As an ecommerce seller, your funding strategy is critical to growing your business. No matter what funding strategy you choose, having working capital readily available will allow your ecommerce business to become more versatile in a tumultuous and constantly evolving landscape, ensuring success. However, finding a funding strategy that is sustainable long-term and fits the needs of your ecommerce business can often prove difficult.
Each business faces a unique set of challenges and there’s no one-size fits all approach to funding. With more and more funding solutions available and ecommerce marketplaces rapidly becoming saturated with competition, it’s never been more daunting or urgent to establish a funding strategy that can sustainably grow your ecommerce business. In this blog, we’ll explore a variety of funding strategies for ecommerce businesses, designed to help you achieve success without putting pressure on your business.
Bootstrapping
Many ecommerce sellers prefer to fund their business without taking on external funding. When bootstrapping, ecommerce business owners fund their business through personal savings and cash flow, ideally so that the business sustains itself without extra financial support. This can be for many reasons, but most of the time it’s due to negative associations with debt or fear of losing control of business decisions.
Bootstrapping can be useful for early-stage businesses because it ensures that you aren’t taking on unnecessary debt. It also guarantees that you have complete control over business decisions, especially when it comes to finances since there are no other stakeholders to be worried about.
However, bootstrapping isn’t always the most sustainable in the long run for your business. Ecommerce businesses require a large initial investment that won’t be recovered for an extended period due to long wait periods between payouts. These lulls in sales or between orders can create cash flow hiccups, stunting your business’ growth and creating crunches that can ultimately put pressure on your business.
Credit Card
Part of ecommerce’s unique appeal and success has come from its accessible nature to sellers of all backgrounds. While many sellers are lifelong entrepreneurs interested in starting businesses from the beginning, just as many ecommerce business owners begin with no business experience. If you fall into the latter category, with little to no business history and minimal cash to invest in your ecommerce business, credit cards might be a good initial funding strategy for your business.
One of the biggest advantages of using credit cards as the initial funding strategy for your business is convenience. Obtaining a credit card is quick and easy, meaning that you can make purchases quickly and take advantage of many time-sensitive opportunities that could help your business grow without waiting for funds to be transferred or deposited into a bank account. Many credit cards also offer appealing reward systems or cash-back bonuses which can be used towards future business expenses.
On the other hand, while credit cards may be a good initial funding strategy for your ecommerce business, it’s not entirely sustainable in the long run. Unlike other funding strategies, credit cards can become very expensive if you carry a balance from one month to the next.
Banking Loans
Experienced sellers can often qualify for traditional banking loans to fund their ecommerce growth, which can feel more comfortable and secure compared to newer funding options. Banks normally offer low-interest rates that benefit sellers by minimizing the total cost of capital and providing an inexpensive funding solution. Many banks also allow for flexible repayment schedules that align with the needs of your business, and can offer supplemental funds for your business should the need arise.
However, banks have a wide range of loan options, that all come with unique terms and conditions that have to be deciphered and weighed. While greater options provide flexibility, they can also become overwhelming when bogged down in the confusing and complicated language required of a well-established and monitored financial institution.
Banks are also far more strict about their requirements for loans, meaning that many ecommerce sellers don’t qualify. If you’ve struggled with sales at any point or have been selling for less than a year, traditional banking loans can be almost impossible to obtain.
Crowdfunding
Some ecommerce businesses opt to raise money online through a crowdfunding platform like Kickstarter, Fundable, or SeedInvest. While crowdfunding has historically been seen as an option only for startups, it can be a great way for people who believe in your ecommerce business to invest and get something in return. Most crowdfunding offers equity, rewards, or credit to those who contribute.
While crowdfunding is a very inexpensive method to fund your ecommerce business it comes at a different type of cost. To successfully acquire the type of funding necessary to run your business you’ll need a strong promotional strategy, transparency, and often to give up some of your equity in the business. As a result, you’ll be held accountable for your business financial decisions by other people– taking away some of your autonomy in the business. It’s also incredibly difficult for businesses to sustain themselves through crowdfunding. Crowdfunding can be useful for temporary support, such as to expand your catalog or for a big marketing push, but isn’t worthwhile for recurring expenses.
Viably
While many funding solutions exist for ecommerce sellers, very few take the time to truly understand the challenges your business faces. The best providers not only offer funding products that fill in gaps in your cash flow but also help your business grow sustainably in the long run.
Viably is a unique platform designed to provide funding solutions for ecommerce sellers, integrating funding, forecasting, and banking all into one tool to make it easy for you to visualize your financial health. With a complete view of your cash flow right at your fingertips, you can boost your cash flow to scale with complete confidence. Thanks to Viably’s personalized funding plans you can be certain that you’re taking on the right amount of working capital to grow without putting pressure on your business. Additionally, Viably customers have unique advantages, like virtual credit cards, thanks to Viably’s integrated platform.
With marketplace connection, Viably can review your business data and make a tailored funding offer rapidly. Once you’ve accepted an offer that working capital will be deposited into your bank account within 24 hours, meaning that you can get back to focusing on your business quickly.
Connect your accounts today to find out how much funding your business could receive.
