How to overcome critical business challenges

Running a business is a long term endeavour, but there are many short term challenges that as a business owner, you may face on a daily basis. Paying for overheads, employees' salaries and new inventory — it's safe to say that cash is the fuel that keeps your business running.

Now taking out a loan is one way of meeting these challenges. But for urgent, immediate and short term needs, a conventional loan just doesn't cut it. We asked Facebook users to share how the OCBC Business Revolving Short Term Loan can help to meet these specific challenges.

Check out what they had to say:

Delay in receiving payments

“Boss, just give me one more week to pay you back.” Delays in collecting payments are a common gripe of business owners. One delay can set off a chain of cash flow bottlenecks — your customers don’t pay you and you can’t pay your suppliers.

Applying for a regular loan is not a solution, because by the time the loans are approved your credit terms would have been busted. That’s why Jaslin Tan said the OCBC Business Revolving Short Term Loan will help to ease such a situation. As a cost-effective loan that allows you to draw down when needed, you will have the ready cash to tie them over the period.

Missing out on opportunities

Very often you might hear one saying: “If only I had the money, I could have opened a new branch.” And indeed, whether it is to tender for a new project or a chance to procure inventory at bargain prices, an opportune moment may not come knocking twice.

Seizing such an opportunity can be a make or break for business success, and having the funds to do so is even more crucial. George Goh said he will use the OCBC Business Revolving Short Term Loan to make full use of opportunities coming his way. With the available cash that you only pay for what you use, there will not be any more regrets or “if onlys”.

Read also: Why borrow when you don't have to?

Taking advantage of seasonal demand

If you are in the retail or F&B sectors, the year-end season is always a busy period with consumers in search for the best deals. This is when you might want to ramp up inventory to meet the increased appetite. But sometimes, even that is not enough when there is see a significant surge in demand. What can you do if cash flow is tight and you don’t have enough capital to procure fresh inventory?

For Ian Low, taking up a short term loan will allow him to ramp up production within a short period of time. And with the revenue earned during this season, he can repay the loan immediately, because there is no fee for full repayment.

Staying ahead of the trend

In a market where preferences change at breakneck speed, finding out what consumers really want is a race against time. The “fear of missing out” is real, when your competitors bring in new products and they take the market by storm. But you hesitate to do the same because committing a large capital for something untested doesn’t seem so wise.

But with a loan that allows you to spend only what you need, Lana Low said she can now bring in several variants of a product quickly, allowing her business to be nimble and respond quickly.

These issues are common challenges that business owners face on a short term basis. One effective strategy to close these gaps and sleep better at night is to use a Revolving Short Term Loan. More than just a conventional loan, the OCBC Business Revolving Short Term Loan offers great flexibility and is interest saving. Find out how you can plan differently with the OCBC Business Revolving Short Term Loan.