How to kickstart your business after lockdown

The day we have all been waiting for is just around the corner. The lockdown in NSW will soon be over and we can get back to business. With restrictions easing across the state, we are all extremely excited about getting on with our lives. 

However, for many businesses this is easier said than done. After almost 4 months of lockdown, some industries including hospitality, personal services, gyms & indoor recreation, travel & tourism, and wedding related services have had an immense loss of revenue. The financial impact has led to many businesses having to reduce staff and opening times. Not to mention the impact on cash flow. 

So, how can a business in this situation be expected to reopen and simply continue with “business as usual”, as if nothing had happened? The answer is, it’s very hard, nearly impossible for most.

That’s why at Lumi, we have launched Lumi Kickstarter - a dedicated loan to help SMEs that have been severely impacted by the recent lockdown kickstart their business.

“We know that right now, strong businesses are struggling to get the finance they need to bounce back into shape, because lenders aren’t flexible enough. Business owners throughout the nation are getting denied finance due to a loss of revenue that was simply out of their control. That’s not right. We’ve worked hard to change that with our Kickstarter Loan offering, which is designed entirely with the goal of getting Australia’s best small businesses back up and running. Instead of looking at past revenue in a vacuum, we’ll consider pre-lockdown revenue and the customer’s business plan to get back on track instead.” Yanir Yakutiel, CEO and Founder of Lumi 

What’s Lumi Kickstarter about?

Lumi Kickstarter is a business term loan that’s been adapted to help small businesses that have suffered a significant loss of revenue access funds in order to get back on track.

How is Lumi Kickstarter different from a standard term loan?

The main difference is that your business’s affordability is being calculated based on your average pre-lockdown revenue. 

Usually when you apply for a business loan, you will need to provide evidence of your monthly revenue from the past 12 months. But given that you have not generated much or no revenue in the past 3.5 months, a lender would usually not be able to approve your business loan application based on that criteria. 

At Lumi we understand that we have to adapt our offering based on your ongoing needs. For many, it’s now more important than ever to be able to access funds in order to hire some of their staff back or simply get the cash flow back in order prior to reopening on October 11 2021. 

Therefore, we won’t be assessing your revenue (or lack of) during the months of July 2021 - September 2021. Instead we calculate your affordability to borrow money based on your turnover before lockdown and amend it in reflection of your decline in revenue. This means that you will be able to access funds even if you haven’t earned a single dollar during lockdown. Provided that your pre-lockdown financials meet our general credit criteria of course. 

If you want to read more about Lumi Kickstarter, how it works, its Terms & Conditions, how to apply etc., head to our website here.

The other benefits of Lumi Kickstarter are that you might be eligible for a Payment Holiday, meaning that you won’t have to start your repayments until w/c 15th November 2021. Plus you will also get the option to refinance to a standard term loan after having made four consecutive payments. At this stage we would then reassess your affordability based on your recent revenue numbers. And you’d potentially qualify to borrow more money if needed.  

4 ways to kickstart your business with Lumi Kickstarter

1. Rehire your staff

A lot of small businesses had to let some or all of their staff go. And with the lack of cash, it can be very difficult to rehire staff that a business needs to reopen. Especially when they haven’t had any money coming in. 

This is a classic scenario where Lumi Kickstarter could help provide the funds to rehire staff members. So your business can start operating and you won’t have to worry about being able to pay their wages. In the interim the loan could cover the wages and you can focus on getting your business up and running.

For instance, let’s say your restaurant business would have previously qualified for a $50,000 loan, based on your pre-lockdown revenue, prior to July 2021. You have now registered a 60% decrease in revenue due lockdown restrictions. Your affordability would be reassessed at 75% of your monthly pre-lockdown revenue, which means that you could still get up to $37,500. 

2. Pay your bills

Reopening your business comes with a lot of costs. Electricity, rent, supplier costs etc. After this long period of not generating revenue, it can be daunting to pay for any of these liabilities before starting to make money again. 

With Lumi Kickstarter you won’t have to worry about that. You’d be able to use the funds to pay for your bills, while you get your business back on track. 

For example, you might be a gym owner who would have previously been approved for $30,000 according to your pre-lockdown turnover. You have however seen an 80% decrease in revenue during lockdown and would therefore qualify at 50% of your original affordability. This means you could access up to $15,000 with Lumi Kickstarter. And, you could even top up your loan once you’re back on track and have made your first four repayments. 

3. Inject cash

Cash flow is an ongoing challenge for most small business owners. Now more than ever. So, if your business is running low on cash and you are worried about how the reopening will play out, Lumi Kickstarter might be just the right solution to get back into business.

Let’s say you are a hairdresser. You would have previously gotten $80,000, but had zero revenue coming in during lockdown. With Lumi Kickstarter you could still get a loan at 50% of your pre-lockdown affordability. That means up to $40,000 and then refinance at a later stage to increase the loan if you need it. 

Think that Lumi Kickstarter could be the right solution to get your business back on track? Get in touch with our team via email at sales@lumi.com.au or give us a call on 1300 00 5864.

If you’re ready to apply for Lumi Kickstarter online, you can do so via our easy 5-minute online application here.

Your Lumi team 

Disclaimer: Terms & conditions and credit criteria apply.

Important Update: There have been some updates to the Lumi Kickstarter product offering. Please refer to the latest information on our website here.