Six Easy Ways To Raise Capital For Your Business

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Raise Capital |Six Easy Ways To Raise Capital For Your BusinessRaising capital for your start-up or small company is probably the biggest challenge most entrepreneurs face when starting a business. This is not only a serious obstacle but also a popular excuse for many business-minded people. From renting production space or office to hiring staff and buying goods and equipment, everything you do to take your idea to profitable business requires money.

Luckily, the success stories of all the entrepreneurs show that capital is available to everyone if you turn to the right resources and get a little creative with your capital-raising options! Below we share six ideas on how to get money to fund your business.

Start With Your Own Savings

Creating a new company and running your own business can be risky. Also, this level of risk sometimes prevents traditional lenders from providing loans to entrepreneurs. This can become even more difficult if the business owner hasn’t invested his or her own money.

If you take your business dream seriously, you can consider using your savings as a source of capital. Or maybe you are willing to refinance or take out a second mortgage. You should definitely look for available options of personal financing if you are ready to take risks and comfortable with the potentially bad consequences.

Talk To Your Friends & Family Members

Your friends are always there when you need them, therefore, raising capital through your closed ones is another viable option. Try to contact your buddies to get some money to raise capital, but think about how they can benefit from the idea of lending you money and what form the funding will take. For instance, you can ask for some debt financing and then pay it back with interest, or simply you add them on as partners in your business.

Similar to your close friends, your family members and relatives can be an entrepreneur’s first point of contact for raising capital. The peculiarity of the family is that they will always be ready to help and support a good idea with financial help. The bond between your loved ones is very strong, and even if you don’t have a very good business plan, you can still raise money from your family. Remember that the amount of funds collected from your family members may not be enough; however, it is a good start.

Regardless of what you decide to do, make sure to be honest with your friends and family, realistic about how much money you need and clear about the risks; otherwise, you will not receive money even from your best friends.

Apply For Business Grants & Loans

There are various types of lenders and debt products for small business – banks, government agencies, credit card companies, online lenders and microcredit programs. All of them offer term loans, invoice financing, lines of credit, cards, cash advances and much more.

For instance, since nowadays many businesses are dealing with the consequences of the global pandemic, Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS scheme) provides the small and medium-sized businesses with two fast and effective solutions to beat the cash flow crunch. CBILS lenders offer a hassle-free CBILS loan and a flexible CBILS revolving credit facility to get financial support and fund your business, whether you need to hire more employees, pay for your workplace or create an emergency reserve of capital.

Find Angel Investors

Angels investors are people with a surplus of funds who are usually interested in investing in new start-ups, but it is also possible to raise money for a small business in return for an ownership stake. Furthermore, they work in groups of networks to collectively review proposals before investing and can offer mentorship or invaluable advice alongside the capital.

Knowing this, angel funding can be a great source of capital for your business. First, you must have a succinct, clear and memorable pitch and a solid business plan. Since angel investors aim to fund a potentially profitable business with clearly outlined services or products and experienced leadership, you should capture their attention with enthusiasm and promising data on the current situation and future potential of your company.

In addition to visiting different events, such as fundraisers and conventions, to find angel investors, there are also various online platforms that can help you find the right people and fund your business. Angel Capital Association, Angel Investment Network and Gust are considered the most versatile online platforms for finding an angel investor for your business.

Or Venture Capitalists

Unlike angel investors, venture capitalists usually want to invest in slightly more stable and mature companies, and sometimes want to have a voice in the direction of the business and the management of its day-to-day operations.

Since venture capitalists are responsible for achieving a certain return for a firm or fund, they need positive cash-flow companies with proven products and a high potential for growth. If your company meets all these requirements, you can apply for an investment in a venture capital firm. It’s not an easy task, but many small businesses have been successful in getting the much-needed capital.

Raise Capital Through Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is a new and quick way to increase start-up capital. Instead of focusing on a few people like your friends, investors or banks, this funding option allows you to make small amounts of money from many investors at the same time.

To launch a successful crowdfunding campaign and raise capital for your business, you need to present a detailed description of your business. This includes the goals of your business, the value of your service or product, plans for making a profit, how much funding you need and for what reasons. Then anyone can read about the business and contribute money if they like the idea.

At the same time, you should be aware that crowdfunding is a competitive place to get funding, so unless your business idea is absolutely rock solid and can convince regular consumers with a simple description and a few images online, you may not be able to raise money for your company.

How to Start an Online Business?

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Start an Online Business|How to Start an Online Business?Are you thinking of starting an online business? But you are not sure how to get started? Then no need to worry about yourself anymore. Starting a new business is not an easy task it takes a lot of commitment and persistence. You have to think about everything from tiny details like the niche of your business to the market analysis. Creating an online presence is an overwhelming task considering the high competition in the market.

First and foremost, thing is to not let all these things get you demotivated. You won’t win if you will not fight for it. Right? Moreover, we are here to help you to guide you on your new journey. This article talks about the steps you will have to take to build a successful business.

The five steps toward launching your new business:

1. Research and Find an Idea:

Most entrepreneurs skip this part and start working on the plan without having a clear vision for their business. Missing this part will often lead to complications in coming times. You should consider answering the following questions while deciding on your new business idea:

  • The first query you should answer is why are you doing it? This common question can speak volumes whether your business will fall or rise to the heights. It is necessary because, for a successful business, you need to have a mission and a purpose behind it.
  • Another important question you should have a clearance about is whether you have all the equipment for starting a particular business idea. If you don’t have it, how will you arrange it? If you are serious about your start-up, then you will find yourself seeing the answer to this question.
  • One of the crucial aspects to look for, about a particular idea is the problem it will be solving. Now, what will be the point of a start-up if it wouldn’t be affecting a large number of people for good?
  • The last question you should answer is Will your business be able to run solely online? Businesses like e-learning do not need any infrastructure and operate only on an online mode. While an eCommerce business works on both online and offline. So, which one is yours?

2. Uphold Your Business Idea:

After the first step, we can assume that you are determined to start your business and have a clear view of your idea. The next step to do is to validate your business idea. You can start simple like talking to potential customers, asking them about their needs, and if they like your idea or not. Although you have different methods to test the market based on your online business idea:

  • The most effective and simple method is to gauge customer interest by looking into competitive reviews. Check their responses for every detail like what they are liking and what not. This step will help you get an idea of the current market.
  • The next step to validate your business idea is to set up a preview landing page to give an idea about your business, products, and services. Mention in brief about the features, price details, etc, and don’t forget to add an email subscription. It will help you in bringing relevant customers.
  • There’s another feature available for you to uphold your business idea that is through surveys. You can conduct online surveys to drive traffic to your preview website. While promoting your survey, you can run a handful of digital ads.

3. Start A Thorough Planning:

Once you start seeing the positive results from the survey and receive enough traffic, the next thing is to start planning. Business planning should be deep and thorough. One loophole in it can drown your whole business before starting it. You have already laid your marks in the market about the initial parts of your business planning. Therefore, this is the right time to pursue funds and raise your financial status. Keep in mind the following points while planning:

  • Start small and make it big. The best approach to build a stable business is to start small. Therefore, have a lean business plan, something you will be able to do in the next 30 minutes rather than six weeks.
  • Always keep an eye on the market and do a thorough market analysis regularly. It is crucial to understand your product and services value in the market. This step also helps you in determining the pricing models and distribution methods.

Tip: You can listen to business audiobooks to get the edge on running a business. 10audioz covered top audiobooks targeting new business and start up founders.

4. Start A Website Based on Your Business Idea:

Once you finish the above steps, your next move is to set up your website completely on running mode. Completely setting and launching a website is not so easy as compared to the preview page. You have to sort out all the details like platform, design, hosting services, etc. You have to select accordingly because your website will be representing your business. Understand the following points that will tell you in brief what you have to consider:

  • First, decide you will be selling your own products or you will be using a third-party platform. Both of the options are good, so select anyone that will help you in building your website.
  • Building your own website gives you a high level of control over your store. You decide what products should be there and not, but you must remember the user experience. No matter what the design your website will have, as long as it can appease your customers. Always consider your user experience before doing anything.
  • It’s not necessary to build your website from scratch. Especially in your initial stages, you don’t have to employ another person for building your website. You can use the different platforms like Squarespace that gives you already built templates to get your started.
  • Name your website and the domain name carefully. You wouldn’t like that a website already exists with the same name, so, use platforms that will help you in deciding one for you.
  • The website needs continuous efforts and maintenance. It will need your full attention if you wish to bring your website on the top pages of Google search engines. So, don’t forget about it once are done making it.

5. Make Your Business Legal and Launch it:

The process of making your business legal is important and necessary. You have to follow a few steps to get it done. Once it is done you will be all set to start your business officially. The steps to make your business legal are:

  • Read about the regulation of online business. The business laws for doing online and offline business are different. These laws are regarding the use of the customer’s personal information. Therefore, understand them carefully.
  • Once you know the laws of online business, register it. For registering, decide the legal structure of your business set up. Specify the requirements completely without missing any details. So, that you don’t encounter difficulties in your future.
  • The last point is that you should learn about the tax on your online business. It is possible that you have to pay the income tax therefore you should consult your lawyer on this topic.

Conclusion:

Business is not a short path that can be covered in a few steps. It’s a long process where you will find yourself repeating the above steps after every few intervals. Be your own master and raise your business to have a stand in the market.

Starting a Business for the Post-Pandemic World

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Post-pandemic World|Starting a Business for the Post-Pandemic WorldThe world has changed. That is what everyone is saying as we are in the midst of a once in a generation global crisis. Change can be daunting. Whether you are a potential new business owner or someone who has been in the game for years, you knew how your industry operated before, and you at least had an idea of how to navigate within that system. Now you have to figure out a whole new way to play.

Change Is the Name of the Game

The pandemic has caused a massive change and forced many businesses to fold. However, companies that have been around for decades and make it through the crisis will recognize that change is nothing new when it comes to business. While some industries may face more frequent and drastic changes, every business needs to adapt sometimes.

Restaurants may seem like an industry that hasn’t faced much disruption overall. However, even they have to monitor the latest dietary trends. Then, of course, one of the largest shakeups came with the rise of fast food.

Some industries face change at a greater rate, but all industries change over time. Some of the most successful companies don’t just change how they operate within an industry but switch industries altogether. Many of the largest companies now operating today started out doing something completely different. Some companies that started out doing something entirely different include:

  • Nintendo – This video game manufacture began as a playing card company and also ran a taxi company, food company, TV network, and hotel chain.
  • Nokia – This popular mobile phone brand started as a paper mill.
  • Wrigley – One of the biggest chewing gum companies started out selling soap and baking powder.
  • Marriot Hotels – Began as a street-side root beer stand.
  • Samsung – This electronics king got started by exporting noodles and dried fish.
  • American Express – The credit card company that originally delivered parcels across the country.

The point is that businesses have to learn to adapt to survive and thrive. Sometimes a change in business comes from forced outside conditions, and other times it comes from inspiration from within. Inescapably, though, it always comes eventually. Starting a business in the current climate is a great way to prepare yourself for success because you can’t rely on following an already laid out way of doing things. You need to innovate immediately.

Filling a Gap or Flooding the Market?

If you are planning on creating a new business that you will hope to launch as the world opens back up again, it is important to recognize the market you will be entering.

Once the world returns to normal, some industries will operate in much the same way as they did before. However, others will operate in a vastly different fashion. There are also going to be a number of industries that don’t recover to pre-virus levels, while others will be bigger than ever before.

You need to figure out where your proposed business lies along these spectrums so that you can fully understand the risks of your endeavor.

Many businesses were forced to close down during the pandemic, but the industry need will return to pre-pandemic levels. That means there will be a lot of holes to be filled, and you could be stepping in at the perfect time to provide the service that people need. Many other services that boomed during the pandemic are likely to drop off dramatically as the disaster recedes.

Basically, opening a new restaurant where you have half the competition you would have had if you had opened your doors in 2019 will be a much safer bet than starting a business that sells medical masks.

The Importance of Insurance

One thing that the pandemic has certainly shown is the importance of insurance. Health insurance, cancellation insurance, and business insurance that covered disruption are three prominent insurance options that many people who had them were very grateful for once the pandemic hit. While hopefully, we will not face another crisis of this level anytime soon, these are still great safety nets to have.

Whenever you invest a lot of money in anything, like your business, home, car, wedding, or self, purchasing insurance is a good option. People planning to get married in early to mid-2020 who had to postpone may not have benefited from buying wedding liability insurance. However, if they bought wedding cancel or postponement insurance, they were certainly breathing a sigh of relief.

The same goes for business owners. Those who left business disruption insurance off their coverage plan were left out in the cold when forced to shutter their doors due to lockdowns.

The Digital Age Has Truly Grown Up

The world has been transitioning to digital more and more over the past few decades, and the pandemic pushed that movement forward even further. Many businesses who adopted a more digital approach with things like having employees work from home don’t plan to go back to the old way of doing things. Many former office jobs have switched to being fully remote and will stay that way while others will keep a partially remote aspect.

There are many benefits to having your employees work from home. Your good employees are often more productive because by cutting out their commute, they are less tired and more able to focus. At the same time, it is easier to identify your bad employees and demand improvement or part ways. You can also rent smaller offices or have no main office at all. Either option can save a lot of overhead costs.

Due to this and other factors, you may find that this is the perfect time to start your new business. With many industries, you won’t find yourself at a big disadvantage to your more experienced competitors, since they will be learning the new way of doing business right alongside you.

How To Choose The Right Premises For Your Business

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Business Premises|How To Choose The Right Premises For Your BusinessThe (growing) trend right now is for people to work from home, and for entrepreneurs to start businesses from their spare bedrooms or garages. Although this can certainly work for some, and it does have a vast number of benefits, it’s not going to be ideal for everyone, and sometimes an office space or storefront is essential to the success of the business. If you need to work away from your home either because you don’t have enough space or because the business calls for it, then you are going to need to think carefully about the premises you choose.

The issue with business premises is that they can be expensive, and this is why you need to choose the right one so that you don’t waste any money, and so that you can maximize your business as much as possible. Read on to find out more.

Location

Anyone who works in property will tell you that location is extremely important. It could be the difference between happiness and misery when it comes to your own home, and when related to a business premises, it could be the difference between success and failure.

Although you might be able to spend less in one location compared to another, there could be a big reason for this. Make sure you research all the potential areas for your business thoroughly first. Some things to consider include:

  • Footfall– will many people pass by (assuming this is important, of course)?
  • Public transport and parking – how will you or your employees get to the office, warehouse, or store? Will it be easy, or will it be a chore? If it’s the latter, you might have trouble attracting the right people to work for you.
  • Competitors – are you close to your competitors? It can often be best to be a little further away.

Price

Of course, once you have determined where you want to have your business premises, you’ll need to consider how much you can pay for it. Whether you are buying or renting, there is the monthly cost to think about, as well as a potential down payment. You will also need to factor in costs like heating, electricity, and broadband. How much is it really going to cost you each month to run your premises? Can you afford it?

In some cases, especially if the location you are looking at is a more expensive one, you will need to look at smaller properties or those that need more work than others. This can be a good thing; it allows you to put your stamp on things and design the layout just how you want it; glass polishing for the windows and floor polishing for the tiles and a fresh coat of paint could transform a run-down building into a beautiful one, for a bargain price.

Usage

Finally, it’s wise to determine what the property you are considering paying for is allowed to be used for. Some will have restrictions on them that mean, no matter how perfect they might be for you, you can’t turn them into a store, or they have to remain a store and you can’t use them for offices.

There are dozens of clauses like this, which is why when searching for a business premises it is best to use a professional; you won’t find somewhere only to be disappointed, and they will know just what will work for you.

How To Start Your Own Company

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Start your own company|How To Start Your Own CompanyAre you an employee? If not, no worries. I am just going to put an example that will immensely help you understand the significance and uncertainty of starting a new company. Consider an employee who is well-recognized(of course due to his performance), highly-benefited, and well-settled with an XYZ company, but due to certain issues, he has to find another company. He will only be hoping if the new company has the same atmosphere and working culture.

Isn’t the above scenario related to a businessman/businesswoman finding a stage to put their business into the market? If not for the idea, the entrepreneur would be more worried about getting a predictive reach, perfect location for sufficing the demands, and the list is endless. But perfect planning never goes vacant. So let’s begin the checklist of how to start a company.

Steps To A Perfect Start Of Your Company

Out of every ongoing managerial, industrial or automatic process in the surrounding, hardly some would be working without any planned layout. Similarly, before starting a company, here are a few steps which can help you earn good fame in society.

1. Analyze the market demands for your product

Until you have an idea that assists the society or a section of the society, you cannot say or analyze its demand, a good location, probable customers to attract, how to innovate it, and reduce the price compared to the competitors.

Start with business ideas eradicating the common problems with advanced technologies that also serve as the future need of the common people globally, if possible. You can also work on already implemented solutions but can be designed better and economically. You might have seen some artsy people jumping into some related business, which is wonderful if you have some hobby.

According to Forbes, the definition of a successful startup goes like this: their product meets the needs of the society, their growth-rate is faster, they ignore nothing, and they recover from every hard-fall. (source)

2. Invest in your business

Even without required funding, appropriate investment, and all hard work, the business cannot reach the heights you desired. Even if you have a small investment to make, go for it. You can explore other options like a partnership, business grants, third-party investors, crowdfunding, loans, etc.

People say money can buy you anything, but that’s not 100% true for business as it requires an equal amount of dedication and hard work all the time.

3. Search the perfect location

The location also has quite an impact on the business. The location you choose is based on the target customers, company funding, partners, and other required preferences. Additionally, an owner should also consider the cost and restrictions to the business.

The location also becomes a preference if the business generally comprises selling offline as in retail stores.

4. Design your business structure

Now that you have picked up your idea and location, the next important consideration is to define how your business would function, the workflow of all the processes, product release and update process, marketing and sales, product financing, employee payroll, and HRMS process.

The business structure should aim at the organizational goals, vision, and mission that your organization needs. This also helps you in setting employee goals and OKR to measure performance.

Think about how to serve your customers and have a supportive query resolution workflow because customers are the main strength of your business to keep it on the right track. Analyze the market demands of the product to stay ahead in the competitive world by delivering the perfect required solution or service.

5. A name that reflects

Business/product name is the main aspect to be finalized as it is the first entity of your organization that will be highlighted in the market.

The name you choose should reflect what you want to deliver, should be simple and catchy for the customers to remember, and should be unique in the history of the trademark. You can refer some names to your co-founders, investors, and prospective customers. This also shows the culture and social front of your organization.

Now that you’ve come up with the name, register it legally according to your business type.

6. Work on financial setup and accounting

Whatever business type you set, whether e-commerce, mobile application, online retailers, etc., it is essential to deal with finances and accounting. Finances include payroll to the employees, deals with the customers, and partnerships for which bookkeeping is the primary for further accounting purposes.

Start from choosing a bank account, a promising one probably. You can also create employees’ bank accounts in the same bank for ease of process in salary transfer.

And yes, don’t forget to verify the statutory compliances at all stages to avoid the evasion of penalties and risks. Better consult a professional advisor for all your liabilities stated under the government rules.

7. Build your product website

In the modern world, websites, social media, and applications are mostly in use for searching and analyzing as per the needs. Listing your contact details and other forms can help customers reach you quickly. Providing an interactive website and social networking page can help customers get the product or service knowledge from it.

Purchase a personalized domain, theme, plug-ins, WordPress and set up your website using simple but attractive designs and content. And don’t forget to apply digital marketing techniques to gain online reach and google reviews.

For instance, founded in 2008, Zomato has become one of the largest food aggregators fulfilling their mission of “better food for more people” till date. An interactive website, social media pages, Instagram trends are somethings that people admire.

Above mentioned bullets may not be the only steps to start a company, but these are the main ones that you should look after.

In a nutshell

Starting a new business can be overwhelming and tricky until and unless you have proper planning at hand. Even if you are building the organization single-handedly, going the correct path and following the rules can help you cross the hardest difficulties easily. And don’t take forever to finalize your decisions, think and consult for better and start working towards the goal.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Shubham JoshiShubham Joshi is an experienced content marketer at FactoHR. Passionate about training and development programs, he is always ready to help colleagues and customers by representing concrete ideas and methodology. Beyond work, he is well-equipped with problem-solving abilities.