Need Money To Grow Your Biz?

IndyStar.com:

We all want to be well-informed consumers, and that holds true if you are a business owner who wants to expand or someone who is considering owning their own company. In either case, business capital is very important to you.

As a lender, I can’t tell you how many people have called us over the years and said something such as, “I need venture capital.” Many other callers simply ask for a loan. It’s only after we ask a lot of questions and listen to the answers that we can begin to figure out the best way to finance their business.

Assuming you have a capital need (and what business doesn’t?) let’s review a few basic things that you need to know about yourself and your company before you call a lender or a venture capital firm.

What does your company do? It seems obvious, but examine the core mission of your company and the demand for its services or products. If your company is a manufacturer, does it make auto components and are you constantly being required to squeeze margins? Do you want to install labor saving machinery to cut costs, and will that be enough? What financial obligations will you have to the people whose jobs you must terminate?

Or, if your product is a technical one, probe the next step in your technology. Do you have it and can you get it? If your competitors are better positioned, what is your strategy to remain viable?

Or, if you own a small retail coffee shop, is a Starbucks opening soon on your customers’ route to work?

You get the idea: your scenario will be unique and you simply need to know all you can.

Read more.

Photo by yirsh.

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