(This is a guest post from our friends over at Payability, a technology firm that offers different financing options that give marketplace sellers daily access to cash.)
Are you ready to take your eCommerce business to the next level? If so, you more than likely need to invest in growth to actually get there — for example, by bulking up on inventory, or launching a new product, or expanding to another marketplace. Whatever the “next level” case may be, you won’t get there overnight or without spending some cash.
But as an eCommerce seller, it’s hard to invest in anything when your income isn’t paid out in real-time. That’s why many marketplace sellers like you turn to financing. So how do you know if it is right for you? Here are five signs you might be ready to leverage eCommerce financing, plus how to know which option is right for you.
5 Signs You’re Ready for eCommerce Financing
While there are seemingly immeasurable ways to determine your business’ readiness for financing, today we’re going to focus on five of the most common. If any of the below sound like you, pay close attention to our next section to ensure you get the right option for your business.
1. Proven product: You’ve been selling the same product for a while and never have an issue with demand. In fact, your product sells so well you consistently win and keep the Buy Box. You just might need financing to help keep your inventory stocked.
2. Scalability: You’re about to have a scalable business, you just need to overcome cash flow gaps so you can continue replenishing inventory in real-time and therefore keep meeting demand (even as it grows).
3. Seasonality: Along the same lines as these first two points, seasonality brings its share of growth opportunities. For example, if you’re approaching a busy season, you’re going to make more sales — which means you’ll need more inventory than usual so that you can meet the increased seasonal demand.
4. Opportunity cost: The cost of not getting financing is more expensive than the cost of getting it. In other words, continuing without financing means you may not be able to buy inventory when you need it — so instead of meeting demand, you run out of stock, lose the Buy Box, forfeit sales and could jeopardize your account altogether. This could all translate to thousands and thousands of dollars lost. Compare this to financing which, while not free, allows you to make more money than usual.
5. Meeting demand: If you’re consistently keeping up with consumer demand, you’re doing your business many favors. For example, you’ve clearly mastered inventory management and never run the risk of a stockout. What’s more, you’re increasing your chances of getting/keeping the Buy Box, which means the lionshare of sales are yours. And, you’re building a strong track record of sales, which will make it easier for you to actually get financing when you decide you need it.
The Right eCommerce Financing Option for You
First things first, the most important thing to remember when you start your financing search is to consider business financing options only. After all, you want your business associated with the application, not you as an individual. For one thing, you’ll get a more accurate decision and will be setting up your business to make more money. In other words, any business financing you get is capped to an amount a lender knows you can pay back over a certain amount of time. And, you’ll use the funds to invest back into your business — for example to buy more inventory so you can turn more faster and make even more profit.
So what’s your best business financing option? There are many choices — from credit cards to bank financing to online loans to marketplace-specific solutions. You can review and compare your finance choices in-depth here. These different financing solutions help sellers maintain reliable access to cash and get the funds they need to grow.
About Payability
If you’re a high-growth marketplace seller, you might be interested in learning more about Payability.
Wouldn’t it be great to get your income within 24 hours of making a sale — without having to run a credit check? That’s exactly how Payability works.
Payability is a financing company for marketplace sellers that looks solely at your sales performance and account health. Their solutions are designed to help you get paid your own money in real time so you can solve your cash flow issues once and for all and finally grow your business. In fact, Payability customers grow their ecommerce businesses 2.5x faster than their competitors.
With Pyability’s Instance Advance option, they’d buy a certain amount of your future receivables up front and at a discount, giving you a large lump sum of cash that you could use to buy bulk inventory and/or prepay your suppliers. Gina Goldring, who sells on Amazon, used Instant Advance to grow her business by 50% in one month. For additional cash flow support, they also offer Instant Access and the Seller Card, which give marketplace sellers as fast as same day payouts on their sales.
To learn more about how Payability can help you take your business to the next level, visit here and claim your $250 sign on bonus. High volume sellers with $50k+/month in sales may qualify for reduced rates.
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About the Author
Victoria Sullivan is a Marketing Manager at Payability. She has over eight years of social media, copy writing and marketing experience. Prior to joining the Payability team, Victoria developed social media content and strategies for top technology brands such as Skype and Samsung. She holds a degree in Advertising from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. She can often be found in a yoga class or working on her fashion blog.
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