Investors of All Kinds Are Waiting for the Right Business Plan

Finding investors is never easy as any successful business owner will tell you without hesitation. You may be an entrepreneur just starting a business or an established business ready to expand and finding business funding is going to be a challenge. Actually, finding the funders is the easy part of the process. The hard part is convincing them to give your enterprise the money needed to startup or expand.

There are three main types of funding for a business. The first type is your personal money which may include using savings or borrowing against the house. The second type is investors who insist on getting part ownership in exchange for investing in the business. The third type of funding is business loans which can be made by individuals or financial institutions.

Since most people don’t have enough personal funding to startup or grow a business, they have to turn to the marketplace and convince others to invest

There is a variety of investors in the marketplace and your goal is to find those who best fit your needs. You have several choices too which increases your chances of finding funding. For example, some entrepreneurs agree to accept equal partners. If this is not appealing, there are as many arrangements that can be made as there are stars in the sky. For example, you could find equity partners who will be “silent” and will accept less than 50% ownership. These types of partners don’t want to participate in the business. They simply want a good return for their money.

If taking on partners is of no interest, there are certainly many other organizations and individuals willing to invest in businesses or business expansions in exchange for higher returns on investments than can be achieved in the marketplace. With interest rates so low and the recovery stopping and starting, investors are increasingly searching for their own investment opportunities. These funders include angel investors and Small Business Investment Companies for example. You can search for venture capital or business loans. The key to finding funding is not limiting yourself to one particular funding source.

Business loans from banks or other financial organizations remain viable funding alternatives despite what you read in the news. Too many entrepreneurs decide up front they won’t qualify and cut themselves out of this source of funding. But there are banks that are lending. The key to success is developing a solid business plan that builds your case for funding by supplying the right elements.

o what do people and businesses offering startup funding need to know? Having a great idea is a good start but it’s not enough to get startup funding or expansion funding. Serious investors have minimum requirements you must meet to even be considered for business funding. It doesn’t matter if you are approaching banks, investors offering venture capital or angel investors.

• A background that indicates honesty and ability
• The ability to operate a business through sound decision making by you and those you will be working with in order to grow the business and protect the investor’s funds
• The ability to return the funder’s money according to the agreement
• The ability to establish a mutually acceptable agreement for funding and funding payback
• The ability to provide collateral if required by the funder

These are the most basic elements that will be explained and expanded on in your business plan. With a quality business plan prepared, you can then begin to network with others who are involved in business investing, business startups, and business expansions.

If all of this sounds overwhelming then you should take advantage of an intermediary who has already established the connections you need to find funding. The sooner you begin to network, the sooner you will find investors including organizations and people willing to make loans and equity partners.

More detailed information and useful advice can be found at http://www.funded.com. Created by Mark Favre, it offers expertise and assistance with developing and funding your concept, including a private forum for queries and discussions. If you need to access a vast network of business people, entrepreneurs, partners and service providers to help you start, finance and run your business, check out the site.

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