What keeps small recruitment business owners up at night?
Turn to the news pages on any given day over the last few months and the stories you read give us all hope and optimism for the economy over the next 12 months.
While uncertainty may loom over what may or may not happen in the post-Brexit era, the recruitment industry still remains in a state of unprecedented growth and optimism.
But that doesn’t mean that recruitment business owners aren’t without their concerns – one of the biggest being how they will grow their agency.
The C2FO Working Capital Outlook Survey recently found that more than 1 in 2 (54%) of small business owners state that cash flow problems remain their number one obstacle to business growth.
More than 3 out of 5 (63%) respondents stated that they were concerned over their ability to obtain the right finance they need to support their long-term growth and enable them to better compete on a level playing field with larger agencies, as well as fending off competition from new entrants to the market.
Of greatest concern were the findings that three-quarters (76%) of small business owners admit to depending on cash flow to survive and grow, with 1 in 5 (20%) of businesses reporting having clients who regularly pay their invoices late.
If you are not getting paid on time by your clients that not only negatively impacts your bottom line, it could mean that you are unable to pay your workers, your staff, your suppliers and all those other essential overheads you need to keep your business running. Not forgetting the fact that a lack of funds hitting your account will restrict your growth, too.
So what can you do?
The report clearly highlighted that many small business owners feel that their finance options are rather limited, with many believing that the traditional ways of lending such as a bank loan or business overdraft are the main options available to them.
But they’re wrong.
The alternative finance sector has seen outstanding growth over the last few years precisely because business owners were either struggling to obtain the finance following new rules that restricted bank lending, or because the rates being offered were simply too high and unaffordable.
As a business, Simplicity was one of the pioneers within the alternative finance market. For over 13 years we have paid over 2.5 million pay slips and supported hundreds of recruitment business owners to start, build and expand their agencies.
The way we do that is quite simple: We provide them with the right finance solution and back office support that suits their business.
For instance, suppose you are an established agency looking to grow your already successful business and you start winning some great new contracts with clients who need not just one but a team of people to start work next week.
To ensure your workers are paid on time and that all your other regular outgoings are met, you need readily available funds – can you guarantee those funds? We can.
Our 100% recruitment finance option ensures that you have the money available when you need it most. So instead of chasing late payments from your clients and stressing over whether you will be able to cover your costs on time, we do all of that for you whenever you need it.
We understand the Recruitment Finance sector better than anyone – we’ve been doing it longer than anyone else. But don’t just take our word for it, take a look at what others have said about how we have helped them to grow their recruitment agencies – perhaps we can do the same for you, too?