Take The Leap To Start Your Business With Confidence

With small and medium enterprises (SMEs) recording double-digit growth and initiatives like the Bumiputera Transformation Acceleration Fund to encourage Bumiputera entrepreneurs, the timing seems great for Malaysians to start a business.

Still, there remain challenges that new business owners or entrepreneurs face that can make achieving success harder.

What makes starting a business so challenging?

The spark of an idea is all it takes to jumpstart the journey towards building a business. But that’s only half the battle won. It’s also important to know what other challenges lie ahead so you are prepared.

Accessing finance and cash flow

Access to finance and cash flow remains a major issue for SMEs as financial institutions need to look at their credit history, business performance records, and market experience to approve a loan/financing application.

As most small businesses tend to use their personal banking account to manage their finances, it makes it harder for them to get loan/financing approval and build up cash flow as they do not have proper records of their business finances.

Rising costs of doing business

With 88 per cent of businesses expecting costs to increase in 2024, rising costs will continue to be a major challenge for SMEs.

When it comes to rising costs, it has been a challenge for not just small business owners, but also the entire nation as it means that the costs of goods and services have risen as well.

For business owners, they need to be prepared to take action to mitigate these rising costs. Some of the ways that businesses have done so are by introducing cost-cutting measures, expanding products and service offerings, as well as expanding the business to new markets.

Lack of business financial tools

One of the most significant financial tools that small businesses lack is a dedicated business banking account. This is often attributed to the idea that a business banking account is only meant for big businesses.

The truth is that regardless of size, any business should have a dedicated business banking account as it can help in numerous ways.

While it’s possible to run a small business without a business banking account, it just makes it harder for the business to manage its finances efficiently or apply for a business loan/financing.

Adapting to digitalisation

Given that 47.7% of Malaysians made their purchases online in 2022, more and more consumers are using digital channels to buy and make purchases.

Adopting and adapting to digital tools (e-commerce, digital payments, etc.) remains a key challenge for SMEs as many of them still rely on brick-and-mortar methods. But beyond just having digital sales channels, small businesses also need to digitalise their financial tools and banking solutions.

By using digital business banking solutions, they can streamline their financial management by having it all done in an app or not needing to visit a bank physically to fulfil all of their banking needs.

Tools that help grow your business

Hard work and dedication are necessary when starting a business, but they can’t be the only things that you rely on to achieve business growth and success.

A savvy entrepreneur or budding business owner knows that having a suite of financial tools to streamline their business finances will go a long way in making that growth both achievable and sustainable.

OCBC understands the needs of business owners, including Muslim-friendly businesses, who need extra help with their digital business banking accounts.

Plus, by signing up, businesses will have access to the following digital and financial tools:

With the suite of financial tools and services, the OCBC eBiz Account makes it easy for businesses to not sweat the small stuff, like keeping track of their finances.

For Muslim-friendly businesses, the Shariah-compliant OCBC eBiz Account-i ensures that the business finances adhere to Islamic principles, ethics, and values.

This way, business owners can focus on what really matters: growing their business and achieving success.