It's no secret that businesses have to be agile to succeed; there is no longer the luxury of predictability. Change is the only constant, and those who rise to that will do well. One way to help address that challenge is through flexible finance. Rather than outdated solutions that are laden with rigid T&Cs and lengthy contracts, modern finance is nimble, designed to give businesses faster access to the latest assets.

Here, we’ll break down finance’s role in enabling business growth, explain why flexibility is a strategic advantage that needs to be harnessed, and how  Shire can support your business.

To learn more, read on or, if you’re ready to get started, get in touch with us today.

Economic Uncertainty is the New Normal

It could be argued that ever since the financial crash in 2008, there has always been a general rumbling of economic uncertainty; sure, it's ebbed and waned, but concrete certainty is long gone. From this reordering of economic norms, we’ve seen markets appear as well as new, nimble SMEs that have challenged legacy businesses in manufacturing, finance, and tech. Those who’ve thrived have embraced the chaos. Testing, trying new things, and scaling quickly by accessing asset finance solutions that fit how they buy today.

Business agility equals survival and growth

As mentioned in the intro, the luxury of predictability is over, and agile businesses will win the day. But what do we mean by ‘agile’?

Here are a few examples:

Scaling to meet sudden demand

When a large order or seasonal spikes in demand strike, businesses need to be able to meet the challenge head-on. Agility means being able to quickly access new equipment to increase output without waiting months to build up capital. Asset finance allows for this without the need to deplete cash reserves.

Pivoting to react to market shifts

Imagine you’re a business that spots a shift in customer needs. A construction firm moving into lucrative renewable energy projects, perhaps. Asset finance enables agility by allowing them to acquire the tools and vehicles to help facilitate that pivot, keeping them at the cutting edge of what their target audience wants.

Replacing old equipment to stay competitive

In fast-paced industries, agility is essential to keep up with the speed of innovation. Running old kit is the business equivalent of traipsing through treacle; output is slower, running costs are higher, and contracts are lost. Agile businesses know when to upgrade, and asset finance is a faster way of swapping legacy equipment for newer, more efficient models.

Finance Shouldn’t Slow You Down When the Moment Strikes

Exciting new growth opportunities don’t wait around until you have the assets and capital to make the most of them. When a business needs a service from your sector, they’ll choose the firm that responds the fastest. Traditional finance no longer caters for businesses that want to seize that opportunity.

They were built for stability over speed, which doesn’t align with today’s agile business environment. Approval alone can take weeks or months. By then, the opportunity, and maybe even one or two more, have zipped by. Paperwork, criteria, and slow decision-making kill momentum.

Asset finance allows your business to say ‘yes’ to that exciting opportunity without needing to spend time assessing your capacity. Commit with confidence and move at the same speed as your market with a finance partner such as Shire, who can make application decisions for you in minutes, not days.

Leasing is More Than Just a Payment Plan, It’s a Growth Tool

There’s far more depth to leasing than just a way of repaying financed equipment over an agreed period. Asset finance has additional benefits, such as freeing up cash in your business for other investments in new talent, bolstering marketing efforts, or developing new products. Not having the burden of owning assets that may depreciate or need maintenance removes the risk that selling them won’t yield an appropriate return.

Rather than being locked into outdated equipment, asset finance means you’ll refresh your equipment stack as new models and technology are brought out, keeping you competitive and your operations always running at their optimum.

For businesses that are affected by seasonality or demand spikes, repayments can be aligned with revenue cycles to reduce the pressure on your cash flow, keeping your business performing and growing.

Flexibility is a Survival Strategy

Being flexible in business is no longer nice to have; it is one of  the ways to survive. Kinks in supply chains, economic shocks, and a consumer market whose demands shift daily, seemingly, are no longer anomalies but common realities. During this turbulence, it's the business that can access the assets they need to grow, the quickest, that will benefit from shifts in market share.

It is now a given that businesses need to turn on a sixpence because customers are, at best, apathetic about your challenges. The number of solutions and brands out there is so saturated that it is those who offer what the customer wants, in a convenient way, that will have the edge.

This starts by having the infrastructure in place to meet wants, and is why asset finance’s flexible support and low upfront cost barriers are so popular among SMEs.

Finance That Flexes When the Market Doesn’t

Stability is out of your hands in today’s business world; that’s a given, but how you respond to that instability is. We offer finance solutions that work with your business model and the sector in which you’re growing.

We avoid rigid long-term commitments that don’t reflect your asset usage Shire is fast, flexible, and built for change. We’ll meet the modern demands of your business and use  our three decades of experience to do it.

If you want access to the latest assets that can transform your business, get in touch with our team  today.