Small Business Start Up Financing

[ad_1] The number one question I get asked as a small business start-up coach is: Where do I get start-up cash? I'm always glad when my clients ask me this question. If they are asking this question, it is a sure sign that they are serious about taking financial responsibility for start it. Not All Money Is the Same There are two types of start-up financing: debt and equity. Consider what type is right for you. Debt Financing is the use of borrowed money to finance a business. Any money you borrow is considered debt financing. Sources of debt financing loans are many and varied: banks, savings and loans, credit unions, commercial finance companies, and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are the most common. Loans from family and friends are also considered debt financing, even when there is no interest attached. Debt financing loans are relatively small and short in term and are awarded based on your guarantee of repayment from your personal assets and equity. Debt financing is often the financial strategy of choice for the start-up stage of businesses. Equity financing is any form of financing that is based on the equity of your business. In this type of financing, the financial institution provides money in return for a share of your business's profits. This essentially means that you will be selling a portion of your company in order to receive funds. Venture capitalist firms, business angels, and other professional equity funding firms are the standard sources for equity financing. Handled correctly, loans from friends and family could be considered a source of non-professional equity funding. Equity financing involves stock options, and is usually a larger, longer-term investment than debt financing. Because of this, equity financing is more often considered in the growth stage of businesses. 7 Main Sources of Funding for Small Business Start-ups 1. You Investors are more willing to invest in your start-up when they see that you have put your own money on the line. So the first place to look for money when starting up a business is your own pocket. Personal Assets According to the SBA, 57% of entrepreneurs dip into personal or family savings to pay for their company's launch. If you decide to use your own money, don't use it all. This will protect you from eating Ramen noodles for the rest of your life, give you great experience in borrowing money, and build your business credit. A Job There's no reason why you can't get an outside job to fund your start-up. In fact, most people do. This will ensure that there will never be a time when you are without money coming in and will help take most of the stress and risk out of starting up. Credit Cards If you are going to use plastic, shop around for the lowest interest rate available. 2. Friends and Family Money from friends and family is the most common source of non-professional funding for small business start-ups. Here, the biggest advantage is the same as the biggest disadvantage: You know these people. Unspoken needs and attachments to outcome may cause stress that would warrant steering away from this type of funding. 3. Angel Investors An angel investor is someone who invests in a business venture, providing capital for start-up or expansion. Angels are affluent individuals, often entrepreneurs themselves, who make high-risk investments with new companies for the hope of high rates of return on their money. They are often the first investors in a company, adding value through their contacts and expertise. Unlike venture capitalists, angels typically do not pool money in a professionally-managed fund. Rather, angel investors often organize themselves in angel networks or angel groups to share research and pool investment capital. 4. Business Partners There are two kinds of partners to consider for your business: silent and working. A silent partner is someone who contributes capital for a portion of the business, yet is generally not involved in the operation of the business. A working partner is someone who contributes not only capital for a portion of the business but also skills and labor in day-to-day operations. 5. Commercial Loans If you are launching a new business, chances are good that there will be a commercial bank loan somewhere in your future. However, most commercial loans go to small businesses that are already showing a profitable track record. Banks finance 12% of all small business start-ups, according to a recent SBA study. Banks consider financing individuals with a solid credit history, related entrepreneurial experience, and collateral (real estate and equipment). Banks require a formal business plan. They also take into consideration whether you are investing your own money in your start-up before giving you a loan. 6. Seed Funding Firms Seed funding firms, also called incubators, are designed to encourage entrepreneurship and nurture business ideas or new technologies to help them become attractive to venture capitalists. An incubator typically provides physical space and some or all of these services: meeting areas, office space, equipment, secretarial services, accounting services, research libraries, legal services, and technical services. Incubators involve a mix of advice, service and support to help new businesses develop and grow. 7. Venture Capital Funds Venture capital is a type of private equity funding typically provided to new growth businesses by professional, institutionally backed outside investors. Venture capitalist firms are actual companies. However, they invest other people's money and much larger amounts of it (several million dollars) than seed funding firms. This type of equity investment usually is best suited for rapidly growing companies that require a lot of capital or start-up companies with a strong business plan. [ad_2] Source by Susan L Reid https://4awesome.streamstorecloud.com/small-business-start-up-financing/?feed_id=38197&_unique_id=64d125c6385b9

Small Business: Growing Your Business

[ad_1] Growth in a business is essential. How much growth, depends on your vision for your business.... Many business owners often confuse growth with expansion. Expansion is moving into new product lines, new services and new areas. Growth is increasing your capacity to continue with the products and services you have. Growth may require expansion, but expansion is not necessarily needed for growth. Growth is necessary, at the very least, to ensure that your business maintains a healthy profit margin. Expenses typically rise each year and, as such, your business needs to grow, otherwise it will 'fade' away. This is why having a business plan and regularly reviewing your businesses performance is so important! Understanding the businesses financial bottom line and how the target markets are evolving is paramount to ongoing business success and growth. Be Honest With Yourself... Sometimes, the largest obstacle any small business owner can have, is themselves. Far too often, we as business owners fall prey to own success and we ignore the change indicators in our market. A wise business owner will ensure that they can independently evaluate their business - a business mentor is great for this kind of oversight. Be brutal in your assessment - really extrapolate the possible changes in your market and determine how you can refine your business strategies to capitalize on the changes. In one of my 'previous business lives', I ran a retail franchise store. We were a very niche business and when we first opened the stores, we did really well. However, as the market evolved it became more of a consumer market (not niche) and our Franchise did not change it's strategies to take this into consideration. That franchise no longer exists - it was placed in receivership. Growth Strategies There are several strategies for growth that may be applied by a business owner. Sell More Of The Same Thing This is possibly one of the most popular strategies for business growth - do more of what you're already doing. This could be a valid approach, particularly if the business or market is relatively young. One of the biggest things to consider here, is whether there is 'room' to do more of the same thing. If your business delivers services, can your existing staffing levels handle more work and if not, can more people be employed quickly enough to deliver the work? Does your market allow for enough growth in the sale of more of the same? Sometimes, the market is near saturation and selling more of the same thing is not going to provide enough growth for a business. Consider moving into other target markets with the same product or service. Often this will require a rethink of Unique Selling Proposition, but it can reap big rewards. If the business doesn't have sufficient person power to sell more, consider options like licensing and franchising to increase the reach. One very simple method to immediately add more sales people to the business is to offer an Affiliate or Referral program, where the business will pay a commission or referral fee to people who bring in new business. Raise Prices Raising the prices of your products and services may result in growth. This approach needs to be implemented carefully, and the results monitored regularly. Raising prices will, generally, result in a higher profit per sale - and as such higher profit overall. In some cases, raising prices will result in an increase in sales as well. This tends to occur when the price of a product or service is so low that it gives the perception of a low value / poor quality or appeals to a target market that is not willing to spend money. When the price is increased, the target audience feels that the quality is much better and will more readily invest. By increasing the price and increasing sales, growth occurs naturally. I experienced exactly this in my retail store - we had priced a product at less than $10, which we thought was an 'irresistible price'. Unfortunately, our customers did not and the product was not moving. After overhearing several customers discuss that they believed something must be wrong with the product for it to be so cheap, we increased the price to $14.95 and sold out in a week! Perceived Value. Diversify Diversification is a valid and very smart business growth strategy. Add more products or services to your business portfolio. Depending on your business plan, the products or services may be related to your existing product range or, it may be appropriate to start a new 'arm' to your business. Diversification, as a business growth strategy, provides a major benefit as the risk of market downturns is spread over a wider base. By adding more related products and services to its portfolio, a business can also capitalize on return business from existing customers. In Conclusion These are three very broad ways to grow your business - and which one(s) to use will depend on your business plan. [ad_2] Source by Charly Leetham https://4awesome.streamstorecloud.com/small-business-growing-your-business/?feed_id=37496&_unique_id=64908851aa9f5

The Rule of Three in Comedy

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Have you seen a comedian, or comedy troupe, repeat a bit over, and over, and over, until the blatant unfunniness was painful to watch? In recent years, that's become almost the norm, especially on shows like "Saturday Night Live." If the comedy writers had known about the Rule of Three, and better yet had followed it, they could have avoided the problem and actually had the funny skit that they had intended.

In short, the Rule of Three is: don't repeat a bit of comedy more than three times. When done right, the first time can be funny, the second time funnier, and the third time can build up to a crescendo of comedy. A fourth time, however, and it's the comedy equivalent of beating a dead horse -- the horse doesn't react, and neither does the audience -- at least not in a good way.

Think of the great comedians of the past -- whether you think of individuals like Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Red Skelton, W. C. Fields and Jimmy Durante, or comedy teams like the Three Stooges, the Marx Brothers, Abbott and Costello or Laurel and Hardy -- can you think of them "beating a horse" in that way? No; it was something that they learned the hard way, performing in front of live audiences and adjusting their humor based on the audience's reactions.

This doesn't mean that a comedian, humorist, speaker or clown can't repeat a mannerism more than three times -- obvious examples are Jack Benny's slow, elongated, "Well!" or Baron Munchausen's "Was you there, Charlie?" which they repeated hundreds of times during their careers -- but rarely more than 3 times in a given performance, if that many.

Variety is the spice of life, but the old saying that "brevity is the soul of wit" still rings true. It doesn't matter if it's performing in front of children or adults, in front of a Rotary Club or national television, the Rule of Three still holds true.

It should also be mentioned that the Rule of Three isn't limited to verbal humor. If you're doing slapstick comedy -- anything from throwing or receiving a pie in the face, or a kick in the posterior like Charlie Chaplin, or even the Three Stooges' patented eye-poke routine -- the Rule of Three still applies. How long would a Three Stooges short film be funny if Moe began poking Curly in the eye, then Larry, then Curly again, then Larry again... on and on for fifteen minutes?

In summary, everyone needs to apply the Rule of Three to keep their humor short, funny, and memorable!

[ad_2] Source by Tom Raymond https://4awesome.streamstorecloud.com/the-rule-of-three-in-comedy/?feed_id=37412&_unique_id=648b3c8bcd57b

Small Business: Growing Your Business

[ad_1] Growth in a business is essential. How much growth, depends on your vision for your business.... Many business owners often confuse growth with expansion. Expansion is moving into new product lines, new services and new areas. Growth is increasing your capacity to continue with the products and services you have. Growth may require expansion, but expansion is not necessarily needed for growth. Growth is necessary, at the very least, to ensure that your business maintains a healthy profit margin. Expenses typically rise each year and, as such, your business needs to grow, otherwise it will 'fade' away. This is why having a business plan and regularly reviewing your businesses performance is so important! Understanding the businesses financial bottom line and how the target markets are evolving is paramount to ongoing business success and growth. Be Honest With Yourself... Sometimes, the largest obstacle any small business owner can have, is themselves. Far too often, we as business owners fall prey to own success and we ignore the change indicators in our market. A wise business owner will ensure that they can independently evaluate their business - a business mentor is great for this kind of oversight. Be brutal in your assessment - really extrapolate the possible changes in your market and determine how you can refine your business strategies to capitalize on the changes. In one of my 'previous business lives', I ran a retail franchise store. We were a very niche business and when we first opened the stores, we did really well. However, as the market evolved it became more of a consumer market (not niche) and our Franchise did not change it's strategies to take this into consideration. That franchise no longer exists - it was placed in receivership. Growth Strategies There are several strategies for growth that may be applied by a business owner. Sell More Of The Same Thing This is possibly one of the most popular strategies for business growth - do more of what you're already doing. This could be a valid approach, particularly if the business or market is relatively young. One of the biggest things to consider here, is whether there is 'room' to do more of the same thing. If your business delivers services, can your existing staffing levels handle more work and if not, can more people be employed quickly enough to deliver the work? Does your market allow for enough growth in the sale of more of the same? Sometimes, the market is near saturation and selling more of the same thing is not going to provide enough growth for a business. Consider moving into other target markets with the same product or service. Often this will require a rethink of Unique Selling Proposition, but it can reap big rewards. If the business doesn't have sufficient person power to sell more, consider options like licensing and franchising to increase the reach. One very simple method to immediately add more sales people to the business is to offer an Affiliate or Referral program, where the business will pay a commission or referral fee to people who bring in new business. Raise Prices Raising the prices of your products and services may result in growth. This approach needs to be implemented carefully, and the results monitored regularly. Raising prices will, generally, result in a higher profit per sale - and as such higher profit overall. In some cases, raising prices will result in an increase in sales as well. This tends to occur when the price of a product or service is so low that it gives the perception of a low value / poor quality or appeals to a target market that is not willing to spend money. When the price is increased, the target audience feels that the quality is much better and will more readily invest. By increasing the price and increasing sales, growth occurs naturally. I experienced exactly this in my retail store - we had priced a product at less than $10, which we thought was an 'irresistible price'. Unfortunately, our customers did not and the product was not moving. After overhearing several customers discuss that they believed something must be wrong with the product for it to be so cheap, we increased the price to $14.95 and sold out in a week! Perceived Value. Diversify Diversification is a valid and very smart business growth strategy. Add more products or services to your business portfolio. Depending on your business plan, the products or services may be related to your existing product range or, it may be appropriate to start a new 'arm' to your business. Diversification, as a business growth strategy, provides a major benefit as the risk of market downturns is spread over a wider base. By adding more related products and services to its portfolio, a business can also capitalize on return business from existing customers. In Conclusion These are three very broad ways to grow your business - and which one(s) to use will depend on your business plan. [ad_2] Source by Charly Leetham https://4awesome.streamstorecloud.com/small-business-growing-your-business/?feed_id=37293&_unique_id=6484dfb1c4289

5 Tips on How to Be Discipline For Network Marketing Success

[ad_1] Discipline is a key element on how to succeed in network marketing. Is a powerful and unlimited that can not be search for or discovered it can only be created from within you. In my opinion discipline is as vital as breathing, without it we can't make it in life. It no matter how big your plan for success is or how important, if you do not incorporate discipline in to the mix success will not happened. By putting together these tips on how to succeed in network marketing I believe it will absolutely create with in you the discipline you desire: o Strong Based Values: This is the foundation of your decisions and actions, what propels you in to productivity. A strong believe in yourself and what you are doing will help you pass through the hurdles of life and you ability on making decision will be specific. o Sticking to your Goals Goal setting is what helps us structure our efforts to get to our dreams and ambitions and discipline is what is required to reach them. You wont reach you goals exactly as you wanted 100% of the time but discipline is the key that took you from starting point to closer to your goal. o Understanding Your Priorities: If you to take the right actions for the right reasons, you will be able to stay inside your discipline habits and will maintain your focus by defining your dreams to get to your goals and it will reduce your distractions. o Perseverance This is imperative, is the power of keeping going no matter what. You most apply your self to the create goal. Is mixture of effort and wanting to do it. By sticking to your actions you will get to were you want to be. o Inner-Inspiration By developing your own inspiration you will become more motivated. Watch all the big entrepreneurs of this industry and find out what they pass through before that got to where they are, it will give a sense of "I can do it" If you Follow this tips on how to succeed in network marketing you will notice that discipline will give you the initiative to start doing what is necessary to reach your goals. I can assure you once discipline is part of your mindset it will become a natural part of you and the sky will become the limit for your success in network marketing. [ad_2] Source by Charles Casiano https://4awesome.streamstorecloud.com/5-tips-on-how-to-be-discipline-for-network-marketing-success/?feed_id=36998&_unique_id=646a2c8174397

'I have $30000 in my savings account': I'm 56, unemployed and ... - Morningstar

By Quentin Fottrell 'The past 20-something years were nothing short of rough' Dear Quentin, I am a 56-year-old divorced woman who has raised four children as a single parent. I made the decision at a young age to give birth to all of my children, and I was the sole provider for the family for over 20 years. Now, after my children are all grown, living their own lives, I'm left with no golden life to look forward to. As you may imagine, the past 20-something years were nothing short of rough. I have $30,000 in my savings account, I am unemployed (and unemployable), and living incrementally off those savings. I have survived my years, not particularly because I am smart, but because I am very creative (I like to think). I have been creating two products that require an investment of about $20,000 for patents and manufacturing costs. I truly believe that these items will sell well in their marketplaces, and set me up for success. However, I am so afraid to use that money because that is what I live on. What would your advice be on this? Please help me. All of my life, I've missed out on every opportunity that came my way. I don't want to be the person who never tried. At my age, I believe it would be devastating to just grow old and die, not having succeeded at something at least once, but if you think it is an unintelligent choice to use my life's piggy bank, per se, I want to know it. Divorcée & Inventor Dear Divorcée & Inventor, You have raised four children as a single parent. You are a winner. Measuring your success in life should not be dependent on whether you get these patents off the ground. Nor should it be calculated by the money in your bank account. Being rich and famous is not a marker of success. The relationships you have in your life and your ability to be kind to other people are a good starting and finishing point. All the rest is garnish. Your letter shows two sides of your self-esteem. You describe yourself as "unemployable" -- something I doubt -- and yet you also show great confidence and belief in your ability to turn these patents into a marketable product. I hope they work, and I commend you on your entrepreneurial spirit. But there's a happier, steadier medium between these two beliefs. There are other ways to raise money and trademark your intellectual property, if that is indeed required in this case. Finding a job would help you avoid dipping into your savings. It's great that you have $30,000 saved, but this should also be treated as an emergency fund rather than a "last-chance saloon" for your patent ideas. Plus, $20,000 sounds like a very modest sum for what you have in mind. Contact a patent attorney to find out how much it would cost. SCORE (Service Corp of Retired Executive) or the Small Business Administration's Office of Small Business Development Centers can provide assistance with your business plan. There are over 1,000 federal grant programs you can explore. There is, of course, competition for these grants. You could also find an angel investor for your business idea, but that will come with a cost (a percentage of your business for an agreed sum). That's why people go on Shark Tank. Again, you can contact the SBA. After talking to a patent attorney, you could also reach out to friends and family, and/or crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe to tell your story, and raise funds. I caution against putting money on a credit card, especially given that interest rates are so high and -- crucially -- you have no other source of income. For others who have a retirement account like a 401(k), think twice before raiding that, as there will be penalties -- and if the product/business does not work out, there will be a big hole in your retirement savings too. In the meantime, you can file for a provisional patent to protect your idea before you talk about it publicly. This book, "Patent It Yourself: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Filing at the U.S. Patent Office," may also be helpful for you. But as James Yang, an attorney at OC Patent Lawyer in California points out, "For a higher-quality application, you should hire an experienced patent attorney. " As one member of the Moneyist's Facebook Group wrote about creating products: "You have to HUSTLE, sell them into stores, brand and market them, baby them through the whole process. If you can do this (project management, sales, supply-chain management, delivery, design) you can certainly work somewhere and are employable. "Why not get a job that helps you develop these skills (working in a trade show/brand ambassador, delivery for a similar product, project manager) and save up the $20,000 to launch your products?" she added. "Even great ideas fail with the very best behind them, if you are serious about starting a company you need to get back into the working world first." Don't hang all your dreams on one business idea. Life is so much bigger than that. Ultimately, you need a team. Talk to your children. Tell them about your financial situation. Ask them for their advice. Can they help you find a job? Can they provide you with financial assistance? Do they have insights into your business plan? You're 56. You've achieved a lot in your life already. Follow Quentin Fottrell on Twitter. You can email The Moneyist with any financial and ethical questions related to coronavirus at qfottrell@marketwatch.com. Check out the Moneyist private Facebook group, where we look for answers to life's thorniest money issues. Readers write to me with all sorts of dilemmas. Post your questions, tell me what you want to know more about, or weigh in on the latest Moneyist columns. The Moneyist regrets he cannot reply to questions individually. More from Quentin Fottrell: She never has enough money': I was adopted by a wealthy family, but my biological grandma says I need to financially support her -- and buy her a condo My husband and I earn $160K, have $1 million in retirement savings, cook at home and drive an old Honda. Are we missing out? 'I grew up poor': My wife and I have a $1.2 million real-estate portfolio, and $225,000 in income. Are we financially secure enough to start a family? -Quentin Fottrell (END) Dow Jones Newswires 01-24-23 2217ET Transparency is how we protect the integrity of our work and keep empowering investors to achieve their goals and dreams. And we have unwavering standards for how we keep that integrity intact, from our research and data to our policies on content and your personal data. We’d like to share more about how we work and what drives our day-to-day business. We sell different types of products and services to both investment professionals and individual investors. 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