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How to Get ECommerce Working Capital without Collateral: Grow Your Walmart Marketplace Business without Putting Yourself at Risk

April 7, 2021

As an eCommerce entrepreneur, you’ve probably invested a ton of time, energy, and cold hard cash into getting your store off the ground—just like the 83% of entrepreneurs who go without bank loans when launching. Not to mention the 65% of business owners that dig into their personal or family’s savings to get started.

While sacrifice is the name of the game, it doesn’t mean your business should continue to bleed your pockets dry, no matter how fast it’s growing.

You could seek out the help of banks or the Small Business Administration (SBA), but they’ll likely expect you to stake some collateral in return.

Lucky for you (and your net worth), there are other options.

There is a whole new school of funding providers on the scene offering improved ways to secure eCommerce working capital for your Walmart Marketplace store, sans extreme demands.

Today we’re diving deep into the ins-and-outs of securing eCommerce working capital without collateral, so your business can stand on its own two feet and thrive. Let’s get into it!

Tired of looking for eCommerce working capital from the wrong sources? Check out SellersFunding today!

Ecommerce Working Capital: What We’ll Cover

‘The SBA Hates Small Businesses’ (Their Words, Not Ours)
Alternative Ecommerce Funding Types in Your Corner
Working Capital and Merchant Cash Advances: The Holy Grail of Ecommerce Funding
The ABC’s of Securing Ecommerce Funding without Collateral
What to Look For From Your Ideal Ecommerce Funder
The No-frills Game Plan to Get Your Ecommerce Store Funded Without Collateral

‘The SBA Hates Small Businesses’ (Their Words, Not Ours)

A disgruntled entrepreneur recently took to the YouTube stage to vent after the SBA rejected his EIDL advance application (a loan made for disaster recovery), in a video called ‘The SBA hates small businesses’.

These are strong words, but does the YouTuber have a point?

The SBA has a less than stellar track record of supporting budding ventures, ironically the very same people the government created the SBA to help.

Let’s take a look at some facts and features of SBA loans that place almost insurmountable requirements on growing businesses and their owners:

SBA loans have low success rates for newbie entrepreneurs. The SBA gave just 12% of startups 2 years old or less a loan in 2019.
The lengthy application process is incompatible with the fast pace of eCommerce. It can take the SBA and lending institution 60-90 days just to decide. 😲

SBA loans can be more expensive than other funding options, i.e, a 7(a) loan’s interest rate can hit 9.75%
Although SBA loan guarantees can reach 90% if you take out a substantial sum, it’s still risky. You could be liable for a large amount of money if your business is unable to repay.

You need to offer personal collateral for loans over $25,000 even if the capital is for a disaster or emergency. So, it’s a substantial roadblock for entrepreneurs with growing stores.

You may need to make down payments, and balloon payments would reduce your business liquidity and freedom to take on projects that increase its growth rate.

Some argue banks are in the same league as SBA loans when it comes to eCommerce funding. This is because they come with similar strict eligibility requirements and drawbacks. Plus, if your loan application is successful, they may tamper with the amount you receive if they feel you won’t be able to repay your desired amount—so you may end up stuck with a loan that doesn’t fulfill your capital needs.

Need a better working capital solution? Learn more about SellersFunding.

Alternative Ecommerce Funding Types in Your Corner

SBA and banks may not be the allies you hoped for—but there’s no need to shed any tears.

You’ve got better funding options in your reach because you put in the work and now have a successful eCommerce store (props to you!).

Before we get into the best options for eCommerce, let’s run through a few of the alternatives:

Invoice factoring: Do you have a wholesale arm? If so, you could sell your business’ accounts receivables to a factoring company at a reduced rate. The factoring company will charge you an additional fee and then give you the cash. It’s quick and straightforward.

Crowdfunding: You sell your idea to the public on an online platform, and they can decide whether to invest in it or not. Choose between three types of crowdfunding: debt, donation, or equity crowdfunding.

Peer-to-peer lending: This one is similar to a traditional loan, except you borrow from a person instead of a financial institution. You make fixed monthly repayments to repay the funder.

Angel investing: You rub shoulders with high-net-worth investors to pitch your business. If you’re successful, you sell a stake in your business in return for capital.

These are all good and accessible options, but let’s find out you can step things up a notch to give your eCommerce business the tailored backing it deserves.

Working Capital and Revenue Advances: The Holy Grail of Ecommerce Funding

The next two options are the crème de la crème when it comes to fulfilling eCommerce working capital requirements. They are like a reward for the blood, sweat, and tears you’ve put into your business, because your sales figures play a huge part in the rates and funding amount you can secure.

These two options equip you to continue multiplying your achievements:

Credit Limit: Use a credit limit from a funding provider to pay for day-to-day business expenses like inventory, freight, and payroll. Unlike traditional working capital, you can use these to make larger investments like purchasing equipment and expanding into new territories.

Revenue advances: Got a healthy sales volume? You can take advantage of it by selling a portion of your future sales at a discounted rate, plus a fixed payback schedule in return for upfront capital. You’ll have an easy repayment schedule each month to help you plan your cash flow, with the right funding partner.

These funding options will liberate you to focus on running and growing your business without the stress of wondering how to pay your bills during a cash-flow gap. It also reduces the risk of unexpected expenses derailing your progress. You’ll have enough cash in your business to address, deal with the problem and move on. 👌🏻

The ABC’s of Securing Ecommerce Funding without Collateral

Like most things worth having, there’s a process to lay claim to eCommerce funding. Brace yourself. These requirements and conditions are what you’re used to seeing from the banks and SBA.

Let’s take a closer look at what you’ll need:

Solid sales volume 📈

When it comes to getting approved for eCommerce funding, one of the baseline requirements is proving you have a solid income stream. Aim for online net sales of at least $20,000 per month before you apply.

This is because you must be able to repay and continue operating your business comfortably. Otherwise, you would be exchanging one issue for another, defeating the whole object of securing funding. Remember, the goal is to thrive, not just survive.

A track record that shows you’re in it for the long haul

Ecommerce is a tough business, and you know it. Many don’t reach their first anniversary and around 90% fail by the 120-day mark.

Now combine these facts with the flexibility eCommerce funders provide. It’s easy to see why they want assurance you’ll commit to the cause no matter what.

Ecommerce becomes a whole different ball game when it’s no longer just your money on the line. Funders must account for the fact that this funding will place additional obligations on your business that affect its liquidity. That’s why some eCommerce working capital requirements can be a high bar to clear.

But they still beat the terms of the SBA and traditional banks by a long shot.

Having a sales history with good revenue figures proves your business has stood the test of time and come out on top. At a minimum, you’ll need to show 6 months of sales history. But for better rates and funding options, try to provide at least 12 months (this is what we request at SellersFunding).

A head-turning product

You won’t hear this too often, but eCommerce funding providers, banks, and the SBA all have one thing in common: they invest in realized potential.

If you already have proof of concept and traction in your business, you can use it to secure funding for your next move.

For example, let’s say you want to launch a spin-off product based on a successful item in your range. You can combine past and current sales figures on your knock-out item with market research on the new product. You could also show off any pre-sale figures to demonstrate people want your products and are waiting with bated breath for your launch.

This approach will help solidify your claims that your:

Next product launch is going to be a hit.
Business can repay the funding.
Store needs eCommerce working capital funding to get the product out of the door.

So, get busy making and promoting your next killer product! 🤘🏾

Your essential documents

While your organization skills won’t affect the funding application’s outcome directly, it will speed up the decision process. Plus, your potential funding partner will appreciate it.

These document requirements vary from company to company. But to give you a baseline, to submit your application for eCommerce working capital at SellersFunding, we request a range of documents that fall into three categories:

Legal

Proof of incorporation in the US, UK, or Canada.
Certificate of incorporation, Articles of Organization, or Articles of Association for each shareholder with a significant stake (25% or more).

Financial

Reports on sales figures for last 12 months.
3 month’s worth of statements from the account you receive your payouts in.
Current business bank account details.
Cashflow, profit and loss, and balance sheet statements.

Personal

Owner’s personal information.
Proof of Identity.
Proof of Address. I.e, 3 months of your most recent bank or utility statements or a Driver’s License.

What to Look For From Your Ideal Ecommerce Funder

At SellersFunding, we’ve been through the highs and lows of eCommerce. These experiences have given us the know-how on exactly what Walmart sellers need from a funding partner in order to ditch money woes and grow their stores to new heights.

Here are just some things to look for from your ideal partner:

Easy application process: You don’t want to waste your precious time with endless forms and checks. Look for organizations that offer simple online forms, so your application is good to go in no time.

Relaxed requirements: Unlike traditional financial institutions, the ideal partner understands there’s more to being a good candidate for eCommerce funding than having a perfect credit score or piles of cash for collateral. Look for funders who assess things like your company’s past sales, current revenue, and liquidity.

Flexible funding terms: Whether it’s helping you address cash shortfall caused by delayed payouts or providing eCommerce working capital for you to make your expansion dreams come true, flexible funding is the way forward.

Quick turnaround: Speed is everything in eCommerce. It helps you get ahead of your competition and dominate all the right niches. Look for funding providers who offer quick decisions (Psst! With SellersFunding you can have a decision in as little as 48 hours.)