Hello, and welcome back to Write Away, the blog for small business owners, freelancers and anybody who is thinking of jumping into self-employment. This time we look at funding for small business, an important area for any business, but it is also a big decision, borrowing money, to try and grow your business to take it to the next level. There are many businesses who are either lucky enough to generate enough profit, or cash, to not have to worry about raising funds from external sources, but they would be in the minority, particularly amongst new businesses, for whom cash flow can be hand to mouth, and reliant on customers, big and small, paying on time. For these businesses, they often only have enough cash to cover their outgoings or to invest in further stocks to continue trading, so expansion, for instance investing in new or bigger premises, or purchasing additional vehicles or machinery for the business, is often put on the back-burner, because of a lack of funds.