A collection of our thoughts, opinions, (and sometimes general musings) on everything to do with all aspects of business finance, commercial finance, small businesses, and general news about ASC Finance for Business.
Business, SME
Are you customer centric?
The foundation of any good business is its customer focus. It doesn’t matter if your systems are spot on, your product is desirable or even if you’re the best value proposition. If you’re not dialled in on what your customers want and need you won’t succeed. So how have we gotten to the point where...
Peer-2-peer lending has rocketed in popularity in the last few years, but why is this? It really boils down to two points: Small businesses still need access to finance despite core high street banks making their lending criteria much more challenging in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Stagnation in wages has led people to...
Dealing with lenders is a lot like selling your house
When you’re selling a property, do you and your agent write up some sales particulars that just says ‘Buy me now for £400,000’? No, of course not. Not everything can be sold like it’s on eBay. You make sure that the sales particulars are thorough, floorplan is correct, quality photos showing the property in its...
Finance is a key part of any business, and as a business owner, you’ll be well aware of how complicated it is. Acquiring finance for an expansion is as arduous as it is complicated. The lengths you need to go to, the forms, regulations, and rules – the very necessary hoops you have to jump...
Lots of enquiries start with this question. Of course, the interest rate and loan amounts are key financials but it’s a lot more complicated than that. What about security? What about financial flexibility? What about other charges and fees and what about restrictions on banking? And so on. And this is before we’re asked questions...
You work with an accountant, you should probably work with a finance broker too
If you run a business you would appoint an accountant to help you, wouldn’t you? If you want to write a will you’d probably go and see a solicitor. You can do it all yourself, but do you really want to? They are all professionals who will save you a great deal of time and...
There have never been so many lenders active in the market before, but who should you approach for your business finance? The high street banks? The specialist lenders? Or even those in the peer-to-peer space? Every single one will have different criteria for each different sector. It’s a minefield just working out who could be...
