If your business is financially struggling because of the holidays (or during any other time of the year!), you may be looking for ways to create some breathing room. Not having the money to pay business expenses (including payroll) is scary. Here are 6 ways you can bring more money into your business.
Reach Out to Your Current Clients
When money is tight, one of the best things you can do to grow your business is to provide more services and gain more clients. Reaching out to your current clients serves several purposes:
- You’re able to touch base and find out if you can be of additional help. What other services do you offer that your clients may need?
- You’re able to follow-up and gain information on what you could offer to your clients. What services fall within your wheelhouse that your clients go to other providers to receive? What’s stopping you from offering those services?
- Ask for referrals. A lot of business owners are uncomfortable about asking for referrals. If you fall into that category, don’t worry. If it makes you uncomfortable to ask for names and phone numbers of people and cold calling them, you can create a referral program for existing clients. Call your current clients and let them know that you’ve started a referral program. For every successful referral they make to you, give them a small discount on their next invoice or another small token of thanks.
Be Proactive During Busy Times
One way to protect your business from a lack of money is to be proactive during the busier times of the year. You can put money back to help float your business through the lean times. Do what you can to keep your costs down throughout the year. Curious how you can be proactive and bring down expenses? Schedule your free, no obligation consultation with Clients ARM!
Determine Where Your Cash Flow Could Be Improved
Outside of running a business that may have seasonal ups and downs, it’s important to review the cash flow of the business to determine how it could be improved. Look at every aspect of your business. What are you paying for overhead? Is there anything that you can cut? Can you re-negotiate payment terms with your suppliers? Have you focused on the collections portion of your business?
Consider Taking Out a Loan
If you expect business to pick back up in the near future, you might consider taking out a loan that you can repay when business is back to normal. However, it is important that you do what you can to pay it off before your next slow period. This will help free up business cash flow and you could be eligible to take out another loan in the future.
Make Sure You’re Charging What You’re Worth
Many new business owners will undercharge because they believe it will get them more business. While that can work for a while, it can also make it hard to run a profitable business. Also, if your rate seems a little too good to be true, you could be turning away potential clients without realizing it.
Review what you charge and, if necessary, increase your prices.
Focus on Collections
Collections should be a main focus of your business all of the time. Unpaid accounts directly affect your cash flow. Don’t ignore past due accounts. The longer an account remains unpaid, the more difficult it may be for you to collect. If you don’t have the time to work on collecting, contact Clients ARM. We provide both first and third-party collections for small businesses. With a collections rate of better than 90%, we are an affordable option that helps businesses just like yours get the money they need. To learn more about how we can help you, schedule your free consultation now.
