Sin categorizar Archives - Página 4 de 17

Remain agile and lay the groundwork for growth in the manufacturing industry

diciembre 16, 2022/en Alternative Finance, Sin categorizar/por Helen Burnett-Nichols

To experience growth in the manufacturing industry, companies need to be ready to pivot in the face of changing conditions.

While demand has recently been steady for companies in some sectors, for others it has eased off. For instance, this year in the manufacturing industry, persistent industry and economic roadblocks are making it hard for manufacturers to stay agile, meet their obligations and take advantage of opportunities to grow.

So what is the best way forward for manufacturers, no matter what scenario they find themselves in? Keep reading to find out more about the factors affecting growth in the manufacturing industry and why having the working capital to stay flexible is critical to success.

Unpredictability is the new norm for manufacturers

For most in the industry, conditions have been in a constant state of flux over the last three years, starting with the COVID-19 pandemic, where restrictions affected more than 85% of Canadian manufacturers in 2020.

The sector faced major supply chain issues between the onset of the pandemic and summer 2022. In Canada, the total number of manufacturers dealing with raw materials shortages nearly tripled during that time. And a July 2022 Deloitte survey of more than 200 U.S.-based manufacturing executives found that shipping delays and part shortages had the biggest impact on manufacturers’ supply chains in the previous 12 to 18 months.

Respondents also noted that their top operational concern is the rise in shipping costs, which Deloitte says rose by more than 77% from January 2021 to August 2022, due to rising fuel prices, labour costs and logistics challenges.

Manufacturers may have also experienced suppliers reneging on contract pricing, increasing their costs at short notice in response to rapidly shifting global conditions, such as COVID-19 restrictions and the war in Ukraine.

While sales came back – growing nearly 28% between January 2020 and June 2022 — challenges continue. Although the Bank of Canada notes that inflationary pressures from supply bottlenecks are easing, economic growth is expected to slow next year – to 1% in Canada and 0.2% in the United States.

Faced with their own economic hurdles, your customers may be paying their invoices at net 45, 60 or even 90 days – creating a longer payment cycle that hinders your ability to meet your payment obligations or even to take on more contracts.

In tough economic conditions, ensuring your manufacturing business can continue to thrive really means having enough working capital on hand to pay employees and meet day-to-day obligations, as well as purchase inputs and take advantage of any opportunities to grow your market share.

But as many traditional banks are tightening lending criteria, this may mean looking to a more flexible funding solution.

Alternative funding — helping manufacturers through a volatile market

Finding a funding partner that considers the creditworthiness of your customers — not the immediate challenges facing the industry — may be the ideal solution for manufacturing companies looking to meet day to day obligations in this environment, and those hoping to take advantage of strategic opportunities to grow.

Even if your manufacturing business doesn’t align with traditional lending guidelines, asset-based lending (ABL) or invoice factoring , can offer you alternative financing that’s both fast and flexible.

For companies with a strong credit rating and verifiable financial reporting (such as receivable and payable summaries), ABL has the ability to secure loans against your accounts receivable, inventory, equipment and real estate.

Similarly, invoice factoring can also help manufacturers accelerate their cash cycle, quickly replacing near-current assets — or invoices — with cash.

With factoring, Liquid Capital purchases your outstanding invoices, advances your business up to 85% of the value of your invoices and collects payment from your customers — which allows your company to avoid costly interruptions to your manufacturing cycle. You receive the working capital you need to pay employees, replenish inventory or components to make further sales — and take advantage of opportunities to grow your business.

Perhaps just as importantly for manufacturers in this market, by working with an alternative lender, you’re forming an invaluable partnership with an experienced advisor who has deep knowledge of your industry, will look past current challenges to see the potential in your business and will work alongside you to find the right funding solution.

Looking beyond traditional criteria

Take E-Systems Corp. for example – an electronic contract manufacturer providing services and products to major U.S. defense contractors, health care device manufacturers, and the entertainment and consumer electronics industries. Although the company was on a high growth trajectory, it still didn’t meet the rigid, technical criteria for traditional bank financing.

Invoice factoring represented the ideal way for E-Systems Corp. to free up money tied up in accounts receivable, to fund its rapid growth.

While E-Systems Corp. had a huge backlog of booked orders — almost $1 million worth — it lacked the funds to buy the supplies it needed to manufacture orders. To further complicate things, as the company formed through the acquisition of another firm, it was considered a new entity and didn’t qualify for traditional bank financing. The owners also were not willing to give up equity to attract additional capital.

However, its strong portfolio of credit-worthy invoices made the company a prime candidate for invoice factoring. Through factoring, the company was not only able to receive between $85,000 and $125,000 of funding each month, but also the critical advice and partnership that Liquid Capital provides that extends far beyond factoring.

“Whenever a company is growing, it will experience cash flow anomalies. Factoring helps us reduce the time delta between paying our suppliers and getting paid by our customers. It provides us with the up-front cash we need to finance our growth.” — Ron Finlayson, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman, E-Systems Corp.

For another manufacturing company seeking a more flexible approach to financing, Liquid Capital’s approach to invoice factoring also proved to be the right move. Ridgeline Manufacturing, manufacturers of aluminum recreational products primarily for the summer, had limited off-season cash flow and challenges accessing traditional financing as their building and tangible assets were only worth 40% of their original price tags.

While Ridgeline pursued invoice factoring with other providers, co-owner Nick Newman was not in favour of the short-term approach or lack of flexibility within most factoring contracts, including the need to pay interest on lines of credit even if he wasn’t using the funds.

After meeting with Liquid Capital, Nick liked the idea that there were no minimums and no penalties for factoring one day and not the next. He also appreciated that Liquid Capital didn’t charge interest on money already collected.

“Sure, factoring is higher interest, but we build it into the cost of our product and it’s seasonal. So if I pay more than I would with a bank, but can factor for just a few months a year, that’s a big bonus.” — Nick Newman, co-owner, Ridgeline Manufacturing

Staying flexible in this economy to achieve success

With conditions changing rapidly in the industry and the broader economy, a manufacturer’s ability to respond quickly to meet challenges or opportunities is crucial to success. Agile manufacturers are leveraging alternative funding to get quick access to the working capital they need, bypassing the bank bottlenecks that are even more pronounced in this economy, so they can keep things moving.

Are you or your client looking to access flexible funding for manufacturing? Contact a Liquid Capital Funding Expert today to learn how our alternative funding solutions can help you be ready for anything.

Fostering innovation for long-term organizational success

diciembre 8, 2022/en Alternative Finance, Sin categorizar/por Helen Burnett-Nichols

Leaders need to foster and embrace innovation in their companies to unlock long-term organizational success.

For businesses in most sectors, continuing to adapt, focus on and embrace innovation is critical when it comes to standing out from competitors and overcoming oversaturated markets — ultimately cementing your long-term success.

In fact, according to one study eight out of 10 digitally maturing companies say innovation is a strength of their organization, as they report constantly driving toward digital improvement and investing more in innovation than less mature organizations.

But as Deloitte’s 2021 Innovation Study found, for some companies, innovation has become both a business-critical concept and a buzzword that means nothing at all.

To avoid simply paying lip service to the broad concept of ‘innovation,’ which can result in missed opportunities and put you at risk of falling behind the curve, leaders need to nurture an environment where productive, valuable ideas can genuinely flourish.

For many, the key to success means zeroing in on the ideas and processes that offer the greatest value and exploring how best to encourage creativity across your entire team.

Here’s how you can shift towards a management approach that fosters innovation:

Move away from hierarchical management structures

Although most of a company’s business knowledge required for innovation comes from non-management employees, says the Harvard Business Review (HBR) — many consider innovation outside of their remit. Others may be discouraged from participating in the process by cultural norms or organizational barriers like authority bias. As a result, allowing bottom-up innovation to thrive requires a move towards cultural flatness.

As McKinsey explains, flattening and unstructuring your company can unlock a great deal of long-term value. When you minimize management layers and ‘decentralize’ the innovation process, your company can gain greater speed and agility to move at the pace of change.

As an example, Google takes a decentralized approach to innovation, where different product groups are encouraged to work independently of one another.

This approach will help you empower the front line of your organization to make decisions and enable those closest to customers, clients and products to have a voice and collaborate – allowing for more rapid innovation and effective decision-making.

Focus on offering value to the human experience via technological advances

Making moves to integrate more artificial intelligence (AI) into the workplace can help employees find better, more efficient ways of doing certain tasks, freeing them up to think more creatively.

As HBR notes, automating processes by using smart technology can make workplaces “more fulfilling and less exhausting” for employees. However, it’s important to note that employees should still be responsible for tasks that require empathy and intuition.

Essentially, smart tech can take over the more mundane tasks, leading to a more manageable employee workload and reduced stress, allowing people to focus on other activities like problem solving and intuitive decision making.

For example, time-saving software, such as online collaboration or project management tools, can take basic processes out of employee hands and add valuable time to their schedules, so they can take on more innovative tasks.

Develop a system to identify where innovations may arise

As an absolute necessity to the long-term growth and success of your business, innovation and potential innovation needs a metric. Just like sales and marketing initiatives, you need to know where you should be directing your attention – and your funding.

As CEO World magazine explains, while it is a creative process, innovation is also about discipline, so it can be measured – as long as your company is clear on what you mean by innovation. For example, is innovation something new and disruptive in your industry, or simply an improvement to your existing products or services?

Implementing a system to take stock of where innovation is happening in your business is not always easy, according to the Mack Institute for Innovation Management at Wharton. For example, while some companies look at financial metrics like percentage of sales from new products or revenue growth, it’s hard to link this data exclusively to certain innovations or processes.

Instead, consider process effectiveness metrics when measuring innovation, says the Mack Institute, such as the percent of projects that are major improvements, number of new products launched, average time to market, cost/investment and patenting activity.

If your company is ready to unlock the tremendous value of fostering innovation, you need to have a solid plan with concrete steps to analyze and support your company’s journey. That includes having the working capital you need to achieve your goals.

Need a reboot to your cash flow strategy to support your growth plans? Contact a Liquid Capital Funding Expert today to learn how our alternative funding solutions can help you be ready for anything.

Weather the recession with invoice factoring

Recession-proof your business and thrive during challenging times

noviembre 18, 2022/en Sin categorizar, Factoring/por Helen Burnett-Nichols

Recession-proof your business with these top tips.

In a recession, ensuring your business has enough working capital is not only key to continuing to meet your day-to-day obligations to employees, suppliers and customers – but it can also put you in a position to take advantage of opportunities to grow.

We recently explored why it’s crucial to find the right funding partner as recession looms – not only as lending standards are tightening at traditional financial institutions, but because alternative lenders often approach the funding process from a place of understanding, empathy, collaboration and responding quickly to challenges.

Ensuring your business is prepared for recession takes a multi-pronged approach – focused on your network, your cash flow and some strategic thinking. Here are ways to guard your company against the coming challenges:

1. Know where your cashflow stands

Whether you’re trying to meet biweekly payroll or looking to take advantage of an opportunity to scale your business, you need working capital to meet your obligations. But proceeding with confidence means knowing the state of your finances, so you’re clear on whether you’re on the right track or likely to face roadblocks in the near future.

Conducting a cash flow audit is an important step, as it allows you to take a closer look at your business’s working capital over a certain period.

This will give you an updated picture of your businesses’ inflows and outflows and provide insight into any expected shortfalls before we head into recession, including whether you have more outstanding accounts receivables than you thought. If you do identify a gap, you then have the data in hand to take action to boost your cashflow, if necessary.

2. Cultivate relationships

Along with working with the right funding partner, your focus on fostering strong relationships should also extend to your suppliers. Once a pattern of ordering and payment has been established over a number of months, you may be able to request extended or flexible payment terms, if needed. Some suppliers may also be willing to give you a lower rate on bulk orders or a discount if you pay your invoice on day 10 instead of day 90, for example. All of these measures will help keep your business cash flow positive.

3. Look for growth opportunities

When you’re feeling squeezed by inflationary pressures, it can be tempting to focus on putting out fires during recessionary times and instinctive to turn down chances to expand. But, as McKinsey explains, making it through tougher economic times like these means prioritizing growth – turning short-term challenges into opportunities. For example, taking advantage of new market share if or when it becomes available, launching or improving products or services to meet customers’ evolving needs can potentially pay off in a recession.

4. Take a longer-term, strategic approach

In this environment, strategic thinking is one tool that will keep your business ahead of the curve – especially when it comes to anticipating challenges on the supply chain side or future price hikes in input costs.

Consider moving beyond a quarter-by quarter view to look at what’s happening to raw materials costs and take action to get ahead of potential increases. Recently, for example, one Liquid Capital client chose to take a longer-term view, purchasing raw materials with their invoice factoring capital – in this case, lumber – before inflationary pressures took hold. They were then able to resell the lumber to their clients using a peer-to-peer strategy at a markup that was lower than the market price.

Making strategic long-term investments, such as integrating more artificial intelligence (AI) technology into your business during this time can increase efficiency and help you come out of the recession with a competitive advantage.

5. Leverage invoice factoring to accelerate cash flow

Invoice factoring can play a part in a cost-savings strategy on the supply side – for example, when negotiating with your own suppliers for an early payment discount, using the cash you’ve received from factoring to pay your supplier can result in the supplier effectively paying for the cost of factoring.

Don’t just survive – thrive

Recession-proofing your business over the longer term can also involve working towards building a more resilient supply chain by reconfiguring supply networks, foregoing highly customized components in favour of easier to find inputs and lessening the risks of depending on only a few suppliers.

By strengthening your network, knowing where your accounts stand and thinking beyond the next quarter, you can bolster your business against the effects of a recession – and emerge from this period stronger, ready to take on your next business opportunity.

To learn more about how invoice factoring can help you or your client overcome the pressures of a recession, contact us today.

A recession is looming – now is time to find the right funding partner

noviembre 3, 2022/en Alternative Finance, Sin categorizar/por Helen Burnett-Nichols

As business owners face a recession, the time has come to find the right funding partner to support them as they face new challenges and opportunities.

Just as companies are finally moving past the challenges the last few years brought, more economic woes are waiting in the wings. As interest rates rise in both the U.S. and Canada – with promises of further increases — and inflationary pressures persist, the threat of recession is now on the minds of almost every business leader and entrepreneur.

As one recent survey noted, nine out of 10 U.S. small business owners say economic trends such as inflation, supply chain issues and workforce challenges are having a negative effect on their businesses. Some 93% of U.S. businesses are also worried about the economy experiencing a recession in the next year.

Their worries may be well founded. According to the World Bank, the trend of central banks around the world raising interest rates simultaneously in response to inflation is likely to continue well into 2023, edging the world towards a recession.

For most sectors, rising rates, inflationary pressures and a looming recession are linked to a number of challenges. This includes pricing and contract-related concerns, higher borrowing and input costs along with supply chain slowdowns and staffing shortages.

Businesses in industries heavily affected by fluctuations in cost, supply chain pressures and changes in business and consumer confidence are particularly vulnerable. According to data from the Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals, this is most prevalent in the construction, transportation and warehousing sectors, with insolvencies increasing this year for many companies.

For many small and medium-sized companies, successfully navigating this part of the economic cycle will mean having the agility and availability of capital to pay employees and meet demand from customers.

With rising costs affecting inputs, even those experiencing high growth will need access to funding quickly to take advantage of opportunities in their market.

Recession and traditional funding challenges go hand-in-hand

Unfortunately, just when cash flow is paramount, gaining access to it via traditional means has become more challenging as rising rates are causing banks to re-evaluate their lending risk.

In the second quarter of 2022, U.S. bank lenders began to tighten lending standards for commercial and industrial (C&I) loans to businesses of all sizes, according to the Federal Reserve’s Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey. This tightening is expected to continue for the rest of 2022, as businesses are faced with an expected deterioration in debt-servicing capacity due to inflation, an expected deterioration in collateral values and an expected increase in the exposure to interest rate risk.

Finding an entrepreneurial partner

For many companies, the ability to thrive when a recession hits will mean having quick access to funding via a lender that looks beyond the data and takes the time to really understand your business.

In this climate, leveraging the close-knit relationship that develops between an alternative lender and small business will allow you to weather the cash flow challenges that a recession can bring. You’ll be prepared for working capital interruptions and – perhaps even more importantly – they’ll give you the tools required to take advantage of opportunities when they strike.

Looking at business through an entrepreneurial lens, established and partnership-oriented invoice factoring companies take a hands-on approach to client relationships. They take the time to dive deep into the data and seek to understand a company’s purpose and goals.

They empathize with the financial and emotional impacts facing businesses during times like this, and are ready to discuss potential problems and solutions and aim to collaborate and grow with their clients.

Ultimately, with the unpredictability of the changes that can emerge during a recession, it is important that a lender also has the flexibility to pivot and react, provide predictability and transparency, and give business owners the tools they need to proceed with confidence.

Alternative lenders are nimble and respond quickly to challenges

At Liquid Capital, our clients are just a call or click away from a funding decision, following the initial underwriting process. This can be tremendously helpful in an economic environment where opportunities and challenges arise quickly, and often, unexpected.

It’s common for financial institutions to be slower at approving requests for funding. They can potentially be required to wait for a company’s fiscal year-end or the results of an audit before distributing funds. Operating on a quarter-by-quarter basis, traditional banks also often have little incentive to issue loans with a high cost of administration, especially in the current environment, and consider companies with exponential growth to be higher risk.

One small business recently had the opportunity to scale significantly after landing a large contract to sell their product with a major U.S. retailer. However, the fact that the contract would represent 85 percent of their sales was considered by a bank lender to be too concentrated.

The company instead pursued an invoice factoring solution. Liquid Capital built a relationship with the large retailer’s accounts payable team and was able to notify and verify the receivables. This allowed the client to access the financing to buy the inputs to meet the sales demand – eliminating the need for the company to consider other options, such as prematurely selling equity in the business.

At the centre of the alternative business lending philosophy is a simple concept: a company that is not traditionally bankable can still be a high-growth business.

Finding a funding partner who takes the time to understand your company is one way to guard against the impact of a recession. Keep reading for more tips on how you can prepare your business for the new economic reality.

Up next: Navigating unexpected supplier price increases

Advantages of factoring your invoices with Liquid Capital

noviembre 1, 2022/en Sin categorizar, Factoring/por Sarah Schoepfer

Not all factoring companies are made the same. These are the benefits of factoring your invoices with Liquid Capital.

Invoice factoring can be an excellent solution when you need business funding that’s as agile as your business. Many business owners have seized new growth opportunities and overcome cash flow challenges by partnering with a trusted and reliable alternative funding partner.

However, not all invoice factoring companies are made the same. At Liquid Capital, here’s how we’re doing things differently:

1. We help accelerate your cash flow quickly

While some factoring companies can take several weeks to advance payment, long-established companies like Liquid Capital can often provide approved clients with funding in as little as one day.

2. We help navigate credit issues to access funding

Some traditional factoring companies may make it difficult to qualify for factoring advances, but that doesn’t make sense to us. Given that you’re effectively selling your invoices to a third party, so long as your customers’ credit ratings are good, you should qualify.

Factoring, often considered one of the most accessible forms of financing, doesn’t rely on your company’s credit score, or level of revenue – and years in business are not part of the application process.

3. We give you access to significant funds upfront

Some factoring companies advance smaller portions of the value of invoices. Liquid Capital advances at least 80% of the invoices’ value and sometimes more. That means you can get more funding, more quickly.

4. We don’t overcharge our clients on fees

There are numerous factoring companies out there, and some of them charge high fees. Sometimes these fees are not clearly communicated. Trustworthy factoring companies like Liquid Capital are fully transparent and never charge hidden or egregious fees.

The amount you’ll pay can depend on several factors including the number of invoices you factor and their cumulative value, as well as the length of your factoring contract. Liquid Capital’s fees can often be comparable to what you would pay in interest on a loan.

5. We don’t lock our clients into long-term contracts

Some factoring companies lock clients into contracts of up to two years. However, the more established and reputable factoring companies offer more flexible contracts, some as short as a month or two. And you usually pay lower fees if you do sign up to a longer contract.

6. We protect your relationships with your clients

If your factoring company has poor customer service and pesters your clients for payment, this could adversely impact your relationships. However, this doesn’t happen with well-established factoring companies that offer high levels of consistently good customer service. The only aspect of your relationships with your clients that you will lose is chasing them for payment. Everything else remains the same.

All invoice factoring companies are not the same

Until you’ve worked with a factoring company or two, you might think that all factoring companies provide similar services. But here at Liquid Capital, we pride ourselves on being different.

We’ve been successfully helping businesses for over 20 years by delivering:

Speedy financing: approved clients often receive funds within 24 hours.
Complete transparency: no hidden terms or complicated restrictions.
Expert advice: we consider your unique needs and offer a range of options.
Capital strength: we’ve deployed over $3 billion in working capital.

Ready to dive deeper? Check out our Invoice Factoring Guide, which provides some critical questions and info you may not have considered, which you should be asking of any factoring provider.

Contact us to find out more about how you can improve your cash flow by turning your invoices into immediate cash, with invoice factoring from Liquid Capital.

Here to stay: The benefits of a hybrid workplace

octubre 25, 2022/en Sin categorizar/por Helen Burnett-Nichols

For companies to get the most out of the benefits of a hybrid workplace, leaders and managers need to ensure their teams are properly supported.

While the virtual office was a lifesaver for many companies during the pandemic, it’s clear that it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon — with many employees and business leaders readily embracing the advantages of a more flexible approach to work.

For many businesses, remote work has become part of a hybrid model, as both employees and management favour some face-to-face time while still being able to take advantage of the flexible hours and lack of commute that a partially offsite schedule can provide.

After polling more than 140,000 U.S. employees over the course of the pandemic, Gallup found that nine in 10 remote-capable employees now favour some type of remote-work flexibility, with six in 10 specifically preferring a hybrid work arrangement.

When asked earlier this year what their employer’s plans were for long-term work arrangements, 53% expected a hybrid model, compared with only 32% in 2019.

As McKinsey & Company notes, nine out of 10 employees who temporarily left the workforce and later returned said having control of where work could be done (regardless of whether they were in-person, remote or hybrid) was important to them.

But while the upsides of a hybrid work arrangement are significant – think greater choice in terms of where and when employees can do their work, leading to more work-life balance — in theory, it isn’t without its potential downsides.

Left unchecked, employees working remotely might feel disconnected from the team. They may also end up working longer hours as they’re connected to the office 24/7. This can cause overwhelm or professional burnout if steps aren’t taken to address these issues.

For leaders, as the Harvard Business Review (HBR) explains, maintaining strong ties with your employees remotely is critical – but building and keeping your team connected and aligned on a shared vision is more challenging in a hybrid environment. With the ability to measure their output easier now with new digital tools, the traditional management approach of “command and control” is also counterproductive for a hybrid workforce.

Here’s how to help your team thrive in this new hybrid working world:

Allow for choice and flexibility

Within your hybrid workforce, employees will likely have different plans, with some favouring more in-person work, and others opting for as much remote as possible.

Having a hybrid model with set days in the office provides a false sense of flexibility – in reality, it’s crucial for leaders to give employees control of where they work as not all elements of their job likely need to be done in person.

Amazon decided against a one-size-fits-all approach to hybrid working for its corporate roles, where, instead of setting out how many or which days employees need to be in the office, this was left up to individual teams with the idea that any approach chosen would eventually be evaluated by customers.

Foster strong and clear communication

As Gallup notes, in a hybrid environment, there is a risk of isolation, neglect of remote workers and ‘culture erosion’ – so managers need to double down on clear and strong communication and team-building.

With flexibility increasing, leaders need to be more proactive about clearly communicating with employees about their priorities and progress. Having designated checks-in regularly ensures remote workers feel like part of the team.

Giving employees a compelling reason to come to the office occasionally can help you strengthen team-building efforts. Activities such as having a monthly professional development day, guest speakers or in-house childcare can entice employees to work from the office. Looking at ways to reduce the barriers for employees to come into office can also help, such as offering a transportation allowance.

Move away from the old model

Hybrid workplaces should move away from simply reproducing how things are done in-person – for example, holding endless virtual meetings — towards a new approach that uses technology to involve all team members in the discussion.

When one retail bank was designing its hybrid work arrangement, it quickly realized the model had retained too many traditional meetings. When the bank eliminated some of these meetings and made others asynchronous, it helped to boost productivity.

More flexible tech tools and workshop rooms that allow for collaboration from both in-person and remote employees can replace traditional white-boarding. Meanwhile breakaway rooms can help all team members participate in problem solving and innovation and help stave off isolation and ‘Zoom fatigue’.

Set the parameters

Flexibility can be a double-edged sword for some – while employees can work when they want, removing the idea of a traditional 9-5 can blur the lines between work and home life.

To help employees avoid this, some organizations, have established rules of engagement around hybrid work such as mandating ‘no-meeting zones’ at certain times of the day. This allows employees blocks in their calendar for other activities, like exercise or ideation time. Others have put email disclaimers in place, setting the expectations around responding to emails only during business hours.

Along with letting employees decide how, when and where they work, Salesforce’s hybrid work strategy allows individual teams choose how they communicate, with some implementing ‘no meeting Fridays,’ for example and holding an “Async Week” where employees cancel routine meetings to allow for more focused work.

Success takes commitment

A successful hybrid approach doesn’t just mean logging on from outside the office a few days a week – for teams to ace this strategy, it takes a change in leadership style, a focus on communication and tech tools aimed at bringing everyone together.

In practice, as Gartner explains, companies benefit from the inclusive options offered by the hybrid approach, no matter where employees are working.

At the same time, it’s important to limit synchronous work to certain blocks and let employees take charge of their work schedules. By taking a flexible approach that shifts away from the traditional office model, you can help your hybrid work team succeed – whether they’re in the office or not.

Up next: Lead better with these top podcasts for entrepreneurs

Alternative business funders are fueling entrepreneurism — and the economy

octubre 20, 2022/en Alternative Finance, Sin categorizar/por Liquid Capital

During unstable market conditions, alternative lenders are here to keep fueling entrepreneurism.

Most entrepreneurs have a certain level of risk tolerance baked into their DNA. It takes courage to have a dream, come up with a solid business plan, and make the leap towards realizing it, but sometimes you need a bit of outside help…particularly when finances get a little tight.

And let’s face it — with recent changes in the economy — rising interest rates, contraction, supply-chain issues — it’s not getting any easier to sleep well at night.

That’s where alternative business funders come in.

They can help you accelerate cash flow quickly — often faster than you would with traditional banks. This is particularly helpful when you need to jump on business opportunities as they happen.

Plus, the application process is often easier, with fewer hoops to jump through compared to banks. This makes alternative working capital providers an attractive option when you’re dealing with a lack of cash flow due to late payments from your customers.

Banks are great – when you meet their criteria

When you try to access financing through a bank, you’ll typically need to meet a lot of eligibility requirements first: things like showing a substantial annual revenue, having a high credit score, exhibiting consistent cash flow, and proving you hold a strong debt-to-income ratio. After all, the bank wants to minimize their risk of loss.

These requirements are not a problem for larger, more established companies. But a start-up or smaller business often won’t meet these criteria. This—maybe unfortunately for you—means many prospective small business borrowers get turned away by the big banks at a time when they’re counting on a cash infusion to keep them going. Scary times for an entrepreneur.

Agile and ready

There is another option. Alternative working capital providers have grown in popularity, mostly due to their accessibility, flexibility, and speed (compared to old-school, bricks-and-mortar banks). This makes alternative funders like Liquid Capital a great fit for entrepreneurs.

In fact, statistics show that as a small business owner, you’re more likely to get approved for a loan through an alternative funder than a traditional bank or credit union.

How does alternative funding work?

Instead of complicated applications and strict eligibility requirements, alternative funding companies make it easier for entrepreneurs to get the cash flow you need, when you really need it, thanks to:

Lower credit score requirements: Alternative funders will often approve loans for new or small businesses that may not have the kind of credit score traditional banks require.
Faster approval: Banks can take weeks or longer to approve a loan, but alternative funders can often get the funds you need into your hands in as little as a week.
Easier qualification: Trying to get a loan with traditional financial institutions is often a complicated lending process which doesn’t favor entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Partnership: A good funding partner will take the time to truly understand your business challenges, goals and opportunities, propose a strategy that maximizes value for your business, and will remain an accessible and trusted partner throughout the process.

Creative financing solutions made for entrepreneurs

Alternative funders like Liquid Capital specialize in thinking the way entrepreneurs think. We know you need to be nimble with your financing, and often don’t have a long history of past performance to show to qualify for the funds you need. So we find other ways to get you the financing you need, such as Invoice Factoring and Asset-Based Lending.

Invoice factoring: your go-to working capital resource

Invoice factoring is one of the ways you can quickly inject your small business with cash. It’s simple: you sell your credit-worthy invoices to a funder like Liquid Capital, and you’ll get paid out a percentage of their value right away (usually 80% or more). It’s an advance on payments – not a loan. In essence, you’re transforming money you’re owed into money you can use to help float your business.

This kind of alternative financing is perfect for entrepreneurs, because it’s much easier to qualify for since your invoices act as security for the funding. If outstanding invoices are affecting your cash flow, invoice factoring could be the right solution for you.

Get ahead of the game with alternative lending

In today’s world, it’s easy for entrepreneurs to fall prey to the whims of an ever-changing economy. Having the right network of investors in your corner can make the need for unexpected financing a lot less stressful. Taking a creative approach to funding with an established and collaborative alternative funding provider can be the right move to help ensure your business dreams stay aloft.

Are you or your client looking to accelerate cash flow? Contact us today to learn more about how invoice factoring can help.

Invoice Factoring Mythbusters: Part 1

octubre 17, 2022/en Alternative Finance, Sin categorizar, Factoring/por Sarah Schoepfer

Alternative funding options are often overlooked sources of financing, but they can help businesses grow exponentially. Here’s what you need to know about invoice factoring.

Invoice factoring is probably the most unique — and misunderstood — of financing options available to businesses. It’s not a loan or a line of credit, and it’s one of the oldest funding solutions around.

Invoice factoring (also known as factoring or accounts receivable factoring) is an efficient way for companies to accelerate their cash flow. Most businesses have regular expenses they need to pay while working capital is tied up in outstanding invoices. When you leverage invoice factoring services, you can convert those invoices into immediate cash, rather than having to wait several months to receive the money.

So what’s true and what’s not?

We examine 5 common myths about invoice factoring and the truth behind this unique financing option.

1. The paperwork required can be time-consuming and overwhelming

This can be the case for some business loans, but invoice factoring is quite straightforward and easy to set up. Also, you could choose to only factor certain clients’ invoices, to make the process even more streamlined (such as only factoring your top 10 customers’ invoices).

“With financing, it’s important to shop around, do your research and make sure you understand the product. The solution must be transparent and deliver on its promise, and we honestly didn’t see anything that was as easy to understand as what Liquid Capital offered. There’s so much confusing—sometimes misleading—information out there; when you come across a company that’s telling the truth with no hidden items, it’s such a big help. It really gave us a comfort level we didn’t have with other providers.”– Ken Fincher, President, Defense Product Services Group USA Inc.

2. Start-ups don’t qualify for invoice factoring

Many start-ups struggle to qualify for regular financing options, such as loans or lines of credit, and so might think they wouldn’t qualify for invoice factoring. However, because this financing option is an advance on outstanding invoices, rather than a loan, many start-ups can indeed qualify for it.

These are the qualifying factors that we focus on:

You sell products or services to other businesses, not consumers.
Your customers have good credit and consistently pay on time.
Your invoices have payment terms (such as net 30, 60 or 90 days).
Invoices are within specified credit terms and credit limits.

3. My customers might think my business is in financial trouble

While factoring can be helpful for companies with cash flow issues, it’s also a useful financial strategy used by many large and growing companies that want speedier cash flow so they can expand faster.

Many B2B companies are now used to paying their invoices through a factoring company, especially in certain industries. They won’t think twice about it and certainly won’t assume you’re in financial trouble.

4. Invoice factoring is only for large companies

Smaller companies and start-ups may be under the misconception that factoring is only for big businesses with huge numbers of invoices, but this is simply not the case. In fact, Liquid Capital deals predominantly with small and medium-sized B2B companies.

5. The advanced money can only be used for specific expenses

This can often be the case for term loans: banks will only lend for specific reasons, such as for buying equipment or machinery. Invoice factoring is not a loan, however, so it doesn’t come with restrictions on how the money can be used. You can use the money to make payroll, pay monthly expenses or finance expansion — anything you choose, in fact.

Selecting the right funding partner

When using alternative financing options such as invoice factoring, it’s important that you select the right funding partner for your business (or your client’s business).

While there are many invoice factoring companies, not all of them are cut from the same cloth. It’s important that you and your funding partner share common values and a desire to work towards the same goal – accelerating your cash flow and keeping your business growing.

Contact us to find out more about how you can improve your cash flow by turning your invoices into immediate cash, with Liquid Capital’s invoice factoring.

The importance of shared values in referral partnerships

octubre 4, 2022/en Alternative Finance, Sin categorizar/por Sarah Schoepfer

When it comes to an ecosystem of funding referral partnerships, what determines whether a relationship is likely to last or be successful? Hint: it all comes down to sharing your values.

Whether you’re a business development officer, finance professional, accountant or agent, the seeds you plant will determine what comes to fruition down the way.

While speed and responsiveness are key to relationship building, they will always be trumped by trust—and trust is determined by offering reliable counsel. That means putting people first and seeing relationships as the ultimate drivers of business growth.

Business professionals play an important role in driving economic growth for the businesses they help. Indeed, 92 per cent of respondents in a Nielsen report say they trust recommendations from people in their professional network more than any other source. And 88 per cent of B2B decision-makers rely on word-of-mouth (both online and offline) for “information and advice,” according to Capterra.

Building a relationship-based business

Perhaps a client has reached out, but you’re unable to help with their specific business challenge. Maybe they need help outside your area of expertise. Or maybe they don’t yet meet the minimum requirements to access traditional funding options. However, you still want to help your client and maintain a good relationship.

If you help businesses deal with cash flow challenges, you could be working with a variety of funding partners—and you may be looking for (or already using) a referral partner that specializes in alternative business funding. But without a values alignment, you may not be in the same position to service your clients with the advice they need.

Working with a referral partner who specializes in alternative business funding can help you grow your business, while helping your clients. But you want to make sure that any partner you work with will act as an extension of your brand—and maintain your reputation as a trusted advisor.\

Why do you need a referral partner?

There are a lot of reasons to consider this type of strategic partnership. First off, you’re putting your client first and helping them meet their needs, even if you can’t help them directly. Creating a great experience for your clients will increase the likelihood they’ll return to you in future and recommend you to their network.

And, if you build a strong relationship with your referral partner, they’ll also be more likely to send their clients your way. And you may even receive a referral bonus if your client’s financing request is approved by your referral partner.

But recommending a client (or potential client) to another business partner can be daunting. After all, you don’t want to risk your reputation. Before entering into a partnership, take the time to research your potential referral partner. You’ll want to find out what kind of funding solutions they offer, their terms and rates, and how long they’ve been in business.

Questions to ask:

It’s also important to ask questions to help ascertain whether they’ll be a good fit for your business—which goes beyond their stated capability to fund deals.

Are your goals, values, missions and business needs aligned?
Are they a thought leader in their field?
In which ways are they at the forefront of their industry?
Have they demonstrated a willingness to go deeper to find a solution with other clients?
Most importantly, will they uphold your reputation if you send them clients?

Taking a people-first approach

Taking a people-first approach turns a transactional relationship—one that focuses on providing a service or fulfilling an order—into a dimensional partnership. That means focusing on building a relationship, not completing a transaction, even if it means referring business elsewhere.

For example, when Claudia Serna started her trucking business in San Marcos, Texas, she had just one truck. Over the years, she expanded her fleet and built up a highly successful business. But, like many other business owners, she struggled with delays between receiving payments from her customers and paying her subcontractors.

So she turned to her business advisor at the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, who in turn suggested she seek assistance from his connection at Liquid Capital. After getting to know Claudia’s business needs and challenges, the Principal at Liquid Capital in Austin helped her set up invoice factoring so she could immediately pay her subcontractors—and significantly improve her cash flow, growing the company by 20 per cent.

Read the full story here: Serna’s Trucking: Driving results within the construction industry

This was good for business, but also built trust with her advisor at the Chamber of Commerce. Serna’s Trucking—which sees consistent year-over-year growth—is now a strong contributor to the local economy, and Claudia uses her success to make donations and give back to the community, including assisting teen sports programs at local schools.

Relationships are everything

Working with a referral partner who shares your values will help your clients in a way that will deepen your relationships and expand opportunities for your business. Finding the right strategic partnerships not only helps to build your reputation, but can also take your business to the next level in unexpected ways.

Liquid Capital has been funding businesses for more than 20 years, deploying over $3 billion in working capital in more than 35 industries. Find out more about the Liquid Capital Referral Program here.

Exciting ways to avoid professional burnout

septiembre 29, 2022/en Sin categorizar/por Helen Burnett-Nichols

While we’ve all heard about the importance of self-care, sometimes taking a different approach to unwinding and relaxing is just what’s needed to avoid professional burnout.

You may be living your dream — running a company you’re passionate about and leading a great team. But when your phone is buzzing at 2 am, clients have questions only you can answer, and you’re carrying the weight of your company’s success on your shoulders, it’s hard to avoid letting the stress take over.

The dangers of getting too close to the dreaded burnout zone are real for business owners — especially as inflationary concerns, supply chain, and staffing issues continue to grow.

As a survey from the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses revealed, two-thirds of small business owners reported that they were close to burning out. And this is a phenomenon being experienced across the border as well.

Gallup’s most recent State of the Global Workplace report found that 50% of employees felt stressed daily – making North American workers among the most stressed in the world.

Although professional burnout is a work phenomenon, it creates negative physical, emotional and behavioural effects (such as headaches, poor sleep, self-doubt, helplessness, isolation and frustrations) that can seep into all aspects of life.

Many of us have heard about the importance of taking daily walks, disconnecting from our devices or getting a good night’s sleep to avoid reaching the burnout zone. But if these standard de-stressing techniques aren’t cutting it anymore, it may be time to add a few more tricks to your repertoire.

Here are some unexpected ways to proactively avoid professional burnout before it starts:

Get (your office) back to nature

It’s always a nice idea to take a walk when stressed. But if work is calling non-stop, it may be challenging to take an actual break, find a trail and breathe some fresh air. If this is the case for you, finding solace in your own space can be a great alternative.

Consider bringing the outside in by adding a few plants into your office — the time you spend tending to them or simply admiring them can have a temporary calming effect.

On a larger scale, the trend of bringing nature into the workplace is known as ‘biophilic design‘. It involves incorporating indoor plants, natural light and natural materials (such as wood or water features) into your office.

For example, industrial analytics firm Uptake in Chicago has worked in natural carpet and other materials throughout its office, including wood beams, green walls, plants and a yoga room with foliage.

The benefits of this approach can be significant. As one Harvard study showed, individuals working in spaces with biophilic features were more creative and had «consistently lower physiological stress indicators.»

Look to alternative solutions

Along with greening your office, other natural remedies may go a long way to providing stress relief. Edward F. Group III, CEO of Global Healing Center, told Inc.com magazine that having live plants in the office environment, combined with other strategies like deep breathing exercises, favourable lighting and essential oils, helps to reduce stress during the workday.

Certain essential oils, such as lavender or chamomile, have been heralded for their stress and anxiety-fighting benefits. If you want to benefit from their healing properties, consider diffusing these oils at your desk or switching your afternoon coffee to a calming herbal tea.

It’s also beneficial to pay attention to your breath when you’re feeling burnt out — odds are, it will be shallow, making you feel more anxious.

Focusing on closing your eyes and taking slow, deep breaths through your nose, out through your mouth, and letting your lower abdomen rise and fall for a few minutes will help slow your pulse down. Do this a couple of times daily to give your body a reliable go-to stress-buster when needed.

And don’t ignore the advantages of the right lighting. As one CEO told Entrepreneur, bringing a minimalist LED floor lamp into his office helped improve his mental health and eased feelings of stress and fatigue — especially when he found himself burning the midnight oil.

Push the boundaries of your comfort zone

As a business owner, you might be tempted to fill your free time with new client meetings, professional development opportunities, or other activities focused on driving your company towards important goals.

While these moves are great for your business, they keep your mind in work mode and don’t do much to help you avoid stress. Instead, it’s time to think outside the box and dedicate part of your week to something completely different.

A study from the U.K.’s University of Sheffield found that leisure activities far removed from someone’s day-to-day work can give people time to develop themselves. It also boosts confidence and recharges one’s batteries — as long as that hobby uses skills different from their job.

Have you always wanted to learn how to DJ in front of a crowd? Maybe you’ve been intrigued by surfing for a while? Perhaps Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is more your speed?

If you typically spend a lot of time writing, strategizing, speaking at conferences or even playing golf for business development purposes, it’s time to activate a different part of your brain and try something new!

Prioritize your mental health

At the end of the day, prevention is the best prescription to avoid professional burnout. So make it a priority to dedicate a few hours a week to a new pursuit, re-imagine your workspace or begin incorporating natural remedies into your self-care routine.

After all, you need to take care of yourself so that you can take care of your business.