As hard as it may be to believe, 82% of small businesses are forced to close their doors sooner or later because of cash flow problems. So first things first: If your company is running into cash flow problems, take comfort in the fact that you’re not alone. From time to time, most small businesses have to get creative in order to keep their cash flow positive. Some gimmicks small business owners might try in order to accomplish that objective include:

• Raising prices: When prices go up, revenues can go up—assuming you don’t price a lot of your customers out.

• Offering favorable payment terms: In an effort to get customers to settle their invoices sooner, small business owners might decide to offer discounts for early payments. This can help solve cash flow problems—but it can also cut into revenues significantly.

• Leasing equipment and space instead of buying it: Rather than forking over huge amounts of cash to buy assets, small business owners can lease them instead, saving a ton of money in the process. Just remember that at the end of the lease, the money’s gone and you don’t own the assets.

Instead of potentially alienating some customers by raising prices or reducing revenues by offering payment discounts, many small business owners look for outside financing to secure the funds they need to solve their cash flow problems—and grow their companies.

By obtaining a small business loan, small business owners are able to reclaim control over their cash flow. In doing so, they’re able to open additional locations, target new customers or markets, develop new products, launch new marketing initiatives, buy or lease new equipment, and boost their employees’ salaries to retain top talent, among a slew of other things.

Where Can I Get a Small Business Loan?

There’s no shortage of options available to small business owners looking for business loans. They can try to secure loans through traditional financial institutions. They can also try to get loans through the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Both of these options might not be the best choice. Traditional banks, for example, don’t fund companies that haven’t been in business for at least two years. They also expect small businesses to generate $250,000 in revenue each year. Altogether, this translates into the harsh reality that banks fund fewer than half of the businesses that apply for small business loans.

On the other side of the coin, the SBA can move very slowly. You may end up securing a business loan from them sometime down the line, but when you need money today, the SBA will most assuredly not help you.

Luckily, small business owners aren’t completely out of options. The Internet has made it easier than ever before to find small business lenders that will fund them even if they don’t have the best credit scores or don’t have any collateral to put up against a loan.

By using a business loan comparison service, you can shop a seemingly endless amount of small business financing companies in a matter of a few minutes.

These companies offer all kinds of financing options, like unsecured business loans, merchant cash advances, business lines of credit, and credit card factoring. Lenders listed on consumer comparison services are all well aware that they’re competing against one another—which means you can shop with the confidence that comes with knowing you’ll get the best rates possible.

When small business owners need cash, they need it right away. If they want to continue serving their customers, they don’t have the luxury of being able to sit around waiting for money to come in.

Unlike traditional banking institutions, alternative business loan lenders don’t require small business owners to fill out mountains of paperwork. The approval process doesn’t drag on forever, either. All you have to do is fill out a few forms, shop the different financing options available to you, and choose the small business loan you think makes the most sense for your operations.

Once you’ve done that, the funds you need to grow your business will be available within a few business days. It’s really as easy as that.