Julian on services provided by Business Support Finder…
"We have two brands: one for businesses seeking the right accountant and one for businesses looking for business consultants. We work with each one individually to work out their particular needs.
"They tell us their needs and we try and get some clarity on what is really going to improve their business.
"It’s about helping the business owner do more initially."
On sourcing finance…
“Finance is a very complex issue and there are lots of ways to do it. They have to do it the most efficient way with the lowest risk.
There’s no point having a nice looking website and nobody coming!
"The number one tip is: don’t give personal guarantees. But the trouble is, when you go to a bank that’s the first thing they want.
"They’ll give you an overdraft of £1,000 that you can withdraw tomorrow, which is no good, and for anything else they want a personal guarantee.
"First of all, we’ll help them get money without a personal guarantee. And we’ll help you get the most efficient way of getting that money.
"Often the owner says ‘I want £15,000 and I’ll pay it back in a year.’ So the first thing we do is make sure it’s over two years that they repay it, so it gives them a chance to [accommodate] the ups and downs of business life.
"And we also help them make more money more quickly in order to pay that money off."
On why people use Business Support Finder…
"Normally they’ve made mistakes. So for example they’ve spent £30,000 on a website and it’s still not finished. First of all, that’s far too much money and they still don’t have a finished solution.
"They might not have search-engine optimisation. There’s no point having a nice looking website and nobody coming! And that’s what so many people do with their website.
"Something like 95% of websites don’t give a payback. If you’re an internet business yourself, 95% of them go bust!"
