The Rio 2016 Olympic Games are fast approaching, and with athletes from all over the world arriving at the site and finding accommodation not quite up to scratch, there are lessons to be learned about preparation.
Your SME has been started and developed to fill a market - it's also taken off with the intention of growing past the point of being 'just another start-up'. However, in order to achieve that goal, you need to be prepared for the growth that's awaiting you - it could be just around the corner. In fact, you might have scheduled the growth, based on a marketing campaign or the opening of a branch in another state or territory. The Rio Olympics committee should have been prepared for their growth, because they had it scheduled as well.
Why was Rio not ready for the Olympics?
The Rio Olympics committee knew exactly when athletes and competing teams would be arriving.
The Rio Olympics committee knew exactly when athletes and competing teams would be arriving, but the Village was famously under-prepared for the influx.
As described in an ABC report from July 26, the Olympic Village was so bad that some teams were forced to stay in hotels instead of their planned accommodation. Even the Brazilian team, the home country's competitors, did not see the Village fit for habitation.
With proper planning and contingencies in place, the housing would have been finished to the required standard, and people would not have kicked up a fuss about what they witnessed. Unfortunately for the host nation, they are now being viewed negatively around the world, and with the start of the Games just days away, there is a lot that needs to be done in a little time.
This scramble to patch holes in a sinking ship could so easily have been avoided, too. The Olympics are a four-yearly event, and Rio was chosen as the host for the 2016 Games well over four years ago. They had the time to plan, but they didn't use it wisely. How can your small to medium-sized business take lessons away from this failure?
Translating to SME success
Whatever growth your SME is expecting, you should be prepared at every stage. If more customers are predicted to require goods or services, then your operations should alter to keep up with the potential demand. If it's something as simple as accessing grant money, then you should be totally prepared for the influx of working capital, and know exactly how it's going to be used.
If you don't want to wait over a month for a customer to pay you, then invoice finance is the solution.
However, as much as your SME should be working toward growth, sometimes clients don't pay when they need to. That leaves unpaid invoices just waiting to be finalised, and money you've earned unable to be accessed. According to a Dun and Bradstreet analysis of payment times from July 21, businesses paying their invoices are taking slightly longer than they were in the first quarter of 2016.
The number of days increased from an average of 43.7 (a record low) to 44.9. While the slight jump might seem drastic, at the same time last year, it was taking businesses much closer to 50 days to pay what they owed. In 2008, it was above 57 days.
If you don't want to wait over a month for a customer to pay for the work you've already done, then invoice finance is the solution. Earlypay will take control of unpaid invoices and provide your SME with a cash flow injection to a certain percentage of the total value they come to. That puts money in your hand that you deserve, so you can keep your business trucking along smoothly.
Learn from how unprepared the Rio Olympics committee was for when athletes began arriving, and plan for the growth you can see coming. You'll need business funding for that, so contact Earlypay today to see what the team can offer
If you'd like to learn how Earlypay's Invoice Finance & Equipment Finance can help you boost your working capital to fund growth or keep on top of day-to-day operations of your business, contact Earlypay's helpful team today on 1300 760 205, visit our sign-up form or contact [email protected].