Learning more about telecommunications consulting firms can be of great benefit to your business or organisation. With a better and more well rounded understanding of how an outside firm can be of assistance to you, you should be able to find the best available resources and assistance. Outlining your options can allow you to find and make use of those that offer the most advantage.An outside consultant can bring the short term expertise you need to overhaul your business model or working process. Making your staff and their efforts more efficient can ensure that your business is a more successful one. Overlooking the potential advantages such resources make possible could be a very costly mistake for any business seeking a competitive advantage.Arranging for a consultant or other professional to assist you in your efforts to streamline your business can be an important step. Even the best efforts of owners and in-house management teams may be limited due to a lack of skills or understanding. Short term assistance from the right consultant may be able to provide you with the results you have been searching for.Contracting a firm or professional to assist you with your efforts may allow you to get more for your efforts. Lacking the specific skills and specialized understanding that such professionals have to offer could leave you unable to produce the level of results your business is seeking. Talent, skills, and resources that can allow you to better work with your staff could make a real difference.With so many professional services to consider, finding the right one can become more of a challenge than it needs to be. There may be many ways that you can make a more effective and thorough exploration of your consult options. With greater insight about where your business may be able to seek the assistance it is in need of, you should be able to enjoy a more successful search.Speaking with other professionals and those who have been clients of the firm you may be considering may provide you with an abundant source of information. Networking and word of mouth recommendations can be of great assistance to you in your search. Simply speaking with those who are more experienced in such matters could be enough to help you locate the right consultant.Online research is of particular value when you are attempting to locate the right consultant. Professionals who advertise their services over the Internet allow you to compare many available options in a very short amount of time. Undertaking a search without use of online research tools could leave you unable to find the best solution for your needs.Telecommunications consulting firms can offer you superior insight and a range of resources to improve your business’s communication and working process. The invaluable assistance that can be offered from the right professional may be just what you need to stay ahead of your competitors. Working with the best consultant may be able to offer you superior benefits.
Comparison Shopping For Your Car Finance Loan
Shopping around for a car is easy, but you need to also consider the car finance loan. Many people think they must take the car financing options that the dealership has to offer. Before you go shopping for a car to start with, people should always make a habit of shopping around their local car financing or car loan companies and check out what options they can get to help the consumer to save as much money as they possibly can. However, do not just stop with your local finance companies; go on the internet, to find some great deals that will save you money. You want to shop around and get as many quotes and as many different options as you can.Shopping around gives you the opportunity to make a list of who has the cheapest rates, and who has the best financing terms. Some will have penalties, especially for early payments or early payoff, and some will not. You should try to avoid any car finance company that will have any type of penalties. If you purchase a car from a car lot or dealership rather than from an individual, you usually always have to have full coverage insurance; buying it from an individual as long as both parties agree and you are the only driver, you may be able to buy a low type of No-Fault insurance.Many companies offer car finance loans with bad credit, and help you build your credit back up. Not all companies charge you an outrageous price for doing this as each car finance loan company is different and has many different options, however they can save you money in the long run. Some of these online car finance loan companies guarantee a 100% loan with no obligations, and it is free to apply. They even offer car finance loans for bad credit and no credit, or any type of credit problems such as bankruptcy, are ok, and they claim to provide the lowest rates in all 50 states.When you find the right car that you are looking for, a car finance loan representative will want to know how far you will be driving back and forth to work, and whether or not you are going to use the car on the job. These questions usually make a big difference in how much money you will have to put down and how much your payments will be. If you have had any traffic tickets, and if you have been involved in any recent accidents can also play a role. They will also want to know if you have ever been caught driving with out a license, or if you have ever been caught driving under the influence.There are a few car finance loan companies that do sell their own cars with low rates, and zero money down, on their used and new cars and trucks. A few of these offer instant credit approvals and immediate cash in a few minutes, which makes car finance loan companies sound as though they are too good to be true. Keep in mind that most of the time if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is; be very wary of websites such as these, and research them as much as possible in order to keep from being scammed and cause you severe stress in the future.
Alternative Financing Vs. Venture Capital: Which Option Is Best for Boosting Working Capital?
There are several potential financing options available to cash-strapped businesses that need a healthy dose of working capital. A bank loan or line of credit is often the first option that owners think of – and for businesses that qualify, this may be the best option.
In today’s uncertain business, economic and regulatory environment, qualifying for a bank loan can be difficult – especially for start-up companies and those that have experienced any type of financial difficulty. Sometimes, owners of businesses that don’t qualify for a bank loan decide that seeking venture capital or bringing on equity investors are other viable options.
But are they really? While there are some potential benefits to bringing venture capital and so-called “angel” investors into your business, there are drawbacks as well. Unfortunately, owners sometimes don’t think about these drawbacks until the ink has dried on a contract with a venture capitalist or angel investor – and it’s too late to back out of the deal.
Different Types of Financing
One problem with bringing in equity investors to help provide a working capital boost is that working capital and equity are really two different types of financing.
Working capital – or the money that is used to pay business expenses incurred during the time lag until cash from sales (or accounts receivable) is collected – is short-term in nature, so it should be financed via a short-term financing tool. Equity, however, should generally be used to finance rapid growth, business expansion, acquisitions or the purchase of long-term assets, which are defined as assets that are repaid over more than one 12-month business cycle.
But the biggest drawback to bringing equity investors into your business is a potential loss of control. When you sell equity (or shares) in your business to venture capitalists or angels, you are giving up a percentage of ownership in your business, and you may be doing so at an inopportune time. With this dilution of ownership most often comes a loss of control over some or all of the most important business decisions that must be made.
Sometimes, owners are enticed to sell equity by the fact that there is little (if any) out-of-pocket expense. Unlike debt financing, you don’t usually pay interest with equity financing. The equity investor gains its return via the ownership stake gained in your business. But the long-term “cost” of selling equity is always much higher than the short-term cost of debt, in terms of both actual cash cost as well as soft costs like the loss of control and stewardship of your company and the potential future value of the ownership shares that are sold.
Alternative Financing Solutions
But what if your business needs working capital and you don’t qualify for a bank loan or line of credit? Alternative financing solutions are often appropriate for injecting working capital into businesses in this situation. Three of the most common types of alternative financing used by such businesses are:
1. Full-Service Factoring – Businesses sell outstanding accounts receivable on an ongoing basis to a commercial finance (or factoring) company at a discount. The factoring company then manages the receivable until it is paid. Factoring is a well-established and accepted method of temporary alternative finance that is especially well-suited for rapidly growing companies and those with customer concentrations.
2. Accounts Receivable (A/R) Financing – A/R financing is an ideal solution for companies that are not yet bankable but have a stable financial condition and a more diverse customer base. Here, the business provides details on all accounts receivable and pledges those assets as collateral. The proceeds of those receivables are sent to a lockbox while the finance company calculates a borrowing base to determine the amount the company can borrow. When the borrower needs money, it makes an advance request and the finance company advances money using a percentage of the accounts receivable.
3. Asset-Based Lending (ABL) – This is a credit facility secured by all of a company’s assets, which may include A/R, equipment and inventory. Unlike with factoring, the business continues to manage and collect its own receivables and submits collateral reports on an ongoing basis to the finance company, which will review and periodically audit the reports.
In addition to providing working capital and enabling owners to maintain business control, alternative financing may provide other benefits as well:
It’s easy to determine the exact cost of financing and obtain an increase.
Professional collateral management can be included depending on the facility type and the lender.
Real-time, online interactive reporting is often available.
It may provide the business with access to more capital.
It’s flexible – financing ebbs and flows with the business’ needs.
It’s important to note that there are some circumstances in which equity is a viable and attractive financing solution. This is especially true in cases of business expansion and acquisition and new product launches – these are capital needs that are not generally well suited to debt financing. However, equity is not usually the appropriate financing solution to solve a working capital problem or help plug a cash-flow gap.
A Precious Commodity
Remember that business equity is a precious commodity that should only be considered under the right circumstances and at the right time. When equity financing is sought, ideally this should be done at a time when the company has good growth prospects and a significant cash need for this growth. Ideally, majority ownership (and thus, absolute control) should remain with the company founder(s).
Alternative financing solutions like factoring, A/R financing and ABL can provide the working capital boost many cash-strapped businesses that don’t qualify for bank financing need – without diluting ownership and possibly giving up business control at an inopportune time for the owner. If and when these companies become bankable later, it’s often an easy transition to a traditional bank line of credit. Your banker may be able to refer you to a commercial finance company that can offer the right type of alternative financing solution for your particular situation.
Taking the time to understand all the different financing options available to your business, and the pros and cons of each, is the best way to make sure you choose the best option for your business. The use of alternative financing can help your company grow without diluting your ownership. After all, it’s your business – shouldn’t you keep as much of it as possible?