How to spend ￡50K (EG: A Bounceback Loan)

The government have announced a new “Bounce Back” loan programme aimed at small businesses, allowing for loans of up to ￡50,000 (up to 25% of turnover) with the government paying the first 12 months of interest and any associated fees. The government will also 100% guarantee the loan for the lender, making it quicker and easier for banks to lend (we hope).

Anyone with a decent business who goes to the bank with a serious proposal based on digital transformation should likely be approved. A ￡50,000 loan over 5 years would cost around ￡900 per month to repay, so if you spent it wisely, you could possibly get a decent return on investment.**

The key to spending borrowed money is that you want something to show for it in a year or two from now. Many entrepreneurs say they want to put it into advertising but if those ads don't perform, you'll have frittered the money away and will have debts to pay. Another common option is to hire staff - once again, if that employee leaves you'll have little more than the debt repayments to remember them by.

Conversely well developed digital assets like websites, media and content can serve a business for many years to come and quality training/education for the founder can pay off for a lifetime.

To get you thinking, here's a list of 10 sensible ideas you could spend it on:

1. Publish a book and give away 500 copies per year. All up this strategy would cost you less than ￡7.5K and many of our clients (who have a proven business model) have demonstrated that this strategy can generate a huge uptick of new sales. I now use an app called Otter.ai to record and transcribe my talks and this has become an effortlessness way to generate thousands of words of content for every hour I speak. Talk to the team at Rethink Press about writing, publishing and distributing a book/mini-book.
2. Create a scorecard. Our Key Person of Influence Scorecard has been taken 65,000+ times and generated thousands of clients. Our database is a huge asset because we know at least 50 things about everyone on it, and this helps us provide the right insights and support based on their needs. A scorecard will cost you about ￡1K to do it properly, and once it's up and running, you'll spend money on ads promoting it each month (EG: we get a lead for every ￡10 of ad spend). Talk to the team at Scoreapp.com to create a scorecard marketing tool to collect more data and make more sales.
3. Upgrade your AV equipment. With ￡1000 you can get some good microphones, tripods and lights, and dramatically improve your ability to create recordings and videos for your business. The way things are going, reaching people through audio and video assets is essential, and the right kit has improved the quality of content we are developing.
4. Create a podcast. You'll need a couple of microphones mentioned above, and a subscription to something like Buzzsprout for hosting (￡9pm). I would encourage you to spend some money for a professional producer. It might cost you ￡50-200 per episode but it will be much better quality and involve less of your time. Get them to create a unique intro and outro and you'll sound like a pro.
5. Win some awards. Our digital agency (sotechnology.co.uk) won a major award for our e-commerce work. Ever since, we've won almost 100% of the work we pitch for without negotiating on price. Winning the right award can be transformational. There's agencies that can help you to find and apply for awards (e.g. craftedbyaugust.com). I would add to this category applying for an Investors in People award (investorsinpeople.com) or an ISO accreditation (especially if you pitch to larger corps).
6. Get professionally produced videos on YouTube. Creating an excellent showreel, explainer video, testimonial video or lesson could be a massive asset for your business. Even at this time, if you have existing footage you could get it professionally edited or you could create an animated video. Professional videos start at around ￡2K for a project but it is an asset that keeps yielding rewards for years to come. Talk to ReallyBrightMedia.com
7. Get a proper business plan written. An externally produced business plan can unlock more than just funding. When you are too close to a business, you can miss the forest for the trees. Having a professional create a business plan can lead to a bigger vision for your business, unlock further funding and create a central document for your team to work towards. Talk to Add Then Multiply or Robot Mascot.
8. Build some technology. An e-commerce store, an e-learning portal or a customer service login can be transformational. Any thoughtful investment into technology will normally unlock scale and profitability. If it's created well from the start, it will also last for years. Talk to the team at SO Technology (sotechnology.co.uk) with 12+ years of experience building award winning technology projects they can create something valuable for your business for under ￡15K.  
9. Take a course or get onto an accelerator. The ROI on education and training can be as good as it gets. Every time you develop yourself or your team based on best-practices from a quality training provider, you are standing on the shoulders of giants. The most costly thing you could ever do is try to reinvent the wheel through trial and error. Talk to Dent Global about doing a business accelerator that is right for you (Threshold, Key Person of Influence or our new Better Every Quarter Accelerator). Our accelerators cost between ￡3K and ￡7K for the year.
10. Create a small army of robots. Automation can be a powerful investment if you work with an experienced provider. You can automate your marketing, your operations, customer-service or finance functions. You can begin to automate areas of your business for as little as ￡5K. Talk to the team at Remote.

Let me know what you think of the list in the comments below and tell me what else would you include?

**Just to be clear, this is not financial or business advice.