Independent Banking Advisory Service 

Small Business –Small Business ‘start-up’.

Watching BBC’s 'Dragons Den' always makes me acutely aware that many of the ‘wanna be’ or ‘start-up’ businesses lack even basic knowledge or basic understanding on unit cost, break even, cash flow, profit margins and balance sheet basics. They also lack the basics of funding a business ‘start-up’ or in keeping a small business running after ‘start-up’. We’ve seen the same problems many times since 1992 and have helped many small businesses understand the basics required to run a successful small business. It's not impossible for a small business to grow and when times are good survive, providing it can be helped or kept running by a supply of cash. It can be redundancy money, money raised by a re-mortgage on property or just plain borrowing from credit cards.

Over the years we have seen many small businesses use a succession of new credit cards in order to fund a start-up business. When banks were 'throwing' money at customers who were asking for more or larger borrowings, businesses which were not watching their bottom line were able to survive. That has now changed dramatically. Banks are no longer lending for lending's sake - they now seek more and more security to lend even existing customers the same amount they had already borrowed.

But, ‘Dragons Den’ does illustrate that running a small business is not just about using a hobby which can then be enlarged upon, without thought or research or simply by using other people’s money. Business is not a game, which can be easily played by everyone, without worry or fear or by losing someone else’s money rather than your own.

It should be remembered that when Henry Ford was defending his ignorance he said: that he could afford to buy the business knowledge he required. In Henry Ford’s case we can believe that this was true. But, he was also cute enough to realize that he couldn’t run a successful business without some professional help.

Many UK small businesses selling services or products, sometimes in too large a number for their own survival, appear oblivious to even fundamental business survival. We have seen many ‘muddling through’ one crisis after another, before they finally understand they need some professional help. Sometimes that realization is early enough to survive and keep the business running – sometimes it’s not and personal assets are then at risk. We’ve helped many who were cute enough to ask for help. It’s not expensive to ask for our help but it’s very expensive to fail and then lose your personal assets - having done it all wrong.

There is one thing of which we can be sure. The present recession will remove many businesses, which lack even basic business financial knowledge and expertise very quickly indeed, because recession always appears to eliminate the weakest first.

This appears to be confirmed by Research released this week from insurance firm RSA, which found that 470,000 small businesses had already ceased trading since the credit crunch began. However, the strong business will survive by adapting, reinventing and changing quickly, not worrying about what they cannot change but thinking and caring about what they can. We will help in that process by providing direct help and assistance for your business.

Eddy Weatherill - chief executive - IBAS - November 2008 

It's natural you will want to know our 'pedigree' - visit UK Bank News 2009 for most recent Banking News and you will also find our national newspaper comments plus many more in the News and archives sections of our site - see our site map. IBAS has featured in BBC TV and ITV News items and programmes on banking and the banking issues many times since we were established in 1992.

IBAS is totally independent. Our business banking archived information and experience gathered from 17 years ‘case work’ for members, provides you with unique, confidential, professional business banking advice and assistance. Those factors combined without any conflicts of interest or threat to your business position, means that IBAS can really make a difference for you in dealing with your bank. email us for help.

Independent Banking Advisory Service (IBAS) is a national, independent, non-profit, unique specialist banking customer membership organization which resolves banking complaints and disputes and which has campaigned on UK Banking customer issues since 1992. We provide bank and banking assessment, analysis, bank comment and content for BBC TV News, ITV, Radio and national newspapers, keeping many serious banking issues 'alive'.