With so many small businesses denied loans, it is clear that the lending model of many traditional banks is outdated. However, a new group of loan providers has sprung up provide the funding your small business needs. Here is the ultimate list of these lenders (along with everything you need to know to make the best decision).
Posts filed under Finances
Here's How You Can Get More Money For Your Work
As small business owners, one of the hardest things we face is how to increase revenue without scaring away cost-conscious customers by raising our prices. Given this limitation, is there is there a reasonable strategy that will allow us to get more money for our work? Here we provide seven!
4 Ways To Get Access To Angel Investors
As you may know, you cannot issue any kind of securities (stock or debt) for your company without complying with the Securities Act of 1933. However, there are some exceptions that allow you to sell restricted securities to friends and family without too many limitations. However, in order to grow, you will still need investment even after you've tapped out all the funding you can get from friends and family. Your next best bet for that additional (and larger) infusion of capital will most likely be an angel investor.
Get Prepared: The Minimum Wage Will Be Going Up
Currently, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 but congress is facing relentless pressure to increase it to $10.10. According to Jeremy Quittner, “Somewhere between 40 percent and 60 percent of business owners favor increasing the minimum wage, according to various surveys… [however many] small business groups such as the National Federation of Independent Business and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are vocal opponents…”. As a result of their lobbying efforts, a recent “bill to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 failed in the Senate.” However, though these small business groups were successful with Congress, just look at the recent trends from around the country:
3 Ways To Take Advantage of Crowdfunding Now!
Recently, I while reviewing the Finance Section of a popular small business site, I realized the vast majority of the most recent articles were about “crowdfunding”. This is understandable given how the 2012 JOBS act revolutionized the way entrepreneurs are able to seek capital for their venture. Heck, I’m even guilty of doing the same; I’ve written no less than about 4 posts about crowdunding in the last six months! But given the vast benefits that will be available to entrepreneurs, this issue is totally worth all the attention it is currently receiving.
Make Your Business More Attractive To Buyers & Investors
Regardless of your current objectives, there may come a time when you want to either move on to new opportunities (which means selling your business) or you may simply want to take your business to the next level. And to do that you may need to attract investors from outside your close circle of family and friends. Unlike your initial investors, these new people will not be investing in you or your ideas; they are seeking to find out whether or not your business will provide a good return on their investment. That is why – before they finalize any deal – they will probably conduct an intense review of everything pertaining to your business. How can you ensure that your business will pass this due diligence test?
Get FREE $$$ For Your Business From The Govt!
Back during the 2012 presidential election, there was an argument between the two parties about, “Takers vs. Makers”. As a person who believes that sometimes people some need help to pull themselves up by the bootstrap, I could never really buy into that dichotomy. We give people loans and grants to go to college so they can become productive members of society right? Why shouldn’t the government do the same for small businesses? After all, entrepreneurs don’t start new enterprises because they want to suckle at the government’s teat forever. They want their companies to grow, make money, become profitable and hopefully, make the owners rich!
From Startup to IPO: Get The $$ You Need To Grow
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post giving an overview of the type of investors that will provide the funds for your entrepreneurial enterprise as you grow. This is a legal site, so I was very much focused on giving you the legal framework that governs who is allowed to invest in your company. But, Anna Vital's post goes one step further - it puts all this information in a context that you as a business owner will recognize. To do this, she shows the steps needed (as illustrated by the infographic below) to take a hypothetical startup from an amazing idea to being a public company.
Ok Entrepreneurs, Time To Meet Your Future Investors!
It is almost impossible to read a small business magazine or blog these days without finding an article about perfecting your pitch to investors. Heck, there is even a reality show about it! But who are these investors and why do so many entrepreneurs have to rely on them if they want to start or expand their business?
4 Easy Ways To Legally Protect Your Confidential Information From Investors
Did you know that it has now become almost uniform policy among Silicon Valley investors to NOT sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs)? Some investors believe that as an entrepreneur, you should be willing to talk about your ideas with anyone who is willing to listen. Others believe it is simply a waste of time because, with NDAs, meetings are delayed by at least a week while lawyers review the contract Another factor is that some entrepreneurs like Ben Goodwin have come to realize that even if you have a signed NDA, it is difficult and expensive to enforce in the long run and as a small business owner, he simply does not have the have the legal and financial resources to expend on that.
New SBA Administrator Wants To Make It Easier For You To Get $$$
We recently got news, however, that the SBA has a brand new administrator whose primary focus is “Business” not “Administration”. Per Acharya, her name is Maria Contreras-Sweet, and she wants to “make the SBA faster, more efficient and more accessible to new business owners and entrepreneurs”. Like Mills, she has a stellar background for the job and I have to say, her focus on making it easier for business owners’ access to cash is exactly what I want to see. So how exactly is she planning on doing this? continue reading...
How To Avoid the “Bad Actors” That Can Derail Your Efforts To Raise Capital
How would you feel if, because “bad actors” were involved in your issuance, you were forced to unwind your deal and refund all the capital back to the investors? Obviously you would be mortified. With Crowdcheck’s list, we can get a general idea of the kind of individuals who should be monitored and the types of violations they would have to commit before they can be labeled that “bad actors”. But, even with guidelines, who has the time to do searches across different databases to ferret out this type of information? continue reading...
Get Capital! Sell Shares To The Public Just Like The Big Corporations...
Last week I mentioned the possibility of using crowdfunding to fund a new venture to my dad. To paraphrase, his response was “No, I’m not an artist or musician…why would anyone want to give me money?” That’s when I realized that he was not aware that the 2012 JOBS Act authorized equity crowdfunding (i.e. it allows companies to raise up to $1,000,000 by selling stock or equity from an online crowdfunding site to ordinary adults). continue reading...
