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5 Effective Ways to Solve Seasonal Cash Flow Business Challenges

5 Effective Ways to Solve Seasonal Cash Flow Business Challenges

14
Dec 2020
24
Jan 2025

The great majority of small businesses go under because of cash flow issues. You know the importance of cash flow for that reason. That doesn’t mean you don’t face seasonal cash crunches.Seasonal cash flow struggles are quite common, even among established businesses. You can take the strain off by employing these five effective methods of solving cash flow challenges.

Know Your Problem Seasons

The first step in combating cash flow challenges is know your problem seasons. For seasonal businesses, this may be obvious. If you run a golf course, you might find cash flow tightens up during the winter. If, by contrast, you have a ski club, then winter could be boom season for you.Knowing when you’re most likely to run into trouble can help you plan for those dry spells more effectively.

Shift the Timing of Financial Commitments

Once you know when your cash crunches are most likely to happen, you can work on scheduling around them. Try to shift any major financial commitments to other times of the year.This might include adjusting when you order stock or how you organize your tax year. A golf course may not want to make a major tax payment at the end of April, because funds are already tight.You may not be able to move every financial commitment, and that’s fine. By shifting some earlier or later in the year, though, you can make all your obligations easier to manage.

Offer Incentives for Customers to Pay Early

Another tip for meeting seasonal cash flow challenges is to entice customers to pay early. If you invoice your customers, you could offer them a discount if they pay before the indicated due date.You may encourage prepayment or even down payments. For example, if you run a mattress shop, then you could ask people to put a down payment on their purchase.You can make this a seasonal offer and encourage customers to “buy ahead.” With more money flowing in, you’ll have an easier time managing your cash flow.

Get a Merchant Cash Advance

Sometimes, the answer to cash flow challenges is credit. That’s particularly true of seasonal cash crunches since they’re usually temporary in nature.A merchant cash advance is one of the better choices you have to manage seasonal cash flow. With one, you get the cash you need against expected future sales. As sales take place, you’ll pay back the advance.

Diversify Your Business

One of the best ways to solve seasonal cash flow issues is to diversify the business. If you run a golf course, you might also operate a banquet hall. Acting as a wedding venue can keep cash flowing, even during the winter season.If you face seasonal challenges, think about the ways in which you can diversify and offer more to your clients all year long.

Get a Helping Hand with an MCA

If you’re feeling pinched, it might be time to get a merchant cash advance. Get in touch with the experts and discover what the right financing option can do for your business.

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Looking to get a loan? Perhaps you would like to lease an apartment? If you have issues with your credit card, getting these types of approvals can be an issue. However, there are a number of ways that you can get your credit back on track. Here are five steps that you can take to help improve your credit.

1) Cut up your old credit cards and only use one for emergencies

One of the biggest reasons why people have issues with their credit is due to the overuse of credit cards. Therefore, if you have a number of credit cards in your wallet, it's time to get rid of most of them. Try to have only one credit card in your wallet.With that one credit card, be careful how you use it. You should not use that credit card for regular purchases. Instead, you should reserve it for emergency spending. This will cut down on your credit card limits which can boost your credit score.

2) Pay with cash as much as you can

Now that you are cutting down on your credit card, you should start paying with cash. This will allow you to only spend the money that you have. The last thing that you want to do is spend money that you don’t have. By only using cash for regular purchases, you can be sure to maintain your budget.If you don’t feel comfortable with holding cash in your wallet or purse, then consider using a debit card.

3) Deal with high-interest rate debt first

Interest rates can be a killer when it comes to your finances. Be sure to pay off your high-interest rate debts first. This will help pare down the overall money that you owe. Typically, you high-interest rate debt will come from credit cards or payday loans.When you pay down a high-interest rate loan, be sure that you avoid any sort of high-interest rate loans or credit cards in the future. This will lower your chances of getting into any debt trouble.

4) Start an automated bill payment plan

Paying your bills on time will go a long way to boosting your credit. One of the best ways to pay your bills on time is to simply set up automatic payments. Most banks offer an automatic payment plan that will handle your bill payment duties.

5) Monitor your credit score

It’s a good idea to monitor your credit score on a daily basis. You can check your credit score for free on CreditKarma.com. Also, you are entitled to one free credit report from the two major credit reporting agencies:

Getting your credit card under control

We believe that low a credit score shouldn’t stop you from growing your business. That is why 2M7 Financial Solutions offers merchant cash advance for small and medium-sized businesses regardless of their credit score. Our team is ready to help your business get the funding it needs. Contact us today.

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Marketing is one of the aspects of your business that takes a lot of your revenue. Business owners are sort of blackmailed into spending too much cash just because they have to outweigh their competitors and sort of 'steal' customers away from them. That's how the world of business works. However, a small business is already short on funds, and they can't pour that much money into marketing without affecting operational costs. If you find yourself in a situation where you need to up your marketing game but don't have the funds to do so, you're at just the right place. Here are five things you need to know about marketing small businesses on a budget.

1.   Stay Active on Social Media

Social media is one of the best forms of marketing that you have, and it's totally free. A lot of businesses look at social media as a tool just for outreach. It's a lot more than a way just to communicate with your audience. Social media provides your business with access to millions of people all over the world. The best part is that it doesn't matter what kind of business you have. You'll find tons of customers through social media.

2.   Focus on Loyal Customers

Finding new customers is something that every business has to do to survive. You have to scale your business to grow substantially, and that can only happen when you have new customers. However, in an effort to obtain them, companies often overlook their current loyal customers. We consider that a huge opportunity being missed. You can offer rewards, dedicated customer support, and discounts to ensure that these people stay interested.

3.   Think of Local Communities

Many businesses can take advantage of their local communities for growth and brand recognition. The best part is that you can advertise your business at some charity events, major gatherings, fairs, etc.

4.   Reward Programs

Your current customers can be a gateway to obtaining brand-new clients as well. Reward programs are an amazing incentive that encourages people to recommend your company or service to their friends and family. Word of mouth drives an average of $6 trillion in revenue for businesses globally. That's more than enough incentive you need to start a rewards program.

5.   Merchant Cash Advance

If you're planning to ramp up your marketing efforts but don't necessarily have the budget on-hand to make it happen, there are many financial organizations in the market that provide merchant cash advances. These MCAs are a lot different as compared to standard business loans. Instead of having to pay the money back in a lump sum, you’ll be returning the money through a percentage of your profits.

Closing Thoughts

Marketing does work, especially when it's carried out effectively and with consistency. Many will argue that it's one of the most profitable and, if you can’t seem to get your marketing done on a budget, 2M7 financial solutions is here to help you. We offer merchant cash advance to businesses in Canada. So, if you need some extra cash to fund your marketing campaigns, give us a call today to learn more.

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Inspire Others

A successful leaders are able to inspire those they work with, getting them to believe in their vision and have confidence in the plan and strategy for the future.

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People need to have trust in their leaders. Transparency, honesty and the ability to follow through are excellent qualities for the leader of a department or team.

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When you are in charge of a group of people or overseeing a project, a leader should be able to face challenges and solve problems efficiently.

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Respected leaders create a vision and are able to motivate others into wanting to achieve the same goals. Teams that are aligned and working together with a true purpose tend to have long-lasting success.

Drive Results

No matter how they choose to get their message across, a leader has to drive results. Great leaders have a high level of perseverance and aren’t satisfied until they have got the job done.

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