1. Farm Loan Programs
2. Canadian Agricultural Loans Act Program
3. Estimating Farm Machinery Costs
4. Equipment Financing | FCC
5. The true financial cost of modern farming

1. How to Reduce Interest on Your Business Loan
2. 4 tips to get a lower interest rate on your business loan – Cumberland Chamber of Commerce
3. Improving your credit score

Like a credit card used for business, a business line of credit gives companies flexible financing. Maximizing the benefits of credit and satisfying cash flow needs depend on its proper management. Understanding how to manage credit effectively is crucial to using this tool to its fullest potential.

A business line of credit is a flexible financing tool allowing businesses to get cash up to a designated amount. Unlike a traditional loan, which pays a lump sum, you take out money as needed and only pay interest on the actual amount borrowed. For addressing cash flow, unanticipated expenses, or company growth potential, it may be quite helpful. Since revolving credit may be used as the credit is paid off, companies have a flexible way of getting money without committing to long-term obligations. This is particularly advantageous when considering a line of credit for small business, which can be used as a support for ongoing financial needs.

Various Business Credit Line Structures

Businesses secure lending by providing collateral; improved circumstances and lower interest rates might follow. Conversely, although it is more flexible, an unsecured line of credit may have higher interest rates.

Supporting a secured line of credit requires collateral, including stock or real estate. This is typically referred to as secured business credit. Usually connected with it are better interest rates and more restrictions as the lender bears less of the risk.

For businesses that do not have any assets to provide as security, an unsecured line of credit is more flexible. However, as it does not call for collateral, higher borrowing rates and stricter qualifying criteria might be drawbacks.

The financial situation and expectations of your business will decide which alternative is best when looking to secure a commercial credit line.

Getting Approved for a Business Line of Credit

To be granted a business line of credit, you must meet specific lender requirements. Understanding the factors influencing eligibility is essential, whether you’re considering an unsecured or secured line of credit. Lenders weigh your revenue, credit score, and company history when assessing your financial status and lending capacity.

Usually, lenders evaluate candidates for a company line of credit using the following crucial criteria:

• Strong personal or business credit will increase the likelihood of approval.
• Time in Business: Lenders frequently favor businesses that have been running for at least six months to two years.
• Strong revenue and consistent cash flow help demonstrate your ability to repay the credit.
• Understanding the specific business line of credit terms is essential to know what lenders will require and to prepare accordingly for the application process.

Online and conventional lenders may have different criteria, so before applying, check your credit and be sure to shop around. This is especially relevant if you’re looking to understand how to use a business line of credit efficiently or how to increase your business line of credit.

When deciding your eligibility, lenders take into account your yearly revenue, business age, and credit score, among other factors. Getting your documentation ready and maintaining a strong credit record is vital. For more details, you can explore the steps to securing a business line of credit.

Good Line of Credit Management: How to Manage Your Business Credit Line

When used correctly, a commercial line of credit can be a helpful tool for businesses as it allows them to borrow money as needed and streamline cash flow management. Unlike regular loans, a line of credit allows you the freedom to borrow, pay it back, and borrow once again up to a specified amount, helping you seize new opportunities or cover unanticipated expenses. This is particularly helpful for those wondering how to manage your credit effectively within your business operations.

Here are some credit line management tips:

• Spend Wisely: Only draw on the credit when necessary to reduce interest and manage business expenses more effectively.
• Make Regular Payments: Timely payments will assist in growing your business credit line and lowering interest rates over time.
• Watch Cash Flow: Make sure the line of credit is applied as a support tool instead of being a crutch for managing business credit.

By closely controlling your commercial credit facility, you maintain financial stability. Controlling cash flow, paying bills on time, and using loans strategically are vital for effective business credit management.

Advantages and Disadvantages of a Business Credit Line

A line of credit for new business owners can provide accessible and flexible financing when needed. However, Knowing the advantages and disadvantages of a business line of credit is crucial to making wise financial decisions.

Advantages:

• Adjustability: Borrow only what you need, then repay when it’s most beneficial for your cash flow. This approach helps to maintain liquidity and leverage business opportunities without long-term commitments.
• Interest Only on Amounts Spent: Since interest is only paid on the amount you actually use, not your total credit limit, expenses can be controlled more effectively.
• Improves Cash Flow: Ideal for handling one-time expenses, inventory replenishment, or crisis management, allowing your business to operate without interruption.

Disadvantages:

• Potential Interest Rate Change: Some credit lines might cost more than traditional loans, so it’s advisable to plan your repayment strategy in advance.
• Risk of Overuse: It’s easy to rely on credit for all your needs, but wise borrowing practices will help you avoid unnecessary debt.
• Strict Qualification Standards: With specific credit requirements in place, maintaining a strong credit profile increases your chances of approval.

Ultimately, a small company line of credit offers accessibility and flexibility. Conversely, mismanaging business credit lines can lead to penalties or debt. Knowing how to renew a line of credit responsibly helps mitigate risks. For further guidance, visit Managing Business Loan Repayments.

Real-World Illustrations

A business financing line might be a universal tool across industries. Here are a few examples:

• A retail store uses its line of credit for small business to purchase seasonal inventory, ensuring they meet demand spikes and pay off the debt once the sales come in.
• A tech startup leverages its line of credit to cover payroll during expansion, bridging the gap until revenue from new contracts arrives.
• A construction business uses a credit line to pay subcontractors and purchase materials upfront. The commercial line of credit allows them to balance multiple projects, with client payments supporting timely credit repayment.

These examples demonstrate how a line of credit offers flexible business financing to meet a variety of needs across different industries.

All In All

Maximizing cash flow from a corporate line of credit requires diligent credit management. With smart strategies, you can leverage business credit to grow and support your business’s financial stability. By borrowing responsibly, making timely payments, and tracking your cash flow, you avoid falling into debt traps. For personalized advice, consider working with financial professionals like Bluerock Options who specialize in business credit line management. Learn more about credit management tailored to your business needs. If you’re considering other options like a small business loan, check out more details by clicking the link.

The global home health care industry is expected to grow to $663 billion by 2030. As the population over 65 doubles-on track to outnumber children 18 and younger by 2034-and life expectancy stretches into the upper 80s, there has never been a stronger demand for home health care services.

It isn't only the elderly making use of these services. A third of patients in need of home health care assistance are under the age of 60, suffering from chronic illnesses and in rehabilitation programs, relying on home health care services such as:

• Non-medical home care
• Hospice and palliative care
• Senior care
• Personal care services
• Physical and occupational therapy
• Speech-language therapy
• Medical social services
• Adult daycare
• Nursing care
• Nutritional care
• Pain management

The fear of COVID-19 has fueled the demand for home health care services as an alternative to living in a nursing home or long-term care facility. The pandemic has also led to the rise of 24/7 telehealth services as a convenient and safe way to serve patients. The added pressure created by this increased demand has resulted in an urgent need for home health care services, presenting an opportunity for existing businesses to improve operations and scale growth quickly.

In order for home health care agencies to grow, third-party financing is often required. Typically the first options for home health care businesses are SBA loans and bank loans, but funding can be difficult to access through these sources. With streamlined online applications and more flexible approval requirements than traditional lenders, alternative funding is a fast and easy way to access the funds you need to grow your home health care business, often in as little as one business day.

Read on to learn about 10 ways home health care agencies can use alternative funding to fuel their growth, including:

1. Enhancing or developing new home health care services for seniors
2. Purchasing equipment, devices, supplies, and technology
3. Hiring and training new staff
4. Investing in marketing and advertising
5. Paying franchising fees, and obtaining licenses, certifications, and other continuing education or professional development skills
6. Developing digital solutions to scale your business
7. Managing cash flow and payroll during seasonal fluctuations or delayed/denied insurance claims
8. Covering unexpected expenses
9. Complying with state or federal regulations
10. Retaining staff and managing staff shortages

Let's dig in.

There are no restrictions on how you choose to use the alternative funds for your home health care agency. Here are 10 examples of how you could potentially meet your business goals with alternative financing:

As new health services become mainstream, home health care providers must expand their current list of offerings to remain competitive in the market. Skilled services that home health care agencies can offer include:

• Infusion therapy
• Nutrition services
• Pain management
• Social work
• Speech therapy
• Physical therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Psychiatric services
• Nursing care

Alternative funding can be used to hire new staff members who are trained in these services, to purchase new equipment needed to offer such services, or invest in training or continued education for existing staff.

The increased adoption of advanced home health care devices-like dialysis machines and blood glucose monitoring devices-has made it possible to receive high-quality care at home. Medical equipment and home health care supplies you may need to provide to your patients include:

• Respiratory devices
• Feeding equipment
• Voiding equipment
• IV equipment
• Infusion pumps
• Dialysis machines
• Ventilators
• Hospital beds
• Blood pressure monitors
• Wheelchairs

With alternative funding for medical equipment, you can pay for cutting-edge technology and equipment to provide your home care recipients with the best possible care and service.

As demand for home health services grows, your team must expand. Hiring in anticipation of increased workload can help you avoid overworking your current staff due to burnout. Use alternative financing to recruit, source, and hire new talent so you can accept larger contracts and stay ahead of the curve.

Marketing return on investment (ROI) can be as high as 5:1 or even 10:1, yielding up to $10 for every $1 spent. Using funding to boost your home health care business's marketing and increase revenue is a great use of alternative small business financing. Use your funding to:

• Revamp your website
• Develop an organic SEO strategy, such as adding a blog or hiring freelance writers
• Launch a social media or Google Ads campaign
• Create a referral program to attract new clients
• Sponsor community events such as vaccination clinics or blood pressure screenings
• Speak at seminars or conferences
• Run ads in the local newspaper

Use alternative funding to cover license renewals, franchise fees, or even cover tuition and the cost of continuing education to keep your staff up-to-date and relevant in today’s ever-changing market.

In most states (except Iowa, Michigan, Massachusetts, and Ohio), home health care businesses require a license to operate. The cost to obtain and renew licenses can put a strain on your business's cash flow. The associated costs for franchising can also become prohibitive with an initial franchising fee of up to $40,000 and a total initial investment of up to $400,000, which does not include renewal fees and royalties.

Continuing education for your staff can also come with a high price tag, but is critical for providing the best possible care to your patients, including offering new services.

Improve overall efficiencies by automating business processes to enable your team to focus on their work rather than admin tasks. With alternative funding, you can invest in technology to help streamline simple day-to-day operations, such as online payment processing and patient visit scheduling. You can also use alternative funding to automate financial reporting to keep an eye on revenue and analyze cash flow at any time.

In addition to streamlining your operations, digital solutions can help improve patient care. For example, you could:

• Implement a secure HIPAA-compliant teleconferencing tool to share sensitive health-related information
• Develop tools to remotely monitor patients' vital signs and send emergency alerts as needed
• Create a secure mobile app to send medication reminders

Second only to providing excellent care to your patients, maintaining steady cash flow is one of the most critical aspects of running your home health care business. Don’t let a slow season or delayed Medicare or Medicaid insurance claims stop you from growing your business. Bridging financial gaps with alternative funding allows you to focus on patient care without the stress of limited cash flow.

Sometimes the unpredictable happens-equipment breaks down, employees leave, and new regulations arise. Prepare for the unexpected with alternative financing and never again worry about covering surprise expenses.

As minimum health and safety regulations are constantly improving, it's critical that you ensure your home health services are always compliant with state and federal regulations. Use your alternative funding to pay for coverage requirements such as liability insurance and workers’ compensation.

Retaining staff is one of the most prominent pain points for home health care providers, especially as businesses emerge from COVID-19 lockdowns and face ongoing restrictions. Avoid wasted time spent hiring and training new personnel by keeping your employees happy with fair wages and promotions for outstanding performance.

Home health agencies can also use alternative funding to hire temporary staff. This can be a helpful option when there is a sudden increase in patient volume or if there is an unexpected staff shortage.

Home health care agencies can apply for four main types of alternative funding, each with different qualifications and factor rates. We recommend speaking with one of our Funding Advisors to select the best option for your home health care agency.

Here's a quick overview of the most popular alternative funding options for home health care businesses:

A merchant cash advance gives you immediate working capital in exchange for a percentage of your daily credit and debit card sales. Unlike a traditional term loan, which is repaid in monthly installments, payments for merchant cash advances are deducted automatically from your daily or weekly credit and debit card sales.

Since MCA funding is based on your projected future sales, this option is ideal for agencies with lower credit scores or who might not otherwise meet the strict financial requirements of the SBA and other traditional lenders.

Learn more about merchant cash advances

Invoice factoring is a financing solution whereby an alternative lender will advance up to 90% of the value of your outstanding invoices in exchange for immediate cash. This form of funding is ideal for home health care agencies with at least $15,000 in outstanding invoices and maximum payment terms of 30 to 90 days. Usually, Medicare and Medicaid payments will not qualify as they do not let you sell a claim to a third party.

Learn more about invoice factoring

Collateral working capital is a secured form of financing that uses commercial real estate (not a primary residence) as collateral to reduce the risk to the lender. With this added collateral, home health care agencies may be approved for a higher loan amount than other forms of alternative funding.

Learn more about collateral real estate loans

A business line of credit is a beneficial alternative to a fixed-term bank loan. You can borrow as little or as much as needed and only pay monthly interest on the amount you use-not the entire credit limit extended to you like traditional term loans.

Learn more about alternative business credit

The home health care industry is growing, presenting businesses with opportunities to expand. Alternative funding can help fuel this growth by providing the working capital needed to invest in strategies like proactive hiring, increased marketing, or purchasing new equipment.

Bluerock Options provides unrestricted funding for home health care providers in the USA and Canada with $3,000 to $500,000 in as little as one business day. The application process is quick and easy. Simply fill out an online form and submit at least three months of bank statements. A Funding Advisor will then reach out to you within the hour to discuss your funding options and finish your application. Once approved, you could receive up to $500,000 in as little as 24 hours.

Give your patients the care they deserve. Apply online today for alternative funding with Bluerock Options and scale your home health care business.

As the Great Resignation continues in 2022, staffing shortages are a familiar challenge faced by small businesses in many industries. Transportation, manufacturing, and construction businesses are feeling the pinch the most-half of small employers in these industries reported "significant" staffing shortages, with half of businesses also reporting significant losses in sales opportunities as a result. Fifty-eight percent of small business owners in the construction industry reported significant or moderate lost sales opportunities due to staffing shortages, closely followed by 55% of manufacturing and mining businesses and services industries.

According to April's Small Business Economic Trends survey, 22% of all small business owners plan to increase employment to alleviate the staffing shortage. The industries hardest hit by the staff shortage are also the most likely to plan to hire-31% of owners of manufacturing businesses plan to hire, followed by 28% of transportation operators and 24% of construction business owners.

In March 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported an all-time high of 8.1 million job openings with a job openings rate of 5.3%-a 43% increase over March 2020, the month COVID shutdowns began. Despite their plans to hire, many industries are struggling to fill job openings-in the same year, the National Federation of Independent Business found that a record high of 42% of small business owners had jobs they couldn't fill. Forty-three percent of small businesses across all industries have current job openings they are unable to fill, and more than half of small business owners in construction (60%), transportation (56%), and manufacturing (50%) reported not being able to fill open positions.

Wondering how to deal with staff shortages when you're trying to hire but can't seem to find the right candidates? Many business owners are raising compensation in order to attract and retain employees-39% of manufacturing firms reported raising compensation in April 2022, as well as 27% of retail firms and 34% of construction and wholesale firms.

Raising compensation is one way to attract and retain talent, but there are many other strategies small businesses can employ to boost hiring. These strategies require an investment of working capital, and after two years of shutdowns and restrictions and major changes in consumer behavior, many small businesses may not have the funding they need to deal with staffing shortages.

Merchant cash advances (MCAs) can be an ideal source of working capital for small businesses who are looking to boost cash flow in order to hire and continue to grow. With a streamlined online application, flexible approval requirements, and fast turnaround, small businesses in almost any industry can quickly access the funding they need to implement attractive new hiring policies.

Let's take a closer look at 8 ways you can use a merchant cash advance to deal with staffing shortages, including:

1. Offering overtime
2. Hiring more staff
3. Upskilling existing staff
4. Offering higher wages and better benefits
5. Providing flexibility to new and current employees
6. Investing in technology to help you automate and reduce staffing needs
7. Working with a staffing agency
8. Employee referral bonuses

Offering more hours to your existing staff may mean paying overtime, but this approach may be preferable to losing clients or compromising the quality of your services. Paying overtime also means you can avoid the higher costs of hiring and training new employees.

In 2022, small business owners can't afford to wait for potential employees to come to them-they must take a proactive approach to hiring in order to find the best candidates for the position. This can mean participating in job fairs, working with college training programs to create a hiring funnel, or developing paid internship programs. These strategies all require an investment of capital, but this investment could return dividends in the form of qualified staff who are interested in building a long-term career at your company.

Merchant cash advance funding can be used to offer new employees higher wages, better benefits, or more competitive salaries in order to attract top talent. You can also use MCA funding to cover onboarding expenses so that you can hire inexperienced staff that may require more training. Once your new staff member is on board and helping you earn more money, you'll be able to repay your cash advance faster.

For example:

• Law firms can hire bookkeepers, additional attorneys, paralegals, office managers, and reception staff so managers and partners can focus on higher-value work.
• Construction companies can expand their team or hire subcontractors so they can take on more projects, bid for larger projects, or offer more comprehensive services.
• Restaurants can hire more front-of-house staff so managers can focus on higher-value activities like reviewing reports, identifying opportunities to improve menus, and addressing supply chain challenges.

Use merchant cash advance funding to offer existing staff additional training so that they can provide more value to your business, work more efficiently, and help you earn more money. Skill-building programs can also be a strong retention incentive for your existing staff.

For example:

• Restaurants can offer the option of working from different kitchens to learn different menus.
• Manufacturers can cover tuition costs so employees can learn new skills.
• Any industry can offer leadership and training opportunities to entry-level staff to prepare them for future roles.

Paying median or above-average wages shows staff that they are valued, which can have a positive impact on job satisfaction. If your employees often work other jobs in addition to yours, a higher wage can incentivize them to take more hours at your business, or even quit their other jobs.

Offering higher wages or other perks, such as more paid time off, better health benefits and sick leave, or retirement savings plans, will also make your workplace more attractive to potential employees, and can minimize turnover.

By showing employees that they are valued, eliminating other demands on their time, and reducing stress during their off-hours, you can help your existing staff be more productive while they're on the clock. Merchant cash advance funding can provide the working capital you need to implement these changes without straining your cash flow.

Offering flexible work hours signals that you value work-life balance, which can give you a strong competitive edge over other businesses in your space. Flexible work hours can also make your business more appealing to different groups, such as parents and recent retirees who are looking for part-time work.

With a merchant cash advance, you can hire more part-time employees to enable flexible work schedules. You could also use your funding to invest in technology-like remote desktops or laptops-so your staff can work from home with a flexible schedule, or you can hire without borders and offer employees the option to work how they want. Investing in work from home tech is especially ideal for professional services firms like law firms, accountants, and other types of office work.

Investing in technology that replaces the need for some employees or helps employees do their work more efficiently is a great way to use merchant cash advance funding to deal with staff shortages. Automating time-consuming but simple tasks such as inventory or taking reservations can help your entire team work more efficiently so you can provide better service. Using technology to de-silo different functions using cloud-based software can also help you integrate your business processes more easily to make onboarding and flexible work arrangements easier to implement.

For example:

• Quick service restaurants can invest in self-ordering kiosks, or use new technologies to automate tasks like dishwashing.
• Construction companies can invest in building information modeling (BIM), telematics, and emerging tech like VR or AR, robots or drones, 3D printing, connected devices, or autonomous vehicles to improve communication, productivity, and safety.
• Retail outlets can add self-checkout and improve point of sale systems to enable online shopping and omnichannel approaches.

If you're wondering how to deal with staff shortages, working with a professional staffing agency might be the right way for you to find talented candidates. Some qualified staff simply prefer temporary work, and working with a staffing agency can help connect you with these workers, as well as fill staffing gaps when permanent employees need time off. Staffing services can also help connect you with qualified candidates for long-term contracts, special events, or seasonal hiring, such as:

• Planned vacation time
• Sick leave or personal emergency leave
• Parental leave
• New system implementations
• Seasonal projects

Merchant cash advance funding can be used to cover agency service fees so you can continue focusing on operating your business rather than hiring and onboarding new employees. Staffing agencies will handle the entire process, from posting the job to vetting candidates, so all you have to focus on is welcoming new team members and growing your business.

Employee referral bonuses can help incentivize your current staff to share new job openings with others they know. If a staff member refers a candidate who gets hired and stays for a certain period of time, the referring employee could receive a cash bonus or other incentive.

Merchant cash advances can provide the working capital you need to fund such bonuses or implement other benefits for successful employee referrals.

Merchant cash advances are a fast form of alternative funding that is ideal for hiring new employees or creating employee retention programs. Because MCAs are repaid from a portion of your daily or weekly credit card sales, retaining staff or hiring new employees that will help grow your business can help you repay your funding faster than other forms of small business loans like SBA loans or term loans.

When issued by a reputable lender, merchant cash advances offer a number of advantages over financing options offered by traditional lending institutions, including:

• Simplified applications with less paperwork and less rigorous approval requirements.
• Faster processing and approvals, with funding sometimes available in as little as one business day.
• Greater flexibility and more room to negotiate terms.

With funding from as little as $3,000 up to $500,000, Bluerock Options® can help business owners access flexible merchant cash advance funding to help hire new staff, retain existing employees, and fuel the growth of their business.

1. “Small Business And The Staffing Shortage by Industry.” William Dunkelberg. Forbes. May 27, 2021.
2. “How to Overcome the Small Business Labor Shortage.” Nextdoor. June 21, 2021.

Even though small businesses are considered the backbone of the American economy, accounting for 48% of all jobs in the country, they still face an uphill battle when it comes to securing traditional funding from banks and other financial institutions. The COVID-19 pandemic also created a great deal of uncertainty for small businesses, many of which have had to pivot and reevaluate their entire business model to stay open and continue to grow.

By utilizing effective digital marketing ideas for small business, business owners in any industry can navigate these challenges more easily by reaching new customers, building relationships, and ultimately increasing sales.

As a small business owner, you know that marketing is essential to your success. But what if you don’t have the capital to invest in marketing your business to attract new customers or you can't get the funding you need from the SBA or a bank? That’s where alternative funding options like merchant cash advances come in. With a merchant cash advance, you can quickly access the money you need to invest in marketing and grow your business.

With a streamlined online application, shorter turnaround, and more flexible approval requirements, merchant cash advances are often ideal for financing your marketing efforts, especially if you need funding quickly or don't meet the strict approval requirements of other lenders. Because MCAs are repaid with a percentage of your future credit card sales, they can be an excellent option for businesses that need money for marketing but don’t have the collateral or the time to qualify for a traditional bank loan.

In this post, we will discuss some of the benefits of using a merchant cash advance and how this type of funding can be used to jumpstart digital marketing for small businesses:

1. Creating a dedicated marketing budget
2. Investing in paid online advertising
3. Hiring a social media manager
4. Updating or launching a website
5. Investing in content marketing
6. Managing your online reputation
7. Email marketing

Having a marketing budget is essential for any business that wants to be successful because it allows you to track your spending and ensure that you’re getting the most bang for your marketing buck.

The first step to developing a marketing budget is to set goals. What are you trying to achieve with your marketing efforts? Do you want to increase brand awareness? Drive more traffic to your website? Generate more leads? Convert more customers? Once you know your goals, you can start to allocate your marketing budget accordingly. An MCA will provide you with the capital needed to create a marketing budget and implement your plans without putting an additional strain on your bottom line.

Paid online advertising such as search engine ads or social media ads will help you reach potential customers who are actively searching for products or services like yours. By increasing awareness of your brand, paid ads are an effective way to attract people who have never heard of your business before, which may lead to increased sales. Paid advertising also allows you to track your results and ROI more effectively than other marketing channels, which can help you to further refine your targeting and ensure that your campaigns are as effective as possible.

Merchant cash advance funding gives you an opportunity to try out different advertising strategies and see which ones work best for your business. This can help you save money in the long run by only using the most effective methods. If you only advertise online sporadically, your results may be inconsistent, but an MCA will help ensure that you’re generating a steady stream of traffic and leads.

Hiring a social media manager can be one of the best investments you make for your business, especially if you're just learning how to market your business online. Here are 4 reasons why:

• Time management: If you’re like most business owners, you don’t have a lot of extra time to spend on managing your social media profiles. A social media manager can take care of all the posting and engagement for you so you can focus on running your business.
• Grow your reach: Social media managers know how to reach new audiences and grow your following. They are also able to create targeted campaigns that will help you reach your specific goals, such as increasing brand awareness, generating leads, promoting new products and/or services, encouraging more purchases, and more.
• Create engaging content: A social media manager can help you create social media content that is engaging and relevant to your audience. They can also help you repurpose existing content such as blog posts or videos so that it’s more effective on social media.
• Stay up-to-date on the latest trends: Social media managers will keep up with the latest trends in social media and digital marketing for small businesses. They’ll be able to adapt your strategies so that you’re always ahead of the curve.

An MCA can provide the funds you need to hire a social media manager who can determine which platforms are most likely to result in conversions, devote their time to creating social media content that resonates with your audience, and ultimately increase your revenue.

Having a website is one of the most important tools in your marketing arsenal. It’s how you get prospective customers to look at what you offer, and it’s also how you keep them coming back for more. Not only does a website give your business credibility, but it also helps with search engine optimization (SEO), which makes it easier for potential customers to find you online.

Merchant cash advances can provide the funds you need to build a new site or redesign and optimize your existing website, whether that means making the changes on your own, hiring a freelancer, or contracting a digital marketing agency.

There are many factors that go into SEO, but one of the most important is website content. By creating keyword-rich content such as blog posts and resource guides, you can improve your site’s ranking and visibility and make it easier for potential customers to find you online. In addition, fresh, original content helps to keep visitors engaged, which can lead to more sales and conversions for your business.

Merchant cash advances can provide the funds you need to hire a content manager or a freelance writer to help you develop a strong content strategy, create high-quality content for your website, measure your results, and make necessary adjustments along the way.

It’s no secret that online reviews and customer feedback can make or break a business. Creating trust is one of the most important aspects of running a successful business, but it’s not just something that customers need to feel safe or secure-it’s also how they will understand whether or not they should continue doing business with you.

One way to manage your online reputation is to monitor online reviews and customer feedback on platforms like Trustpilot or Google My Business. These platforms allow customers to leave reviews and rate their experiences with your business, which can be extremely valuable for potential new customers who are researching your company. In addition, online review sites often rank higher on search engine results pages, so having a strong presence on these platforms can help you attract even more attention from prospective customers.

If you want to make sure that you’re getting the best possible ROI out of your customer relationships, using a merchant cash advance to manage your reputation might be the best option. A merchant cash advance can help you keep your customers happy by ensuring that they’re getting the products and services they need in a timely fashion, as well as by providing you with the funds you need to resolve any issues that may arise.

Email marketing allows you to stay in touch with your customers on a regular basis, keeps them updated on what’s going on with your business, and gives them special offers and discounts that they can’t find anywhere else.

There are a number of software programs that can automate email marketing and make it easier for you to manage your email list, track your results, and more. Merchant cash advances can provide the funding you need to invest in software programs that will help you reach your target audience while still having funds for other business expenses.

Although digital marketing for small businesses is an effective way to reach new customers and grow your business, it can also be a costly investment. Here are some of the benefits of using alternative funding to market your business online:

1. You can get the funding you need quickly, which can be crucial when you are facing time-sensitive needs.
2. The repayment process is flexible, which can be helpful if your sales fluctuate.
3. You can use the funds for a variety of online marketing initiatives, including building a website, paid search engine and social media ads, content marketing, email marketing, and more.
4. Merchant cash advances have more flexible approval requirements, making them ideal for businesses with low credit or no collateral.
5. There are typically no restrictions on how you use the funds from a merchant cash advance.

Whether you decide to invest in a digital marketing agency or take matters into your own hands, with the right planning and preparation, you can use a merchant cash advance to successfully market your small business.

The digital world has changed the way people spend money, and it’s changed the way businesses are able to market themselves. A merchant cash advance can help you invest in new digital marketing ideas for small business so you can take advantage of new opportunities to grow.

Sometimes, small businesses need funding to help fuel new marketing strategies. Traditional lenders like the SBA and banks have the lowest rates and longest terms, but they are the most difficult and time-consuming to secure. Additionally, due to their strict requirements, many applicants are rejected. Alternative lenders have more flexible requirements, allowing them to approve more small businesses faster, with funds deposited in as little as 24 hours.

Several kinds of small business funding are available from alternative lenders like Bluerock Options®, including merchant cash advances, online invoice factoring, alternative business credit, collateral business loans, and term loans, with funding from as low as $3,000 and up to $500,000 with no restrictions on how funds are used.

Small Business Administration loans are often considered to be the most ideal form of small business loans for attorneys. However, despite typically having lower rates, longer terms, and larger loan limits, SBA and bank loans aren't always the best loans for law firms-SBA and bank small business loans for attorneys can take weeks or months to come through, and typically only businesses with collateral and extremely strong credit are approved.

What if your law firm needs fast funding or doesn't meet the strict requirements of the SBA or other commercial lenders?

With a streamlined online application, shorter turnaround, and more flexible approval requirements, alternative online lenders like Bluerock Options® can approve more attorney funding, often in as little as one business day.

Merchant cash advances are one of the most popular funding options offered by alternative lenders, but thanks to their relative youth, ease of access, and the sometimes secretive tactics used by disreputable lenders, many myths and misconceptions exist about merchant cash advances. In reality, MCAs are a regulated, practical source of funding that small businesses have been using to achieve their goals for over a decade.

With no restrictions on how MCA funds can be used, merchant cash advance funding provide law firms with the flexibility to use their funding however they see fit, whether they plan to finance growth initiatives or need funding to help meet the challenges of their industry. In this post, we'll explore 10 ways law firms can use merchant cash advance funding to fuel their growth, including:

1. Meeting increasing demand for legal services
2. Updating technology and software
3. Hiring staff
4. Shifting to remote work
5. Offering new services
6. Purchasing real estate
7. Acquiring another practice
8. Building a client-focused firm
9. Investing in continuing education
10. Boosting your law firm's marketing

We'll also take a look at how MCAs can help attorneys respond to challenges like longer billing cycles, protecting client data, covering licensing and registration fees, and navigating COVID-19.

Let's get started.

Though there are no restrictions on how MCA funds can be used, they are typically best used for financing growth initiatives that will increase your law firm's revenue-the more you earn, the faster you will repay your merchant cash advance.

Here are 10 ways MCAs can help you grow your firm and your revenue:

Demand for legal services hit record year-over-year levels in the third quarter of 2021, with corporate clients in particular increasingly seeking external expertise to help navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and regulatory uncertainty. Corporate law departments are spending more on outside counsel than ever before-35% higher than in 2016, with 4 in 10 corporate clients anticipating an increase in legal spending.

As this trend continues and litigation backlogs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic ease, demand for legal services will continue to increase for both corporate and non-corporate law firms. MCAs can provide the funding you need to meet this increased demand, whether you hire new staff, upgrade your technology, offer new services, or increase your marketing to attract new clients.

Old devices and outdated software can hinder your firm's productivity and your ability to advocate for your clients. Other new technologies, such as electronic discovery, have also shifted the legal profession by increasing complexity and operating costs.

Updated technology can also have a direct impact on your revenue. According to the 2020 Legal Trends Report, firms that used online credit card payments, client portals, and client intake solutions together consistently earned more than 20% more revenue per lawyer each month compared to firms that hadn't adopted these technologies.

Merchant cash advance funding can be used to purchase new tech and software that will boost your productivity and revenue, such as:

• Secure laptops so employees can work remotely or in the field
• New devices so people don't have to struggle with sluggish systems
• Sophisticated client management systems
• New legal practice management software
• Improved timekeeping and billing software
• Effective document management
• Online payment processing software

Improved technology can also help you automate processes so you and your team can focus on higher-value work rather than time wasting processes and admin.

It's best to hire new staff before your firm is too busy and your existing team is overworked-hiring proactively rather than reactively ensures that your team is ready to take on more work without leading to burnout and lost time. If you wait till your team is already burning out to take on a new hire, you'll end up with more work on your plate while you onboard the new team member.

Increasing your workforce can enable your firm to take on more cases and provide the highest level of care. Merchant cash advances can provide the working capital you need to hire and onboard qualified staff before they start earning your firm money, such as:

• Bookkeepers
• Additional attorneys
• Paralegals
• Office managers
• Reception staff
• Business development specialists to help your firm grow.

You can also use merchant cash advances to hire experts or additional support staff to help with a particular case, such as outsourcing document review, scanning, and other tasks.

Employees are demanding more flexibility in their work arrangements in 2022. Offering remote work options can help you attract and retain the best talent while also potentially reducing overhead and office expenses. Merchant cash advances can help you purchase the technology you need to enable remote work and onboard new remote staff regardless of where they live.

Clients are demanding more of their law firms in 2022, including extra expertise in areas specific to their industry, as well as data privacy and security, financial expertise, and regulatory or compliance expertise. For law firms who work with corporate clients, proactive risk mitigation and cost control are the most common challenges, and firms that can offer coordinated, innovative solutions and strategic advising will better meet the changing needs of these clients.

MCAs can provide the working capital your firm needs to keep up with these demands and set yourself apart from the competition in your area.

Purchasing your office space can help lower your firm's fixed costs by ensuring your payments don't increase over time. When you own your space, you also have the freedom to customize your office space to suit your unique needs, and if you have extra space, you can also rent it out and create a second revenue stream.

SBA loans and bank loans are often the most recommended type of loan for purchasing real estate, but MCAs can also be used for this purpose and may be ideal if you don't have time to navigate the drawn out process of applying for funding from the SBA or a bank.

Acquiring another practice is an effective way to grow your firm without launching a new office from scratch.

Again, SBA and bank loans are the most often recommended type of loan for this purpose. However, MCAs can also be used for this purpose, and are often ideal for firms that need funding quickly to take advantage of a short-lived opportunity.

From offering a seamless, stress-free on-boarding experience to capturing client feedback after a case is closed, the best thing you can do to support your business's growth is build a culture that focuses on client satisfaction first. There are a number of ways you can do this, such as:

• Creating a communication system that works for clients, such as using client-friendly language
• Designing rates and fees based on client needs
• Creating documented systems and procedures to reduce mistakes, better manage your team, and maintain productivity

Implementing these tactics may require an investment of capital. MCAs can provide the capital you need to execute these and other changes that will help you put your clients first.

Merchant cash advance funding can help you cover tuition and other fees so that you can invest in continuing education and training to keep your staff on the cutting edge, or even offer new services to meet changing client needs.

Boosting your firm's marketing often requires an investment of capital. Merchant cash advances can provide the working capital you need to invest in your marketing strategies to help draw in new clients, such as:

• Launching a website or updating your current website
• Search engine or social media advertising
• Traditional advertising such as direct mail, billboards, and other local ads
• Review and reputation management
• Sponsoring local teams or events
• Creating a referral program, such as offering discounts to clients who send you referrals

Merchant cash advance funding is typically best used to finance growth initiatives, but it can also be used to help meet some of the challenges of running a law firm. Here are 4 common obstacles MCAs can help you overcome:

Law firms typically have longer accounts receivable periods, as well as unique billing structures and revenue streams such as retainers or contingency payments. These factors can make it difficult for law firms to maintain consistent cash flow, which in turn can make it difficult to grow your business or respond to unexpected challenges.

Merchant cash advances can help fill in cash flow gaps so that you can keep providing top quality service without delaying your plans to grow.

In addition to consistently following data privacy best practices, law firms face the additional challenge of maintaining up-to-date data security. Regardless of size, all firms must have a secure, ideally cloud-based client record management system with backups and disaster recovery systems in place.

These expenses are unavoidable and upgrades can be costly. Merchant cash advances can provide the funding you need to maintain top-notch data security, especially if you are pivoting to a hybrid or remote work model.

Whether you're a solo practice, a boutique law firm, or a large practice, bar registrations, association dues, and other licensing and registration fees must be kept up to date for all practicing lawyers at your firm. The cost of these fees can create cash flow shortages that may impact your ability to grow. Merchant cash advances can help cover these costs so you can maintain operations and stick to your growth plans.

An essentials-only economy temporarily reduced the need for some legal services, particularly direct-to-consumer services. Courthouse closures especially impacted plaintiff-side litigators, who tend to take more cases on contingency and have less predictable cash flow.

Backlogs clearing these cases as pandemic restrictions ease can lead to further cash flow shortages. Meanwhile, pent-up demand for some services can be tough to meet without additional funding to hire new staff, upgrade technology, or improve services.

Merchant cash advances can help bolster your firm's cash flow so you can invest in tech, qualified staff, and other initiatives that will help you meet demand without compromising cash flow.

Initiatives that will help grow your firm and increase your revenue in the long-term may require a financial investment that you may not have on hand when you're ready to get started. Merchant cash advances are a fast way to access the working capital you need to kickstart your firm's growth.

If hiring a new attorney, for example, will help you bring in more business in the long run, but you don't have cash on hand to cover their salary till they bring in that business, an MCA can help you access the working capital you need to fill in the gaps till business picks up. Merchant cash advances can also kickstart your marketing, enable you to invest in technology to help your team work smarter and increase billable hours, or help you grow into a larger space to support your future growth.

With a streamlined online application, faster turnaround, and flexible approval requirements, Bluerock Options can provide you with up to $500,000 in merchant cash advance funding in less than one business day.