women in business 2012
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Women in BusinessTRANSCRIPT
Starting a business and being your
own boss is a dream for many working
men and women. Whether you have a
great idea for a startup business or want to
branch out on your own in your current
line of work, starting a business from
scratch can be a risky, yet rewarding,
undertaking.
One of the biggest concerns for many
startup businesses is finding the money to
get the business off the ground. Finding
investors for a business idea often involves
patience, resolve and a strong belief in
your idea. Few startups can survive
without some investment capital from
outside sources, and the following are a
few tips to help today’s entrepreneurs find
financial backing for their ideas.
• Know what you need. Once you’ve
explained your idea, a potential investor,
whether it’s a venture capitalist, a trusted
friend or even a family member, will want
to know exactly how much money you
need. The more money you need, the more
people you’re likely to have to approach. If
the amount of capital you need is
relatively small, then you can seek the
help of friends and family members. This
might prove especially rewarding should
your business eventually succeed, as you
will have raised investment capital from
the people you trust and rewarded that
trust with a healthy return on their
investments.
Keeping things in the family definitely
has its benefits, but it can also cause
problems, especially if the amount of
capital you need to raise is substantial. In
such instances, seeking the help of a
venture capitalist might be your best bet.
Venture capitalists not only invest in ideas
for a living, but also if you work with a
venture capitalist, your relationships with
family and friends won’t grow strained if
your idea or plan falters and the returns
on investment are less than expected.
• Invest in yourself, but don’t overdo
it. Letting potential investors know you’ve
invested your own money in the project
can help, but you don’t want to overdo it.
Potential investors might hesitate to invest
with someone who sank their entire
savings into an idea. Such hesitation
occurs because investors don’t want
decisions affecting the company to be
made by someone who is concerned about
losing their entire nest egg. Such decisions
are not always rational, and they can affect
how you approach the business. So while
it’s good to invest in yourself and your
idea, don’t overdo it to the point where
potential investors might see your
business as a red flag instead of a
worthwhile investment.
• Develop a detailed plan. Potential
investors will want to see a detailed
business plan that includes how the
business will be run and how their money,
should they ultimately choose to invest,
will be used. Include a forecast of
expenses, which includes materials
needed as well as what you expect to pay
in rent for office and manufacturing space.
This plan should also include an earnings
projection, which can point to when an
investor can reasonably expect to start
seeing some return on his or her
investment. If you have no experience in
developing a business plan, then you
might want to consult a business advisor.
This will cost you money, but it might
make the difference between finding solid
investors or sitting on your idea.
• Be enthusiastic about the future.
Enthusiasm is important when seeking
investors. Potential investors already have
money, and they won’t want to invest in an
idea with a goal of breaking even. Explain
to potential investors that you have a long-
term vision for your business, one that
isn’t just for survival but, ideally,
expansion.You don’t want to go overboard
here, as you don’t want to make it appear
as though you’re putting the cart before
the horse. But you don’t want to project a
lack of confidence in your ideas or a lack of
vision for how you want your business to
grow, either. Enthusiasm about the future
can pique a potential investor’s interest,
whereas an investment opportunity that
doesn’t figure to yield much of a return
will turn investors off.
Building a business is no small feat,
and entrepreneurs should work as hard at
convincing potential investors to invest as
they did at developing their initial ideas.
How to findHow to findinvestors for your businessinvestors for your business
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CITIZEN’S NEWS Friday, September 14, 201218