Small business financing

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Small business financing (also referred to as startup financing - especially when referring to an investment in a startup company - or franchise financing) refers to the means by which an aspiring or current business owner obtains money to start a new small business, purchase an existing small business or bring money into an existing small business to finance current or future business activity. There are many ways to finance a new or existing business, each of which features its own benefits and limitations. In the wake of the financial crisis of 2007–08, the availability of traditional types of small business financing dramatically decreased. [1] At the same time, alternative types of small business financing have emerged. In this context, it is instructive to divide the types of small business financing into the two broad categories of traditional and alternative small business financing options.

Contents

Traditional small business financing options

There have traditionally been two options available to aspiring or existing entrepreneurs looking to finance their small business or franchise: borrow funds (debt financing) or sell ownership interests in exchange for capital (equity financing).

Debt financing

The principal advantages of borrowing funds to finance a new or existing small business are typically that the lender will not have any say in how the business is managed and will not be entitled to any of the profits that the business generates. The disadvantages are the payments may be especially burdensome for businesses that are new or expanding.

  • Failure to make required loan payments will risk forfeiture of assets (including possibly personal assets of the business owners) that are pledged as security for the loan.
  • The credit approval process may result in some aspiring or existing business owners not qualifying for financing or only qualifying for high interest loans or loans that require the pledge of personal assets as collateral. In addition, the time required to obtain credit approval may be significant.
  • Excessive debt may overwhelm the business and ultimately risks bankruptcy. For example, a business that carries a heavy debt burden may face an increased risk of failure. [2]

The sources of debt financing may include conventional lenders (banks, credit unions, etc.), friends and family, Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, technology based lenders, [3] [4] [5] microlenders, home equity loans and personal credit cards. Small business owners in the US borrow, on average, $23,000 from friends and family to start their business. [6]

The duration of a business loan is variable and could range from one week to five or more years, and speed of access to funds will depend on the lender's internal processes. Private lenders are swift in turnaround times and can in many cases settle funds on the same day as the application, whereas traditional big banks can take weeks or months.[ citation needed ]

Government sources of small business loans

Various national governments encourage the development of small business within their countries.

South Africa

United States

Equity financing

The principal practical advantage of selling an ownership interest to finance a new or existing small business is that the business may use the equity investment to run the business rather than making potentially burdensome loan payments. In addition, the business and the business owner(s) will typically not have to repay the investors in the event that the business loses money or ultimately fails. The disadvantages of equity financing include the following:

  • By selling an ownership interest, the entrepreneur will dilute his or her control over the business.
  • The investors are entitled to a share of the business profits.
  • The investors must be informed of significant business events and the entrepreneur must act in the best interests of the investors.
  • In certain circumstances, equity financing may require compliance with federal and state securities laws.

The sources of equity financing may include friends and family, angel investors, and venture capitalists.

Rollover retirement funds to start or finance a business

In the United States, a lesser-known but well-established means for entrepreneurs to finance a new or existing business is to rollover their 401k, IRA or other retirement funds into their franchise or other business venture. This financing option is often called "rollover as business startup" or "ROBS" financing. This isn't a loan, instead, the business owner forms a C Corporation, which sponsors a profit-sharing retirement plan. From there, the business owner uses that company retirement plan to buy shares of his own company, thus contributing to the company's finances. [7]

This small business financing option allows the business owner to obtain the benefits of debt and equity financing while avoiding the disadvantages such as burdensome debt payments. More than 10,000 entrepreneurs have used their retirement funds to finance their start-up businesses. [8]

The IRS has clearly stated that the use of retirement funds to finance a small business is not “per se” non-compliant. ROBS financing is complicated, however, and the IRS has developed a set of guidelines for ROBS financing. [9] As such it is essential to employ experienced professionals to assist with this small business financing strategy.

New sources of debt and equity financing

In the wake of the decline of traditional small business financing, new sources of debt and equity financing have increased including Crowdfunding and Peer-to-peer lending. Unless small businesses have collateral and can prove revenue, banks are hesitant to lend money. Oftentimes, start-up companies and businesses operating for less than a year do not have collateral and private money lenders or angel investors are a better option. Private money lenders and angel investors are willing to take more risk than banks recognizing the potential upside. Private lenders can also reach a decision faster with approvals only going through one tier rather than being overlooked by many levels of management.

Alternative debt financing

Stepping into the gap between personal finance and traditional small business financing, there has been an increase in the number of alternative lenders who provide debt finance to small businesses. [10] These lenders use alternative means of "security", and advanced algorithms to offer niche lending products that are designed for specific situations.[ citation needed ]

Unsecured loan

Unsecured loans are issued and priced using alternative data sources. The majority of the lending decision happens off the back of transaction history and requires no formal collateral or security.

Different lenders use different data points to make their decisions. These can include things like:

Due to the increased risk involved for lenders in an unsecured loan, these products are generally more expensive than a traditional business loan which is backed by collateral.

Merchant cash advance

Merchant cash advances (MCA's) are issued based on card transaction history that happens through a point of sale (POS) device, like a credit card machine. For this reason, MCA's are products mainly issued in the Retail sector, where POS devices are prevalent.

MCA's have a unique payback mechanism, where there is no fixed term of payback. The borrower pays back a portion of their income per month, or week, depending on the terms of their loan. When the borrower earns more revenue, they pay back more of their loan. When they earn less revenue, they pay back a smaller amount of their loan.

Invoice discounting

Invoice discounting uses an invoice issued by a reputable supplier as a form of security. Because large corporate companies are unlikely to disappear overnight, the debt which they owe the borrower can be drawn down against by a borrower.

The mechanics of an invoice discounting product work as follows:

Equipment/asset finance

Equipment and/or asset finance products use the piece of machinery or equipment being bought as collateral. Because there is inherent value in that machinery, they can always reclaim it as an asset if the borrower defaults on their loan.

Equipment finance is often referred to as a "lease to own" product.

Purchase order and contract finance

The term "purchase order" is often used to describe the tender process in South Africa. Purchase order finance is designed specifically for a situation where a government organization or large corporation has issued a contract to a borrower, and the borrower needs finance to execute the contract.

In the USA and Canada, this is referred to as contract finance or government contract finance. The mechanism of security and distribution is the same.

In order to qualify for this type of finance, it is required that the borrower has a signed and won contract from the contract issuer.

Business finance marketplaces

To help small business owners make a decision on what types of small business loans are best for their business and needs, business finance marketplaces have established themselves as an intermediary or facilitator.

The process generally works as follows:

  1. The business owner applies through the marketplace.
  2. The marketplace has relationships with the majority of small business lenders in their region.
  3. The marketplace understands the lending appetite of the various lenders and prequalifies the applicant.
  4. The marketplace sends the final details of the applicant to the lender, based on the applicant's choice.
  5. The lender and the applicant finalize the details of the loan.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Security (finance)</span> Tradable financial asset

A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any form of financial instrument, even though the underlying legal and regulatory regime may not have such a broad definition. In some jurisdictions the term specifically excludes financial instruments other than equity and fixed income instruments. In some jurisdictions it includes some instruments that are close to equities and fixed income, e.g., equity warrants.

Financial capital is any economic resource measured in terms of money used by entrepreneurs and businesses to buy what they need to make their products or to provide their services to the sector of the economy upon which their operation is based. In other words, financial capital is internal retained earnings generated by the entity or funds provided by lenders to businesses in order to purchase real capital equipment or services for producing new goods or services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debt</span> Obligation to pay borrowed money

Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money borrowed or otherwise withheld from another party, the creditor. Debt may be owed by a sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual. Commercial debt is generally subject to contractual terms regarding the amount and timing of repayments of principal and interest. Loans, bonds, notes, and mortgages are all types of debt. In financial accounting, debt is a type of financial transaction, as distinct from equity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Factoring (finance)</span> Financial transaction and a type of debtor finance

Factoring is a financial transaction and a type of debtor finance in which a business sells its accounts receivable to a third party at a discount. A business will sometimes factor its receivable assets to meet its present and immediate cash needs. Forfaiting is a factoring arrangement used in international trade finance by exporters who wish to sell their receivables to a forfaiter. Factoring is commonly referred to as accounts receivable factoring, invoice factoring, and sometimes accounts receivable financing. Accounts receivable financing is a term more accurately used to describe a form of asset based lending against accounts receivable. The Commercial Finance Association is the leading trade association of the asset-based lending and factoring industries.

Credit risk is the possibility of losing a lender holds due to a risk of default on a debt that may arise from a borrower failing to make required payments. In the first resort, the risk is that of the lender and includes lost principal and interest, disruption to cash flows, and increased collection costs. The loss may be complete or partial. In an efficient market, higher levels of credit risk will be associated with higher borrowing costs. Because of this, measures of borrowing costs such as yield spreads can be used to infer credit risk levels based on assessments by market participants.

A financial intermediary is an institution or individual that serves as a "middleman" among diverse parties in order to facilitate financial transactions. Common types include commercial banks, investment banks, stockbrokers, insurance and pension funds, pooled investment funds, leasing companies, and stock exchanges.

Funding is the act of providing resources to finance a need, program, or project. While this is usually in the form of money, it can also take the form of effort or time from an organization or company. Generally, this word is used when a firm uses its internal reserves to satisfy its necessity for cash, while the term financing is used when the firm acquires capital from external sources.

Asset-based lending is any kind of lending secured by an asset. This means, if the loan is not repaid, the asset is taken. In this sense, a mortgage is an example of an asset-based loan. More commonly however, the phrase is used to describe lending to business and large corporations using assets not normally used in other loans. Typically, the different types of asset-based loans include accounts receivable financing, inventory financing, equipment financing, or real estate financing. Asset-based lending in this more specific sense is possible only in certain countries whose legal systems allow borrowers to pledge such assets to lenders as collateral for loans.

A syndicated loan is one that is provided by a group of lenders and is structured, arranged, and administered by one or several commercial banks or investment banks known as lead arrangers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second mortgage</span> Additional loan

Second mortgages, commonly referred to as junior liens, are loans secured by a property in addition to the primary mortgage. Depending on the time at which the second mortgage is originated, the loan can be structured as either a standalone second mortgage or piggyback second mortgage. Whilst a standalone second mortgage is opened subsequent to the primary loan, those with a piggyback loan structure are originated simultaneously with the primary mortgage. With regard to the method in which funds are withdrawn, second mortgages can be arranged as home equity loans or home equity lines of credit. Home equity loans are granted for the full amount at the time of loan origination in contrast to home equity lines of credit which permit the homeowner access to a predetermined amount which is repaid during the repayment period.

A hard money loan is a specific type of asset-based loan: a financing instrument through which a borrower receives funds secured by real property. Hard money loans are typically issued by loan sharks. Interest rates are typically higher than conventional commercial or residential property loans because of the higher risk and shorter duration of the loan.

A secured loan is a loan in which the borrower pledges some asset as collateral for the loan, which then becomes a secured debt owed to the creditor who gives the loan. The debt is thus secured against the collateral, and if the borrower defaults, the creditor takes possession of the asset used as collateral and may sell it to regain some or all of the amount originally loaned to the borrower. An example is the foreclosure of a home. From the creditor's perspective, that is a category of debt in which a lender has been granted a portion of the bundle of rights to specified property. If the sale of the collateral does not raise enough money to pay off the debt, the creditor can often obtain a deficiency judgment against the borrower for the remaining amount.

Private money investing is the reverse side of hard money lending, a type of financing in which a borrower receives funds based on the value of real estate owned by the borrower. Private Money Investing (“PMI”) concerns the source of the funds lent to hard money borrowers, as well as other considerations made from the investor's side of the equation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mortgage</span> Loan secured using real estate

A mortgage loan or simply mortgage, in civil law jurisdictions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any purpose while putting a lien on the property being mortgaged. The loan is "secured" on the borrower's property through a process known as mortgage origination. This means that a legal mechanism is put into place which allows the lender to take possession and sell the secured property to pay off the loan in the event the borrower defaults on the loan or otherwise fails to abide by its terms. The word mortgage is derived from a Law French term used in Britain in the Middle Ages meaning "death pledge" and refers to the pledge ending (dying) when either the obligation is fulfilled or the property is taken through foreclosure. A mortgage can also be described as "a borrower giving consideration in the form of a collateral for a benefit (loan)".

SME finance is the funding of small and medium-sized enterprises, and represents a major function of the general business finance market – in which capital for different types of firms are supplied, acquired, and costed or priced. Capital is supplied through the business finance market in the form of bank loans and overdrafts; leasing and hire-purchase arrangements; equity/corporate bond issues; venture capital or private equity; asset-based finance such as factoring and invoice discounting, and government funding in the form of grants or loans.

Collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) are a form of securitization where payments from multiple middle sized and large business loans are pooled together and passed on to different classes of owners in various tranches. A CLO is a type of collateralized debt obligation, or CDO.

Venture debt or venture lending is a type of debt financing provided to venture-backed companies by specialized banks or non-bank lenders to fund working capital or capital expenses, such as purchasing equipment. Venture debt can complement venture capital and provide value to fast growing companies and their investors. Unlike traditional bank lending, venture debt is available to startups and growth companies that do not have positive cash flows or significant assets to give as collateral. Venture debt providers combine their loans with warrants, or rights to purchase equity, to compensate for the higher risk of default, although this is not always the case.

This article provides background information regarding the subprime mortgage crisis. It discusses subprime lending, foreclosures, risk types, and mechanisms through which various entities involved were affected by the crisis.

Blackstone Credit, formerly known as GSO Capital Partners (GSO) is an American hedge fund and the credit investment arm of The Blackstone Group. Blackstone Credit is one of the largest credit-oriented alternative asset managers in the world and a major participant in the leveraged finance marketplace. The firm invests across a variety of credit oriented strategies and products including collateralized loan obligation vehicles investing in secured loans, hedge funds focused on special situations investments, mezzanine debt funds and private equity funds focused on rescue financing.

A business loan is a loan specifically intended for business purposes. As with all loans, it involves the creation of a debt, which will be repaid with added interest. There are a number of different types of business loans, including bank loans, mezzanine financing, asset-based financing, invoice financing, microloans, business cash advances and cash flow loans.

References

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  10. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2021-05-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)