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Often, the moment when your business plan has finally secure business finance takes you by surprise. You may have been setting up the deal for months or even years, but when you finally get that money in your bank account, it can seem surreal.

The good news is it’s not! Congratulations! You have the necessary funding to take your business idea to the next level.

But what do you do next? Securing business funding is a milestone, but it’s one that can paralyse you if you’re not prepared. Here are a few things you should do when you have secured business finance.

If You Don’t Already Have An Accounting System, Get One!

If there’s one thing you should know about accounting systems, it’s that putting them in after the fact is a LOT harder than having them in place from day one!

If you’re spending money setting up a business, then it’s imperative that you keep track of what you’re spending it ON. It doesn’t have to be complicated either – a place to keep invoices and receipts, and a simple spreadsheet that tracks the in and out flow of money should be more than enough to get you started, and you’ll be really glad, when you talk to your accountant, that you kept things in some semblance of order!

Renegotiate Everything

Chances are, when you set up your business plan, you used figures for equipment, tools, products and services to estimate your start up costs. However, those figures may be out of date, or they may not be the best prices you can get.

Go back to all the suppliers and service providers you spoke to in the beginning, and ask them for a revised quote. If you didn’t negotiate prices much the first time around, now’s the time to do it! You’d be surprised at how much you can save, and every cent that you don’t spend setting up is money you can put towards those tough first couple of years.

Spend on Marketing

If you’re wondering where you should be spending most of your money when you’re starting out, the answer is on marketing. You need to be actively driving sales, but more importantly, you must be actively working on turning every customer into a lifelong client.

You should also revise your idea of marketing at the same time – it’s not something you do occasionally – it’s in everything you do. So make sure that while you are structuring your company, you do so in such a way that you make everything, you do a marketing opportunity.

Think Before You Spend

You’d be surprised at how quickly even a sizeable investment in your business can disappear, if you’re not careful. That’s why you should take time before you make every purchase now, to really think about the decision. Is it necessary? Is it the most cost effective and beneficial method of doing things?

The best, most successful companies out there are founded on a combination of frugality, wise spending, customer service, and superior products. All of those things start the day you find business finance, so make it your goal to start a successful business, and spend wisely, from day one.

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