On his website, Ryman's chairman Theo Paphitis states that cash is all, and that his mother used to tell him, ‘A lack of profit is like a cancer, but a lack of cash flow is like a fatal heart attack.' It's seldom that an entrepreneur starts out without any cash - be it through savings, outside investment or a loan - but once the initial overheads have been paid for, then not finding extra finance could be a deadly blow if you don't immediately begin making sales. Even returning a profit might not mean that your cash flow is sound, either. You could find yourself doing more business than your cash flow can afford, particularly if you are being paid by credit. If this is the case, then you'll need to find extra finance. There are three main ways to do this – by seeking investment from individuals or other businesses, by getting a loan, or by factoring.

At an early stage, seeking investment from anyone other than banks may be very difficult. You might strike it lucky and find a willing investment angel who likes your ideas, but on the most part you'll probably need some past performance behind you to reflect on what you can do in the future. Merely turning up and pitching an idea is rarely advisable, and you'll find that almost all successful businesses secured investment after an initial testing of ideas. From this stage of research and testing you'll need to form a clear idea of your future projections and profit, and then explain this clearly in your business plan and pitch. If you mess up your figures, or wildly inflate projections in order to wow investors, you'll probably be found out, so it's advisable to be extremely careful with this.

An alternative, or extra, to investment is going to your bank for finance. While you want to keep your debt to a minimum, there is almost always going to be a time when your business owes a creditor money. The credit crunch hasn't helped matters of late, and small businesses are certainly feeling the squeeze from the lack of liquidity. However, before you head to the bank, you should ask yourself if getting a loan will solve your problems in the long term. Will you make sufficient profits to pay off your debts and continue in business? If the business is struggling, then think hard about whether the business is a lost cause – you may go to the bank only to be told that they believe this to be true. For business loans, take a look at NatWest. You may not need so much cash if you are a smaller business, so you may be considering your personal loans options, for which Alliance and Leicester come recommended for their low rates.

Another option to think about if you're in need of a quick cash injection is factoring. This is where you sell your accounts receivable (for instance, your invoices) to a bank at a discount. If you have a chequered credit rating then this could be a better option than applying for a loan, because the emphasis is based upon the value of the receivables rather than your credit worthiness. In the agreement you will sell your invoices to a bank, who will then obtain all of the cash. In terms of immediate cash flow, factoring can often be an excellent option.