How to Make the Most of Your Startup Cash

In May of 2018, Small Business reported that National Westminster Bank would be lending an extra £1 billion to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Then in 2019 and throughout the next two years, the focus switched to business support and recovery loans due to the COVID pandemic.

Britain like the rest of the world is witnessing economic recovery and entrepreneurs can start to dream big once more. While loans generally are available to give businesses more financial support so they can boost their levels of manufacturing, technology, and development, thus building a stronger company as a result.

Startups may be wondering where they fit in so what if you’re in the very beginning stages of business ownership and aren’t sure where you should be focusing your finances?

Or you’re a brand-new startup and a bit confused about how to make the most of your initial cash? Here are a few options to consider for how to position your startup for funding.

Create a Budget

Have you ever had money in your wallet or purse only to realize that it’s gone, no idea where you’ve spent it? It can happen to anyone, but you definitely don’t want it to happen in business because this type of approach could force you to close your doors.

That’s why creating a budget is so important.

When first starting out this can be somewhat difficult because you might not know what all of your expenses will be. But with a little bit of research, you should be able to come up with a close figure, giving you a more complete business budget, which should include figures related to:

• · How much income you expect to generate (sales, investments, loans)
• · Any fixed costs that need to be paid out (insurances, rental or lease payments, other business services)
• · All variable expenses (utilities, supplies, materials, advertising)
• · One-time spends (purchasing new equipment or office furniture)

Doing this every month helps you keep your spending on track so you don’t burn through your startup cash only to wonder where it went. It’s also a skill that can benefit your company in the long run because you’ll always be aware of where you stand financially.

Focus on Customer Service

Though it may seem like product or service quality would be most important in business, customer service is often the real driver in helping a company succeed.

As Real Business explains, “offering good customer service is a necessity and offering great customer service can help you stand out in the market.”

Creating this type of stellar experience doesn’t have to take a lot of time and effort either, especially if you purchase software or a system that automates these types of processes. For instance, maybe you’ll select one that sends your customers a short email to ensure they’re happy with their latest purchases.

You can also boost customer service by hiring someone to handle these issues quickly for you.

The key is to make your customers feel valued not only so they come back again, but also so they share their positive experiences with family and friends. That makes this a cost that will pay off in the end.

Build a Professional Website

While there are some areas of a new business that can wait until you’re earning a good income to be better developed, your website is not one of them.

If consumers come to your site and it looks unprofessional or doesn’t work, you may have lost them for good.

The first step to building this type of site is choosing and registering the right domain.

This is the website address your customer will use to find you, so you want to choose one that is easy to spell, easy to remember, and representative in some way of your products and/or brand.

Some companies just use their business name, whereas others use keywords or their best-selling product.

Other factors that can make your site look more professional include keeping it free of clutter, arranging the content in a logical fashion, and ensuring that it is easy for the viewer to read (using both contrast and the right fonts).

A professional site is also easy to navigate and mobile-friendly.

As a startup, it’s not uncommon to feel like you’re going in several directions at the same time. However, as long as you do these three things, you won’t create this type of effect with your money, giving you the opportunity to make good use of your startup funds. Is there any better way for a company to start?