The One Where Fleximize Fits in...

Almost everything is faster than it used to be. When my grandmother used to fly from South Africa to England, it would take 2 days as they hopped between capital cities across the continents. Now it takes me 11 hours.

For businesses, the advent of the Internet has increased opportunities as well as competition. Business models have shifted; speed and agility are prized above all else. For evidence of this, look no further than the agile model of development and the lean model of management – each suggests that the speed at which businesses adapt will mean the difference between success and failure.

So why does it take 6 weeks to get a bank business loan? We’re not sure, really. Most elements banks require appear pretty instantaneously – credit checks, management information, and personal asset statements – so what takes so long? Even finance providers like Funding Circle – which is about as picky with their borrowers as banks are – can get a business financed faster.

Funding Circle isn’t the only one speeding up the lending process. A number of alternative finance providers now exist in the UK that are servicing businesses that need credit fast to take advantage of a time-limited opportunity – maybe it’s a new hire, inventory purchase, a marketing push, or anything else. Fleximize counts itself amongst this new wave of finance companies, intent on reducing the time it takes to lend from weeks and months to hours and days; and we do it without sacrificing the relationship you used to have with your bank.

As a result of a focus on streamlined, largely digital – and in some cases algorithm-led – processes this part of the industry is opening a new world of opportunities to small businesses. Particularly for smaller retailers, slight fluctuations in margins can have a massive impact on prospects. Previously for businesses without piles of cash, to make a snap decision to buy discounted inventory in bulk they would need to have a bank overdraft, fees for which can be costly with a credit line that could be altered by the bank at a moment’s notice.

No longer is that the case. Provided that the application is complete, companies like Fleximize can get money into a business’s bank account within hours of initial contact. If you only need the money for a short period of time, that’s fine, too – there are no lock-ins and no penalties for pre-payment.

Next time there’s a last minute opportunity that you can’t believe your business is missing, it doesn’t have to. There is a wide world of finance making the lives of small business owners easier than ever before – give it a go and enjoy everything that 21st century finance has to offer.