Boosting small business survival on Small Business Saturday

Boost Capital, lenders of over £750m to small businesses, offers its top six tips for business survival on Small Business Saturday.

1. Don’t go it alone.

Based on experience in Boost Capital, those businesses starting with a non family business partner have a greater likelihood of survival and success. Double the brain power, double the commitment and half as likely just to walk away when things get tough.

2. Don’t run out of cash.

However obvious that may be, it’s the reason why most businesses fail. Have a credit line available even if you think it won’t be needed.

3. Know your numbers.

Don’t treat your financial plan and your cash flow forecast as a once in a lifetime exercise. Make sure you know where your profit margins are and what you have to sell for to cover costs. Critical when you are negotiating contracts, and in satisfying your lender that the business is profitable.

4. Use proper contracts.

There’s a huge temptation to skip the formality of proper contracts, and relying on a handshake and ‘my word is my bond’. Until things go wrong and ‘my word’ is denied.

5. Act big; Be big.

The web gives the smallest of businesses the opportunity of looking bigger than they actually are. Seize it. Your website is your shop window. Dress it up, keep it active and present the business as a FTSE100. PR is everything.

6. Create and preserve your reputation.

In the fast moving world of social media, be aware that just one negative comment about your business can be a killer. Don’t be a ‘suicide business’.

Alex Littner, Managing Director of Boost Capital emphasises, ‘From the businesses we support at Boost, we see some simple survival rules that make the difference between success and failure. Small Business Saturday is a good time to share with businesses the tips that top the list.’


About Boost Capital

As a specialist small business lender, we're champions of the SME sector. We are here to help UK SMEs achieve their full potential by providing fast, flexible, and hassle-free small business loans. We have over 14 years' experience helping SMEs with their plans to grow. We've helped more than 14,000 businesses across 400+ industries, and have funded more than £750m.