- Alternative funding sources are becoming more common for small businesses and may be an important option as interest rates rise.
- Look out for more paid media placements in traditional outlets, as well as increased investment in digital marketing.
- Human resources departments are increasingly offering more child care and mental health benefits to employees.
- This article is for entrepreneurs who want to understand the major trends affecting small businesses in 2023.
Small businesses need to adapt to a constantly changing market. To meet the needs of your customers and stay one step ahead of the competition, it’s critical to monitor the trends that affect your business’s operations, and there’s no better time to reflect than the start of a new year. To help you do so, we connected with experts in finance, marketing, tech and human resources to find out what you should expect in the coming year and how to position your small business for success.
Small business finance trends
Experts predict that these trends will affect financing for small businesses this year.
Alternative sources of capital will fill unmet funding needs.
For many business owners, loans might not be an option, especially for businesses that incurred significant financial loss in the tumult of the past few years. In those cases, alternative sources of funding, such as alternative lenders and investors, might be vital to attaining much-needed funding.
“Alternative sources of capital will likely also play a pivotal role in keeping businesses solvent,” said Courtney Lawless, venture capitalist and co-host of the Amazon Prime series Wolf PAC. “Alternative sources would include … grants, fintech, venture capital, angel investors, peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding, to name a few. These are important because many businesses that actually need the capital will not be able to meet the requirements of traditional funding sources.”