Raising Finance for a Business Venture

[Paul Carcone]

Are you considering working from home with a new business idea?

If so, you will most probably need some funding and this is how you can go about deciding how to get the funding you need to get off the ground.

First, don’t worry! You’re not alone!

It’s a very rare occurrence for a new or growing business not to need some form of additional funding early in the company’s development. So you’re not anywhere new or uncharted.

Whilst you might be worried that the early or ‘seed stage’ requirement for financing a young and growing business is the most complicated and difficult to achieve, it doesn’t have to be like this. You can get the banks and other investors onside by following some simple rules.

You will probably be considering two main sources of funding. These are asset based financing, sometimes called Working Capital Finance and Equity Finance, which is normally available through the involvement of a Venture Capitalist.

So, what is the secret, if there is one, to making a successful bid to rise that much needed capital for your business?

Read on..!

First, you must have meticulous preparation. You must realise, as a new company owner, that regardless of the form of funding required, you will always need for an expertly prepared and detailed Business Plan to back any proposal you wish to put to the bank.

And it doesn’t just end there! The most important part of the Business Plan is the Executive Summary and if you can’t get this bit right, you might as well not have written the rest of it.

You probably can guess that all financiers are extremely busy people, but did you know that many of them review in excess of 30 business plans and funding requests per day? Imagine how tiring that would be!!

If you are to ensure that your request for funding is successful, it’s vital that you grab the attention of the financier within the first reading of the Executive Summary. This initial reading will determine whether or not the rest of your plan is called for, or whether the financier will call you in for a meeting to discuss your business.

If you have chosen Venture Capital, you will already know that it’s recognised as being one of the most widely known ways of raising development funding. What you may not know, is that it’s rarely the most appropriate for companies at the start-up stage.

“So, what are these systems?”; “How do they work?” I hear you ask. Well, as the term suggests, asset based financing involves using the assets of the business, or your own assets, to raise the required funding.

Beware!! You should be careful when considering this type of financing for new and untested businesses! If you put your own assets, such as your house or car, up as security against a business loan, you do stand to risk losing having it if your business venture goes flat!

So remember to read the small print and understand exactly what you are getting into before you sign!

Advice is always available from reputable consultants.