A small business owner has to do a lot of business planning. It’s an important job that is critical to the health of a company. But finding and affording the resources to get it done can be a challenge. Alternative finance can help.

From day one, there is no shortage of business planning for a small business owner to get right, from devising and managing a marketing plan to putting a succession plan in place, and everything in between (recruitment, equipment, technology, security, etc.). Every element is a vital building block for a business.

For example, it’s essential that a business owner understands the role of marketing and knows how to write a marketing plan that will give their business a framework for success. And this includes digital marketing and the best use of social media marketing tools. This learning should also encompass what offline and online marketing mistakes to avoid.

At the other end of the spectrum, succession planning is often overlooked, which can be a costly error. Managing senior staff is critical to a business, as is planning for the day when it is time to pass the reins of your business to someone else. According to the new Future Attitudes report from Aldermore, almost two thirds of SME owners have no clear plan in place to ensure that their company is not negatively impacted when they or key staff leave.

Underpinning every element of business strategy, from marketing to succession, is financial planning. Access to finance is integral to the successful running and development of a business, whether it’s capital for investing in new staff or equipment, or money for safeguarding cashflow. And in the current climate, in which business owners have to manage a range of policy and non-policy costs, and Brexit-related market uncertainty, securing this funding can be difficult.

This is where alternative finance can help. With traditional lenders remaining cautious when it comes to small business funding, invoice finance, asset finance, peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding are offering small business owners an alternative means of accessing vital capital. The number of small businesses making alternative finance part of their financial planning continues to grow.

This is how a small business in Sussex used peer-to-peer lending, through a commercial finance broker that specialises in alternative finance, to raise the capital to purchase new equipment.

Being a small business owner comes with many pressures. Having a financial strategy in place that makes use of all the funding options available, including alternative finance, helps owners put the right planning in place to best manage these pressures, and to better enjoy the rewards of business ownership.

Want to know more about what A&T Business Associates can do for your business? Contact Jon Rook-Allden on 01903 602211 or jra@atbusinessassociates.co.uk.