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Business Loans In Canada: Financing Solutions Via Alternative Finance & Traditional Funding

Business loans and finance for a business just may have gotten good again? The pursuit of credit and funding of cash flow solutions for your business often seems like an eternal challenge, even in the best of times, let alone any industry or economic crisis. Let’s dig in.

Since the 2008 financial crisis there’s been a lot of change in finance options from lenders for corporate loans. Canadian business owners and financial managers have excess from everything from peer-to-peer company loans, varied alternative finance solutions, as well of course as the traditional financing offered by Canadian chartered banks.

Those online business loans referenced above are popular and arose out of the merchant cash advance programs in the United States. Loans are based on a percentage of your annual sales, typically in the 15-20% range. The loans are certainly expensive but are viewed as easy to obtain by many small businesses, including retailers who sell on a cash or credit card basis.

Depending on your firm’s circumstances and your ability to truly understand the different choices available to firms searching for SME COMMERCIAL FINANCE options. Those small to medium sized companies ( the definition of ‘ small business ‘ certainly varies as to what is small – often defined as businesses with less than 500 employees! )

How then do we create our road map for external financing techniques and solutions? A simpler way to look at it is to categorize these different financing options under:

Debt / Loans

Asset Based Financing

Alternative Hybrid type solutions

Many top experts maintain that the alternative financing solutions currently available to your firm, in fact are on par with Canadian chartered bank financing when it comes to a full spectrum of funding. The alternative lender is typically a private commercial finance company with a niche in one of the various asset finance areas

If there is one significant trend that’s ‘ sticking ‘it’s Asset Based Finance. The ability of firms to obtain funding via assets such as accounts receivable, inventory and fixed assets with no major emphasis on balance sheet structure and profits and cash flow ( those three elements drive bank financing approval in no small measure ) is the key to success in ABL ( Asset Based Lending ).

Factoring, aka ‘ Receivable Finance ‘ is the other huge driver in trade finance in Canada. In some cases, it’s the only way for firms to be able to sell and finance clients in other geographies/countries.

The rise of ‘ online finance ‘ also can’t be diminished. Whether it’s accessing ‘ crowdfunding’ or sourcing working capital term loans, the technological pace continues at what seems a feverish pace. One only has to read a business daily such as the Globe & Mail or Financial Post to understand the challenge of small business accessing business capital.

Business owners/financial mgrs often find their company at a ‘ turning point ‘ in their history – that time when financing is needed or opportunities and risks can’t be taken. While putting or getting new equity in the business is often impossible, the reality is that the majority of businesses with SME commercial finance needs aren’t, shall we say, ‘ suited’ to this type of funding and capital raising. Business loan interest rates vary with non-traditional financing but offer more flexibility and ease of access to capital.

We’re also the first to remind clients that they should not forget govt solutions in business capital. Two of the best programs are the GovernmentSmall Business Loan Canada (maximum availability = $ 1,000,000.00) as well as the SR&ED program which allows business owners to recapture R&D capital costs. Sred credits can also be financed once they are filed.

Those latter two finance alternatives are often very well suited to business start up loans. We should not forget that asset finance, often called ‘ ABL ‘ by those Bay Street guys, can even be used as a loan to buy a business.

If you’re looking to get the right balance of liquidity and risk coupled with the flexibility to grow your business seek out and speak to a trusted, credible and experienced Canadian business financing advisor with a track record of business finance success who can assist you with your funding needs.

Shoe Repairs And Several Other Things When I Was 7

Shoe Repairs And Several Other Things When I Was 7
My Dad repaired most of our shoes believe it or not, I can hardly believe it myself now. With 7 pairs of shoes always needing repairs I think he was quite clever to learn how to “Keep us in shoe Leather” to coin a phrase!

He bought several different sizes of cast iron cobbler’s “lasts”. Last, the old English “Laest” meaning footprint. Lasts were holding devices shaped like a human foot. I have no idea where he would have bought the shoe leather. Only that it was a beautiful creamy, shiny colour and the smell was lovely.

But I do remember our shoes turned upside down on and fitted into these lasts, my Dad cutting the leather around the shape of the shoe, and then hammering nails, into the leather shape. Sometimes we’d feel one or 2 of those nails poking through the insides of our shoes, but our dad always fixed it.

Hiking and Swimming Galas
Dad was a very outdoorsy type, unlike my mother, who was probably too busy indoors. She also enjoyed the peace and quiet when he took us off for the day!

Anyway, he often took us hiking in the mountains where we’d have a picnic of sandwiches and flasks of tea. And more often than not we went by steam train.

We loved poking our heads out of the window until our eyes hurt like mad from a blast of soot blowing back from the engine. But sore, bloodshot eyes never dampened our enthusiasm.

Dad was an avid swimmer and water polo player, and he used to take us to swimming galas, as they were called back then. He often took part in these galas. And again we always travelled by steam train.

Rowing Over To Ireland’s Eye
That’s what we did back then, we had to go by rowboat, the only way to get to Ireland’s eye, which is 15 minutes from mainland Howth. From there we could see Malahide, Lambay Island and Howth Head of course. These days you can take a Round Trip Cruise on a small cruise ship!

But we thoroughly enjoyed rowing and once there we couldn’t wait to climb the rocks, and have a swim. We picnicked and watched the friendly seals doing their thing and showing off.

Not to mention all kinds of birdlife including the Puffin.The Martello Tower was also interesting but a bit dangerous to attempt entering. I’m getting lost in the past as I write, and have to drag myself back to the present.

Fun Outings with The camera Club
Dad was also a very keen amateur photographer, and was a member of a camera Club. There were many Sunday photography outings and along with us came other kids of the members of the club.

And we always had great fun while the adults busied themselves taking photos of everything and anything, it seemed to us. Dad was so serious about his photography that he set up a dark room where he developed and printed his photographs.

All black and white at the time. He and his camera club entered many of their favourites in exhibitions throughout Europe. I’m quite proud to say that many cups and medals were won by Dad. They have been shared amongst all his grandchildren which I find quite special.

He liked taking portraits of us kids too, mostly when we were in a state of untidiness, usually during play. Dad always preferred the natural look of messy hair and clothes in the photos of his children.

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Debt Management UK – Time Tested Formula For Freedom From Debts

UK residents seem to enjoy a strange relationship with debts. While they cannot do with a large debt load over their shoulders, they also cannot do without incurring them for long. If a survey is to be taken out of the most rash spenders, then the Britishers are sure to rank highly. Without ever thinking about where the expenditures will be met from, people go on spending and spending. Debt management in the UK is a set of techniques and processes through which an attempt is made to give a break to the reign of debts.Debt management plays both an active as well as an advisory role in the UK. As part of the active role, the job of debt management UK will be to counter debts that have already been incurred. The techniques employed for this purpose include debt consolidation loans, debt consolidation mortgage, home equity loans, and debt consolidation through remortgage. The advisory role of debt management involves informing borrowers of ways to avoid debts. Debt counselling and credit counselling are employed to give debt sense to people.The roles may differ in terms of the period within which the benefit will become visible. While the results of debt consolidations loans are immediately visible, the impact of debt counselling will take time to come on the scene.With the pressure of creditors building up against individual, the first priority of debt management UK will be to relieve borrowers of debts. The process of settling debts is known as debt consolidation. It derives name from a sub-process that involves consolidating or clustering debts. From this stage onwards, it is the loan provider who assumes responsibilities of eliminating debts. Borrowers may or may not exercise this benefit since it is optional. However, given the relative inexperience of borrowers, it will be advisable to allow debt consolidation loan provider to settle debts.Debt management agencies have gained expertise in debt elimination through years of work in the field. When debts become unmanageable, borrowers are left with not much scope but to surrender to debt consolidation loans. On the other hand, there are borrowers who are confused about how debt consolidation loans will help when it is just another debt. The essence of debt management lies in the timing. The debts that are increasing your stress levels would demand immediate payment. Conversely, debt consolidation loan needs to be repaid over a period of 5 to 25 years. This means that the borrower has sufficient time to plan repayment.Loan provider’s participation in the debt consolidation process is limited to debt consolidation loans. Other debt management techniques, namely debt consolidation mortgages and home equity loans, may not include this facility. Consequently, expert advice and guidance for free is the chief attraction of debt consolidation loans. Borrowers however will make their choice of debt consolidation technique after considering many other factors.Cost of debt management technique will be given prominence during search. Debt consolidation mortgage, which is second mortgage, allows debt management at the rates of mortgage. Debt consolidation loans too garner funds at cheaper rates if the borrower agrees to serve some collateral. Since there is very little risk to cover in secured debt consolidation loan, these carry very low rates of interests.Debt consolidation loan and debt consolidation mortgage do not guarantee a life-long riddance from debts. They can at the best rid borrowers of debts at a particular point of time. For a life-long freedom from debts, the advisory role of debt management will be of immense help. Debt counselling is not merely informing borrowers of certain debt management tips. Debt management tips must be supported with sufficient examples. The manner in which borrower is counselled will have sufficient impact on the advice intake of borrowers. The counsellor must try to be as practical as possible. Debt counselling involves helping borrowers in implementing debt management tips and rescuing them from dead ends.Debt management, as is clearly visible has a very wide scope. However, a very thin line demarcates benefits of debt management from its drawbacks. One wrong step on debt management, and the very benefits that one boasted of can turn into drawbacks. Consequently, borrowers need to keep their eyes open, particularly on the debt elimination techniques like debt consolidation loans. Debt counselling too need not be taken lightly, since they also can backfire at times when incorrect tips are implemented.