SPEND MONEY TO MAKE MONEY

The right cash flow management can open growth opportunities for small businesses

- Damien Martin

Usually when people start their own business, it’s to explore a passion they have, not to spend hours at a time on back-office work. That’s the reality of small business, though. One of the biggest headaches, and obstacles to growth, is cash flow. An American Express survey of more than 1,000 small businesses found that only about half of small business owners are confident in financial decisions about their future. Those with 20 or fewer employees are especially hampered, and the major problem is cash flow management.

Most small businesses are using two to three cash flow management products for at least five hours a week; 18% of them are spending 10-20 hours a week on the issue.

“The practical reality is, there’s a lot more to the business side of this,” Brett Sussman, head of marketing & sales for American Express Business Blueprint & Banking, told BOSS. “There’s a need to make that business side easier for small business. There may be a number of tools out there, but they’re often targeted to larger business owners. How do we make it easier to start a business, become lean in those early years, and do well? I always have the philosophy of ‘learn quickly and fail cheaply.’”

‘Systematic Shock’