Small businesses are often the most fragile form of free market operation around. Startups even more so, because they aren’t subject to the standard rules and codes of conduct which help a business increase its efficiency and stay on top form. It’s important to understand exactly how to maintain your operation in this tough financial climate, so that you’re not scuppered by a mistake easily made but which could cost you a considerable amount of progress. Even if you’ve have plenty of formal business training before you begin your own firm, you should know about the following methods to make sure your operation is as watertight as it possibly could be. There’s simply too much at stake if you neglect to improve your standing with these issues.
Bad Or Missing Business Payments
There’s always a fear that a debtor will take almost forever to pay the funds they owe you. This can be extremely worrying for a business which has limited cash flow in the first place. A large order which goes unpaid or a heavy time investment bearing no fruit can mean everything to a small firm. While a large international corporation might be able to throw refunds to disgruntled customers because keeping the customer is worth a loss of funds, smaller businesses really don’t have the luxury of anything going wrong in this regard.
Putting the structures in place to execute the order or job well is hard enough, and so seeing all of that go to waste, at least in the short term, can be infuriating for the person trying to organize the whole affair. However, there are ways around this. Utilizing a debtor finance firm can help you get paid for your work immediately, so long as you prove the transaction is scheduled to take place, and cover you immediately for delayed payments. For the most part, these firms ask for a small cut of the overall figure which can be immensely worth it instead of waiting for up to 3 months for your invoice to be made good. This way you can plan for the future with more financial confidence.
Solid Employee Contracts
Employee contracts are often neglected by those who work within startups, because a contract means that you are subject to the government’s laws of payments and insurance. However, this also means that startup owners aren’t covered in the event of a great social difficulty within the firm. For example, an interned volunteer who steals equipment can prove difficult to litigate against with no proof, because their absence and loss of equipment is difficult to prove as related. Placing a contractual obligation on the part of the worker you are bringing in, even if you have to define it in the terms of volunteering or working as an apprenticeship or internship position, clearly define what is expected in terms of the contract.
If their sudden absences result in a loss of revenue and work, because you have clearly had them accept the terms of the business arrangement, to begin with, they are much more likely to stick around and fulfill their obligations, and give you the proper notice if something else crops up. Much like debtor finance, this ‘labor finance’ works similarly. It secures an intended asset for your company for a period in which is important in the immediate moment.
With these two combined, you can be sure that your small business has stronger footwork when meeting the capital fight of the free market.
