Much like any other type of small business, an optical store business needs working capital to stay in operation. It takes money to make money, but sometimes these funds aren’t always readily available for a host of different reasons.
Instead of taking a risk with a loan that might be declined by a traditional bank, easy small-business loan options are available for optical store businesses. There are plenty of alternative funding solutions and business loans for optical store businesses. These options make getting the necessary funds more convenient and manageable.
Here are just some things that business loans for optical store business can be used for:
- Office leases
- Inventory
- Lab equipment
- Renovations and expansions
- Equipment purchase and maintenance
- Franchise fees
- Property taxes
- New display cases
- Office furniture
- Computers
Bank Loans Aren’t Only Funding Options for Your Optical Store
These days, optical store businesses have the distinct advantage of having a plethora of modern funding alternatives available to them, including the following:
Business Line of Credit
Many times optical store businesses will be in a position where funds are needed immediately to cover unexpected expenses. In cases like these, it can be extremely helpful to have a line of credit available at any time to withdraw funds as necessary. Whether you’re waiting for invoices to be paid from suppliers, need to cover staff payroll, or have an opportunity to purchase a large amount of inventory at a discount, access to a line of credit can be a life-saver.
To understand how a business line of credit works, think of a credit card: you’re given access to certain amount of money that you can use anytime, as long as you don’t exceed that amount. You can use as much or as little as necessary, and only the funds withdrawn are charged interest. After you’ve paid back the funds borrowed, you can withdraw the money over and over again as the need arises.
Short-Term Loan
Similar to a traditional term loan, a short-term loan can provide you with the funds needed to cover any expense related to your optical store business. This loan arrangement is well-suited for short-term working capital needs, such as meeting payroll obligations or buying new equipment.
These business loans are named so because they are typically paid back within a short time frame, usually no more than 9 months. In exchange for the loan, you agree to pay the lender back on a regular basis — usually daily or weekly — along with the lender’s interest rate.
SBA Loan
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has designed loan programs specifically to help small businesses get started and remain profitable. The funds advanced can be used for a variety of business purposes, including beefing up working capital, buying equipment or inventory, purchasing real estate, or expanding.
While the SBA itself does not actually loan out the money, it guarantees a percentage of those loans to lenders, giving lenders more incentive to issue loans to support small businesses. This way, even businesses that don’t meet stringent loan criteria can still get approved for a loan from lenders that participate in SBA financing.
Among the more popular SBA loan programs are the SBA 7(a) loan, which can be used for many business purposes, and the CDC/504 loan, which is typically used to buy major fixed assets like equipment and real estate.
Invoice Financing
Oftentimes small business owners are stuck waiting for invoices to be paid. In the meantime, there are plenty of expenses related to running the business, and paying for these costs is more difficult if payments have yet to come in. To rectify this issue, an invoice financing program can be taken advantage of.
With this financing arrangement, the lender will buy your invoice(s), and advance you about 85 percent of the loan. The rest of the money is kept in a reserve from which the lender will take the associated fees. Once you receive payment for the invoice(s) in question, the rest of the money within the reserve fund is advanced to you.
How to Get a Loan for Your Optical Store
There’s no need to head off to the bank to apply for a loan. With modern business loans for optical store business, it can all be done online from the comfort of your home. You’ll typically have to specify the following types of information to get the loan approval process started:
- Loan amount requested
- Amount of time in business
- Annual revenues
- Loan purpose
- Credit score
Your application will then be quickly reviewed by your lender, and can be approved and funded in as little as 48 hours.
Find Out Which Loan Option is Right For Your Optical Store With Credibly
At Credibly, we understand the financial struggles that small businesses can face from time to time. That’s why we’re committed to helping such small businesses realize that there are more options out there aside from what the bank is willing to offer.
For all your modern funding solutions, contact Credibly today!