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Plenty of business owners are still seeing very little if no improvement to their enterprises – if yours is not picking up maybe a commercial loan could be the answer to kick-start your venture.

By injecting finance into your business you might find that you can reduce your overheads, shrink your debts and help build your business' profits.

Unfortunately small business owners are not feeling confident – 62% believe the economy will get worse again before it fully recovers and over a quarter think there are already signs that this is happening, according to new research from uSwitchforbusiness.com.

It has found that 63% of small businesses are finding trading conditions tough – 5% more than at the end of 2009 – and 71% have seen little or no improvement in the trading environment compared with a year ago. As a result, almost half say that it will take their business more than a year to get back to normal again after the recession, compared to just 26% in Q4 2009.

Jake Ridge, small business expert at uSwitchforbusiness.com, says: "The greenshoots of recovery are yet to reach Britain's small and as a result many are finding trading even tougher now than before. They've been through a white knuckle ride and most are not expecting a smooth landing.

"And that's when the real work starts in trying to rebuild their business and boosting sales and turnover – 44% of small businesses anticipate that this process of getting back onto an even keel will take them over a year."

One way to make sure your business can take off again is to make sure your finances are in order. That means assessing your debts and looking to see if you could get hold of better commercial mortgage finance. To prepare for an eventual upswing, talk to a mortgage adviser about your financial responsibilities right away.

SOURCE: uSwitchbusiness.com, 10/04/10

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