Funding Readiness Solution for Small Business

The Federal Reserve’s 2023 Small Business Credit Survey paints a challenging picture for small businesses. According to the data, 38% of active small businesses fail due to depleted cash reserves and an inability to secure additional capital funds. Moreover, 59% of small businesses reported being in either fair or poor financial condition. These numbers highlight the severe financial strain many small businesses face, with some already forced to close their doors due to these pressures.

Though the Fed data is national in scope, the local need is the same. In a recent Volusia Business Resources (VBR) survey, 33% of small businesses cited “financial” as the greatest future resource need they would face.  The VBR Funding Readiness Center has answered the call.

To help meet the needs of the Volusia County business community as cited in the local survey, Volusia County’s Division of Economic Development and the Volusia Business Resources (VBR) partners have developed the Funding Readiness Center solution. This new resource provides guidance and tools that could change the funding prospects for many of the area’s small businesses.

The Funding Readiness Center (FRC) will introduce small businesses to the broad spectrum of funding opportunities available and provide a means to assess funding readiness before applying for capital funds. The FRC includes a self-vetting assessment checkup that allows users to 1) see what lenders and investors will focus on during the funding application process, and 2) to determine whether small business applicants are truly ready to ask for funding. 

The FRC checkup is designed to help business owners see areas that need some attention and provides tips on how to improve readiness and where to find resources to accomplish that.

In addition to the checkup feature, the FRC contains educational tips, sample documents and helpful links for over 35 areas of funding preparation. The site offers a comprehensive training section covering a wide range of financial learning content and a funding selection tool for users to see which types of funding would best fit their preferences.

With a wealth of information in the Funding Readiness Center, entrepreneurs, businesses and funding institutions are encouraged to explore and begin using this beneficial new feature at www.VolusiaBusinessResources.com.