When you have a small business and work from home (pajamas are optional), then it’s important to avoid becoming stagnant. That applies to you and your business.

Too much time behind the desk without getting outside to enjoy some fresh air and different scenery are not healthy. But, also, so is failing to push your business up to new heights too. 

As the old saying goes, “If you’re not growing, you’re shrinking.” 

The saying is mostly true because growth should at least match long-term inflation to stay level in real terms. Therefore, to get meaningful growth, a small business should grow by over 10 percent annually and preferably more than that. 

Are You Scared to Grow?

It may seem like an odd question, but many one-person operations never become two, three, or five-person operations because of fear. Whether that’s because of a fear of success, fear of failure, or concern over an ability to manage a larger operation with employees or freelancers, it can hold back progress.

According to the Chamber of Commerce, 52 percent of small businesses in America are run from home. Also, a significant percentage of businesses use a sole proprietor structure where they have no direct employees either. 

As you can see from the above statistics, failing to grow is a major issue. Less than half of small businesses are profitable. Failure to grow large enough to reach profitability is a major oversight with business owners. 

Is Financing Available to Small Businesses?

Business loans and other forms of finance are available to small companies. 

Only a small percentage of operators bother applying. Partly this is because of a lack of ambition, and other times it can be due to a false belief that they will never get loan approval. 

There are many types of finance for small businesses. It’s possible to apply for loans or to apply for a line of credit or use another approach to raise funds to pay for necessary equipment, working capital, and more. 

Do’s and Don’ts of Business Borrowing

Just like with personal borrowing, not all lending is a good idea. It’s important to have your head screwed on right. 

• Do Borrow Smart – Create an expansion plan to detail out what the new business expenses will be. Research projected future expenses line-by-line to determine how much funding will be required. 
• Don’t Guess – With any plan, don’t guess about extra expenses. It will inevitably lead to either being undercapitalized or borrowing too much if overestimating. This will be costly in different ways. 
• Do Create an Income Breakdown – Figure out where the future income is going to come from. Ensure the marketing is on-point and is likely to generate the expected increased income. 
• Don’t Have a Crisis of Confidence – As you have seen, a significant percentage of U.S. businesses fail to get beyond solopreneur status. Don’t let that be your business. 

Accelerating your business growth by strategically using finance is tactically sound when you have a detailed, well-research plan that you’ll follow. Don’t do it if you have no plan in place, though, because the failure rate with that is extremely high.