Finance Your Business: Secure Funding to Start, Run, and Grow Your Business
262
Finance Your Business: Secure Funding to Start, Run, and Grow Your Business
262Paperback
Overview
Every business needs money. Whether you’re just starting out or are ready to expand, hunting for cash isn’t easy and you’ll need a game plan to be successful.
The experts of Entrepreneur can help improve your odds of success by exploring the available options to guiding you from small business loans and angel investors to crowdfunding and venture capital.
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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781599185972 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Entrepreneur Press |
| Publication date: | 11/15/2016 |
| Pages: | 262 |
| Sales rank: | 1,146,954 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d) |
About the Author
Table of Contents
Preface ix
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
The Basics of Obtaining Funding 2
Chapter 2 Going It Alone: Bootstrapping Like a Boss 7
Ten Bootstrapping Tips to Turn Your Idea into Reality 8
Bootstrapping in the Real World: Erica Zidel and Sitting Around 11
When to Scrimp and When to Splurge 15
The Beauty of Bartering 20
Bootstrapping for the Long Haul: Making It Your Philosophy 25
Chapter 3 Doing It the Old-Fashioned Way: Using Traditional Lending Institutions 29
Watch Out for These Costly Traps 29
Busting Myths About Small-Business Lending 30
The State of Post-Great Recession Small-Business Lending: Wells Fargo 33
The Real Reasons Banks Deny Loans to Many Small-Business Owners: The Business Credit Score 35
Ten Questions to Ask Before Applying for a Bank Loan 39
Qualifying for an SBA Loan: Remember the Five Cs 45
Buying a Business Through Seller Financing 49
Microfinancing Small Business 53
Chapter 4 Tapping Friends and Family 57
Basics of Borrowing from Friends and Family 58
Winding Up for the Pitch: The Right Way to Ask Your Parents to Finance Your Business 61
What to Watch Out For: Some Hard Truths 63
The Loan Agreement: Keeping Things Strictly Business 65
TrustLeaf: Making Raising Money Easier for All Involved 68
Able: This Company Will Give You a Loan-But There's a Catch 69
Chapter 5 Winning Grants, Contests, and Pitch Slams 73
Seeking Grants from the Federal Government 74
Hometown Glory: Get Startup Grants and Seed Investments from Your City 76
Entering Contests: Bringing Your "A" Game 77
Pitch-Perfect: Joining Pitch Slams 83
Three Questions to Focus on During a Pitch Slam 85
A Different Idea: Turn Your Customers into Investors 87
Sometimes Publicity Is Worth More Than Cash 88
Chapter 6 Joining Incubators and Accelerators 91
The Accelerator Boom 91
What to Look For in an Accelerator Program 92
Practical Advice; Jump-Starting Your Business with an Accelerator Program 97
Corporate Incubators: Why Big Brands Offer Big Funds to Small Businesses 99
What Corporate Incubators and Accelerators Can Mean for Your Business 100
Inside the Big Guns: Dos and Don'ts of Y Combinator and Techstars 106
Niche Incubators and Accelerators 108
Why You Might Want to Start a Business Overseas 116
The ABCs of Starting an Overseas Business 118
Chapter 7 Crowdfunding Like a Champ 125
Nine Steps to Launching a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign 127
What Not to Do: Beating the Odds and Avoiding Failure 133
Inside a Kickstarter Campaign: Reading Rainbow 136
SeedInvest: Helping Startups Stand Out 138
Choosing a Crowdfunding Platform: CrowdsUnite 140
Selfstarter; Roll Your Own Crowdfunding 141
Playing by the SEC's New Rules: Understanding the JOBS Act 143
Women Raise More Money with Crowdfunding 145
Streamlining the Investor Roadshow: FlashFunders 146
Three Lessons from the Top 50 Rewards-Based Crowdfunding Campaigns 148
Chapter 8 Scouting the Alternative Lending Landscape 149
Why Small Businesses Are Turning to Online Lenders 149
Six Tips to Navigate Online Lending Options 151
No Credit? No Problem: OnDeck 153
Checking Out Offbeat Lenders 154
PayPal Gives Small Businesses Access to Working Capital in Minutes 157
How Does a Zero-Interest Loan Sound? 159
More Brilliant Financial and Capital Ideas 160
Royalty Financing: Financing Without Taking on Debt or Giving Away Equity 161
Exploring the Last Resort: The Risks of 401 (k) Business Financing 164
Companies That Can Help You Tap Your Retirement 169
Chapter 9 Wooing Angels and Venture Capitalists 173
What VCs Want and Look For 173
Finding Investors Through LinkedIn 178
Anatomy of a VC Deal: How One Seattle Startup Raised $12.5 Million 182
Five Essentials for Raising Your Growth Round of Funding by Matt Straz 187
Acing Your Pitch to Investors 189
An Online Platform That Simplifies Investor Relations: Gust 193
Challenges Women Face When Raising Venture Capital 194
Chapter 10 Considering VC Alternatives and Other Investors 197
When to Say No to Venture Capital 198
Why the VC Game Is Attracting a Whole New Set of Players 200
The Rise of Corporate Venture Capital 202
The Deal with Revenue-Sharing Deals 204
Financing Through a Family Office 206
Grants (and One Loan) for Women-Owned Businesses 208
Funding Strategies for B Corporations 212
Checking Out Philanthropic Venture Capital 213
Warby Parker: How Four Entrepreneurs with Social Vision Secured Venture Capital 216
Tapping into Alumni VC Groups 218
Chapter 11 Preparing for an Exit 221
Introducing Five Smart Exit Strategies 221
Preparing Your Exit 223
Succession Planning: Ensuring Your Business Continues to Thrive Without You, by Brenton Hayden 229
All in the Family: Succession Planning 232
Transitioning to Employee Ownership 237
Appendix Finance Resources 243
Government Resources 244
Accounting and Taxes 244
Credit Services 245
General Business and Finance Websites 245
Accounting Software 246
Find Your Credit Rating 246
Credit Rating Bureaus 246
Crowdfunding 246
Out-of-the-Box Funding Options 247
Lending 247
Books 248
Online Startup and Funding Courses 248
Glossary 251
Index 255