Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to come from an affluent background to become a successful businessperson. Instead, what you require is passion, hard work and savviness. These are all qualities that money can’t buy. However, money is still an important part of building a company and its resources. As such, you need to find ways to acquire funding, so you can get your business up and running (unless you have a trust fund to rely on – which most of us don’t). We want to see independent businesses thrive. And so, we’ve written this article, which showcases the different options available to entrepreneurs for funding their business.
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is when you ask the public domain for money to fund a project. This is typically what charities use. You can advertise your crowdfunding campaign on social media and your business’s website. This is an excellent way to acquire funding because these campaigns don’t cost anything to run and help advertise your business in the meantime.
Successful crowdfunding campaigns will generally consist of the four P’s: the pitch, the perks, the promotion and the personalisation. First, you need to pitch your business to people to gain their interest, and then offer perks as an incentive for them to invest. These perks could include discounts on your products/services. Next, you need to promote your crowdfunding project, to spread the news and attract more investors. Nowadays, this can be done via email marketing and social media. The final stage of crowdfunding is personalisation. This is about branding. Give a face to your business, market yourself tastefully, and audiences are far more likely to become invested in your person, thereby compelling them to donate to your cause. With these tips in mind, you can create an effective crowdfunding campaign to support your business.
Silent Partners
Silent Partners are the direct opposite of crowdfunding campaigns. Instead of asking the general public to fund your business, budding entrepreneurs will sometimes turn to established businesspeople for money. This is what you see on the television show Dragon’s Den. Silent partners will provide capital to your business in exchange for a share in its profits, meaning they’ll only want to invest in companies with a plan and potential. Silent partners are named as such because they usually aren’t involved in branch operations or management. They simply provide funding. This is great if you enjoy having free reign over your business and don’t feel you need a partner’s input. To acquire a silent partner’s funding, once again you’ll need to pitch yourself and your company to the appropriate businessperson. Before doing so, you must get your business plan straight and understand what exactly its unique selling point is. Nobody will want to invest in a business which seems disorganised, disinteresting and directionless. If you’re struggling to pitch, this highlights that your business needs work before it can open to the public domain. So, silent partners are a good option for business people wanting to acquire funding. Even if you fail to guarantee an investment, there’s still an important lesson to be learned.
Business Funding Comparison Websites
There’s a comparison website for everything nowadays. Nonetheless, these websites provide excellent services and business owners should use them to their advantage when looking for funding. This is because companies like Become.co will not only find the best funders for you but also tailor funding to suit your business’s needs. Moreover, they follow a step-by-step funding plan, which in turn makes the usually complicated process quicker, easier and clearer. Understanding that every year millions of businesses are wrongfully denied the funding they qualify for, business funding comparison websites aim to change this figure.
Additionally, these websites help ensure your business isn’t going to be overfunded or underfunded. Overfunding can result in your business accruing interest that it’s unable to afford; whilst underfunding means your company might not be able to stay afloat whilst waiting for cash flow, or in months of unseasonably bad business. As such, when looking for effective methods to acquire funding, we recommend using business funding comparison websites. They’re a cost-effective option that finds lenders whose terms and funds are the very best for your specific business.
Charities
There are a handful of charities that provide ambitious entrepreneurs with mentoring and funding for their start-up business. A notable example of this is the Prince’s Trust. This charity is the perfect option for young people between the ages of 18 and 30 who have high aspirations but are struggling to establish a business because of their background. Not only does the Prince’s Trust provide training and support for new business owners, but also funding and resources. There are four stages to its program. Firstly, there are the information sessions, which occur in the local area and tell young entrepreneurs how the Prince’s Trust can benefit them. Next, if you’re still interested, the program will give you a four-day workshop, where you can interact with business advisers and learn how to budget, market and plan your company. After this comes the building of your business using the knowledge you’ve acquired thus far. The Prince’s Trust will provide you with a mentor and allow you to apply for funding at this stage.
Lastly, you’ll present your company to a Business Launch Group, who will provide constructive criticism on how sustainable your company is and how much potential it has. Furthermore, should you need it, the Prince’s Trust will provide an additional start-up fund to see your business all the way through. Therefore, if you’re looking for an effective method to acquire funding for your business, then it’s worthwhile investigating charities like the Prince’s Trust. They’re here to help anyone who has the passion and potential but hasn’t yet been given the opportunity.
And there you have four effective methods to acquire funding for your business. Hopefully, this article proves to you that you don’t need to be rich to build a successful company – just the know-how and business-savviness.
