Experience with grants and other business support?

@GCarlD

@GCarlD

Well-Known Member
Hi all,

My business could really do with a kick up the backside and it would be great to have some business support in terms of finances for marketing, equipment and other business expenses. Particularly professional help with marketing and promoting.

Does anyone have any experience getting business grants and other such support, if so, can you please point me in the right direction? The last '.organisation' I got in touch with turns out to be a scam, which I had figured out by the end of the call. They did not get a penny from me, but unfortunately, they did get some info such as my name, business name/email address, phone number, address; which to be fair can all be found online, but still a bit worrying.

So rather than me searching online, inviting scammers, hopefully, there are some people here who have dealt with legitimate organisations for business funding?

Thanks for any oncoming help/ suggestions,
Carl.
 
I've had 'some' experience but it was a long time back and I am looking into it again.
Mostly for general business advice but don't mind looking at free dosh if it's going. ;)

I'd suggest looking at things run through or endorsed by your local council (.gov site).
Places like the local Chamber Of Commerce.

I just searched out my area + business advice and it threw up loads of info which also included funding.
Much were low interest loans though.

I'm always a bit suspicious of companies that offer this though though experience.

Years back I went on a business course run through such a company which was endorsed by the local council.
As I recall it was for the Enterprise Allowance (a scheme where you got financial support for the first year) and they thought us how to do business plans, financial forecasts and simple book-keeping.
I got a call from them saying they wanted me to submit my business plan NOW to the Enterprise Allowance assessor.
I told them It wasn't ready but they insisted it was so I did.

The assessor shot it to pieces and I didn't get on the scheme or the financial support.
I felt a proper fool. :(
It was about two months of work and training for nothing.

I asked them why they pushed me through.
They told me "If people submit an application within a certain time we get a bonus. We have to make money too".
They were quite blatant about it.
 
As daft as this will sound... check out your bank, Barclays (who I'm with) keep spamming my email with business advice stuff....
 
Also, if you just need an injection of cash, a 0% credit card can be a nice way to pay for something without the addition of APR. I did this when I had to upgrade my equipment and I've almost paid it off without any interest. When I had a good month, I'd pay a good chunk of the amount off. If it was quiet, I could just pay the minimum until the invoices are paid. It helps my credit rating too, which is handy being self-employed.
 
Paul Murray said:
Also, if you just need an injection of cash, a 0% credit card can be a nice way to pay for something without the addition of APR. I did this when I had to upgrade my equipment and I've almost paid it off without any interest. When I had a good month, I'd pay a good chunk of the amount off. If it was quiet, I could just pay the minimum until the invoices are paid. It helps my credit rating too, which is handy being self-employed.
Click to expand...

It is looking increasingly likely that I am going to have to do down the credit card route, I have never had a credit card before and avoided the offers of one all my life. I'm one of those people that absolutely hates being in any kind of debt and I dread the interest rates of a credit card - my earnings are far from consistent... I was so relieved several years ago when I paid back my couple grand worth of overdraft, and that's not really a debt as such! I've never taken out an overdraft since. That is how bad it is for me. The fact that I'm going to be in my 30s with well over £10K of student loan still due to pay back upsets me immensely, to the point that I wished I never went to uni (although deep down I'm very proud of my degree).

At what point is interest added onto credit cards? Is it if you miss an agreed monthly payment, or if you pay less than the agreed monthly payment, or is interest added monthly regardless of if you make the full monthly payment on time or not? I believe it is the latter?
 
Interest is calculated monthly, based on what you owe on the card. Most cards give you 0% for a certain amount of time, typically 12 or 24 months, meaning you can basically use the card, pay it off in time and not owe a penny. I got into trouble when I was younger because my interest was more than my minimum monthly payments. In the end I swapped it to a fixed-rate loan from my bank and paid that off instead.I've also done that with car finance. Better to pay a fixed amount than have someone constantly shifting the finish line back each month.

I'm really cautious with debt, my overdraft is only £250 and I only use the credit card for large purchases, or if I need a buffer whilst I wait for invoices to come in. It's probably best to get a card from your bank and set yourself a limit. My card is a £4000 limit, but I only try to owe £1000 at most. Some companies will try and give you much more in the hopes of trapping you in an interest cycle once you've splurged. My girlfriend is regularly offered up to £16k because of her credit rating but she's not stupid enough to take it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top