No one wants to be held back at any point in business, but there are times when being slow to act can be costly. Successful businesses are agile, opportunistic and fast thinking, and these traits are invaluable and more difficult to be taught. This mindset coupled with fast access to finance has allowed successful businesses to propel their growth and equally, when a lack of fast funding is the reason for an opportunity to pass you by, it can be hugely frustrating.
From giants of industry to new niche companies meeting new demands today, here we’ll look at examples of different types of businesses that have been able to take advantage of having access to funding quickly, and what this has enabled them to do.
Explore new market opportunities
From being able to invest in capital to jumping on trends while they are still at their most popular, having the cash your business needs to make its next project a reality is essential for making the most of opportunities. Securing finance can also open you up to newer possibilities once you’ve had the chance to reevaluate your potential, such as pivoting into new product ranges.
Take the recent revival of vinyl records. In 2021 UK vinyl sales were at their highest rate for 30 years. From the bands clever enough to offer vinyl recordings to the businesses making the pressings, there is money to be made for those tuned into the opportunities and with the finances to do something about it.
The growth of interest in vintage music production has even seen a surge in the demand for cassettes, and while the production levels of these will be on a smaller scale, businesses able to invest in new strategies, products and sales channels will gain from this consumer shift.
The magnetic strip producer Mulann was one business that saw the chance to pivot their efforts into audio tape and cassette production, under the company Recording the Masters. From producing just 9,000 units a month in 2019, this grew to 30,000 a month by 2020. Opportunities are there for those who are able to take them, and fast financing is one way that you can take advantage of this.
Keep consistent and increased growth
The way you get your financing should match your approach to business growth – as quickly as you are willing and able to. Your access to debt finance should make the goals that you had for your business that much easier and faster to achieve and fast financing can allow your business to take off. This growth could be investing in new staff and keeping pace with your competition.
Even some of the largest companies to date have humble beginnings – take the coffee giant Starbucks, which benefited from financing early on in its history. A bank loan of $5,000 helped the three founders open their first shop and this kickstart helped to propel them onto exponential growth they enjoy today.
When it comes to the hospitality sector, financial support is critical for investing in premises for new hotels, restaurants and bars or cafes, compared to e-commerce businesses that mainly trade online.
Taking on new talent
We strongly believe that one of the greatest assets a business can have is exceptional employees. Having some of the brightest thinkers behind you can help propel your business forward with new ideas and provide greater capacity to execute your next ambitious plans. And fast access to funding simply speeds up the process of getting these great employees on your team and making strides for your business sooner.
We’ve been very vocal about the value of nurturing and retaining the best talent from within, and how a business can particularly benefit from the hiring of entrepreneurial minds. Fast access to funding can put you in a position where you are able to hire the people you need quickly and entice them in with an attractive salary. Take our loans to the boutique hotel group The Signet Collection. Their business concept of restoring grand hotel sites and updating them to modern standards necessarily requires a team behind them to deliver these ambitious projects. Our funding solutions helped them take on the staff they needed to get their hotels ready to receive guests as soon as possible.
Balancing fast financing with responsible lending
While we’ve laid out the benefits of being able to access moneys quickly when you need it, we understand that new businesses may be tempted to borrow more than is necessary, and that this could result in a cycle of debt that ultimately hurts the business. However, OakNorth can offset some of these hurdles when customers consider that our loan terms are bespoke, we invite prospective customers to our credit committees, and that we foster our relationships with our customers to such a standard that we’re deeply tuned into any challenges and needs that may face through the lifecycle of the loan. We’re going to great lengths to ensure that our lending is responsible and is suited to each individual customer, so that when funding is granted quickly, customers can know that this has been done with consideration.
Looking for a lending partner that understands the need for fast financing? OakNorth can assist with business loans from £250,000 up to tens of millions, with cash typically available in weeks, not months.
