Think Business Loans Are Stressful? Nineteenth Shoes Clears Up 5 Myths and Tells Us How Bumpa Capital Helped

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[VIDEO: Watch the full interview with Peter Amosun]

For a long time, Nineteenth Shoes made things only when someone asked for them.

The business makes handmade leather goods: shoes, belts and duffel bags. Made-to-order suits that kind of work. A customer asks, the team makes, the customer receives. Nobody has to fund a shoe that hasn't been sold yet.

But Babatunde Peter Amosun, the CEO, wanted to change the model. We sat down with him to hear how it went. He wanted Nineteenth Shoes to have stock, with products on the ground and ready for people to buy. And yeah, that often comes with a catch. As he told us, "If you want to have stock, it requires capital for you to make shoes, buy shoes, and have them on ground for people to buy."

That capital was the missing piece. He found it through Bumpa Capital.

Bumpa Capital is Bumpa's financing option for merchants, offered in partnership with Vendor Credit. It looks at your sales history on Bumpa when deciding whether to approve a loan, and repayments are taken daily from your sales.

Read more: Grow Your Business Faster with Loans: Say Hello to Bumpa Capital!

What the loan changed

The business model. Nineteenth Shoes moved from made-to-order to having stock. The capital infusion was exactly what Peter was looking for at the time, and he told us it really helped.

The stock itself. The business had some stock before, he said, but never as much as it has now. He describes Bumpa Capital as working capital finance for the business, and it has helped with stocking.

The expansion. The funding has also helped with expansion, which he said we'd all be seeing soon. If you watch the video, you'll see what he means: Nineteenth Shoes is moving into a bigger store.

That's the outcome. But when business owners think about a loan, the outcome isn't usually what stops them. The fears are. So during the interview, we asked him to share his thoughts on the common ones.

Myth 1: "A loan means a huge payment I'll be constantly stressed out about"

This is the big one, and it's the one Peter kept coming back to.

With Bumpa Capital, he doesn't repay in one lump. The money is taken automatically from his daily sales. As he sells, he pays back.

He knows the alternative well. A lump sum due at the end of the week or the month means scratching your head to find the money. Instead, he told us, it's deducted automatically and "has not been another thing that I have to worry about as a business owner."

For a business like his, he said, that's what makes it work.

Myth 2: "You can't get a loan without collateral"

In Peter's experience, you can. When his offer letter came, there was no collateral attached. Signing the letter was the last thing he had to do.

Myth 3: "Getting a business loan is a long, complicated process"

We asked him to walk us through his application, and his answer was short enough to fit in a few lines.

He sent an email to Bumpa Capital. Bumpa replied with the documents he needed, including his statement of account. He sent them. Typically, he said, an offer letter arrives within a few days. He signed it, and, in his words, "before you know it, you get funded."

That was his experience, so your timing may vary, and the few days he mentions is the wait for the offer letter after you've applied. Today, the place to start is the Bumpa Capital application form, which we’ll address with the next myth.

Myth 4: "Anyone can apply, anytime"

Not quite. Bumpa Capital looks at how you've been using Bumpa, so there are requirements to meet first.

• Subscription: you need to be a subscribed merchant for at least 6 months for short-term facilities, or 12 months for facilities longer than 90 days.

• Volume: an average of 50 online transactions a month over the 6 months before you apply.

• Documents: your basic business documents (CAC, KYC and bank statements) ready to go.

In other words, your sales record does a lot of the talking. For Peter, the habit that opened the door was taking payments through the Bumpa Terminal, which is part of every walk-in sale at Nineteenth Shoes.

It also means he no longer has to be there for payments to be confirmed.

Once you've checked the requirements, you can apply through the Bumpa Capital application form.

Myth 5: "A loan is a good idea for everyone"

Here, Peter was the most careful.

He told us he can't give financial advice because he isn't a licensed financial professional, and loans are personal, even when the money is for your business. His own test is simple. A loan can make sense when your business is already doing well to some extent, and you know exactly what you're going to put the money into. If both are true, he said, it's not a bad idea.

His suggestion to other business owners is plain. If you're looking for a loan to stock new products, buy new machinery or expand, try Bumpa Capital.

He shared some other spicy hot takes on loans and all things business, which was fun to hear.

[VIDEO: Watch the hot takes segment]

Beyond the loan: Advice for other business owners

Before we wrapped up, Peter had one more thing to say, and it's about how you sell.

Many business owners depend on Instagram, and he said the ads aren't doing what they're supposed to do. His advice is to use your own website and collect emails, since Bumpa has email marketing built in, so you can target your customers better. If you want full control of your business and better access to your customers, he said, you want your own platform. You want Bumpa.

So, if you've been putting off the loan conversation, start with the question he asks himself: do you know exactly what you'd put the money into? Then check your own numbers against the requirements above.

Conclusion

So, over to you. If you've been putting off the loan conversation, start with the question Peter asks himself: if you got a business loan, do you know exactly what you'd put the money into?

If you do, have a look at the requirements above and see where you stand. Already on Bumpa? Open up your sales records and check how close you are.

Not on Bumpa yet? Now you know what a business builds there and where recording your orders and sales can lead.

Sign up here or visit app.getbumpa.com to get started.