Drinking a lot of water, getting a sound sleep and exercise has previously been declared as strain busters. Pampering in a temperate bubble bath, snooping to music and playing your desired sport are also good ways of thrashing stress.* Keep away from unnecessary contact to sun (by wearing long sleeved clothes, hat and umbrella etc), is another natural skin care way. Sunscreen lotions are also suggested as essential* A lot of customary and homemade natural care products/ procedures are also renowned to be very successful. Such actions are not only natural and easy-to-follow, but also comparatively cheap. In addition that, a lot of natural skin cares products are accessible in the commercial market. These contain things like lavender oil, aloe Vera etc., which don’t have any side effectsPersonal Skin Care’ Is A RoutineWe all comprehend the significance of ‘personal skin care’. Though, personal skin care is not that difficult and neither is it that costly (in view of how useful it is). Personal skin care is subsequent a routine or a process for attendance to the needs of your skin. Even before you start with a routine, you have to clarify your skin-type (oily, dry, sensitive, normal etc) and choose the personal skin care products appropriate for it. Here is a routine that should work for most people with normal skin.The primary thing on personal skin care routine is ‘Cleansing’. The three main features of a cleanser are oil, water and surfactants. The second thing on the personal care routine is exfoliation. Skin pursues a natural preservation process in which it eliminates the dead cells and substitutes them with new skin cells. Exfoliation is just a way to smooth the progress of the skin in this process.After that, the thing on personal skin care routine is moisturizer. This is one of the most significant things in personal care. Even people with oily skin require moisturizers. Moisturizers not only stop the moisture in your skin cells, but also magnetize moisture (from air) when required.The very last thing on personal care routine is sunscreen. A proportion of moisturizers come with UV defense – so you can acquire twice over benefits from them. Such moisturizers are suggested for all days (irrespective of whether it is sunny or cloudy).Yet again, testing with a variety of personal skin care products and also with the amount you need to apply, what give you most excellent results are the best personal skin care guidelines for you.Vigorous skin is actually one of the most significant ingredients for beauty-enhancement.

Business Loans In Canada: Financing Solutions Via Alternative Finance & Traditional Funding

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.