Money can be found all around… if you really look for it. No, this doesn’t mean to stop reading this blog to go and lift sofa cushions for small change, it means you need to get a fresh perspective on finding money.
Gayle Kesten has a few good ideas for finding money, and they don’t include showing up at your local bank with hat in hand. Examine what you are spending and find ways to cut back. Here is one of her examples: close early. Yes, it’s counterintuitive to not be open to make sales when you need money, but the reasoning is sound. If your business closes an hour early each day, that’s five hours you don’t have to pay for electricity, payroll, or other overhead. That’s one day a month! What does it cost to run your business for a day? What could you do with that amount?
Another good idea is a bit of a backward step in the internet age, but you could try to get customers to not use their credit cards. You pay a percentage to the credit card companies with every sale. That’s your money going out the window. Offer incentives to customers to pay with cash. If they have to swipe the plastic, convince them to use their debit card instead.
If you need a large sum of money, of course go to the SBA for a small business loan. However, if you have the time, make the small changes that deliver the small amounts of money. They can really add up in the long run.
