How to Secure Funding for Your Small Business

Nowadays, it’s common for small businesses to end up in financial struggles. A simple mistake can easily turn into a financial difficulty. Not only that, but it’s also common for business owners to run out of funding for their business development. In such cases, business owners tend to look for outside funding, in order to support their business further and ensure it remains operational.

In today’s business world, there are many funding sources available to small businesses. However, not every funding source is the right one for your current situation. That’s why it’s important to analyze your options properly, in order to determine the best course of action. That being said, here are a few ways to secure funding for your small business.

Apply for a bank loan

Many business owners first go to a bank when in need of funding. Banks are reliable sources of funding and you can always apply for a loan there. You should try out several banks and negotiate the best deal for your business loan. However, you must understand that it takes a bit of time for banks to approve your loan application.

Moreover, if you have a bad credit score, you might be denied a loan altogether or charged with very high interest rates, because you’re technically a risk. In order to avoid that scenario, try to improve your credit score before going to the bank for a loan, in order to avoid any inconveniences.

Secure funding from an angel investor

Angel investors can be a great source of funding for your small business. They can supply you with the funding needed to fully develop your business and secure its financial stability. Once your business is stable on the market, angel investors will expect 25 to 30% return on investment. However, securing funding from angel investors isn’t easy.

You’ll have to be really passionate about your business and convince the investors that your business can be sustainable and profitable on the market. For that, you’ll need social proof, through market analysis, revenue forecasts and other statistics. If you do your homework right, you’ll be able to convince angel investors to support your endeavor. Also, don’t try angel investors if your agenda is to get rich fast, because they’ll dismiss you outright.

Seek alternative funding

As mentioned before, applying for a loan at the bank may not turn out so well if your credit score is bad. You may want to wait to improve your credit history, but you may not have the time to wait that long. In that case, you can seek out alternative lenders who will supply you with a loan.

For example, you can apply for bad credit loans. These types of loans have more flexible conditions towards people with bad credit scores. In other words, you won’t be denied a loan and you won’t have to wait too long to actually get a loan. That way, you can use quick cash to fund your business or consolidate your debt to improve both your financial situation and your credit score.

Seek out venture capital

Venture capital (VC) is a funding source similar to angel investors. You’ll still need a good plan and a good idea to convince venture capitalists to support your business financially. The difference is that venture capitalists seek a share of your company, in return for supporting you. What’s more, VCs only support business owners whose ideas have the potential to become lucrative enterprises in a short period of time.

Unlike angel investors, who support owners with passion about their business, venture capitalists are more supportive towards get-rich-fast attitude and ideas. As a matter of fact, venture capitalists expect your business to become very profitable in 3 to 5 years tops. If your business lacks that potential, you won’t be able to convince VCs to support you.

Try crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is yet another alternative funding source for your small business, only with fewer strings attached than angel investors or VCs. Crowdfunding is based on the concept of presenting your idea to your target audience, i.e. the crowd. If the crowd likes your ideas enough, they’ll donate funds to support your business financially. This type of funding can be ideal to fund startup ideas, but it can also be quite beneficial if you’re funding a small business by introducing new product or services features to the crowd.

Crowdfunding works on platforms, such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo, GoFundMe and others. However, not all platforms have the same conditions and you must research them well before you decide which platform to choose for your crowdfunding campaign. The way it works is you set both the time and fund limit and your audience attempts to reach funding limit before the time runs out.

As mentioned before, there are a lot of funding options made available to finance your business. Which method you choose depends on your business model and needs. Make sure your research various methods well, so that you’re able to pick the best funding source for your small business.

Guest author, David Webb, is a Sydney-based business consultant,online marketing analyst and a writer. With six years of experience and a degree in business management, he continuously informs the public about the latest trends in the industry. He is a regular author at BizzmarkBlog. You can reach him on Twitter or Facebook.