Conrad Ford is the founder and managing director of Fundingoptions.com. In this post he explores the various options available to SMEs looking to fund their ecommerce enterprise.
It’s no secret that more and more everyday transactions are being carried out online in virtually every corner of the world. And no surprise therefore that there has been huge growth in the number of businesses delivering their consumer-facing services exclusively online.
If you are operating as an ecommerce business, then whatever your circumstances and ambitions, it can be useful to know what funding options are available beyond mainstream sources. So here’s a look at 5 of the best available right now.
1 – Fast business loans
Speed is of the essence in most competitive markets whatever the situation but for e-commerce operators it can be particularly crucial to respond quickly to emerging trends and opportunities. As their name suggests, fast business loans provide companies with rapid access to funds they need. In fact, applications for fast loans are assessed almost immediately and enterprises in a wide range of fields can secure access to lines of credit within less than 24 hours.
2 – Working capital finance
As is the case for companies operating on any scale and in any context, access to working capital for commerce operators is often vital to sustainability and to ensuring growth can be pursued as effectively as possible. The good news is that there are a growing variety of working capital finance solutions being made available by reputable lenders and service providers. It is now possible, for example, to effectively auction off invoices that you’re waiting to see paid and for flexible finance solutions to be secured on very reasonable terms.
3 – Trade finance
For ecommerce companies that import goods on a considerable scale from different parts of the world, it is possible to access what is broadly termed trade finance. The process involves assessments of the credit profiles of operators within your supply chain and can help free up funds in support of your operation depending on your circumstances.
4 – Peer to peer lending
The incredible growth of peer-to-peer lending markets is one of the most striking developments in the field of alternative finance over recent years. Specialist platforms and reliable processes have taken shape and are going from strength-to-strength. For ambitious e-commerce companies, these developments have opened up new ways of securing loans from lenders brought together online and through easy-to-use peer-to-peer portals.
5 – Finance for growth
Operating online means that a variety of pertinent information on your business is likely to be readily available to potential lenders. As a result, it is possible for quick assessments about your company’s growth prospects to be made and for funding to be made available if your accounts are strong enough and your customer base looks reliably robust.
Wherever you might look to find finance for your ecommerce business, it’s important first to equip yourself with a solid sense of all the options available and to know what each potential finance package entails. The best way to be sure that your next move is the right one is to get expert advice in support of your decision-making processes.
