Financing a Business

A personal guarantee (PG) is requested by lenders in order to ensure that they get paid any debt issued to a corporation or LLC. The personal guarantee is signed by an individual typically involved in the business. In most cases it’s one of the owners, officers, or board of directors.
The National Association of Credit Managers […]

One of the most important tasks of a small business owner is finding capital for their business. Unfortunately, most business owners are clueless when it comes to finding money, and most self-proclaimed experts they may listen to are equally misguided.
The bottom line is you need capital for your business. Your capital needs will change over […]

I hate debt. I don’t like the feeling of owing anyone money. Though I was repeatedly taught in my youth to avoid debt like the plague, I didn’t listen very well — I was nearly $1m in debt at age 25! Some things are learned the hard way. As much as I dislike debt now, […]

In his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Stephen Covey recounts a conversation with a man who hated attending out-of-town training events. The man explained that his wife calls and hounds him on every detail of the day, whom he dines with, etc., and that he felt imprisoned by it. He also […]

Asking for business capital from people you know is very different from putting in a loan application at the bank. The good news is that you already have a personal relationship, so chances are they won’t run a credit check or ask you to put up your home as collateral, and may even give you […]

You’ve developed a plan and submitted it to investors. You’re comfortable with the plan and the submissions process. Several investors have declined. Now what?
The investment process works as a filter, sorting business plans, pushing some to the top and others out of the way. This filtering process is a good thing for many entrepreneurs who […]

If I could make a point with budding entrepreneurs, it would be that you should know what money you need and understand that it is at risk. Don’t bet money you can’t afford to lose. I’ll always remember a talk I had with a man who had spent 15 years trying to make his sailboat […]

Given your business plan and your collateral situation, you might look for special loans funded by government development agencies.
If you are in the U.S., then you are probably looking for Small Business Administration (SBA) loans. The SBA is a federal government agency that guarantees bank loans to small business. The SBA has many different programs, […]

Angel investors are a wide range of different investors, not as formally established as venture capitalist firms, and not as homogenous a group either. An angel investor might be a successful business person, a wealthy individual, a group of professionals such as doctors or dentists, or a local investment club, or somebody else completely different. […]

You probably know all of this already, but here are some refresher tips on how to secure funding for your business:

Polish your business plan. Re-read the executive summary, management team, competitive edge, and financials. If you’re operating in Internet space in the present market, make sure you are generating traffic and focusing on marketing much […]