Money makes the world go round. It’s also the wind beneath the wings of your startup or small business, allowing it to take off and reach loftier heights. However, while your business idea or plan might be a sure-fire money maker, it isn’t going to start producing those profits until you drill enough resources in it to make it a success and for that you need money from somewhere else.
As an accountant I meet a lot of small business owners who’ve found their funding from a variety of different sources. When starting up a small business, you’ll likely look to either personal investment, a loan from a bank or investment from a third party. However, in the modern world, these are not your only avenues of gaining enough capital to start your business. In fact, there are three other ways that have proved just as valuable to my clients as any other.
Enter into Business Competitions
Despite that contradictory sentence I wrote in the first paragraph, your plan or idea can make money on its own, but not through sales. There are plenty of opportunities out there for you to present your business idea to a panel of experts who will judge it on a series of criteria, depending on which business competition you enter. These can be relating the most innovative, the specific industry you are in, the most likely to succeed, the greenest, the business most likely to have a wider impact, the list goes on.
Winners and runners up usually gain a prize that will help them on with their funding, and often other benefits too, such as networking opportunities and advice from industry experts.
Not only is a competition a good way to find funding, but it’s a way of exposing your business to private investors without openly pitching it to them. If you get to the final rounds of a competition, you will most likely get the opportunity to present your business idea to the competition judges, as well as a sea of other experts and investors that turn out specifically to check out new ideas in their field. This is the perfect opportunity to find funding methods and do some networking of your own.
Boost Potential With Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is the innovation for startup funding of the modern era. Websites like Kickstarter allow you to make your case to users about why they should invest in your business. This often involves offering to give something back when you become successful or simply showcasing a startup idea so innovative that people really want to see it succeed.
The trick to this is instead of one or two large investors, you often get hundreds of smaller backers. This not only allows for you to fund your business, but also means you have a market and attention right off the bat. Unless you offer shares as a trade off for investment, you also won’t have anybody but yourself to answer to.
There are legions of successful businesses that got their funding through a crowdfunding website and one day your startup could be on that list.
Take a Risk On Credit Cards
No matter how hard you try, sometimes you just can’t get the funding you need to get your business going. Does that mean you have a bad idea? No, but it means you have to self-fund. Sometimes, you simply don’t have the money to do this, and that’s where a credit card can come in handy.
There are plenty of options for credit cards out there ranging from standard personal use to those tailored for the self-employed, each with their own benefits. Your line of credit essentially becomes a loan that is easier to get approved, and also allows you to retain complete control of your business.
What you must remember is there is an element of risk to this option. You are responsible for paying the bills on the credit, and you’re the one left footing the bill if everything goes wrong. However, if you have faith in your idea and are willing to take that risk, it could be the one and only way to make your startup idea a success story.
